Do’s and Don’ts of Traveling With Friends

I’ve had my share of road trips with friends; both good trips and bad trips. For many summers, when I visited my Dad, I was able to bring along a gal pal if we were heading out of town. Of course these were close friends whose parents trusted that my Dad and stepmom would take good care of their children. For me? It meant having a playmate that wasn’t one of my immature little sisters. These kind of trips were fun! My friends and I would return to school after summer vacation bragging about our extended sleepovers and how we did “this” and saw “that”. The fuming and jealous faces of fellow classmates excited us more than it should have.

These trips continued on until high school. For my 18th birthday, I was able to take four friends to Orlando, Florida. While there we would stay in our own hotel room (with my parents in an adjoining room, of course), go shopping and visit theme parks. It would be a blast. Or so I thought. Except, it wasn’t a blast. In fact, it was a bust. I had a great childhood but if there was one memory that I could erase, it would be that one. Let’s just put it this way: you can’t travel with everyone.

When it comes to family vacations, you’re stuck. You can’t exactly tell your annoying cousin that they can’t show up at the airport. But when it comes to trips with friends, you’d better choose wisely or you’ll end up regretting it for the entire trip and beyond. We’ve drafted up a few Do’s and Don’ts that you may want to consider the next time you get to planning a trip with your pals.

Do’s

If possible, do make sure that everyone going on the trip knows about the other persons attending. They don’t have to know them personally but who wants to deal with the bickering that may ensue from exes? Not a good idea.

Do make sure that everyone attending is aware of their financial responsibilities.

Do make sure that everyone gets an itinerary of travel arrangements and activities.

If possible, get everyone together before the trip for dinner or drinks. This will give everyone the opportunity to get comfortable around each other.

While traveling, honor personal time. Even when traveling with a group, some people like to enjoy time by themselves.

Don’ts

Don’t expect for everyone to be BFFs after the trip. When different personalities get to mixing, you never know what you’ll get.

Don’t allow for disrespect by anyone at anytime.

Don’t make plans without consulting everyone. Not everyone wants to go bowling. Of course majority wins but if you’re the only one that wants to go, maybe you should re-think those plans.