How to organize a trip for a large group

Traveling with a large group of friends is always great, but it comes with certain difficulties. For example, in organization. You have to agree with everyone, take responsibility for entertainment and accommodation. Oh, there’s really a lot to do. So, we’re telling you how to gather your will and do the impossible — organize a group trip that everyone will enjoy.

Pros

What’s good about group travel? There are enough pros:

• Savings on accommodation. For example, in Asian countries, you can rent a villa! It would be tough for two, but quite affordable for a large company.
• Opportunity to join group excursions. Some places can only be accessed if a group of several people is formed. If you visit during the off-season and there are few tourists, your company might well qualify as a group.
• You will see familiar people from a new perspective.
• You will meet new people (if there are any in the company).
• Anywhere is more fun together! (c)

Hello, chat!

Without chats, planning a trip with many people is impossible. Yes, it will be a mess of opinions, because people are different. Someone reads once a week and constantly asks again, someone replies with stickers and it’s hard to understand what they meant. But it’s good that some modern messengers have the ability to pin messages and create polls. The latest news and decisions can always be found in pinned messages and you can quickly express an opinion by voting in a poll.

But a lot is also required from you. Try to write specifically and to the point. Take everyone’s wishes into account and don’t forget your own. Remember, it’s hard to please everyone, but you can always split up for a couple of days so that everyone can go where they want.

And most importantly, consider the fact that not everyone is comfortable expressing an opinion, especially if it differs from the majority. Convey to these people that any questions can be resolved in private correspondence.

Information Gathering

The first thing to decide is the trip date and destination. There are many people, everyone has their own life, so choose dates and a place together. It shouldn’t be convenient for only one person, with everyone else adjusting. Share a Google Calendar with everyone so that each person can mark their convenient travel time.

Another important point is to do this in advance. And it doesn’t matter how far you plan to go, whether you’ll be flying. Decide on the date several months ahead. Remember that it may be adjusted due to the cost of tickets and accommodation. All participants should be aware of these changes.

When choosing a destination, it’s also important to consider everyone’s opinion. You need to choose so that everyone has something to do in that particular place. Therefore, the most ideal option is to arrange a trip across several countries or cities.

The next step is to check ticket prices. Usually, good-priced tickets are for weekdays, while flying on weekends is more expensive. Experiment with departure cities, what if it’s even cheaper from a neighboring one? Consult with participants about where it’s essential for them to fly from. And as soon as you find good prices, collect passport data from participants and buy tickets for everyone at once, not separately. This reduces the chance of buying tickets at different prices. We wrote about why this happens here >>>

If not everyone is from the same city and someone plans to join on-site, agree on a meeting place and time, provide the accommodation address (if available), and keep that person informed of your movements.

And now we’re looking for accommodation! Since there are many of you, you can look for accommodation with amenities, rather than settling for beds in rooms for 30 people. Yes, it’s cheaper, but that means a shower at the end of the corridor, an inconvenient toilet, and no breakfast. It’s better to rent an apartment or a house, a villa (depending on the destination). Some places even offer group discounts.

At the same time, find out from everyone (you can do this privately) what their maximum budget for accommodation is, calculate the average, and then look for options. Share your findings in the chat, and participants will choose the suitable one by voting. Democratic!

Leisure

Now, this needs to be handled carefully. Even those who initially “agree to everything” will eventually be dissatisfied with something and grumble that they weren’t asked about anything. And there’s a way out here. Try to plan the time so that your company has at least one joint activity per day: a picnic in the park, a trip to attractions, visiting main sights, anything. And everything else is optional. If someone wants to break away for half a day and follow their own route, let them. In the evening, during joint gatherings, it will be interesting to hear what everyone saw and where they went.

The main idea is not to plan every minute, and if something goes wrong, not to grumble, “we’re off schedule, we still have two museums planned for today!” No one needs that kind of vacation. Choose something most fun and go together, and let everyone spend the rest of the time as they wish.

Transport

It’s good if a large company has at least two people with driver’s licenses. This provides the opportunity to travel out of town or save on trains. Traveling by car is more convenient and faster, with no dependence on schedules.

If you are traveling abroad, drivers need international licenses. It would be logical if all trip participants chip in for international licenses and car rental.

If there are no drivers in your company, and long trips are planned, we recommend buying train or bus tickets in advance. At least a month beforehand.

Ask for help, it’s normal

If your group has 5–6 people, organizing isn’t that difficult. But if there are more people, ask someone for help. Taking on the entire organization yourself is hard; you might overlook something or make a mistake, which could jeopardize the trip. You always need a fresh pair of eyes and extra hands to look for hotels while you buy tickets for everyone.