Traveling with friends can either make or break your group. It all depends on how you plan the trip and how each group member acts in both the planning process and on your vacation. Of course, it’s common to disagree with your friends on certain things – not everybody has a similar opinion on everything. So, minor disagreements are bound to happen, especially if you have a large group of friends. However, if you keep fighting about every detail, your vacation will quickly become a nightmare. Therefore, to help you have the time of your life with your friends, we’re giving you a list of mistakes to avoid when traveling with friends. Let’s scroll!
Expecting One Person Will Do All The Planning
Yes, planning a vacation can be challenging. It’s something rarely anybody enjoys doing. That’s why it’s fantastic when you have somebody who will arrange everything for you, right? Well, of course – if you’re paying them to do so. However, if you’re traveling with friends, don’t expect one person to plan everything for the rest of the group. Booking flights and accommodation, organizing transportation, and planning the whole travel itinerary are all significant responsibilities. It’s unfair to throw all of them at one person.
Therefore, this is one of the biggest mistakes you should avoid when traveling with friends. Instead of waiting for someone to plan and organize everything for you, you should all be responsible for one big thing. That can be booking plane tickets, transportation, finding possible accommodation, good restaurants, etc.
Of course, all of you should do your own research about the place you’re visiting and make a list of things you’d like to see and do. Not doing your research and letting someone decide where you’ll go and what you’ll see isn’t fun! In addition, research some valuable tips and tricks to getting around your destination with more ease and share them with the group.
Not Being Transparent About Personal Budgets
Like anything else in life, budgeting is key to a good trip. The money you can set aside for this “friendcation” will determine which destination you can visit and how you can spend your time there. Therefore, it’s crucial to be transparent about your budget from the very beginning.
Not everybody is in the same financial position, which is only logical, especially in a large group of friends. Some can budget an exotic destination, and some will have to settle for a road trip. Therefore, each member of your group should set a daily budget for themselves and share it with the rest of you. When you see how much money everybody’s ready to spend on this vacation, only then can you start discussing your actual options. What’s important is finding common ground that will work for everybody instead of persuading someone to spend more money than they actually can.
Not Establishing Your Financial Strategy
Depending on where you’re traveling, splitting checks isn’t always easy to get by. It’s also tough to charge different amounts to numerous credit cards. As a result, you’ll need to devise a method of paying for stuff while on vacation with your friends. Should you all take out your cash and divide it equally? Should everyone pay their fair share? Or should one person pay and everyone else Venmo them their share? It’s pretty hard to decide, but you need to make this decision as a group.
The important thing is not to put one person in charge of your finances. It’s a huge responsibility, and you know it! This person can easily get blamed if something happens. In addition, it’s pretty exhausting to keep track of both group and individual finances 24/7. It’s safe to say this person won’t have as much fun on this vacation like the rest of the group.
Avoid Discussing Your Daily Activities in Advance
As we have already mentioned, researching the places you want to go and see while on vacation is crucial when traveling with friends. Everybody should make a list of these things and share them with a group. This way you can easily see what places everybody wants to visit and if there are some places only some of you want to see.
You need to understand that not everybody has the same travel style. Some people like to sleep ’til noon and then relax some more. Others want to go on adventures and visit as many places as possible. So, if you found a group of friends with the same travel style as you – great! However, if some of your travel buddies like to relax more and others like to be on the go all the time – that’s okay too!
It’s okay not to do everything together. Just because you’re going on a vacation as a group doesn’t mean you have to spend every second of it together. Of course, most of your activities will be joint, but you’re allowed to have some alone time! Therefore, pushing everybody to be together all the time is one of the mistakes to avoid when traveling with friends.
Avoid Having ‘My Way or The Highway’ Attitude
Let’s get one thing straight. You’re not going on this vacation alone, and not everything will be as you would prefer it. You have a few travel buddies that probably like some things that you don’t. So, if they, for example, choose a restaurant that’s not to your liking or decide to go to another beach one day, don’t be stubborn – compromise.
Communication and compromise are vital tools when traveling with friends. It’s hard to please everybody with everything. But you can always find common ground. Or, if you don’t feel like doing something, you can always take some alone time, just like we mentioned earlier. Just don’t make scenes because the group doesn’t accept your way.
It’s Time to Pack!
Now that you know which mistakes to avoid when traveling with friends, you’re ready to go on your ‘friendcation’! So, get your suitcase and start making the ultimate packing checklist for your trip. It’s always a good idea to put everything on paper before putting it in a suitcase. You will always know what you have already packed and what’s left. Some of the factors you should consider when packing is how long you’re staying, the weather conditions, and the nightlife. Therefore, make sure you pack accordingly!
Final Thoughts…
If you want your group vacation to be fun and successful, these are the mistakes to avoid when traveling with friends. Don’t expect to agree on everything but make sure there aren’t a lot of disagreements either. Communicating and compromising about every step of this vacation is key. Make sure you’re transparent about your budget and what you want and don’t want to do on this vacation. Only this way will you be able to find common ground and plan a vacation everybody gets to enjoy. Good luck!
Author Bio: Corey Jonas is a passionate traveler who finances his journeys through blogging. He has had his blogs published on numerous websites, and he mostly focuses on the topics he knows best – traveling. Corey has a BA in English Language and Literature, allowing him to combine his passion for the language with his love for traveling.
