In the cold months I always start thinking about my trips for
the following year. Bonding with the family is always wonderful but camping is
also a great way to connect with friends and extended family.
Planning a group trip has its rewards and challenges. On one
hand, it's great to have extra helpers when camping. Also by dividing the
overall costs, it can make for a very inexpensive vacation. It's a huge plus if
the other members of your group have children around the same age. On the other
hand, there can be logistical challenges, personality clashes, and if a member of
the group cancels last minute it can pose a problem for all involved - all of
which I have experienced. For those reasons, it is important that you choose
your camping mates wisely.
When planning a group camping trip there are many items to
consider:
- When is the best time to
plan?
- Where should we go?
- How will we get there?
- How many sites will we need?
- What gear do we need/have?
- How will we feed everyone?
Here are a few tips when planning a group trip:
Who - The first step is to determine exactly how many people
will be joining in the group trip. Put some feelers out to your friends and
family regarding a group trip. Be careful with whom you choose to join the
trip. While seasoned campers can be helpful, don't exclude any novices either.
A group camping trip is a great way to introduce newbies to the joys of
camping. As a general rule, you should include people who are comfortable with
the outdoors and have a common respect for nature.
What - What type of gear does each member of the group have? What
is the capacity of the tents & trailers you have available? I have heard of
some camping groups who have chipped in and purchased large tents and tables to
accommodate the entire group. In many cases though, you may need to have
individuals borrow or purchase their own gear. If using tents and/or trailers,
keep in mind that some campsites have a limit on how much equipment you can
bring to the site.
Where - If all members of the group live in the same general
vicinity, then it is only a question of how far everyone is willing to travel.
Not every member of the group may have a car, in which case you will need to
coordinate carpooling. If the members of your group live far apart, try finding
a central camping location which will be easy for all parties to drive to.
When - Many people have different work situations regarding
vacation time. Put some feelers out, find the person with the most restrictive
schedule and try to work around that. I refer to this as the "herding
cats" phase as it can be very difficult. Be prepared for the possibility
that not everyone may be able to join.
Who's in Charge?
There are different ways to manage the planning of a trip. Since
managing projects is part of my job, I tend to take the reigns as leader when
it comes to planning the trip. For some it might be easier to split
responsibilities among several people or form committees - one group in charge
of food planning, one in charge of gear planning, etc. If you will have multiple
campsites, you may want to just let each site group manage their own planning
or you may still want to have a group approach to planning. Find whatever
method works best for the people in your particular group.
Designating a single leader to plan the trip does not mean one
person is doing all the work. When planning a trip, I am typically the gatherer
of all information, and I set the menu based on feedback from the group. But
then the lists of everything that needs to be bought and packed gets divided up
among the group.
If you take the group committee approach, be sure that you all
touch base from time to time to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Communication is key, no matter which approach you take.
Feed Me!
Food is the biggest challenge when planning a group trip. More
people means more mouths to feed. If you will have multiple campsites, you need
to decide if each site will be responsible for their own meals or if you will
all eat the same meals as a group. I personally find it easier to take the
group approach as this means less redundancy of gear. If you take the
individual site approach, each site will need their own camp kitchen setup.
However, if each site is holding a single family unit, then it may be easier to
just let each site do their own cooking. Discuss with the group and come to
a consensus to what would work best.
If you take the communal meal approach, be sure to talk with your
group about food allergies and preferences before creating a meal plan for the
group. Often for logistical reasons, I only plan on bringing enough food
for part of the trip, and then schedule a supermarket run during the camping
trip to purchase the remaining items.
Money Matters
It can be uncomfortable discussing money matters but it is even
more uncomfortable if you are not clear, early on, regarding division of
expenses and a member of your group misunderstands what they are expected to
pay for. It is best to clarify the financial arrangements before finalizing
the trip and get agreement from everyone. You may want to appoint one person as
"treasurer" for the trip to simplify the process. Here are some
guidelines to managing camping group finances:
BEFORE THE TRIP:
1. Create a food plan
and estimate the amount of the groceries which would need to be purchased for
the trip.
2. Estimate round trip
gas & tolls. If the driver(s) have EZ-Pass, be sure you calculate the
actual cost of tolls beforehand as this will not be provided when on the road.
3. Find out the total
fee for the site rental plus estimate the cost of ice, firewood and other
on-site supplies you may need.
4. Add up the cost of
each of the above items to get your total trip estimate.
5. Figure out how many
people will be in your entire group, including children.
6. Divide the trip
estimate by the number in your group and that is your per-person cost.
7. Multiply the per
person cost by the number of people in each group. For instance, the Jones'
have 4 people, the Gonzalez' have 3, the Johnson's have 2, etc.
o This is what I
provide to the group so they can budget accordingly for the trip. Advise
everyone to bring adequate cash as ATM's may be hard to find if camping in a
remote area.
8. A few weeks before
the trip, divide the shopping lists among the groups. You can try and divide it
so each group will spend roughly the same amount. Instruct everyone to save
their receipts or keep a record of all expenses.
DURING THE TRIP:
1. Determine how you
wish to handle gas, tolls and on-site expenses like firewood/ice during the
trip. You may wish to have everyone contribute to a pool to cover these
expenses. You could also have one person responsible for this expense and
square everything up at the end.
2. Payment of any
excursions during the camping trip - rafting, theme parks, dining out, etc. -
should be managed by each individual or family group.
3. Keep all receipts and
record all expenses.
AT THE END OF THE TRIP
1. Add up all of the
actual expenses.
2. Divide the actual by
the number in your group and that is your per-person cost.
3. Multiply that number
by the number of people in each group.
4. Have each group
provide their total contributions to the trip and subtract that from the trip
total.
This is the method I use with one exception: because I provide
most of the gear (tents, tables, stove, cookware, etc.), pay for the campsite
months in advance, and use my minivan to drive everyone - my twins are excluded
from the total person count. I call it my "travel agent fee". So far
every group I've traveled with has deemed this as fair and there have been no
gripes about the arrangement. You may want to offer some type of perk or
discount to those who are providing the cars for carpooling or anyone who
contributes more time or supplies to the effort.
Check out the Helpful Tools page for links to a handy spreadsheet
that can help with dividing expenses among a group. Planning a group trip may
have its challenges but it all seems worth it in the end when you're sitting
around a roaring campfire with your friends and family.
