👥 Group travel: how to avoid problems and enjoy your vacation 🌍

Some people prefer to travel alone, others prefer to travel in pairs, while others love group trips. Let’s talk about them in more detail. It plays a big role whether you go on vacation with your family, friends, buy a tour with strangers, or it’s a business trip abroad, but in any case you will encounter problems and difficulties. We'll tell you how best to solve them here.

Selection of route a

Choosing places to visit is the basis of any trip. When one person goes on vacation, everything is simple – he decides what and where he wants to see. But on group trips it is important to take into account everyone’s opinion. This is where the problems begin. If you are planning a trip to Europe, there is a good chance that many have already been to major cities and seen the most famous sights. In this case, it is worth discussing which places people are willing to visit again and try to find a compromise.

The best option is to choose destinations that are not the most obvious or popular for a group trip. For example, when going to Italy, plan a trip not to Rome-Florence-Venice, but to go to the Dolomites. This area is also incredibly interesting and beautiful. Or, instead of traveling through European cities, create a route taking into account the ancient castles of Germany. This trip will also delight sophisticated tourists.

Disputes can even arise about places that no one has ever been to. For example, some are interested in religious architecture, some in historical museums, and others in cafes and shops. Again, the only way to satisfy everyone is to seek a compromise.

Holidays will please everyone if you make the program as varied and versatile as possible. Go to the beach in the morning, go to a restaurant for lunch, visit a museum afterwards, and go to a church service in the evening. This way you will learn a lot of new things and please everyone. By the way, you can find an example of such an interesting one-day route here.

This applies not only to attractions, but also to food establishments – in a large group there will always be someone who does not eat meat, has an intolerance to seafood or does not like spicy food. To keep everyone happy, choose the most versatile places with familiar cuisine. Of course, you would like to visit and explore first of all authentic and unusual cafes with traditional food, but keep in mind that it is unlikely that you will be able to feed everyone.

It is also important to share your plan with others in advance to avoid disputes and conflicts on the spot. People will express their opinions in advance and prepare to visit places.

Season selection

The situation here is the same as with the route – the travel time should suit everyone. Most people choose a vacation in the summer, but not everyone can reschedule it at will to the desired dates. In addition, some people set aside a week for travel, others a month. It is important to find the best option for everyone. 

Consider weather conditions too. Some people have a hard time with the cold, others with the heat. If you do not meet these criteria, plan your trip in spring or autumn – when the temperature does not reach its maximum or minimum value, but remains at the average level.

Timing

Another difficulty is the correct scheduling of the trip itself. When traveling in groups, you need to consider that people behave differently. This seems obvious, but for one person 20 minutes is enough for lunch, while for others not even an hour is enough. When planning a trip for several days, it is important to calculate in advance the hours for sleep, meals, even going to the toilet. And all this needs to be included in the schedule between exploring new places.

Focus on the number of people in the group – the more people, the more time for organizational issues. This is pure mathematics – 5 people will have breakfast faster than 10. In addition, take into account the age of travelers. Older people get tired more slowly and quickly, and they need more time for breaks.

When making a plan, do not neglect stops, even if you have to sacrifice sightseeing for the sake of relaxation. In addition, if you do not provide time for preparations and roll calls, then already at the moment of the journey itself the plan will collapse like a house of cards and you will have to rebuild it at will. It’s better to calculate everything in advance, take it into account and put it on the schedule. 

Hotel reservations

It is often more difficult for a group of tourists to book accommodation. Any place in a hostel will suit a single traveler, but if the group is large, you will need several rooms in the hotel. During the hot season, all good options are sorted out in advance. The closer to the travel date, the fewer available options. At best, you will get rooms on different floors, and this can become a cause for conflict, since the conditions in them are also different. 

The same applies to booking tickets. If there is little time left before the flight, it will definitely not be possible to buy seats next to each other for a large group. Someone will be in the back, someone at the window, and someone in another class. This is in a successful scenario. It is also possible that there are simply not enough flight tickets for everyone. Then you will have to either reschedule the trip or plan a complex journey with transfers and connections for individual people. By the way, life hacks for economically buying plane tickets have been collected here, and where you can fly, find out from this material.

The only way to avoid such difficulties is to book everything in advance. The optimal time is 2-3 months before the planned vacation. 

Paperwork

Any group trip abroad is impossible without documents. Passport, insurance, valid cards – all this is needed to cross the border. First of all, you need to check that all documents are valid, intact and taken with you. But the main thing is visas. 

If for a group trip you have chosen a country that can only be entered with a permit, then you need to seriously consider the issue of obtaining it. Applying for a visa is a complex, often long and always unpredictable process. Firstly, you need to collect all the documents for submission in advance, have time to register and get on the required dates. Where the interview will take place, if necessary, depends on the country chosen, so you need to consider whether everyone can get there quickly.

Secondly, the chances of getting a visa are always different. Everyone in the group has their own characteristics – some have already been to a dozen countries, others have never traveled abroad. Some have property in their homeland, others have nothing that serves as a guarantor of return. Again, even if visas are issued to everyone, the timing may vary significantly. It is almost impossible to predict the decision of the embassy – much depends not even on the initial data, but on simple luck.

The only way to avoid problems with obtaining an entry permit is to contact a visa agency. This will greatly facilitate the process of submitting documents and increase your chances of a positive result, but no one will give you a 100% guarantee. Of course, the best option is to go on vacation to a country that does not require a visa or where you can get one quickly and easily. Carefully study all the available options, perhaps they will surprise and delight you.

Publicity

This is perhaps the most controversial problem with group travel – there will always be people around. Even if you go on a trip with your closest and dearest people, it is still unlikely to avoid conflicts. It's even worse when there are strangers around. You will have to forget about personal space in any case. For many, such close communication is not a problem, but there are those who find it difficult to endure the constant company of people nearby.

It is important to set boundaries in advance and determine what you do together and what you do separately. For example, some people need to spend the morning in silence, while others prefer to go on an excursion immediately after waking up. Discuss this and think about how to make being in a group comfortable for everyone. 

Group tours: no choice

All of the difficulties listed above are common to any type of group trip, but if you are planning a vacation yourself, then it’s up to you to decide. But when choosing a tour from an agency, many of these problems are solved by the organizers. The most popular option is bus travel; we talk about them in more detail here. However, in this case another difficulty is added – the inability to make changes to the program.

If you have purchased a place on a group tour, you are required to follow the general plan. Even if you categorically don’t like something, you will have to follow everyone. Yes, free time is at your discretion, but you won’t be able to refuse to visit certain cities or places. Also, no one will adjust to your sleep or eating patterns. The schedule is common to everyone without exception. Therefore, if among the proposed tours there is no one that completely suits you, it is better not to agree to other options, so as not to spoil the vacation for yourself or others.