Group adventures are the only ones worth embarking on. Not only are friendships strengthened, but new ones forged along the way. After all, a good friend listens to your adventures, but a great friend makes them with you. Whether on a Buddymoon or as a travel gang, you can go further into the unknown, as long as you’re together. 

Why Travelling With Friends is Better than Travelling Solo

• You won’t have to make memories alone
• There’s safety in numbers
• You’ll have assistance when planning the trip
• You will get lost together
• You’ll get that extra push you never thought you needed
• You can share your expenses
• You can take photos of each other
• You can make new friends together

• You learn to “mother hen” your friends
  
• You can forget about your itinerary 
• Travelling with friends is better than going solo
• Questions to Ask Before Planning a Trip with Friends
• Things to Consider When Planning a Trip with Friends
• Tips for Splitting Expenses
• Important Tips for Traveling with Friends

You won’t have to make memories alone

Yes! You’ll do almost everything in this trip together! Having someone with you when you travel means that you will share all the best and worst memories possible during your great adventure. You will keep each other’s company. There’ll be some bloopers, possibly a bit of drama, but having a lot of moments together also means that you get to tell the stories years and years after your trip. You’ll find yourself saying “Oh, that day was awesome!” No more wishing about how fun the trip would have been if your friends were with you. You’re finally going together and if that’s not exciting enough to book a trip with your friends, you might have a problem!

There’s safety in numbers

You won’t be alone. At least one, two, or more friends are joining so your family will feel that you’re at least a bit safer— especially if they do trust your friends. And even when you encounter some trouble, you know that someone’s got your back. Your friends are your family when you’re travelling. And in case you feel unwell, they’d go out of their ways to help you out. Someone will take care of you. Just be prepared for how they’re going to get back at you because you delayed the trip for them. We’re just kidding; of course, they won’t mind. You can always go back together, anyway!

You’ll have assistance when planning the trip

It’s more acceptable to be overly excited about a trip when you’re doing it with friends. More people can suggest random activities to try. Sometimes, you might already have a hotel room before you even worry about it. If you’re not the type of person who likes to plan, there might be someone else who’s going to be more than willing to do it for the team.

True story: Some people book flight tickets without informing their friends! We think that’s so cool!

Have you ever had an experience that when you came back from travelling, one of your friends ask “Oh, did you do this or that?” and you say no because you’ve never thought about it. When travelling solo, everything is on you. It’s fun, yes. But when you’re with friends, there will be new ideas. And you might think of these ideas crazy at first, but in the end, you might love it, too!

You will get lost together

Since you planned the itinerary together, of course, you will go and navigate the roads together, too. In this case, getting lost won’t scare the crap out of you because you know that you can work your way out together as well. And if you’re all so tired to find your way back, you might find yourselves enjoying the unexpected turns of your trip instead. It doesn’t mean that you have to follow your itinerary all the time anyway.

You’ll get that extra push you never thought you needed

When travelling solo, you do everything depending on your feelings. You suddenly feel scared to go bungee jumping? Okay. You can freely go back to your hotel and sulk for being such a coward. But when you’re with friends, you have someone to cheer you on to continue. They will let you enjoy your freedom but will be there to support you in anything that you do, too. They’re there to give you that extra push you never thought you needed to finally find the courage to jump off the plane to go skydiving or take biking to the next level by doing it on a zip line.

You can share your expenses

One of the perks of not travelling solo is having the chance to share your expenses with other people. From baggage weight allowance to your hotel room and food bill, you can split the costs. And instantly, your overall expenses will become a lot cheaper. As long as you guys have the same mindset when budgeting your travel allowance, everything will run smooth. It’s also great when you have a group fund for equal expenses like attraction passes to make travelling a little easier.

You can take photos of each other

You won’t need to spend five minutes to find a stranger who will take your photos when you’re travelling with friends. They won’t just press the camera button. Real friends will do everything to take your best profile picture ever. They take capturing beautiful photos seriously. And even if they’re not good at it, you can demand them to try.

You can make new friends together

Who says that you can’t make new friends when you’re already travelling with your buddies? That’s a lie! In fact, it’s sometimes easier to be friends with everyone else if you have someone to back you up. Join the party at your hostel, and you’ll suddenly be BFFs with everyone.

You learn to “mother hen” your friends

One of your friends is acting like a baby? Your hotel room is chaos? You can step up and get your friends together to become more responsible adults. If you’d like to practice being a parent, travel with your friends. We mean, imagine what you’re going to have to deal with after spending a night out. Hangover is serious, man!

You can forget about your itinerary 

So, you don’t feel like following the time and destinations you’ve written on your itinerary today. That’s perfectly fine! When you’re with friends, you can forget everything that you’ve worked hard for and enjoy each other’s company wherever your impulsive decisions take you. After all, it won’t be wrong if you’re doing crazier things together instead of a boring tour, right? Spending your whole day by the beach and the entire night at the bar is alright. As long as everyone agrees with it, you can do as you please.

Travelling with friends is better than going solo

Travelling solo can be liberating for sure. You develop a lot of skills that you never thought you had in the first place. But going on adventures with friends is always a great idea. It will strengthen your bond and take your friendship to the next level. You’ll learn more things not just about yourselves but about each other, too!

Questions to Ask Before Planning a Trip with Friends

Ask yourself these questions before committing to a trip with friends: 

• Do your travel styles align? Figure out if you’ll be happy doing the same activities, staying in the same type of accommodations, and generally moving at the same speed. Comparing travel styles also means considering transportation preferences; for instance, are you OK with taking a connecting flight to save some money, or do you only travel nonstop?
  
