Get the best from your group travels

"I don't have friends who are as passionate about traveling as me"
"My partner is always busy working, he has no time to travel"
"I don't feel safe while traveling alone"
"I like to travel with like-minded people"
We hear all this so often these days. And glad there is a solution to all these problems - THE GROUP TRAVEL. It is the best way these days to do a trip. Just book your holiday and forget about the rest. Everything starting from your transport, permits, stay and food is taken care of by them. And the best thing is you are accompanied by passionate travelers and photographers who understand your passion and needs.

But how be be sure you are traveling with the right set of people? How to make the group travel experience a good one? What all to be careful about? Below are a few pointers that'll help you get the best from the group trips.

#Chose the travel group carefully.

Don't just go for any group that is organizing a trip to the destination you want to explore, do some research. There are many big and small groups these days to chose from. The popularity or the size of the group does not ensure a good experience. Many big groups fail to provide the experience that a smaller groups can because of the personal touch they give to their trips. Here are the pointers on how to chose a group and the trip:

• The organizers should be travelers themselves then only will they be able to understand your needs.
• Talking to your trip leader once before the trip is a good practice. Check his/her profile on fb.
• Check the itinerary thoroughly and make sure it includes everything that you want to explore in a destination. 
• Chose the group that gives you the flexibility of exploring on your own too in the safety of a group.

Fun of traveling with a like-minded group

> Once you have chosen the group, have confidence in your choice and trust in your organizer, you are going to have time of your life! 

# Set your expectations right.

 Take all important information before starting your journey. Below is the list of things you can ask:

• Detailed Itinerary with the amount of road travel (km wise)
• What type of food will be served - veg/ non veg, simple/ elaborate, local?
• What mode of transportation will be there?
• What type of accommodation hotels/ camps/ homestay?  

Be very clear on what you want... do you want to visit tourist spots and shop and are looking for fancy resorts to stay or are you looking for unusual and rich travel experiences. And it's very important to communicate it to your organizer so that he can explain what you can expect.

Be open to new experiences, it can be you best one

> At times you tend to be extra careful and might miss out on some experiences... like staying in a camp can be an experience of lifetime. Don't be too rigid on your expectations and trust that your organizer will do his best to provide you the best experience. Always remember, he knows the place better than you.

# Be a part of the group. 

Always remember you are traveling in a group and how you behave will come back to you. Be a team member. Cooperate with others and others will reciprocate. Everyone is out to have good experience and create pleasant memories. So help yourself and others in doing so. Here's how you can do that:

• Don't separate yourself from the group by asking for extra favors from the organizers like front seat in vehicle, better view room, food other than what is being served to all.
• Don't be a cribber. No one likes the company of one. If you are signing in for a road trip there will be long road journeys, if you are traveling in summers be prepared for hot weather... cribbing about the heat or long road travel will not change anything but others attitude towards you.
• Don't be too rigid. At times there are situations that can't be controlled like due to some landslides the itinerary might have to be tweaked a bit. Being understanding and accommodating in those cases will help you and the group make the best of the situation.

Group travel can be the best experience of your life 
if you are a good team player

> Be a good team player and enjoy the experience.  

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How to approach strangers

Nothing has changed my perspective towards life more than taking the risk of saying “Hi” to people I don’t know. Fellow travelers, photographers, shop owners, locals… we meet so many people while we are on the move. And believe me I have made some of my best friends on the road only. And also some of my best pictures are of strangers.
If you are a shy person, the biggest concern is how to initiate talks. And believe me its not just you but many of us face the same. Here are a few tips:

The hardest part of talking to strangers is getting started. Start with making an eye contact with strangers and smiling at them. Smile is contagious, they are surely going to get a smile back.

This cute couple was basking outside their house in Nathang valley, Sikkim. Just a quick eye-contact and smile got me going with them. I spent almost an hour after that talking to them about their life.

A quick “Hi” once you have caught their eye followed by a compliment on something remarkable you see is the best ice breaker. Compliment on their dress, smile, appearance or whatever catches your eye.

