Before planning a Great Bike Tour with friends & booking a vacation with your group of friends keep these tips in mind. First and foremost it is vital for the group to have complementary travel styles as well as clearly defined expectations of demands of the trip. We hope that these tips for planning a trip with your family and friends will help you to minimize difficulties while traveling and aid in making your trip memorable!.
Questions to Ask Before Planning a Private Group Bike Tour
Ask yourself these questions before committing to a trip with friends:
When you are planning a Great Bike Tour with friends you need to know if your travel styles align. Figure out if you’ll be happy doing the same activities, staying in the same type of accommodations, and generally moving at the same speed. Comparing travel styles also means considering transportation preferences; for instance, are you OK with taking a connecting flight to save some money, or do you only travel nonstop?
When booking a cycling focused trip, are your traveling partners on the same level as you are? If not they may be using the van support more or less than you. Will their reason for the trip be more to enjoy the scenery and catch up with you at the end of the day?
What is the most important thing you want to get out of the trip? When planning a trip with friends, think about what you most want to get out of the trip. Are you longing for plenty of low-key beach time, relaxing or to get in a good ride each morning? Figure out what your goals are before you agree to a trip with another person or group.
Do you have the same budget? Money is a big deal when it comes to travel. Don’t book a trip with someone if you know they’ll want to spend significantly more (or less) than you overall.
Who will take charge of booking and reservations? Booking a vacation with Great Bike Tours is simple; we do all the planning for you! You will look like a star when you share the itinerary with your fellow travelers!
Do you have the same level of physical fitness? Many trips include long days on your feet or some sort of physical activity. If your friend is notorious for lagging behind, they might not want to go cycling every day, but with Great Bike Tours there is flexibility for off days for parties in your group that want to do something different! Make sure you’re on the same page about just how much activity you (and they) want to do on your trip.
Things to Consider When Planning a Trip with Friends
Here’s what to discuss when you’re planning a Great Bike Tour with friends:
Type of accommodations – Great bike tours provides deluxe lodging and dining opportunities, even the pickiest traveler in your group should be pleased!
Type of transportation – . Decide if you’ll fly, drive to trip destination. It’s important to weigh the cost benefits of each option, i.e. saving money by taking a long drive or spending more to get to a destination quicker. Driving for hours on end is tiring. If you’re taking a road trip with a group, plan on switching off and taking breaks. If you’re renting a car, make sure everyone who is driving will be on the contract. NO one wants to be burned out before they start their Great Bike Tour!
What you can’t miss at the destination – Review the detailed itinerary that you will be provided when you book a Great Bike Tour – typically there is something for everyone!
Tipping habits – Discuss together how you plan on tipping before you travel so you’re on the same page about tipping expectations in your destination.
Take out cash. It can get annoying if one person is always borrowing cash for tips, so encouraging you group to visit the bank before your trip.
Important Tips for Traveling with Friends
Following these tips can help keep everyone on the same page and prevent offense:
Know what annoys them, and tell them what annoys you. When I travel with friends, I let them know that I always need to have something small to eat in the morning before we go out and do anything. The sooner they know that something will bother you, the better.
Raise issues before anything builds up. You’re more likely to reach a breaking point or get angry if you let little annoyances build up.
Be flexible and have patience. This helps you realistically manage expectations. Group trips are all about give and take.
Don’t say “we’ll figure it out later” when paying. Keep track of expenses when they occur .
Pack well. Make sure you both pack things like chargers, adapters, proper footwear, and outerwear. It can get annoying when your friend asks to borrow your phone charger for the 10th time when you’re also trying to use it.
Have your alone time. Take some time every day to separate yourself from the group if you need to.
Limit phone time. Take time to be with your friends rather than on your phone. This also goes for taking photos: While it’s great to have your friends as photographers, it’s annoying to take 40 photos at every single monument.
With a wide variety of destinations to choose from we hope the most difficult part of your planning will be choosing where to go.
At Great bile Tours we start our season in January with our easy warm-winter bike tours in the Florida Keys & Everglades, followed in February and March by our once-in-a-lifetime 13-day New Zealand active vacation. In April we run our Georgia coast bike tours in the magical Golden Isles south of Savannah. In late April and May we feature our new “bike & boat tours” — South Carolina Bike & Boat and Rhode Island Bike & Boat.
August is the perfect month to join our multisport vacation in New York’s Adirondack Park, and then in mid September we head back to the coast for our Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard bike tour. Check out our BRAND NEW TRIP in late September — New Hampshire: Mountains to the Sea! In October we offer our famous Vermont fall foliage bike tours, followed by an easy Virginia bike tour in the Colonial Williamsburg area.
You may reserve one of our published departure dates (and make it yours), or you may choose your own custom departure date for your private group. We will charge each person the regular advertised rate (minimum group size applies). We are totally open to considering any new destination that your group would like to explore. Call us up and let’s brainstorm together. In fact, some of our best tours have started out this way. For an exclusive and private group departure, GBT requires a minimum group size of 10-18 people (depending on destination). At that point you will own the trip, from start to finish. Bring at least 14 people and you may qualify for group discounts (see Discounts for Group Travel).
We look forward to seeing you on a Great Bike Tour this year!
