Last month, I was blessed to go on a trip to Greece for a friend's hen do (or as it's known in America a bachelorette trip) in the gorgeous island of Santorini. Since Greece is mostly affordable, a lot of the girls wanted to join for the fun hen do abroad. We ended up being fifteen girls including the bride. No one anticipated this big turn out, but it is a great feeling to see how many people would love to come and celebrate for a big occasion. We were all excited and rented a big villa. One of the only ones that accommodates fifteen! We were there for five days. On one hand it was undeniably fun, but on the other some plans were hard to arrange. Saying that, the maid of honour did a fantastic job organising everything!

On the last day, I asked the girls about their thoughts on group travel and how to make the most of it. So, this is a collective post with all our thoughts.

Let's start off with everyone's favourite things about travelling in a group:

Lots of fun
Cheaper accommodations
Meeting different people
Getting to know your friends better
Becoming more aware of your personality and your own traits

Here are SEVEN tips to make the most of a group trip:

Designated a leader
Let one person be in charge instead of various people who are trying to make plans as they go.
Discuss plans before the trip
It's hard to determine all trip plans before the actual trips, but having a rough plan is very helpful. Luckily, the maid of honour, tried her best to do that. She even told us what to bring for certain occasions like the all dressed in white dinner!
Be aware of the purpose of the trip
Ask yourself and other attendees about the purpose of the trip. All members of the party should be on the same page. Is this trip to party? to spend most days on the pool? To try food?to explore? Being clear on that will give you better expectations
Be flexible and open to other people's suggestions
Going on a group by default means that the trip is about the whole group and trying to balance everyone's wishes. So, being flexible is key!

Consider different budgets
When you are travelling with a group, this is a very major consideration because not everyone has the same income. Defining that before a trip is ideal, but sometimes activity and food prices cannot be anticipated. Establishing a daily budget could be beneficial.
Take 5 and be accepting
If someone bothers, just take a moment out of the situation to get your zen back and then discuss that subject again or avoid it. Plus, don't let it show through your behaviour. There is no point of heating things up unnecessarily. People just have their own views on things and not everyone needs to have the same mentality. Just accept it and move on.
Enjoy yourself
Going with a group as pointed out earlier is FUN, so just focus on enjoying yourself, the new place and bonding with the awesome people you chose to travel with.