Shared experiences are the best kind and while traveling with family, friends and large groups can bring about unwelcome stress from time to time the benefits are undeniable.
By far the biggest perk of planning a trip with your favorite people is dramatically cutting down on travel costs, particularly when it comes to accommodations as you can choose a larger space and split the total, leaving everyone with their budget intact.
For example, carpooling on a road trip saves the whole group money on gas. Plus, traveling with others allows you to split up responsibilities for packing travel supplies such as camping gear, beach equipment and groceries.
I and a group of my friends and even some acquaintances were able to rent out a penthouse condo at the beach during Labor Day weekend just a few years ago for under $200 per person. Granted, I wouldn't recommend inviting too many people you aren't familiar with as you can start to run into problems quickly. Stick to reliable friends that you've spent a good deal of time with before. That way you can trust they're serious about joining you (paying their share) and have a better idea of what to expect from them. After all, you're likely going to be spending a lot of time together.
That leads right into the next big benefit of traveling with your buddies. The more the merrier. Making memories on vacation is just way more fun when you can look back on them with others who lived them right alongside you. In the age of Facebook, you can bet that they'll keep popping up.
The more minds you travel with also means more ideas and insight. Your friends might have a better knowledge of your destination and can provide recommendations for whatever mood your group is in at a given point in time. They may have family or friends who already know the best attractions, restaurants, bars and events in a particular city or town.
Planning a getaway with a large group can be quite daunting if the idea of relying on mobile payment services like Venmo and sharing too much time and space with other people leave you feeling unsettled. If that's the case, talk to a travel agent who can work with you and your friends to pick the perfect destination, accommodations and tours activities once you've arrived. You can find a trusted advisor quickly and easily at TravelSense.org and leave the bookings and stressful details to them.
So the next time you get an idea, toss it into that group message or text thread and see what happens. It might just lead to the best trip of your life. And theirs.
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