I travel with my friends a few times a year. Here’s how I make it work without sacrificing our relationships.

I love traveling with friends and try to take a group trip at least two or three times each year.

Although I’ve had some great experiences, I’ve also learned — sometimes the hard way — that group travel isn’t always smooth sailing.

Over time, I’ve picked up a few lessons that help make these trips fun and (mostly) drama-free. Here’s how I travel with friends without sacrificing our relationships.

Before booking anything, I make sure to discuss expectations for the trip

One of the worst trips I’ve been on ended with everyone barely speaking. Why? Because we had different expectations for the trip.

Looking back, however, I realized we never really talked about how much we were comfortable spending or how we wanted to spend our time. That’s where things went wrong.

Now, I always try to have those conversations early. For example, I always make it a point to ask if we’re planning on eating out every night or if we’d like to save some money and cook at the Airbnb.

Likewise, I check in with the group to see if they’d prefer to book tours or just wander around the city. In my experience, having that clarity upfront saves everyone a lot of stress later.

I understand that not every friend is someone you can travel with

This one might sound obvious, but it’s honestly one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned — not every friend is someone you can or should travel with.

Some people are great for chill beach days and low-effort lounging, but others prefer packed itineraries and early mornings. Both approaches to traveling are fine, but mixing the two can lead to a lot of frustration.

It’s OK to be picky about who you choose to travel with, and at the end of the day, it’s important to link up with those with similar energy levels and travel styles.

I make sure planning is a group effort

I’m all for spontaneity, but with group trips, a bit of planning is necessary. Otherwise, you’ll likely spend more time trying to figure out what to do than actually enjoying the destination.

I find that even a loose travel itinerary helps. You don’t necessarily need to plan every hour, but it’s typically good to agree on a couple of anchor plans so everyone’s on the same page.

That said, if one person ends up doing all the coordinating, they will likely end up resenting the others. I know this because I’ve been that person before, and it’s not fun.

Even if you love coordinating the logistics for trips, it can be exhausting to have the group rely on you for everything. That’s why I think planning should be a group activity.

For example, one person can be in charge of booking restaurant reservations while others handle logistics and researching activities. When everyone contributes something to the process, the trip feels more like a shared experience.

However, leaving room for flexibility is key

Even when you create a detailed plan, you can’t always predict how the trip will actually play out. People flake on plans, weather forecasts change, and tours get cancelled. That’s just part of traveling.

For example, on a trip to Iceland I took with friends, we booked a northern lights tour. It was freezing, windy, and we didn’t see any lights.

Everyone was a little disappointed, and the next night, most of the group just wanted to stay in. However, a few of us pushed for a night at a karaoke bar.

As luck would have it, while we were walking back to our accommodations, we saw the lights. It was totally unplanned and unforgettable.

Moments like these remind me that, sometimes, the best parts of a trip are the ones you don’t plan.

The post I travel with my friends a few times a year. Here’s how I make it work without sacrificing our relationships. appeared first on Business Insider.