First of all, brief update. I was working on this post ages ago, and then something came up, I got totally distracted by that, and spent a long time focused on it. Now that that’s died down, I’m planning on setting myself a slightly more specific regime for this blog, in that I’m going to do daily posts, with every day dedicated to a different subject (or possibly every other day, depending on how many different subjects I want to write about). Arbitrarily, because this post is going up today, Friday is going to be travel day. On Fridays from now on, I will post something about travel. I already know what Saturdays are going to be, and presumably by Sunday I’ll have a bit more of an idea on the rest of the week. So, stay tuned for that, and on with today’s post.
I’ve done a few group trips now, and I feel like it would be worth me talking about them. I should preface this, though, by saying that I am by no means an expert. What I have learned, and the theories I have concocted in relation to that, are based on my narrow, limited view, which is wider, I guess, than many would have, but far from extensive in and of itself.
First things first, what trips have I been on? Well, I’ve been on four trips with Topdeck, and two with G Adventures. Two of those, my Oktoberfest trip with Topdeck and my Antarctica trip with G Adventures, are not like the others, so what I have to say below might relate to aspects of them but in general mostly won’t apply. But I absolutely plan to dedicate a post to my Antarctica trip, so if you’re interested in that it’ll show up sooner or later. The rest followed the same general shape, in that they were group trips for people 18 to 39 years old.
So, What’s Involved?
If you’ve never been on a group trip before or have only been on, say, one, and are curious to know whether it differs from my experience, this is how I’ve found they generally go. First, you’ll have the group, obviously, which, depending on the trip, company, and location, could be any number of people up to 50 or more. For me, my groups ranged from 11 to almost 40 (I can’t remember the exact number at its largest – it changed a few times, as you’ll see momentarily). They’re liable to change size, as well (see). Many of the longer trips that are offered are comprised of shorter ones combined together, so at one or more points on the trip you’ll be gaining or losing people, as some are on shorter trips while others are on longer ones. Next, you’ll have your trip staff. There’ll be at least the trip leader, but depending on the trip, you might have more. Some trips travel by public transport, but others go by bus, in which case you’ll have a driver, or maybe a second trip leader, where both trip leaders drive on alternating days. And camping trips will probably have a cook, since most of your meals will be in campsites. Finally, trips tend to be defined by their accommodation, of which there are three main types: camping, hostel, and hotel. That’s pretty self-explanatory, I think.
Then there’s actually how the trip goes. There are travel days, where you’ll be travelling from one place to the next, whatever form that travel may take (coach, train, etc.). Then you’ve got, let’s call them location days, since the location you’re in may be a city, a town, a national park, or whatever else. Generally, the bigger or more important the place, the more days you get there. It tends to go that you travel to the next place, and either once you get there, or at some point the next day, your trip leader will give you a tour (if it’s an important enough place for a tour to be worthwhile). There might be activities to partake in there, either included or optional, and you’ll spend some time doing those. And then any remaining time will be free time, where you can do what you like. As for meals, a set number will be included, and then the rest will be at your own expense. Generally, I’ve found that for those meals the trip leader/s will either take the group to a place they know or have some suggestions for good places to eat.
That more or less sums up how the trips go, in my experience, so on to my thoughts and opinions of them.
The Trip Type Dictates a Lot
When I say the trip type, I mean the accommodation type, so hostel, hotel or camping. I’ve done all three types, and even within a trip of one specific type, you might end up with more than one form of accommodation. For example, I went on a camping trip across the USA, but the first and last night were in a hostel, and four more nights were in hotels, because of where we were. As I explained above, and as you can probably imagine if you’ve ever stayed in hostels, hotels, or camped, each has its pros and cons. I’m not going to go into the general differences between them, instead I’m going to talk about the biggest thing I found in relation to the trip. The accommodation type determines how quickly the group comes together, if at all. Let me explain.
One of the great things about this kind of travel is that you’re with a group of people who are there for more or less the same reason, so you already have something in common when it comes to getting to know them. It means you can become friends fast. Even if you join a trip that’s already in progress, as I described above. From what I’ve experienced, never having joined an in-progress trip myself but getting to witness many people who did, it’s nerve-wracking joining a group that already knows each other but within a few days you integrate no problem. What helps with becoming friends the fastest is when the entire group has nothing to do but sit around a campfire, talking (and probably drinking). What also helps, to a lesser degree, is when you are in a dorm room with five other people, so will at the very least be hanging around with them. What doesn’t help at all is when you’re in a comfy hotel room with great Wi-Fi and only one roommate.
In my experience, camping and hostel trips serve to really expediate the process of the group coming together and gelling, mostly because they don’t provide anywhere to hide from your fellow travellers. Hotel trips, not so much, because it seems to me like people would rather lie on a comfy bed, using bitching Wi-Fi on their phone or laptop, than interact with a group of strangers who also feel the exact same way. Who would’ve guessed?
