Planning Guides

Group travelers have unique needs, depending on the trip purpose. Bachelor party planners debate over which type of alcohol to consume and whether or not a stripper is appropriate. Family reunion organizers decide how big of a reunion to have and where to have it. Brides and grooms deliberate on pros and cons of a destination wedding or a home-grown wedding.

Peruse these planning guides to find tips, advice, and new approaches to planning anything from a road trip, to family vacations, to ski trips, to weddings, to girls getaways, and more.

Family Reunion Planning Guide: Gathering the generations together takes time and patience, but is worth the lasting memories.

Group Getaways with Friends: Travel with college friends, poker pals, other couples, golf buddies, or just the girls.

Wedding Planning Guide: Whether the ceremony is a quick Vegas-themed affair, in a dreamy destination, or where you live and work, the devil is in the details. Here are tips to simplify the wedding planning process.

Ski Guide for Groups: Snowboarders and skiers alike can use this essential planning tool of ski resorts, checklists, and aprés ski activities before hitting the slopes.

Group Reservation Guide: Tips for negotiating group hotel rates, group flight reservations, and more.

Clubs, Teams, Organizations Guide: Become a group trip planning expert with tips about group reservations, how to organize a trip with ease, and other helpful advice.

Featured Destinations

Getaways, weddings, birthdays, vacations. Whatever trip is on your horizon, chances are the goal is to have fun. Here are destination guides with plenty of activities and tips for all kinds of groups:

Las Vegas
With Las Vegas dubbed the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's no wonder that our research at TripHub shows more groups planning trips to Las Vegas than any other destination.

Lake Tahoe and Reno
In the crook of California's elbow lies a playland of great natural beauty, world-class ski slopes, Vegas-style entertainment, and plenty of gold-rush history.

Maui
Playground for adventurers, golfers, wildlife watchers and snorkelers, the Hawaiian island of Maui attracts families, friends and romantics to her beaches, lush mountains, award-winning golf courses and moon-like national park.

Mexican Riviera
Beloved by beach buffs, honeymooners, surfers, and cruisers, the Mexican Riviera — that scenic stretch of coastal communities between Mazatlán and Acapulco — entices more and more travelers to its sun-drenched shores each year.

New York City
Urbanites are drawn to this city's lights, cameras, and action like lipstick to Liza Minnelli. From Broadway shows to boutiques to world-class art and Central Park, there are plenty of ways to bite into the Big Apple.

Orlando
This magical Florida mecca entices families and visitors to hop around theme parks, splash in water parks, golf, and escape realism for endless entertainment.

San Diego
Families fit into San Diego's cheerful profile like feet into flip-flops. This coastal city's perennial sunshine, sandy beaches, and kid-friendly attractions make it easy for adults to trade workday stress for an endless-summer attitude.

San Francisco
Laid back and cosmopolitan, ethnically diverse, and a hotbed of social progressive movements, the City by the Bay has plenty to entertain families and groups of friends who are nature lovers, wine tasters, beachcombers, golfers, or seafood foodies.

Washington, D.C.
So many museums, memorials, houses of government, national landmarks, and historic places of interest fill the 67-square-mile area that comprises the nation's capital, a visitor soaking it all in should receive an honorary college degree.

Tips for Taking Thanksgiving Photos

Thanksgiving Day is approaching and we'll soon all stuff ourselves with turkey, cranberries, and smashed potatoes. I previously wrote about top 10 Thanksgiving discussions. But don't forget to snap photos of your family and extended friends to preserve the 2006 moments to share and remember.

Here are some quick tips from Best Family Photography Tips. Examples of the tips:

1. What's the subject of your photo?
2. What's the emotion you want to convey?
3. Capture the classics.
4. Keep the odds in your favor by bringing a tripod.
5. How do you take the best family group photograph?
6. Take plenty of candids.

Group Tours: What to Ask Before You Sign Up

The Seattle Times republished The Washington Post's article on what to ask before signing up for a group tour. It goes well with our previous coverage of group tour preparation such as 10 Tips: How to Choose the Right Group Tour and Lucky 7 Tips from a Volunteer Vacation Leader.

In planning a multi-day group tour, volunteer vacation, or multi-week trip abroad, all of these tips are useful resources for determining which group tour is right for you.