These Rajasthan ladies were very shy in the begining to talk to us. The moment we complimented them on their dress, they were all excited and wanted to be clicked.

Be genuinely interested in their culture. Asking questions regarding their culture works best with locals in case you are in some other town, city or country. Ask about local food, language, costume etc. You’ll find that not only will they be happy sharing it they might as well invite you to their place experience it.

Met this lovely girl in a village of Himachal. I was just roaming around, our eyes caught we smiled and she invited me in. I was curious to know about their tradional attire. looking at my interest she took no time to take her wedding dress out and wore it just for me. 

Smile at the kid and ask his name politely. Kids are never camera shy; they always love to get clicked. So if you are carrying a camera, click their picture and show it to them.

This sweet kid was playing with her mates somewhere near Mulbek in Kashmir. This picture was just a begining of my long talk with her while our vehicle was getting repaired.

Spending time with kids give me immense pleasure, especially when I am traveling alone.

Go there… talk to the strangers… You have nothing to lose but your shyness!

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5 reasons you would want to consider traveling with Strangers

In this generation of solo-traveling, I feel happy and proud to have traveled with strangers who I connect to - people whom I don't know personally but our love for travel brings us together and we decide to explore a particular place. FAMILIAR STRANGERS is what I call them. In course of our journey, I not only explore the place but also get to know these strangers in depth, some of whom become my good friends. Though it's not a very common practice yet, I find traveling like this very interesting and safe. 

Here is why you might also would want to consider traveling with strangers...

#1 Travel in budget

One advantage of travelling in a group is all your costs get shared. Say for instance, you want to explore the countryside and only way to reach there is hiring a cab. If I am solo I would think twice but being in a group all I do is share my idea and get a few people interested to do the same.

#2 Freedom to explore solo with safety of a group

As these people are not your close friends or your family, you are not bound to stick with them for the whole day or get their nod in all your plans. So be solo and explore your way... and while you are on your own you are aware that there are familiar people around in case of any emergency, so you travel with a sense of safety.

#3 No feeling lonely

Good thing about traveling with a group of strangers is you have people to come back to and tell your stories to. While you get enough time to delve deep into your inner self you also get the company of strangers whom you can chat endlessly about almost anything without hesitations

#4 Get your countless pictures clicked 

Clicked by a photographer traveling with me

All of us want to be clicked while travelling... Travelling in a group give you enough opportunities to be clicked.

I still wonder how solo travelers get their beautiful pics, who clicks it for them so perfectly  ;)

#5 Celebrate life and make friends for life 

Make memories with other travelers and celebrate the event called life. Since you get enough time to chat with lovely strangers, it might open a whole new world to you. Traveling with familiar strangers give me that opportunity to connect with interesting people.

I get awestruck to look back and realize how many different familiar strangers I have made friends with in these couple of years. 

An ever-excited old retired scientist who never want to be called old, has lost his life partner when he needed her the most and now travels to steal some lively moments with co-travelers; 

a young loving couple who’s full of love and appreciation for each other and is traveling to understand life from each other’s perspective; 

a middle aged strong single lady who is self-dependent and living her life on her own terms for whom traveling is a part of life; 

an ambitious young man who draws inspiration from “himself-some-years-from-now” and is traveling as he finds a sense of accomplishment by ticking it off his must-visit list; 

a young chirpy independent girl who has perfectly learnt to hide her sorrow behind her smile and for whom travel is a good way of understanding herself a little more;

an old couple who wants to explore together the maximum while they can. 

And I can relate to each one of them. Some remind me of my loneliness, some of my urge to be independent, some of my romantic self and some of my hunger to live life to the fullest. I wonder how similar we all are… going through similar emotions, sentiments and passion to live life in a best possible way in given conditions. 

Though there are so many benefits, you need to be little cautious while chosing your travel mates. Will discuss what all needs to be taken care of, in the next post.

Till then keep traveling and celebrating life!

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