The easy guide to getting your next trip out of the group chat
We’ve all been there. Sending tiktoks to our friends of beautiful locations with the message “we have to go there”. Everyone reacts with enthusiasm, but the trip never happens. What people don’t tell you is that planning a trip with your friends can be an incredibly complicated process involving Olympic-level scheduling and some top-notch accounting to make everyone’s budget work. So how do you plan a trip with friends that actually makes it out of the group chat without losing your mind? Lucky for you, I’ve done it before and am here to share some tips. Here’s how to get your next trip out of the group chat.
#1 Keep the Group Manageable
Unless it’s an occasion that absolutely calls for a big crowd, such as a large family vacation or bachelor/bachelorette trip, we are capping the number of people at six. Why? Because it’s the right amount of people to keep planning simple, travel manageable, and conversations fresh so nobody gets tired of each other. Bonus points if you keep it an even number. Bigger groups aren’t impossible, but they require a lot more structure. I’ve traveled with a large group before and it’s hard to be spontaneous. Twelve people can’t just stop in a cute cafe you stumble upon for a coffee, but four people absolutely can.
#2 The When is Harder to Figure Out Than the Where
There are so many amazing places to visit, but the first thing to figure out is the timing of the trip. As we all get older, we get busier with more commitments and so the time periods where everyone is actually available becomes extremely limited. One of the easier ways to sort this out is to create a poll for the year. Have your friends tell you when they are free for the whole year, and see what the best time is for everyone. I used a Google Form for my recent girls trip to the Caribbean and it allowed me to figure out all the important details, including the timeframe. Once I had all the answers I needed, I could finally start putting the trip together. If you need some trip & tricks on how to start researching, check out my other post!
#3 No Dancing Around the Budget
Once you’ve finalized the time frame of the trip, it’s time to get serious and that means talking about everyone’s least favorite topic: the budget. This is going to be the moment where people either commit or back out. Everyone has different circumstances, and so it’s a key moment between the trip actually happening or not.
For this one, it really depends on your friend group and the people you want to go on this trip with. In my friend group we are pretty open about money, and so I had them select various price ranges on a Google Form. In other situations, I’ve provided options to show what is possible at various price ranges. People will either be willing to pay that much and agree to go, and others will not.
WanderBea Tip: Click here to see an example of the Google Form I always use when planning group trips.
#4 Transparency is Key
Traveling is a situation where a lot of people are out of their comfort zones, and so there is always going to be a level of anxiety from someone in the group. That person has even been me some things, and so I’ve learned that as the planner, you’ve got to show the group what you are doing, especially if this trip is to a new place where nobody has been.
I create a spreadsheet with the first sheet containing all of the basic information (where, when, how much, etc), and the second sheet containing the more specific details, aka the itinerary as I’m forming it. Those who are more anxious and want to know exactly what we will be doing can, and those who just want to venmo me and get on the plane have that option as well.
What To Remember
When it comes down to it, getting the trip out of the group chat isn’t magic. It’s actually a lot of work, but that work isn’t too bad when you have the right steps in place. And once you’ve done it, it becomes easier every time. So send the TikTok, drop the Google Form in the chat, make the spreadsheet, and watch how quickly the phrase “we should go” turns into “I can’t believe we actually made it.”
-Happy Planning,
Bea