Find answers to these questions on the Wall Street Journal article link above:

1. What is the max. number of people on the tour?
2. What kind of bus is used?
3. Does the tour company sublet its tours or use its own employees?
4. Is the tour guide a native English speaker?
5. Is the tour offered in English?
6. Will you get the same tour leader in each location or local leaders per town?
7. Are all entrance fees included?
8. Are tips included also?
9. Are hotel transfers part of the package?
10. Can the tour guide change the itinerary when weather changes?

Garden Tour Destinations

By guest blogger Jacquelin Carnegie
See How to Organize a Group Garden Tour as part one of a two-part series.

Doing a garden tour with family or friends is a nice activity for all ages; and there are gorgeous gardens across the globe. Have a look at these sample garden tours to whet your appetite for plants, flowers, shrubs, and all things botany:

Philadelphia: Gardens Galore

• Philadelphia is famous for its annual Flower Show in early March but in the greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area there are more than 25 beautiful public gardens to visit. They range from the historic Bartram Gardens to the Chanticleer pleasure garden to the rare tree specimens at the Morris Arboretum and gorgeous plantings at Longwood Gardens.
• If you'd like an extra special, private tour of these exquisite gardens and the area's cultural and historic treasures, contact: Philadelphia Hospitality. Or, if you'd like to do a tour on your own, several hotels offer special garden packages. For more information, contact: http://www.gophila.com.

Washington State: Celebrate spring
The right mix of climate and soil has made Washington State a wonderland for flowers. Each year during peak bloom season, festivals are held throughout the state to celebrate the glorious variety of flora. You can walk through tulip fields, visit lavender farms, stop at nurseries and get gardening tips from professional growers.

• Over 500 different species of rhododendrons grow wild in Washington State (it’s the state flower). To see how remarkable these shrubs can look, visit the annual Rhododendron Festival in May.
• Some fifty varieties of lavender grow on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. In July, at the annual Lavender Festival, you can go into the fields to pick your own lavender.
• At the annual Tulip Festival each April, garden lovers wander through colorful tulip fields larger than those in Holland and visit display gardens and greenhouses. If you find a few favorites for your own garden, you can have bulbs shipped home.

England: Britain in bloom

• England is a divine location for garden lovers because of the wide variety of garden design styles (formal, informal, etc.). You can attend the Chelsea Flower Show in May or the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in July, when the perennials and roses are at their best. Be sure to include stops at gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll and the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley gardens—240 acres with model gardens offering planting ideas.
• In the Cotswolds, visit fine gardens such as Sudeley Castle with radiant old-fashioned roses, parterres and colorful herbaceous borders and Hidcote's classic English garden "rooms" with different color schemes and planting themes.
• Southern England has fabulous historic and romantic gardens such as Vita Sackville West's Sissinghurst Castle Garden with color-themed garden rooms; plus, Hever Castle, complete with romantic moat, maze, Italian gardens, classical statuary and fine topiaries.
• These garden tour companies offer excellent itineraries:
  Expo Garden Tours; Coopersmith's; Brightwater Holidays.

France: Vive les fleurs!

• France is a dream destination for glorious gardens. Everywhere you turn, there's another botanical beauty--from the Bagatelle Gardens in Paris, filled with irises and roses, to the formal gardens of Versailles and the world-renowned gardens of Claude Monet at Giverney in Normandy. In the Loire Valley, Villandry is thought to be one of the most beautiful and authentic Renaissance gardens. On the French Riviera, the Rothschild's Villa Ephrussi, with its seven distinct gardens, is a must see and in the south of France the terraced gardens at Chateau Val Joanis are a visual wonder.
• For an extra special French garden experience, try this for your group: The Prieuré d'Orsan is a spectacular, recreated medieval garden on the grounds of a restored, 12th-century monastery (now a 7-room boutique hotel). In addition to staying at the hotel and visiting this magnificent garden, you can also take gardening and cooking workshops. All the meals are prepared using herbs, vegetables and fruits and other ingredients fresh from the garden. This is a not-to-be-missed experience.
• These garden tour companies offer excellent itineraries: Jeff Sainsbury Tours; Brightwater Holidays.

Morocco: Everything's coming up roses

• If the desert is the only thing that comes to mind when you think of Morocco, you’ll be surprised that some of the most gorgeous roses bloom in the fertile Dades Valley. The Rose Festival of El Kelaa in Ouarzazate province celebrates the flower harvest in mid-May. This event dates back to the 17th century, when roses were brought to the Dades Valley of eastern Morocco by pilgrims returning from Mecca.
• In this magnificent setting, the rose crop is celebrated with music, folk-dancing and singing, handicraft exhibitions, banquets, flower-decked floats, the selection of a "Miss Rose," camel-rides and an excursion down the valley of roses. 
• For more information, contact: www.visitmorocco.org or www.morocco-travel-agency.com.

