6 Ways to Make Planning a Group Vacation Less Stressful

Vacations are always more exciting and fun when taken with a large group. Whether it is a group of your family or your friends, you will have an experience that sticks with you forever. No matter the reason for your vacation, it is always stressful trying to plan a vacation with multiple people. Delays happen and things come up that create issues with the planning process, whether it is dealing with money or time.

You want to make the planning process and your trip as stress-free as possible to ensure your trip is as relaxing and fun as you want it to be. Group vacations often lead to bond strengthening and building new relationships, it also is known for chaos and screaming matches. Having multiple people on one trip can lead to frustrations and negative emotions that create issues and tension.

There are ways to keep fights at bay and lessen the amount of stress that comes with planning a group vacation. There are factors you must consider before solidifying your trip, from group deals to ways to stick together and stay safe while traveling. Your vacation’s success depends on how well you plan and how much fun you had on your trip. Here are some ways to make the planning process less stressful.

Decide on a Leader

You want to appoint a leader to be the main organizer and focal point for information. You may appoint more than one person if you need extra assistance and if you have a rather large group. Your leader is responsible for planning and executing those plans. When planning a vacation, though, it is important to include everyone participating. When there is multiple people there will be multiple ideas and opinions, all you must take into account.

Your leader will be the central place for keeping up with information, plans, and money. This will help with organization for your trip as well. Your leader helps with keeping the vacation running smoothly by acting as a mediator as well. Some other skills a good leader should have are:

• Communication
• Positivity
• Trustworthy
• Responsible
• Organized
• Creative
• Delegating
• Include Everyone

When you are in the planning process you should include everyone in on the decisions. A group vacation is about the group altogether, it doesn’t focus on one person’s desires and expectations. You must consider everyone’s desired activities, accommodations types, and transportation to make everyone happy. There will be compromise that must take place, as well. These will make it easier to attend planned activities and limit complications and altercations.

It can be easy for groups to clash due to personality and opinion differences. You want to appeal to every traveler type in your group. Plan for your conscious travelers or your go with the flow travelers together to avoid unnecessary disagreements. Planning the entire trip with everyone involved will limit the amount of surprises and issues surrounding difference of preferences. If everyone knows ahead of time what is to happen on the trip, it will go more smoothly.

Utilize Group Deals

Group deals are available everywhere, especially in tourist cities. There are many ways to utilize group deals to save money, whether they are for food, activities, or accommodations. When it comes to food you should always look for places that will grant deals to those with larger groups. You can even call ahead of time to set up an arrangement for your group. Activities is something that saves many family travelers from overspending.

Websites like Groupon.com allow people to find group activities at a discounted price. Most of the time they are discounted because they are for groups. Group options for accommodations are a different thing. Some resorts and hotels allow for group deals on specific room types and packages. Sometimes they offer deals on outside activities as well.

Travel Together

Keep in mind that it is always cheaper to ride together. Carpooling has become the smartest way to commute anywhere but when you are traveling it can be difficult to get everyone together due to ticket availability and space. When you are traveling to your destination it is always fun to travel with your group. Taking a charter bus to travel in style and comfort or flying on a plane to cut time are both good ideas for group travel. Though sometimes people decide on alternative means of travel like train, bus, or car.

When you are in your destination it is crucial that you stick together or at least stick in smaller groups. You want to keep everything and everyone within a short vicinity of each other to be prepared for emergencies or other unexpected events.

Be Organized

Organization is important to have a successful vacation and is extremely important when traveling in a group. There will be a lot going on during your vacation and you want to be prepared for it. Try creating lists of the things you need to do when you are in the planning process to help you get organized. You want to have a central place for you plans, details of your trip, and money to help stay organized.

Disorganization can lead to further issues and complications. Whether it is about money or time, it is important to avoid conflict and problems with creating an organization system. Have everyone help in this area to maximize results. Even though you will have a leader or leaders, you still want everyone to be accountable for their own belongings and information.

Don’t Over Plan

Over planning sucks the fun out of things. Try to leave flexibility in your trip for a spontaneous activity or emergency situations. Over planning can lead to disappointments and complications on your trip. Try not to overthink about making it a good trip and enjoy the trip. It can be easy to get wrapped up in how smooth everything is going and forget to actually enjoy the moment. The goal of a group vacation is to have fun and create memories with people you care about.