Can we talk about something that most people don’t mention very often when it comes to girls group trips? Traveling in a big squad can really test personal relationships! Before Babes That Wander got together, I had done quite a few women-only trips that ended with a lot of tension. It can be hard to live in tight quarters and spend upwards of 10 hours a day with the same people.
Luckily, through my adventures with this band of babes, I have learned a few tricks to keep travel group drama to a minimum. Today I’m sharing some of those travel tips with you!
Girls Group Trip to Nashville
I recently got back from a girls trip to Nashville to see Greta Hollar’s town in Tennessee! We stayed at The Waverly– it’s the luxury of a hotel, with the comfort of being at home. There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a cozy living room, a full kitchen with appliances, and a complete washer/dryer room in each condo; I was in heaven! They have seven bright, airy and uniquely decorated apartments (lots of natural light) that can sleep 4-6 guests each. You can even rent out multiple flats to host large gatherings if you’re doing a family reunion or bachelorette weekend! Next time you’re visiting Tennessee, or even if you want a staycation, this rental is a great choice. Throughout this post, you’ll find some of the other places we visited while touring the town that are perfect for any group of gals.
Download my 3-Day Trip Itinerary for a Girls Trip to Nashville below!
Travel Groups Should Have Designated Roles
Figurative vs. Literal Travel Group Roles
Immediately before heading on a vacation, you should give every group member a designated role. Think of any team, ever… the best ones will have a captain calling the shots, someone else who puts it into action, a listener, etc. Getting things done in a large group requires give and take from everyone, and that’s easiest when the jobs are assigned.
You can have figurative positions like the ones I just mentioned (we all need a group therapist!), but I also highly recommend giving literal roles to each person. Who calls the Lyft, who handles Maps and directions, who will be the schedule/time keeper, etc.? My Babes and I each have group jobs to keep things running smoothly! My job was to eat all the food at Hampton Social Nashville while the other ladies captured all the Instagrammable moments around the dining area! 😉
Remember That Everyone Plays a Part on the Team
While Babes That Wander has static business roles (editor, videographer, etc.), the other parts we play on the team typically change on each girls trip that we take. For instance, group member Megan (owner of the blog Lush to Blush) took us around in her new Tesla while we were in Nashville. It was really helpful to have reliable transportation, especially for when we went further away from where we were staying, like to Cheekwood. On the day we were headed to the gorgeous Nashville botanical gardens, right after having breakfast at Loveless Cafe, it began raining. We had to reschedule to come back the following day. Luckily, thanks to Megan, we didn’t have to waste that trip using rideshare!
Be Flexible with Schedules on Girls Group Trips
Arrive at the Same Airport Around the Same Time
My friends live all across the United States, so we are all traveling from various airports. In order to make things easier, we like to try and arrive at the same time and the same place. This means we can share a ride to where we are staying to save money! It also means that the ladies are less likely to miss out on activities because we can get the show on the road once everybody has flown in. About an hour after landing at BNA, we headed to Justin Timberlake’s rooftop bar and supper club, Twelve-Thirty. It was essential to have all the gals get to Nashville around the same time to enjoy the evening together!
Get to Know the Group Members’ Internal Schedules
Obviously, everyone’s internal clock is different. Some may need more down time, some may enjoy being busy, some may need to go to sleep earlier or wake up later. These ladies and I all have different needs and honor each other’s wishes while we were traveling! When we went to dinner at The Dutch on our last night, the Babes recognized that we had a tight schedule the next day. That meant that, even though we could have visited the entire evening surrounded by the delicious food and drinks, we didn’t stay out too late so we could rest up for the morning after.
Understand That Being Punctual is Difficult in Large Groups
Along with that, most globetrotters already understand the importance of being flexible with schedules. While navigating a new area, it can take longer than intended to get places. That next morning, before all flying home, we visited Broadway street to make our own GooGoo Clusters. Our chocolate making class was at 9:45 am, but we were running late because it’s difficult to find parking on Broadway.
