If you run a group, class, or a team, then you may all want to escape from time-to-time. Taking a break and going away to do something that you all love can help to create a strong bond between you all. This will be a great opportunity for everyone involved in the group to get to know each other better and learn to work well as a team. The trip should be something to do with the reason your group exists. So, if you run a sports team, you may want to go and watch or take part in a tournament. If you are team of young adults or children, this can be a great chance for everyone to see a little bit more of the world. Planning a trip like this can be hard work, and there are a lot of things that you need to think about. Do your research into the destination before you make any final decisions to make sure it is suitable for your group.
Booking The Trip
You will need to decide how you are going to get to your destination. Taking a coach is an option that may be good for a large number of you. Phone around some tour operators and find prices for the trip that you are planning. If you are going overseas, then you may need to also take a ferry or plane. Getting the most cost-effective solution is important, so again compare prices for everything. Phone up hotels and hostels and look at group bookings. Don’t forget to ask for a discount if there are a lot of you. Be sure and book as far in advance as possible or you may have trouble finding the right number of beds in the same place. There are companies such as www.absolutetravel.co.uk who can help out when it comes to planning a group trip away, saving you much of the work.
Paying For It All
Trips away can be expensive and you will want to be sure that if there is any cost to the people traveling they are not so high that they find the costs off-putting. Using any subs or revenue gained by the organization throughout the year could be useful to help to lower costs. You may want to consider doing some events to raise funds too or having a crowdfunding page online. The more that you will be able to bring in towards the cost to the individual, the better.
Think Safety
If you are taking children away on a trip you will first need to get consent from their parents and ensure you have emergency contact details of everyone involved regardless of the age of the traveler. You should have adequate safeguarding procedures in place and a policy on what you will do in the event of an emergency throughout the journey. Completing a risk assessment for the trip will help you to identify potential problems that may arise. You should also be sure to take out comprehensive insurance for the group that has the appropriate types of cover.
Setting Ground Rules
Traveling as a large group can be a lot of fun, however, it may be very easy for people to get carried away and cause trouble. Make sure you set out your behavior expectations before traveling and how these will be dealt with should they arise.
Create An Itinerary
When it comes to organizing a group of people you will need to be pretty strict with your timings. Having a fully worked out itinerary with all of the relevant timings included is vital. This will let everyone know where they should be at any given time. Make sure that you allow enough time between all of your activities to give people the time that they may need to wash and change clothes. Eating as a large group also takes a lot longer, and if you are visiting restaurants allow time for everyone on the trip to be able to order food, have it prepared, and eat it. You may need to have back-up plans in case things run over time, but as long as you allow plenty of time to get to each of the destinations on the list and additional time to get back, then it should buy you some time in the schedule for any delays that are out of your hands such as congestion on the roads or delays in public transport.
