Did someone say ACTIVITIES? Love activities. When going on vacation, you have all day to do activities — or no activities? Whatever your active level lifestyle maybe — go with it!
Traveling in a group means that you can hike/swim/drink/eat/drive together! It means that you can have all these friends with you, and take pictures, and videos, and try new things! But here is the wrench that is gonna be thrown… what if one..two…or three of your group members hate active activities?
That’s totally okay! The most important thing is to be really clear on who wants to do certain things, and what the alternative can/could be.
Here is a real-life example:
My boyfriend and I went to Vermont with a couple of other friends. The group of 6 was split dead even — 3 people wanted to go kayaking — and 3 people didn’t want to. After going round and round about the Kayak situation a solution came about… an hour later. The solution was that those who wanted to go Kayaking would suit up and go out into the beautiful lake <3. Those who didn’t would stay on land — dry — and play with the camera drone, take photos, read a book, what have you. See? Solved!
Situations like this will arrive all the time. Not everyone is like you — and they don’t have to be! We need to be flexible with the people in our group, but it doesn’t mean that we concede all the things we love. It just means you win some — and lose some — and well… you just don’t care some.
Activities are going to vary depending on where you actually go.
City activities might include visiting statues, landmarks, buildings, museums, city parks, bridges, train stations, Avenues, memorials, beaches, and boat rides.
Nature Activities might include hiking, swimming, rock climbing, scenic drives, kayaking, and nature trails.
Taking these things into consideration you might want to document all the activities beforehand and get the activity levels of each person noted on the side. This will help you create groups on who is doing what. When it comes to deadlock decisions (such as our kayaking example above shown) this pre-planning can help with smooth sailing. You won’t waste countless hours arguing about where to go, or what to see, or — I’m just too tired during the trip!
Different adventures will also need different gear! If the group isn’t properly prepared, then it might become really hard to go enjoy some activities.
For example, when taking a ride to D.C to see all the monuments, don’t dress in fancy shoes. You’ll have blisters at the end of the day. Wear sneakers — something comfy that you can walk and move around in for long hours and go EXPLORE!
Here is a simple way to plan your day:
- Send out a list of potential activities to do and have them fill it out with their preference.
| Person | Location | Caroline A | Robert B | Trisha C | Trisha. D |
| Kayaking | A | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Hiking | A | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Beach: Swim or Chill? | B | Swim | Chill | Chill | Swim |
| Drink on rooftop | C | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
With this organization, you can figure out what gear people need, when the group will be split, how transportation might work, and if you need to think of rendezvous locations. This will help you get the most out of your vacation — and not waste precious time just trying to figure out how to make everyone happy on the spot.
Being accommodating is good — but don’t lose yourself. If you want that extra mile and a half of tourist attractions — just go do it. You can always just say I’ll meet you all at location B or C. Just be kind about it, and lend a hand to anyone who wants to join you. It’s also your vacation too.
Simply Prepared 