Whether your family or friends have been thinking and talking about going on a group vacation or you’ve been wanting to get outdoors, there is a way you can all enjoy time together. Planning a group outdoor vacation can be stressful. You want to enjoy personal quality time with your family but it will take some effort and time. Despite the amount of work that goes into it, traveling with your family can be one of the best experiences you ever have.
To make your planning process easier on yourself try to plan the trip with another person to even the load. You want to consider many things when planning a group vacation. Everyone’s needs and desires are important and considering those is what you must do. Traveling can be great for building and strengthening relationships and creating memories that are worth keeping. Planning a trip begins with sitting down and picking a destination.
1. Pick A Destination
There is an immense amount of destinations for outdoor activities and vacations. You want to decide on where you want to go by asking your family and friends their opinions or desired locations. You must also think about what it is you want to do as well. Certain location is the best fitting for certain activities. For example, if you have a knack for surfing and catching waves, you’d want to visit a location that is well fitting for surfing.
Be sure to pick a place your heart pulls you too. Try to step out of the norms too when deciding what destination you want to visit. Wherever you may want to go, you will need to pay attention to any barriers you may come across. It’s important to research thoroughly as well. So go onto Google and start devouring the web. Read up on everything you can. Search for the greatest outdoor trips on YouTube as well. You have no idea how many great ideas there are out there, that you would never have thought of all by yourself.
2. Decide On An Activity
Deciding on an activity is the easiest part of planning a vacation. If you and your family are willing to do anything, the possibilities are endless. You want to make sure you include everyone’s opinion. You want everyone to feel important and included, so make sure to ask what activities everyone would like to do. This also helps with the location as well. You may end up changing your destination to fit your desired activities and that’s okay.
Outdoor activities are exciting and they get you active. These types of vacations are always interesting and fun for younger kids. Taking vacations with family is good for children’s growth and development, especially if they are educational and exploring activities involved. There are many different outdoor activities you can base your trip on or include in your itinerary, for example:
- Hiking
- Camping
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
- Biking
- Rock climbing
- Horseback riding
- Skiing
- And more
3. Research Thoroughly
When planning a vacation, especially a group vacation, you want to make sure to research thoroughly. You must research many things and aspects of your trip. Research your destination so you can have an idea of what kind of culture you will be putting your family into. You also want to research what you need to get to that destination. If it is abroad, you want to make sure you are knowledgeable about the paperwork and documents required and if you need some kind of money exchange as well.
Research every aspect of your vacation to be prepared and knowledgeable. Research the activities you want to do to make sure you are equipped with the proper gear and understand what the activity entails. Every activity requires a certain skill so you want to make sure to sign up for classes or educational guides for your group.
You have to think about how you are getting to your destination. There are certain ways of transportation you have to take depending on where you go. For example, you’d want to take a plane to an overseas country and drive, perhaps, to a nearby city. If you have decided on a closer destination, road trips are always a fun addition to the group vacation. Renting a small charter bus can be efficient for your group to carpool and save money. There are nifty rental bus cost estimation calculators available online. You’ll find them if you search around a bit.
4. Create A Budget
Create a budget for yourself and for your group. Setting a budget will save you lots of time and money. It may take some true research and effort to come up with the appropriate calculations and amounts of money everyone needs. Try to save time by completing everything as a group and searching for group rates and fares. Usually, when you travel with a group there are options available for those who want to group everything together. There are group packages that many families and friend groups decide to utilize to save time and money. It also helps limit disorganization and frustrations.
Creating your group budget should consist of all the things you have to pay for, from room and food to transportation and activities. Be sure to leave a little flexibility room for any spontaneous activity or emergency situation. The ultimate goal of a budget is to save money by being prepared. Thinking ahead about the amount of funding you will need for a vacation can be a stressful experience but it is needed to be ready for what your vacation entails.
5. Figure What Gear You Need
The gear you need to pack is also important to consider when planning an outdoor vacation. For every activity, you may need to have a certain type of tools and clothing. Some activities you need entire equipment to participate. You want to be ready by analyzing what is needed for the activities you want to do. For example, if you are going camping you want to include the camping necessities in your budget and for your packing list. Let’s say you want to go canoeing, you must either rent or buy a canoe.
You have to factor in the costs of the gear you need and how you should go about getting it. The main items that mainly all outdoor activities need are great walking or hiking boots. You will be active throughout the trip and you want to have the right pair of shoes on your feet.
6. Be Prepared by Thinking Ahead
Being prepared is what planning a vacation is all about. You want to be ready for what is to come and that means being ready mentally, packing-wise, and with the organization. Research and planning prepare you for the details and unexpected events of your trip. You want to feel knowledgeable about the place you are going to and the activities you are going to be doing and to do what you want to prepare yourself.
Thinking ahead is crucial to any vacation. You never know what could happen and you want to be prepared for what will happen. This limits the amount of stress you may experience during the trip. But you must take into account the fact that you can’t possibly plan everything ahead. There always needs to be room for some leeway. This is true in any situation and especially in the great outdoors.
7. Be Organized
Being organized is extremely important, especially if you are planning a group vacation. There are a lot of pieces that go the bigger puzzle of your vacation and it can be stressful to organize. Try to get help from others in your group to relieve some pressure and help you get organized. You will be ready and prepared for what’s next as you know what something is and where it is.
8. Be Flexible
Being flexible is important when you want to have fun. Planning every single thing can make the trip more stressful than it needs to be. You don’t necessarily want to worry about times and specific places your entire trip. You want the group to feel free and not restrained by the things you have planned already. Vacationing is all about relaxing and going with the flow, you can’t do that if you have specific plans for every hour.
Allow flexibility in your schedule, itinerary, and funding. You want to leave room for the exciting things that may occur out of nowhere or the spontaneous activity that you may participate in. You want to be flexible, so you are prepared for accidents and emergency situations as well. Overall you want to have fun, so leave room for the surprises. You’re never going to be able to plan everything out, due to the chaotic nature of nature itself. This is especially true in the great outdoors.
When something unexpected happens, just go with it as best as you can. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed when something doesn’t go according to plan. The whole idea of having an adventure in the great outdoors, is that you get to relax a little bit. Don’t defeat the purpose by stressing about deviating from the plan!
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