I suppose it comes down to the fact that I believe if you’re going to go on a group trip like this, you should be approaching it with the mentality that you’re not going to be going off and spending all your time by yourself. No one will hold a little ‘me time’ against you, but it’s group travel. If you want to travel by yourself, travel by yourself. It’s cheaper. Which is a great segue…
It’s Not Your Cheapest Option
Group travel costs more than solo travel could, but each has its own benefits. Travelling by yourself, you get freedom of choice of where you go, how long you spend there, and what you do there. Group travel means you have a set plan, which will include a certain amount of free time and a choice for some meals, but otherwise is a set plan that you don’t have to worry about. No time spent stressing over which flight to catch or whether this lower-rated hostel is worth the cheaper cost over the other.
Another thing you get with group travel is convenience. If you travel somewhere that may be more difficult to go to than your average holiday destination, going on a group trip there can make it easier. This is part of the reason I chose my first trip: it took us to Russia, where you need an invitation letter and an exact itinerary of your time there in order to get a visa. Topdeck provided everything required, and all I had to do was just go and get the visa myself. On top of that, if you’re travelling to a country where you don’t speak the language, mostly likely one of the trip staff will, or you may even get a local guide while you’re there.
You Get All the Ages
I think this depends a bit on the trip, but the age range of 18 to 39 really does apply. I’ve travelled with people across the entire range, across the different trips, and I’ve not seen a pattern leaning to any certain age point within that range that the trips seem to favour. Certainly, there have been less people in their late thirties than any other bracket, but that makes perfect sense to me, and the ones that have been in that area have been some of the coolest, most fun people to hang out with. And, yes, there are ‘leavers’ trips where everyone is eighteen, just out of school, and ready to party, but again, that makes sense for what it is, and certainly isn’t the norm.
The one thing I can say about age is that if you’re planning to go to the USA, wait until you’re 21. Even if you and the rest of your group aren’t heavy drinkers, you’re going to want to go to bars, because that’s a huge and fascinating part of the culture there, and a big source of meals. Trust me, it sucks when you’re part of a group that either has to abandon one of your members or miss out on going into a place because that person isn’t 21 yet.
There Seems to be a Gender Discrepancy
For all the trips I’ve been on, there have been more girls than guys. I can’t say for sure whether this is a standard thing, though. It may even depend on the company you go with, and the places you go to. Again, I’m only speaking from my experience.
The numbers haven’t always had a massive swing. In fact, if I was just going based on my first trip, I may not have even thought of this. But that was the biggest group, and in all the smaller ones, the difference has been more noticeable, I guess because even just a one or two person swing in a small group is still pretty big.
I have a theory as to why this may be the case. I reckon that, in general, women are less comfortable travelling solo or in pairs than men, which would make them more likely to choose to join a group. This is just a theory, though, and one that is based on an admittedly small sample set. It could even go the other way, in that maybe women are more likely to want to travel than men, and that’s why more choose groups. I can’t really say.
The reason I think it might be a circumstantial trend is quite simple. When I went on my Topdeck that travelled through Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, I was one of thirteen passengers. The other twelve were girls. At the same time, we kept on bumping into a Contiki trip that was doing more or less the same route. They must have numbered at least thirty, and from what I could see, they were very dude heavy. So, basically, the simple choice of tour company massively determined the makeup of the group I ended up travelling with.
You Don’t Have to Drink
There’s an impression that I think a lot of people have about group travel trips, in that they’re for young people to go on to spend some time travelling around foreign places with a bunch of random other young people getting smashed everywhere. Certainly, it’s not unfounded. I know someone who did a three-week Topdeck in Europe who ended up having alcohol withdrawal once he got home. It happens.
But it’s not guaranteed. Certainly, in all the trips I’ve been on, there has been a distinct element of drinking, but with only a couple of exceptions (like in Las Vegas and in New Orleans, both notorious cities in their own right) it has never been to this excessive level. My belief on this is that it’s because I chose trips with Topdeck and G Adventures, two companies reputed to be less drinking-heavy than their big, alcoholic brother, Contiki, and I generally went places less ‘mainstream’. I chose trips to Scandinavia, Morocco, and Japan, and even when I went to the USA I was with G Adventures, the least of the three companies aimed at party animals. It’s the central European trips and the summertime trips in places like the USA that will be most likely to end up a bus full of hungover party freaks, I believe.
My point is, so long as you choose your trip with a little more care, you won’t end up in a situation where it’s get blackout drunk every night or be ostracised by the rest of the group.
Whatever Else, They Are Fantastic Experiences
I’m sure there were other points I wanted to talk about, but it’s been so long since I started writing this article that I can’t remember what they were. Oh well, if I do remember, I’ll write a part two.
Regardless, my final point is that leaving my job to go travelling, and choosing to travel in group tours, has been the best decision of my life. I’ve made some fantastic friends, experienced some fascinating places, and seen some incredible things. Group travel, as I have discovered, is very much for me, and if going on a trip like that is something you have considered, I absolutely suggest you try it, as it might just be for you too.