The Caribbean: Garden jewels
Several Caribbean islands are a floral paradise.  Jamaica’s botanical gardens are a showcase of showy, exotic plants. You can visit them all--Hope Gardens, the Goodson Garden, Cranbrook Flower Forest and Shaw Park Gardens. Contact: www.visitjamaica.com or www.uniquejamaica.com.

Cruises: On-shore gardens
If you love gardens and cruises, here's a way to combine the two:

• Spring Pilgrimage: Relive the glory days of steamboating with a trip down the Mississippi River. Along the banks lay the beautiful gardens and plantations of the Old South. During "Pilgrimage Open House" in the spring, local garden clubs host tours of lovely homes and gardens.
• Dutch Bulbfield Cruise: There are few things more beautiful than the Dutch countryside in bloom. Cruise along the Rhine and Waal rivers and connecting canals, past historic towns such as Amsterdam, Arnhem, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Dordrecht and Delft. Springtime in Holland means flowers galore. On this cruise, you'll visit the world famous Keukenhof gardens, with over 6 million tulip, daffodil and hyacinth varieties on display, and the grand Het Loo Palace, considered one of Europe's finest formal gardens.

Final thoughts on visiting gardens:
Booking an organized garden tour is a wonderful option. The tours are led by horticulture experts, everything is arranged for your group and you stay in lovely accommodations. But, these tours can be a bit pricey. (They range from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars per person. However, most garden tour companies will give a price break if you are booking for a group.) So, in addition to selecting a garden destination, you need to factor in your group's budget.

You can always book rooms at a centrally-located hotel or resort in your preferred area and arrange day trips on your own from there to the various gardens. However, plan it so that wherever you go, a garden trip will be a delightful experience for everyone in your group. And when at a family reunion, destination wedding, weekend getaway, retreat, and so forth, don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

Jacquelin Carnegie is a Contributing Travel Editor to Accent magazine. For the past 15 years, she has covered international travel destinations for both consumer and business publications.

Photos provided by: Coopersmith's, Jeff Sainsbury Tours, and Barb Spangers

How to Organize a Group Garden Tour

By guest blogger Jacquelin Carnegie
See Garden Tour Destinations as part two of this two-part series.

If you and your family and friends are garden enthusiasts—or just like to look at pretty fleurs—going on a garden tour is a wonderful experience. For garden experts in your group, it's a great way to get new planting ideas. And, for those who just like to gaze, visiting colorful gardens is a visual treat.

Go on a garden tour lead by horticulture experts or set your own itinerary. You can visit magnificent gardens close to home or as far away as your imagination (and budget) takes you! Schedule your trip to coincide with well-known flower festivals or just try to arrive when the gardens will be at peak bloom. The only rule of thumb (or green thumb) is to start researching and planning now. Don't wait until spring to arrange your trip.
 
How to begin researching a garden tour vacation:

1. Garden Clubs: Nearly every state in the union has a garden club. Many organize local home and garden tours each spring; some organize tours to other parts of the world. You'll find links to garden clubs nationwide on the National Garden Clubs' Web site.
2. Public and Botanical Gardens: Many gardens offer tours of their own lovely grounds as well as tours of other gardens. Here's a list (and links to) Botanical Gardens to visit in the United States.
3. Gardening Magazines and Web sites: You can pick up great ideas on gardens to visit by flipping through a gardening magazine or checking out a gardening Web site. See Horticulture, Fine Gardening, The American Gardener, or visit http://www.gardenvisit.com and the National Gardening Association's events calendar.
4. Garden Tour Companies: There are several excellent garden tour companies. Just looking over their itineraries will inspire you to pack your bags and get your group in gear. These companies arrange everything for you and can also create custom tours for your group: Expo Garden Tours; Coopersmith's; Jeff Sainsbury Tours; Brightwater Holidays.
5. Word of Mouth: If you have friends and neighbors who love gardening, perhaps they've gone on a garden tour and can offer some suggestions. If not, just look at these garden tour destinations for ideas.

Jacquelin Carnegie is a Contributing Travel Editor to Accent magazine. For the past 15 years, she has covered international travel destinations for both consumer and business publications.

