In our youth—a period free from responsibility—coordinating time away with friends is easy (i.e. summer vacation). Yet as we age, our time for travelling diminishes, but that doesn’t make it any less important.

Regardless when or where, we want you to have a successful buddy trip. To help, we’ve identified some group travel paint-points and ways to remedy them.

Travel with the Right Friends

Travelling with likeminded people ensures for a smooth trip. Gather a group of friends who share interests and budgets. More importantly, select compatible friends. This means avoiding extended and by-association friendships that might lead to conflict.

Involve Everyone in the Planning

A group trip warrants group decision-making. Anyone left out might feel resentful or underwhelmed. Planning takes time, though; and as discussed, most of us have little time to spare. If getting together in person cannot happen, use an app to track accommodations, activities and more. Three popular apps include Travefy, Triporama and Planapple.

Involving all your friends gets more than just their input. It also allows the group to delegate responsibilities. This keeps the planning workload light and fair. For example, designate one friend to research hotels and another to look up restaurants.

Make a Diverse Itinerary

Your trip’s itinerary should cater to everyone’s interests—not just the outspoken few. It should also speak to the purpose of the trip.

So ask yourself: “What goals does your group want to accomplish away from home?” Examples include celebrating, bonding, discovering and growing.

Many groups are afraid to split up when travelling, but we encourage it. If your friends hit a crossroad, allow people to choose the activities they’d prefer. Forcing things onto travellers will lead to unnecessary tension.

Expand Your Friend Group

When travelling alone, it may be hard to talk to strangers. But in a group, mixing with locals and other tourists becomes a little easier. Involving strangers in your travels enriches the experience and adds unpredictability to your plans. This is particularly important if your friends fail to agree on things to do together.