Planning a Group Trip

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.