Photo provided by Jeff Sainsbury Tours

Top 10 Thanksgiving Dinner Topics

Turkey day is almost here. Families will gather across America to feast on meat, stuffing, mashed carbs, cranberries, and some form of green veggie dish. Aside from the obvious Congressional overturn, dinner table conversations will inevitably turn toward personal life, especially since relatives and/or close friends are gathered in one place.

Use the Thanksgiving holiday as an opportunity to start planning family reunions or trips with friends. At minimum, share upcoming travel plans. You just might discover useful tips on what to do/see in an area or thoughtful advice on how to solve a trip planning issue from your wise resources at the table. Ten table topics:

1. Family reunion plans: Start the discussions among your immediate family and any relatives at the table on ideas for the next reunion.
2. Brainstorm ideas for reunion locations, (someone's house? a destination that everyone can travel to?) themes, (someone's birthday? an important anniversary?) and timing. These are three critical early planning steps for reunions. Why not discuss while you pass dishes during Thanksgiving, or are all on a walk the day after Thanksgiving, or gathered around the fireplace visiting?
3. Upcoming weddings: Gather ideas from decorations to music to locations if you're the bride or groom; and if you're going to attend a wedding soon, ask for ideas on wedding gifts.
4. Spring break trips for college students, teachers at the table, or parents who use that opportunity for a family vacation: Gather ideas, brag about trips already set, or ask to borrow items needed such as snorkel gear, binoculars, etc.
5. Winter or ski travel plans for the upcoming season: Thanksgiving is traditionally more than turkey, it's the start of ski season at slopes across the Northern Hemisphere. Plan a ski trip with family and/or friends. The deals are as fresh as the snow, but will be harder to get later in the season. After dinner, take a trip to the computer and research ski resorts and accommodations that fit people's budgets.
6. Road trips: The beauty of a road trip is the wandering nature of the journey. Because you can detour to so many tiny towns and off-the-beaten path areas, you may want to gather ideas from the brain power at the dinner table so you don't miss something.
7. Any travel abroad is usually planned several months to a year in advance, and sharing ideas or learnings from research about the area is great table conversation. You may even be surprised at who else around the table knows about a certain country. Some of the best conversations can be jump-started by someone saying they are traveling to a foreign country within the next year.
8. Trips with friends: Share upcoming plans for trips with friends (road trips, girls getaways, bachelor parties) and find out who might know about the destination and surrounding attractions. Use your family and friends as resources.
9. Delegation: with so many loved ones around during this holiday, this is a perfect time to delegate assignments for planning reunions or weddings to people who can help. Shuttling people to and from the airport, decorations, meals, activities, child care, rain plan alternatives, etc.
10. Ask for planning tips from family, relatives, and close friends at the table. Whatever upcoming vacation(s) you're planning, asking for help can yield sage advice. You might be surprised at what you learn.

TripHub is ideal for any group planning trips together with useful tools such as trip home pages, blog discussion areas, event schedules, and ways to share itinerary information. Give it a try for your next group trip. See how TripHub works with a tour or via FAQs.

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Pet-Friendly Hotels

Can't leave home without Fido? Love your cat and want her to see the world and smell new air? Pet travel is becoming an increasingly popular concept. With this comprehensive list of the world's pet-friendly hotels, motels, or B&Bs you can rest assured that wherever you travel, pets are welcome in more cities than you'd imagine.

Think of the possibilities. Your dog roaming through vineyards with you and your pals in Walla Walla, Washington or accompanying you at a B&B in the French countryside, you sipping French wine, the dog lapping up French water. The possibilities are endless.

Another site (BringFido.com) has a U.S.-specific list of pet-friendly hotels, plus dog park info and a list of top destinations for dog lovers who travel. Who says group travel only includes humans?

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Group Trip Profiles Unmasked

Are you the group geek? Along for the ride and prefer not to bother with trip details? Enthusiastic about one very specific element of the trip but indifferent about others?  See how to use your natural talents to the fullest when planning that next group trip.

