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!<\/p>\n

The Start of “Group Trip” planning<\/span><\/h4>\n

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1. First, decide who is going is it going to be a bunch of girls, boys, couples or just a mix of everyone. These factors have a major say in the cost, travel preferences and so forth so best to nail down the confirmations before you start the actual planning.<\/li>\n
2. Decide on the when – this is the single most important aspect of any trip planning, may it be a group trip or solo travel. The season you decide to travel in can have a major influence on your cost and how far ahead you need to plan. For an example, if you are travelling in winter, the cost will be way cheaper compared to Summer. If travelling in Spring it will be a bit more than\u00a0Winter but less than summer.<\/li>\n
3. Select the countries\/cities – this is crucial as this can be a point where the finger poking and eye gouging will start. Each one in your group will have different travel experiences and will want different countries. Discuss at length, decide the countries and then cities. Most of all “BE WILLING TO COMPROMISE!” after all the whole of this is to be travelling as a group. So listen to each other.<\/li>\n
4. Budget – remember trips cost money, and each person in your group will not be at the same financial wavelength. Talk it out and decide the base budget and set maximum and minimum amounts so that everyone will be comfortable with the cost.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   Nitty Gritty details\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

   The budgeting and destination selection is done! Phew… Now let’s move on to the crazy stuff!<\/p>\n

   Travel options\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

   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<\/a>” 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.<\/p>\n

   Buses :\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

   Pros – Extremely cheap, comfortable, free wifi, very flexible cancellation options, direct routes available even in the night<\/p>\n

   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.<\/p>\n

   Some well-known options – Flixbus<\/a> (all over Europe), Ouibus<\/a>\u00a0(Mostly France, Belgium and Netherland) and\u00a0Alsa<\/a> (Spain)<\/p>\n

   Trains:\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

   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<\/p>\n

   Cons: expensive in comparison to both buses and budget airlines, some routes involve changing several trains which can be difficult during night hours<\/p>\n

   Well knows options – SNCF<\/a> (All over Europe), NS.International<\/a> ( Netherland’s international network operator), Trainline.eu<\/a> (General website for all over the world – change the suffix as per the continent)<\/p>\n

   Budget Airlines:\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

   Pros – extremely fast, very cheap if booked early, you pay for what you need<\/p>\n

   Cons – small seats, delays at the airport, add-ons such as luggage can set you back a hefty sum<\/p>\n

   Well known options: Ryan Air<\/a>, Transavia<\/a>, Easy Jet<\/a>, Iberia\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

   Accommodation<\/span><\/h6>\n

   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.<\/p>\n

   Things to consider:<\/span><\/h6>\n

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   1. What type of accommodation are you looking for – hostels, single rooms, double rooms, triple or quadruple rooms?<\/li>\n
   2. Are you all comfortable sharing the same room?<\/li>\n
   3. What are the facilities you require in the room?<\/li>\n
   4. How long will you be spending in the room? is it only for bathing and sleeping?<\/li>\n
   5. How much of luggage do you have? Do you have valuables that you need to leave behind?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Best sites to book both refundable and non-refundable accommodation:<\/p>\n

      \n
      1. Booking.com<\/a> – offers a variety of options where you can filter and the free cancellation options are great.<\/li>\n
      2. Air B n B<\/a> – still not personally used as I prefer hotels myself, this site offers you local homes, rooms and I have heard rave reviews about them. They do offer several options in terms of cancellation and refunds. Best to read all the T & C prior to booking.<\/li>\n
      3. Directly from the hotel website – this is the best in terms of cost. Most of the time the hotels offer really low prices but there can be a catch as these are most often non-refundable which can be an issue for us Sri Lankans due to the visa factor.<\/li>\n
      4. Agoda<\/a> – very similar to booking and have been in this game way before anyone else.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         Attractions:\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n

         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!<\/p>\n

         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?<\/p>\n

         Few Tips:<\/span><\/p>\n

         \n
         1. Discuss and see the attractions you all want to go to. This way you know they are worth the money.<\/li>\n
         2. See if there are days which offers these attractions free – like certain Sundays of the month if your itinerary is flexible then go for it!<\/li>\n
         3. There are so many things to do for “free” just google and find them out.<\/li>\n
         4. If your budget is massive and you can afford it then don’t miss out, go for literally everything you can pack into your day!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Visa<\/span><\/h6>\n

            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\u00a0\u2192\u2192\u00a0“Schengen Visa – Embassy of\u00a0 Italy”<\/a> and “Schengen Visa for Sri Lankans – Applying from VFS France”<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

            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!<\/p>\n

            Until next time!<\/p>\n

            Ciao…<\/p>\n

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