• What is the most important thing you want to get out of the trip? When planning a trip with friends, think about what you most want to get out of the trip. Are you longing for plenty of low-key beach time, or do you want to see every museum on your route? Figure out what your goals are before you agree to a trip with another person or group.
  
• Do you have the same budget? Money is a big deal when it comes to travel. Don’t book a trip with someone if you know they’ll want to spend significantly more (or less) than you overall.
  
• Do you have the same budget for different things? Your budget also encompasses what you’re willing to spend money on, like splurging on a hotel room vs. staying in a hostel, or going out to a nice restaurant vs. saving money on food by cooking in your vacation rental.
  
• Who will take charge of booking and reservations? There’s a lot of leg work that goes into planning a trip with friends. If you don’t have the time, patience, or organization to take charge of these details, don’t volunteer to plan the whole trip.
  
• How many vacation days are you willing to use? Before you book a trip, make sure you know how many days people are willing to take off from work so you know how flexible you can be with dates.
  
• Do you want to book everything in advance? Some people like to travel with flexibility, while others prefer to have a set plan, so discuss this beforehand.
  
• Do you have the same level of physical fitness? Many trips include long days on your feet or some sort of physical activity. If your friend is notorious for lagging behind, you might not want to go on a walking tour or volcano hike with them. Make sure you’re on the same page about just how much activity you want to do on your trip.
  

Things to Consider When Planning a Trip with Friends

Here’s what to discuss when you’re planning a trip with friends:

Type of accommodations. Don’t book a five-star hotel if you’re trying to save on accommodations. But also keep in mind that hostels and budget hotels aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Make sure you agree on what type of place you’ll stay at and a rough budget.

Type of transportation. Decide if you’ll fly, drive, or take a train ahead of time. It’s important to weigh the cost benefits of each option, i.e. saving money by taking a long train ride or spending more to get to a destination quicker.

What you can’t miss at the destination. Make a list of what you each want to do at the destination and allow time for everyone’s top activities.

On a road trip, who will be driving? Driving for hours on end is tiring. If you’re taking a road trip with a group, plan on switching off and taking breaks. If you’re renting a car, make sure everyone who is driving will be on the contract.

Eating schedules. Some people need to eat first thing in the morning while others can go hours before needing a meal. Discuss this ahead of time to avoid any hunger-induced arguments.

Sleep schedules. Jet lag and fatigue will vary by person. Make sure you don’t plan a bunch of activities right when you land if people want to rest or nap during the first few days of your trip.

How you’ll split up costs. Decide ahead of time what you’ll split expenses for, including meals, accommodations, and transportation.

What you’ll pay for individually. Decide ahead of time what you’ll pay for individually, such as flights, tickets, alcoholic drinks, Wi-Fi, travel insurance, etc.

Tipping habits. Read this handy tipping guide together before you travel so you’re on the same page about tipping expectations in your destination.

Tips for Splitting Expenses

Splitting expenses is one of the biggest problems you’ll encounter when planning a trip with friends. Use these tips to help alleviate money tension:

• Book on Airbnb. You can now split the booking costs on Airbnb. This is a great way to split expenses on accommodations without anyone fronting the whole reservation.
  
• Use rideshares. One of the reasons people love Uber is because of the built-in split cost feature. No more keeping track of who paid for which cab.
  
• There’s an app for that. There are countless expense apps out there, but tricount is a great tool when planning a trip with friends.
  
• Jar fund. Another alternative to tracking expenses is to create a “jar fund.” All members of the group contribute a set amount of money that goes onto a credit gift card. You can then use the card for meals, drinks, and other agreed-upon expenses.
  
• Book accommodations or trips where you can pay in installments. This way if one person has to front the costs for accommodations, you can either divide the payment with installments or book with no deposit down so the other members of the group can pay the person back ahead of time.
  
• Take out cash. It can get annoying if one person is always borrowing cash for tips or not exchanging enough money, so visit the bank before your trip.
  

Important Tips for Traveling with Friends

Following these tips can help keep everyone on the same page and prevent offense:

• Know what annoys them, and tell them what annoys you. When I travel with friends, I let them know that I always need to have something small to eat in the morning before we go out and do anything. The sooner they know that something will bother you, the better.
  
• Raise issues before anything builds up. You’re more likely to reach a breaking point or get angry if you let little annoyances build up.
  
• Be flexible and have patience. This helps you realistically manage expectations. Group trips are all about give and take. And hopefully if you go out of your way to go to a restaurant someone really wants to go to, then you’ll get your moment, too.
  
• Don’t say “we’ll figure it out later” when paying. Keep track of expenses when they occur by using an expense What
  
• Pack well. Make sure you both pack things like chargers, adapters, proper footwear, and outerwear. It can get annoying when your friend asks to borrow your phone charger for the 10th time when you’re also trying to use it.
  
• Have your alone time. Take some time every day to separate yourself from the group if you need to. It can be as simple as walking to a coffee shop or going to a museum by yourself.
  
• Take turns. It can be exhausting if you’re always the one in charge of navigating or choosing a restaurant. Switch off being the group leader.
  
• Limit phone time. Take time to be with your friends rather than on your phone. This also goes for taking photos: While it’s great to have your friends as photographers, it’s annoying to take 40 photos at every single monument.

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Friends Travel Vietnam has been inspiring travellers with curious-minded love & passion for Vietnam since 2013. With our on-the-ground-secret destinations & our network of human-human partners and our passionate knowledge team of our "Real Local Travel Experts" on the office and in the field you can book unique, authentic experiences with ease. We’ll take you off the beaten path in no time as all you wish!  Let us us help you? We've done tons of homework & experiences just create the ultimate trip for you!  Just simple, all as you wish!“

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Friends Travel Vietnam

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