The Pros and Cons of Group Travel

There are many decisions to make when planning a trip. One of these being: who do I want there with me for this adventure? The people you travel with can make or break your trip, so it’s safe to say that this is a very important question to answer! In this post, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of travelling in large groups. Note that we don’t mean tour groups, but self-directed travel with upwards of 4 travel buddies!

Pro: It’s cheaper!

This is a fairly obvious first point: splitting the cost of a car rental over 5 people is far cheaper than over 2! Plus, sometimes you can get group discounts for activities or entire hostel rooms.

Driving in New Zealand!

Con: It can leave you lacking personal space

Fitting everything and everyone in the financially optimal number of vehicles/rooms/etc might require you and your travel mates to get cozy. I’m talking hip-crushing, accidental-elbow-jabbing, don’t-mind-my-shuffling, sorry-I-didn’t-mean-to-touch-that-embarrassing, your-deodorant-is-nice-smelling kind of cozy. Claustrophobes, germaphobes, and introverts beware!

Pro: There’s never a dull moment

Never. Ever. Everyone is constantly feeding off of everyone else’s energy. There’s always someone to talk to or do fun stuff with. Conversely, if you need a little break you can happily withdraw and let others do all the things while you recharge. More importantly, you never run out of ideas for things to do. I find that when I travel in groups, I end up doing and seeing more, because someone is constantly making a suggestion and everyone pushes everyone else to do more.

Group adventures at Bridal Veil Falls

Con: Scaring off locals and potential new friends with your herd of rowdy Canadians

Personally, I find it’s more difficult to make new acquaintances when travelling in a large group. You already have a group established when you arrive somewhere new, and integrating new members in an existing dynamic isn’t easy. Especially if you’re all constantly occupied slinging snark at each other like some weird, exclusive, multidimensional game of insult ping pong. Not to mention the fact that it can be intimidating for outsiders to approach a group. For example, having 8 generally tall and somewhat loud Canadians walk into your farm-made-B&B in the middle of rural Iceland and outnumber the host family can be understandably frightening.

We (8 of us) stayed at this lovely B&B and nearly gave the poor owner a heart attack when we all rolled in at once.

Pro: Sharing responsibilities

Having more people around makes for an easier and more relaxing budget-friendly trip. Things like driving, cooking, cleaning, etc… are divided into more (and smaller) chunks the more people there are. It also means you can do more: with an extra driver you can drive twice as much for instance without tiring anyone out.

How many Kylas can you spot?

Con: Nothing destroys a flimsy friendship like travel

If you and your travel mates are not on the same page, it can be disastrous for your trip and your friendship. Travel is great for forcing out people’s insecurities, fears, all our flaws in general, as well as our abilities to deal with them. If immaturity and anxiety cause butting heads throughout the vacation, it is very likely that your friendship won’t last past the flight home. I have had the misfortune of travelling with a woman who dealt with her travel anxiety with passive aggression toward the rest of us, an unending stream of negative remarks, and all the while refusing to share in any of the labour. That trip stripped any and all pretenses, and I can’t say I’m disappointed to have lost that particular friendship. Now, if your travel mates are all on the same page, however…

Pro: Nothing develops a strong friendship like travel

You really get to know someone when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone. You learn more about them and yourself in the often emotionally charged situations that come with travel, from getting lost while trying to catch the last train to standing in awe of a sunset in comfortable silence. On the other hand, you’re often forced to be really real in each other’s presence. Doubly so if you’re sharing close quarters or spending several hours a day squashed like sardines in a car. Boundaries come crashing down and you’re left knowing more about each other than you ever wanted to in the first place.

Seriously, when I went to Iceland, I (and 4 of the 8 in the group) hung out with two of the other group members for the first time and we really hit it off. We now plan trips with these two, go camping, visit each other; they’ve truly become some really close friends.

The experience of travelling in a large group is pretty awesome. A group that vibes well together brings a higher energy that can be intoxicating. A group also pushes everyone to do more and to be better. When travelling as a group, the pros far outweigh the cons in my experience!

Gen