The More the Merrier – Group Travel
Travel Insights by Cynthia Harris and Holly Stroud
Holly Stroud and Cynthia Harris
When traveling, the vacation is often more enjoyable when traveling with friends, family, or even people you just met. Some of the many benefits of group travel include:
- Quality time with people you may not see that often. A family reunion is the perfect example of this. You may love your family but live far apart. A few days or a week together on a fun excursion is so much more meaningful than a quick visit to someone’s home.
- Shared experiences. When you are home from your vacation, you will have others who have shared your experiences, so you can relive them and keep the memories fresh. And they will love seeing and sharing vacation photos!
- Sharing the responsibilities. You can assign some of the daily travel tasks to different travelers. For instance, one person could make dinner reservations, and another could investigate golf tee times (if on a golf trip). A third could find the best massage in the area. Of course, if you book through us – as your travel agents – we will do a lot of that for you ahead of time!
- Discounts and extra perks. You can receive discounts and extra perks for traveling as a group with many different cruise lines and resorts.
- Flexibility. You can still have downtime and do activities you like, even apart from the group. Sometimes I hear from travelers that they like their personal time when traveling or are not sure if others will want to do the same activities. Communication in advance is key to setting group travel expectations. Just tell the others you want a little personal time each day, and they won’t be surprised when you request it. Nothing says that you must stay with the group 24 hours a day while on vacation. Participating in a different activity during the day will give you something extra to discuss at dinner.
So, what type of group works the best? There are all types of groups that make travel more fun. You could celebrate a milestone birthday or have a destination wedding. Perhaps, you could reunite with family or college friends. Do you have a special interest? Some possible group trip options are a golf trip through Scotland, a photography trip through Africa, a bike trip through the Northwest, and a wine cruise on the Danube – to name a few. You could even just put together a simple getaway with friends. There are endless options.
Perhaps you do not have a particular group that wants to travel where you do, but you do not want to travel alone. You can book a tour and get to know travelers from around the world, which adds to the experience of travel. You can also join one of our groups. For 2022, we have groups going to Alaska, Ireland, the European Christmas Markets, and a group on a 14-night transatlantic cruise from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, with Mallorca and Gibraltar ports of call. These groups are open to everyone. We would love to have you join us!
So, reach out to your friends, family, or other travelers about a group trip and contact us to handle all the details.
Cruise Planners – Holly Stroud, an independently owned and operated franchise, is part of the American Express Travel Representative network. Holly Stroud and her sister, Cynthia Harris, a resident of Historic Brookhaven, will provide you personalized attention. We completely customize vacations, including cruises, all-inclusive resorts, land-based travel, and guided tours.
We are a full-service travel agency, so contact Holly or Cynthia to plan your next vacation – www.HollyStroudVacations.com or 404-410-0009.