Travelling With 5+ Mates

[Pazooh]

Has anyone ever done something like this?

Traveled and experienced a bunch of stuff with many friends. That's really the dream for me. I would love to kick back and go on a week long journey with my buddies.

Unfortunately coordinating that is quite hard, since most of us have busy schedules.

Any experiences?

I would love to hear some stories.

 

[knitmehere]

I've done a cross country trip with a big group of friends, but that's it.

There were definitely perks. More people to split the cost with, a variety of people to break off with if not everyone wants to do the same things, etc.

It also means that you're less likely to keep everyone happy, though, and there seems to always be that one person who doesn't plan anything through and needs everyone else's help the whole trip.

 

[pwarbi]

I've travelled a few times with a group of friends, and I think the main advice I'd give is to try and not let one person be in charge, and dictate what the others can and can't do.

Obviously your going to need some sort of plan and itinerary, but as a group you make the decisions together, instead of just one person dictating what the rest of you should and shouldn't be doing.

 

[GinaMax]

I have traveled with friends, and while there are times where it is fun, it is exhausting. There is a lot that I want to see and do when I travel, and traveling with a large group makes it difficult to get it all in. When you travel in a group you must make compromises and try to keep the dynamic flowing. The worst time to get in a row with your 5 mates is when you are in a whole other country.

 

[amelia88]

I haven't travelled with that many friends, and I can definitely see why it would be a bunch of fun - getting to enjoy a shared travel experience and create those memories is wonderful! I think it can also be kind of tough, though - even when I've travelled with close friends (and only one or two of them at a time!) I've found that we have butted heads on things we wanted to do, or the way that we vacation. I'd always try and make sure that you're all on the same page with expectations before you go!

 

[pwarbi]

Having some sort of itinerary before you set off that you all agree to is important, because at least then if an issue arises while your travelling then at least you can look back and point out what was agreed and what wasn't.

You don't have to stick rigidly to a set plan, and it does have to still be fun and you can come to some compromises, but everyone can't just do whatever they want regardless of the other people in the group.

 

[amelia88]

I was also just thinking that some degree of flexibility helps. For instance, if I was traveling with my group of friends, there are some of us that love museums, art and culture, and others that would be bored by it - and similarly there are some of us that love adventure activities (bungee jumping, and things of that nature) and others that wouldn't ever want to do that even if they were getting paid to do it!

So I think what @pwarbi said about having some sort of itinerary is good, and even being able to break away in smaller groups from the larger one could be helpful. That way, if certain people love museums and others would prefer to do something else, then there's no hard feelings or people getting bored if they'd rather be elsewhere! You could always plan to do certain things separately during parts of the day, and then re-convene as a group later on, for instance.

 

[pwarbi]

I think that's why when your going away in a group, it's important to pick the people that like the most similar activities that you do. If there's 6 of you and you all end up splitting up and all doing your own thing, all of the holiday, then you might aswell have gone away on your own in the first place!

 

[amelia88]

I think that's why when your going away in a group, it's important to pick the people that like the most similar activities that you do. If there's 6 of you and you all end up splitting up and all doing your own thing, all of the holiday, then you might aswell have gone away on your own in the first place!

Very true! Some people ask me why I travel solo, and especially as a female - but the fact of the matter is a lot of my friends aren't really all that keen on travel in the first place...so that's tough. And as much as I love my friends, we do have some differing interests that I don't know would be all that compatible on a long trip - especially if I had to pick 5 or 6 friends to go somewhere with! Despite not having someone to share the solo travel memories with, it means that I can do what I want on my own schedule without fear of missing out on things I really want to see!

 

[pwarbi]

Very true! Some people ask me why I travel solo, and especially as a female - but the fact of the matter is a lot of my friends aren't really all that keen on travel in the first place...so that's tough. And as much as I love my friends, we do have some differing interests that I don't know would be all that compatible on a long trip - especially if I had to pick 5 or 6 friends to go somewhere with! Despite not having someone to share the solo travel memories with, it means that I can do what I want on my own schedule without fear of missing out on things I really want to see!

There's positives and negatives, as you say but if your comfortable travelling solo, then you will get to be able to do what you want, pretty much when you want without having to worry about anyone else.

As for the sharing of the memories, well...That's what cameras are for and you can just make them all jealous when you get back and you show them all the photographs!

 

[Steve Dawson]

Large groups are good because you can split up into smaller groups to do things that personally interest you while still being with friends. When you say mates it sounds like you mean an all male group. If that is the case I have seen stag parties and other all male groups sometimes being refused entry to clubs, sometimes because they were rowdy and sometimes just because the management didn't want to have too many males in their premises so it might be worth looking into whether thats common practice in the places where you are going. I particularly noticed it in the Goa region, however that was a few years ago now and things may have changed.

 

[pwarbi]

I've been on a few stag parties, and it's certainly true that you get treated very differently depending on where in the world you go.

If you are going with a group for that reason then I think it's probably more appropriate to stick to the traditional party places of Spain or greece than invade the more family orientated and spiritual places in the world such as India.

 

[knitmehere]

Just always make sure that there is at least one person in the group who you really get along with and wouldn't mind splitting off from the rest of the group with. That gives you someone who will enjoy doing the same things that you want to do, even if everyone else might not want to. It's never fun to be the odd one out.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

That sounds like a great idea, and some really good bonding experiences for you guys. Make sure to actually find some free time together though, as with 5 or more people, "ideas" to travel together almost always end up like that - just ideas. People would talk about it, but you guys would either not have a common time to go, or some would back out because of personal reasons. It's harder than say, having just two people traveling, but it definitely is more rewarding.

 

[pwarbi]

Just always make sure that there is at least one person in the group who you really get along with and wouldn't mind splitting off from the rest of the group with. That gives you someone who will enjoy doing the same things that you want to do, even if everyone else might not want to. It's never fun to be the odd one out.

I think the bigger the group aswell, the more diverse you'll find peoples ideas and like you say, if you can find somebody within that group who you can take sides with, then even if a decision us made that you font like, at least you've got the option then to have a bit of back up.

 

[Elaine Lat]

My former co-workers and I did that a few years back. It was an overnight rendezvous and the trip felt like we crossed three mountains to get to my co-worker's old house that belonged to her grandfather. The beach was only a few steps awa too and we had a blast building and sitting by the bonfire that night. It was the last time I headed to the beach and that was nine years ago.

 

[pwarbi]

My former co-workers and I did that a few years back. It was an overnight rendezvous and the trip felt like we crossed three mountains to get to my co-worker's old house that belonged to her grandfather. The beach was only a few steps awa too and we had a blast building and sitting by the bonfire that night. It was the last time I headed to the beach and that was nine years ago.

Travelling with friends is often more enjoyable I find, but not everyone does. A lot of people these days prefer to travel alone as that means you literally can do whatever you want and not have to think about others.

 

[Trevlr]

There is no problem while travelling with a group as long as you have common interests in travelling. You only need to avoid troublesome partners who will be demanding for other things apart from what you are interested in. You will also need to agree on where to visit and on what to avoid. Your partners should also know why they have to corporate throughout the journey.