It’s a scary thing to head off on your next big adventure with a group of strangers. But still: the people who come back from their first group tour and still find themselves among people they don’t know are few and far between.

Today, I will give you some insight into what to expect on your first group tour.

If you’re going on a group tour, you’ll get to share experiences with strangers, which might seem like a very intimidating thing – at first.

However, you’ll have a competent group leader with you, who will take care of nasty situations before you even know they’re there.

Anyway, here are some things you need to know before going on an organised group tour.

Skip ahead with the following links:

• Do research
• Pack light
• Prepare for travel time
• Follow the rules
• Not everyone is your BFF
• Wait a few days
• Go with the flow
• Find common ground
• Not everything is included
• Hold a reunion

You need to do research

Before you can book your first group tour, there are a few things you need to look into.

• Destination. Where do you want to go? You can’t find a group tour if you don’t know where you’re going. Sure, you can get inspiration without knowing where you want to go, but at some point, you’ll have to narrow it down.
• Type of trip. These days, there are a lot of different kinds of group tours. A lot. Culturally focused tours, food discovery, nature exploration. The list goes on. Everything depends on what kind of traveller you are. Find out what you want and then look for a tour that offers exactly that.
• Budget. You could just as well find a group tour for $300 as for $3000. Of course, your budget will largely depend on your destination. However, even within the same destinations, there are tours with vastly different budgets.
• Travel companions. When I was on a group tour in India, most of the people in my group were travelling alone. But it’s possible to join a group tour with friends, with your significant other or even with a family member. They all have pros and cons, and you need to consider those before you can make a decision.
• Tour operator. Take all of the above factors to help you decide which organisation you trust enough to provide your dream tour.

(FYI: My first group tour was this road trip through Rajasthan)

You need to pack light for your group tour

It’s always in your best interest to pack light, especially if you’re going on a trip where you’ll be travelling between cities.

It gives you more manoeuvrability, it’s better for your body and it will make your trip much more pleasant.

And, although it’s not always possible to travel carry-on only, you can still put in some effort to make your checked bag as light as possible.

More detailed guide: How To Pack Light: The Ultimate Guide

First of all, here are some things you shouldn’t pack:

• Don’t pack more clothes than you need. You can get by with about a week’s worth of clothes using hostel laundry services and laundromats.
• Don’t pack your entire beauty routine. You’ll be fine with just mascara for a few weeks. And I promise nobody will bat an eye because you’re using two-in-one shampoo and conditioner for a few days or weeks while you’re on the road.
• Don’t pack full-sized toiletries. You’ll be fine with a travel-sized bottle of body wash. Or, better yet, you can use a solid soap bar. Nowadays, many toiletries exist in solid shape.
• Don’t pack bulky electronics. You’re living in the twenty-first century. Act like it. Replace your over-ear headphones with smaller, lighter in-ear buds. Reconsider bringing your tablet if you know you’re not going to use it. Et cetera.

Now, on to some actual tips for packing light:

• Use a smaller suitcase. This forces you to really think about what you’re packing and to bring only what you absolutely need.
• Plan ahead. Unless you’re doing some kind of surprise thing where you don’t know anything about what you’ll be doing, you can get a good idea of what your trip will be like by looking at the description on the tour operator’s website. Pack accordingly.
• Don’t do ‘just in case’. The case you’re preparing for rarely actually happens, so just leave whatever it is you might end up needing at home.
• Wear bulky clothes on travel days. If you’re travelling by plane and you have to survive a long-haul flight, you need to make sure you can still lift your baggage to the overhead bins. Make your bags lighter by wearing your bulkiest clothes on travel days and taking them off after you get through security at the airport.
• Roll your clothes. You can save a lot of space in your luggage by rolling your clothes. Plus, it prevents wrinkling (believe it or not!)
• Use a packing list. This guarantees that you only take what you need, nothing more or less. Result: lighter baggage.

Prepare for lots of travel time

On a group tour, you usually want to see and do as many things as possible. Inevitably, this also means that you’ll be doing a lot of travelling between places.

Bus, train, subway, rickshaw, …

The sky is the limit when it comes to transportation options.

Keep in mind, though, that travel time on a group tour is not necessarily wasted. Since you’re in it together with your whole group, you might as well take this opportunity to get to know your fellow travellers.

After all, why can’t the journey be part of the charm of your trip?

Follow the rules

Rules are inherently in place to be followed.

And no, I probably won’t snitch on you if you forget to use your indicator lights once when turning right, but I do believe that the rules are there for a reason.

It’s no different when you’re on a group tour. The rules were created by your touring company to make sure that everyone involved has the best possible experience, and you don’t want to be the one spoiling the fun for everybody.

Just follow the damn rules.

Not everyone will be your BFF

The odds of everybody in your group becoming a friend for life are admittedly quite low. But hey, that’s not an issue. The whole thing with group tours is that, well, you’re in a group.

As long as you can find a few people you can vibe with, you’ll be fine. And, honestly, it’s very unlikely that you’re not going to find anybody with similar interests on a group tour.

Just take the first part of your tour to get to know everyone and find out where the potential friends are, and then spend the rest of your time actually becoming friends.

Check out my tips on making friends as a solo traveller – don’t worry, many of them also apply to group travel.

Wait a few days

According to psychological research, most people will behave differently than they usually do when they’re thrown into a new group.

You might be a bit louder, a bit more reserved or a bit more eccentric than you are in everyday life.

That’s why it’s important not to judge people by your first impressions, but rather to wait a few days before you can really find out what you think of them.

Don’t rule out potential friendships because you didn’t like the way the other person acted on day one.

Go with the flow

When you’re on a group tour, you often experience extraordinary things. Things you wouldn’t experience at home (like visiting an abandoned children’s hospital or going on a camel safari).

And that’s exactly the reason why your first group tour is the perfect moment to start trying new things.

Eating exotic meat? Jumping out of a plane? You might say no to those things when you’re in the safety of your comfort zone, but you should reconsider that answer while you’re abroad.

Find common ground

As I mentioned above, you won’t become BFFs with everyone on your first group tour. Take it from me.

One thing you can do, however, is try to find common ground with the people in your group. The truth is, you probably have more in common than you think.

You picked a certain trip based on the activities, the destination, and a whole array of other factors.

Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Your fellow group members did exactly the same thing.

So the fact that you eventually picked the same trip should already tell you something about the kind of person they are.

And that’s exactly why you automatically have common ground with people on a group tour, even if it might not seem like it at first.

Not everything is included in the price of your group tour

Depending on the organisation behind your trip, some things may or may not be included in the price of your group tour.

Usually, tour operators include things like local transport and accommodation in the price you pay for the trip and recommend you set apart a certain amount of money for things like food, drinks, activities and entrance fees.

Before you book your group tour, make sure you know what you’re paying for upfront and what you’ll still have to pay on the trip itself.

Hold a reunion

On a group tour, it’s not uncommon for the people who are travelling together to become a tightly-knit group in a short amount of time.

And, very often, reunion plans are already being made while you’re still together.

But unfortunately, those plans too often end up being the furthest you will get, unless there’s somebody in your group willing to put in the effort of getting everyone together again.

You could be that person for your group. I’m just saying.

But still – especially if you’re on a group tour with people from all around the world – you need to be prepared to say goodbye for real when the trip comes to an end.

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Now that you know as much about the pros and cons of group tours as I do, you’re more than ready to book one for yourself.

Is there anything you’re still unsure about? Be sure to let me know in a comment or email me and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible!

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