For me, planning a trip is one of the hardest parts of travelling. Maybe because my friends are as indecisive as I am. I’m also a control freak, so I force myself to stand back and hope that everything just works out ok. Combine that with the fast-paced racecourse that is a group message and it’s like trying to milk a jellyfish – likely impossible, foolish for trying. Let me hit you with a few truth bombs about what happens when you try to plan a trip by group text.
1. It’ll be one person’s first time travelling and they’ll be way, way too eager.
2. In the end, you’ll need a vacation from planning the vacation – before you even go on vacation.
3. People get so excited that they just send selfies, GIFs, links and a host of other useless, irrelevant mind clutter. It fills your phone so quickly that in the end you just want to leave. So badly. But you can’t. Because let’s be honest, pre-trip excitement takes over.
4. You’re desperate to pull the trigger on booking the hotel. All you need is them to say yes. And you know they’ve seen the messages because they’ve got their read receipt turned on!! I CAN SEE YOU IGNORING ME!!
5. It will quickly become apparent that the name of the group chat is more important than trivial things, like, you know… accommodation, flights, who’s going, etc.
6. At some point – usually towards the end – one person who has contributed precisely nothing up until this point pipes in and wants to suggest “one small change”…
7. …”Do we really have to go that week?”
8. Trying to get five people to agree on one place to stay is like juggling whiny, annoying, spoiled cats. But in the end, you’ll compromise because you are going on vacation with your BFFs and you know you’ll have the time of your life.
9. There are leaders and there are followers. And then there are people that just say “lol” when somebody asks a serious question in need of an actual response. Say something constructive, people!! Do we need transport from the airport or not?!
10. You miss a single hour of the conversation and you may as well forget about ever catching up.
11. And once you’ve finally booked it… oh, the relief. EEEEK, vacation!!!
12. And so commences the photo-dumping of your destination to make everyone forget about the stress of planning and focus on the important part: the vacation.
Whichever way you decide to start your trip, your journey begins with booking your flight and hotel. Find the cheapest hotel deals anywhere in the world with Cheapflights.
Travelling with a big group of friends: love it or hate it? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on Twitter.