Typically, I am a bit of a stress-case about arriving places on time. However, in a group setting like this, I knew I had to stay calm about being a little bit late to our appointment. I didn’t want to add to the already-stressful situation. Although we weren’t punctual, the experience making take-home chocolate clusters went just fine and the class teachers were kind about our tardiness
Girls Group Trips Require Splitting Costs Fairly
Keep Track of Everyones Shared Expenses
Honestly, money talk can be very triggering for some people. I consider myself one of those people that gets defensive about how cash gets spent. One of the ways to prevent hurt feelings on a trip is to split costs fairly and evenly.
As a travel group, we have started using Splitwise to keep track of our shared expenses. It has honestly been a game changer for our crew because we can each put in receipts for experiences we paid for. It does all the math and keeps track of expenses– requiring little effort from the group– and then we can settle up the tab at the end of the trip to pay each person owed! For example, when we went to Anzie Blue for breakfast, we had to pay for parking and the food bill. One group member paid for each of those, entered the money spent into the app, and it was split evenly by the ladies in attendance. We all Venmo each other the settled up balances at the end of a trip.
Recognize Different Comfort Levels of Spending
Besides equally paying for things during group travels, it is important to recognize that each person has a different level of comfort when it comes to spending money. It could come down to yearly income, whether they like to treat themselves, or if they are saving up. However, it should always be an open and honest conversation between the group if someone feels out of their comfort zone putting money towards an event. On our way to the cutest holiday pop-up bar at Fairlane Hotel, group member Elise (founder of blog What The Fab) and I had a long talk about investing and how we’re getting over our own money insecurities. I told her I tend to be considered a, “cheapskate” because I am very thoughtful about how I spend my hard-earned salary. She listened with empathy and kindness and offered advice, which meant a lot to me!
Mix Up Who you Hang Out With in the Travel Group
Avoid Getting Cliquey
When it comes to girls group trips, you’ve always mix up who you chat and hang out with! This prevents getting stuck in the same pods and excluding anyone. The Babes That Wander squad is all about changing up who we room with for each trip, walking with different ladies on the way to destinations, and including every gal.
We also know not to take it personal when we can’t all attend something. To illustrate, when we went to the Oil Bar at Lemon Laine to make our personalized skincare, Jessica (fashionista behind the blog Miss Moore Style) was heading out for her flight home and wasn’t able to enjoy the full event. Along with that, Iesha (writer at the blog Living Lesh) couldn’t attend our trip to Nashville due to work obligations. Neither of them took it personally that they couldn’t be a part of every group activity, which is how traveling with a bunch of people has to work.
Always Be With a Buddy on Girls Trips
It’s important that each wanderer has a buddy if they want to split from the group, especially for women! Although we’re all grown-ups, being in an unfamiliar area is best traversed with two or more people. We always say, “no babe left behind!” Even when we were just headed to the bar in between rolls at Pins Mechanical Co, we’d send at least two ladies together at a time. It’s a safe place, but very busy. Mixing that with drinking can sometimes lead to getting lost in the crowd. There is strength in numbers!
Plan Your Girls Group Trips Ahead of Time
My girls group trips wouldn’t be nearly as fun if we didn’t plan everything ahead of time. We make reservations at restaurants and activities while in our hometowns, and put together a complete itinerary for each trip. It keeps us from wasting any second so we can get the most out of our travels. There are also many places that don’t take walk-in appointments, and we would hate to miss out on those. When we did a group astrology reading with Brad Williams, it required booking in advance and sending him the necessary info to get our birth charts ready for the session. It was such an amazing bonding experience, and planning our schedule ahead of time allowed us to add it into the trip. If you’re headed to Nashville for a bachelorette party, I highly recommend you do an astrology party with him!
SHOP WHAT THE BABES THAT WANDER WORE
Download my 3-Day Trip Itinerary for a Girls Trip to Nashville below!
Use any of the images below to pin this article to your Pinterest boards and save this post for later!
What do you think?