How to Plan a Vacation Trip With Friends: Social Planning Intro

Arranging your next big vacation trip with friends can be entertaining and exciting! But it would help if you plan ahead, so everything runs smoothly for you and the girls. 

Vacation trips differ from those you plan for a straight-up adventure or flying to new places for business. You'll all want an itinerary that you feel that you're escaping and relaxing from everyday life. And, since you'll all be going on the trip, everyone should be involved in organizing it.

However, balancing the needs and wants of all people in a travel group can be challenging!

There's a lot to think about when planning your girl's holiday. You need to create that all-important packing list with your chic casuals for days out and sexy outfits for nights out! Make sure you've also got your travel insurance sorted in case of mishaps. 

If it's your first time planning a vacation trip, especially with a large group, you can do things to make it easier! Let's dive into how to plan a vacation trip with all the tips and trick you'll need.

Why Planning Together for Your Girls' Vacation Trip Is Important

When planning a vacation with the girls, you all need to be happy with where you go, where you stay, and what you'll do when you get there. This is why you should plan the vacation together, so you all get your input. 

Getting together to make your plans means you can arrange a fab vacation that all the girls can enjoy. Whether or not this meeting is in person or online, you can use a trip planner to ensure your group's ideas are recorded and in one place!

If you get together in person, hanging with your BFFs to discuss and plan your vacay is a great way to bond in itself! You can crack open a bottle of vino, get the pizza ordered, and have a great girls' night in as you plan your big adventure together!

Planning a Vacation Checklist

You'll need to discuss and plan a few things together when planning a vacation trip with friends. Some of the most important things you'll need to agree on as a group includes the following:

• Dates and destinations
• The entire group has access to planning documents or apps
• Booking flights and ensuring they align correctly (especially if you're coming from different places)
• Where you'll stay
• Top sites or attractions you want to see
• Essential items and who's bringing them
• Budget and how costs are being split
• Transportation: public transportation or car rental

Things to Do When Planning a Trip with Friends

You naturally want all the girls to have a great time on vacation, hence getting your heads together and discussing the most critical parts of the trip.

Sometimes planning as a group can cause complications, but it's still necessary to consider everyone. So, while you're organizing as a group, here are more details on what you need to focus on.

Set a Budget and Stick With It

One thing to consider is how much each of you can afford to spend on the trip. 

Some of you may have lots of cash to splash, while others are on a budget. You don't want to book a holiday that some of your friends might struggle to afford. This is why you should all talk about costs beforehand!

There are many ways to make sure everyone is happy about the money they're spending. If you're concerned about getting into arguments over this aspect of travel, I have some tips that have helped my friends in the past!

Simple ways to make budgeting as a group for vacations include:

• Set price limits based on the person who is most money conscientious
• Suggest that each person can spend additional money on their own if they want more comfort or to go on costly experiences (if it's out of the range of the agreed upon budget)
• Compare prices online ahead of time for as many aspects of the vacation as possible
• Book as early as possible for flights, accommodations, and even tours
• Plan the trip during the low season

Thanks to modern tech, finding ways to save money on the cost of your vacation is far more accessible these days—take advantage of this! You can head online and compare everything from flights and hotels to package holidays, travel insurance, and more. 

Awareness of these tips, most importantly planning early, can help slash costs and make the trip more affordable for all of you.

Once you’ve done the budgeting part, you’ll also need a way to hold everyone accountable and make sure people are paying their portion. Consider using an expense tracker or cost splitting app like Splitwise or Tripcoin.

Find the Perfect Destination

Once you've all decided on a budget, you can start thinking about where you want to go. When the whole world is your oyster, it can be a tough call to decide on the perfect destination for all the girls! But getting together and discussing the options will make it easier for you all to pick the perfect place together.

From cultural delights in Amsterdam or sumptuous cuisine in Paris to the sun-kissed beaches in Rio, you'll find no end of options. When deciding on a destination, you should consider factors such as climate, environment, attractions, nightlife, culture, and cuisine. 

As I mentioned above, you can continue to keep the budget in mind when thinking about the destination. Make a list of top places or regions your group wants to visit. Then talk about cheaper alternatives or the best time to go to these places based on the season. 

This means avoiding times like spring break or Christmas holidays!

Decide Where You'll Stay

Deciding where you'll stay is an exciting part of planning a vacation trip. You have plenty of options when you're traveling with your friends. You can consider hotels and hostels, motels, and even vacation apartments from places like Airbnb or VRBO.

Keep a few crucial things in mind when you all get together to decide where you'll stay.

Look at the property location to ensure it's perfect for you and your friends. Again think about what your trip plan is and what is most suitable. 

Are you all wanting to relax? You could consider a hotel with stunning views and spa facilities for some serious pampering. On the other hand, if everyone wants to spend their vacation exploring, then getting a rental close to all the clubs and bars will be beneficial. This means you won't have far to go when you're ready to crash out after partying and dancing into the early hours!

Other things to keep in mind:

• Cost of the accommodation, so you stay within your budgets
• How close it is to attractions and sights to save you money and time on transportation
• Ease of getting around to explore and have fun
• Size and overall suitability of the accommodation
• Number of washrooms compared to the group size

Collaborate on an Itinerary

When you go on a girlie vacation, you need to consider everyone's interests and their goals for the trip. You'll all want to have fun together, but does that mean everyone relaxes, or are you all out enjoying some adventure and excitement?

It's important that you all have a say in the types of things you do once you get there rather than one of you dominating the itinerary.

So, you should all do some research and get together to collaborate when it comes to your itinerary. This way, you'll ensure there's something for all of you to enjoy. A great way to keep track of everything is to get everyone to input ideas into a trip planner like Pilot.

Having the input of all the girls when deciding what to do on vacation means you'll also have a more diverse itinerary. So, you'll be able to enjoy new experiences, try new things, and look forward to plenty of variety as you explore your destination with your besties!

Enjoy a Fab Vacation with Your BFFs!

Planning ahead and collaborating with your travel buddies means that you can look forward to an exciting and enjoyable vacation with your BFFs. No matter what sort of trip you all decide on, you'll get to have fun, relax, and enjoy spending some much-needed time with the girls!

If you want to make collaboration even more accessible, check out the Pilot travel planner for all your group planning needs!