Here are common group profiles I've witnessed over the years:

1. Group geek: The one who must bring a cell phone, blackberry, or other widget lest they feel isolated from their real world of technology. This is also the person who brings a GPS and on camping trips, ski trips, or outdoor adventures and everyone ends up appreciating this person the most. Sound familiar?
   Suggestion: Careful not to geek out by tripping on the latest iPod or Zune features. Instead, think outward and perhaps suggest a GPS treasure hunt activity for the gang while traveling together. Offer your uber efficient Internet research skills for the troop leader in finding the best hotel and give your quick comments in the hotel discussion area of search results, then post it to the group's trip home page.
2. Troop leader: The idea person. The charismatic rally gal/guy. The motivated one who seems to have an internal compass pointing them in the right direction and helping them make decisions quickly, gather input, urge people to make reservations on time, offer activity options, and send out invites. This person is the point person of the trip, who can get as frazzled about pulling loose ends together as excited for the trip itself. Sound familiar?
   Suggestion: A smart troop leader delegates. If you prefer to be in control of certain trip aspects, just make sure you ask for input on key decisions such as hotel rooms, etc.
3. Indecisive: They love their friends, family, or the people with whom they'll travel. Or perhaps they like the ski club with whom they'll swish down the slopes. They're an open person who sees all sides of arguments and is likely philosophical. The good thing is they really don't care which mountain to ski on, what time the group leaves, which shuttle is used for transportation, as long as they're on the slopes. Problem is people sometimes need input and opinions so they can make decisions about where to stay. While the indecisive person oscillates between choice A and B because they may not want to hurt anyone's feelings who recommended either, ultimately decisions need to be made. "Whatever everyone else wants" can be a disguise for "I have no freakin' idea!" Sound familiar?
   Suggestion: Take a stand. Take your pick. Your flexibility and openness is appreciated, but your vote counts and is desired. In trip blog discussions, join in on conversation topics so decisions can quickly be made. Just as on election day, your voice counts.
4. Whiner and/or Frequent Special Requester: Surprisingly, these people may not realize they are doing this because it can be so subtle. The overt whiners are obvious and tend to bring the group down by taking every opportunity to moan about something or other. Subtle whiners can hold back key trip decisions by being slightly selfish or continually making changes to pre-set plans; for instance, saying they agree to a wine-tasting tour but later announce that they might go on a no alcohol detox diet (after the tour has been booked) so may not be able to participate. These are the special request kings/queens. The high maintenance types. We all want what we want, but consensus (which may mean compromise) on group trips is imperative. Sound familiar?
   Suggestion: Careful not to let negative feedback cloud the pre-trip planning process. Remember the trip is geared around everyone and remind yourself how great the rewards will be: seeing old friends and getting away. If you have a special request, you may be able to arrange that separately. Or save the most important special request to share with the group.
5. Group Socialite: This type of person wants to be in the heart of everything all the time. That doesn't mean they necessarily have to be the center of attention (although extreme versions exist). But they have more energy than most people and often push to stay up late, go the extra distance on physical activities, and even make new friends while traveling. This natural extrovert is an ideal person to help get the word out about the trip if you're organizing a trip where you can invite anyone. Sound familiar?
   Suggestion: You're a natural trip promoter and might be the best person to help organize key parts of the trip such as researching activities, etc. Let your enthusiasm bubble over into the trip planning process.

Who am I missing? Know of any other group profile that sounds familiar?

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Gift Vacations: A Luxury Travel Treat

The New York Times ran a story on a new trend for millionaire vacations: why travel alone when you can afford to take your friends and family and pay for them? Group travel doesn't discriminate against cash in pocket, banks, investments, etc. Everyone travels for the same reason when planning a group trip: to stay connected to close friends and family.

This new luxury travel trend - dubbed as a result of the rich in America getting richer and not being shy to foot the bill to spend quality time with people - presents interesting opportunities for group travel, along with dilemmas.

• Opportunities: Free time at no to little cost to enjoy a vacation, opportunity to see a new place or try out a new style of living potentially out of bounds otherwise, take the attitude of "carpe diem" and just go for it.
• Dilemmas: The guilt of feeling obligated to somehow return the enormous favor, the feelings of inequity among friends, not feeling "right" about accepting such a gift. And the giftor must decide who's in and who's not invited, which can get uncomfortable with those uninvited. Ugh.

On my boating trip this summer (split the costs evenly), one of our stops was Roche Harbor, San Juan Island. We happened to arrive during a mega yacht meet-up and our 33-foot wooden boat was dwarfed by many pristine, fiberglass ships. For the size of little quaint Roche Harbor (at least that's how I remember it from my childhood) it seemed ridiculous. But after reading this NYT article (which is intriguing, and a must read) now I wonder how many people on yachts were on gift vacations.

If you have the means to plan a luxury trip with friends and family (whether you gift it or not), you can use TripHub to coordinate and share trip details.

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