Planning any trip is difficult, but a group trip that is trouble x 100. Even though its hard that doesnot mean that we brush it aside and do solo travel. So how do you go about planning a group trip? I have given my experience in this post on planning a group trip and a few more generalised options for you when planning any trip. Enjoy!
The budgeting and destination selection is done! Phew… Now let’s move on to the crazy stuff!
There are so many options to use when travelling from country to country for an example buses, trains, budget airlines. Each continent has their own set of budget airlines nowadays. This post is based solely on travel to Europe as that’s where I have been. One website that has really helped me is “Go Euro” they give you a consolidated set of options and you can use their website to go directly to the relevant provider’s website when booking.
Pros – Extremely cheap, comfortable, free wifi, very flexible cancellation options, direct routes available even in the night
Cons – Long travel hours, several delays, there is no money back if cancelled only a voucher that can be used for another trip within a year, unable to select seats in some buses.
Some well-known options – Flixbus (all over Europe), Ouibus (Mostly France, Belgium and Netherland) and Alsa (Spain)
Pros: Fast, comfortable – can select as you desire either first or second class, several time slots available, discounts for group travel, passes available for one or several countries
Cons: expensive in comparison to both buses and budget airlines, some routes involve changing several trains which can be difficult during night hours
Well knows options – SNCF (All over Europe), NS.International ( Netherland’s international network operator), Trainline.eu (General website for all over the world – change the suffix as per the continent)
Pros – extremely fast, very cheap if booked early, you pay for what you need
Cons – small seats, delays at the airport, add-ons such as luggage can set you back a hefty sum
Well known options: Ryan Air, Transavia, Easy Jet, Iberia
This is one of the most expensive items on your trip budget. Each country has their fluctuations according to the season and some countries it’s always expensive throughout the year.
Best sites to book both refundable and non-refundable accommodation:
You are going to a new country or city, you want to visit all the famous attractions they offer – then you take a look at your budget and realise those 10, 20 Euros quickly add up to wiping out your entire budget. So what should you do? How should you and your friends decide on which attractions to visit? After all, this is a “Group Trip” hence a group decision!
I know I have made it sound like a life-death situation but it really is not. Our rupee has literally “0” value when it comes to the Euro! We need close to 195-200 rupees to get one Euro so when it comes to attractions even though it might look small in Euros it is always way too much in Rupees. So how do you manage this?
Few Tips:
I am not going to go to lengths about visa here as I have two dedicated posts about Schengen visa, click on the following links to access them →→ “Schengen Visa – Embassy of Italy” and “Schengen Visa for Sri Lankans – Applying from VFS France”. I will impart one piece of advice, whenever possible early as possible as it will help you plan a better trip and also obtain good deals on accommodation and so forth.
The most important thing to remember in planning a group trip is to have fun. Its a bunch of people travelling to unknow countries. How much more fun can it be?. As much as the planning and the arguments can eat you away a “Group trip” is always worth it!
Until next time!
Ciao…
4 Comments
I usually travel alone, which I love. But it’s stressful too and you have to take over a lot of responsibility. So whenever I travel in a group, I enjoy it a lot. And if there’s something else I want to do, I can still detach from the group for an hour or two.
Loved your article!
Best,
Claudia from http://thatsmeonline.net
Thank you so much for your comment! Yes, it is great when you travel in a group despite the different interests it always makes a great story to tell when you get back home!
great stuff!
Thank you!