Last year was the first time I went on vacation without my family. I went on my first ever friendcation. And now that I’m a pro, and I’ve officially done two (please read with sarcasm). Here’s my recap and some tips about traveling with friends.
Siesta Key – Senior Trip
Siesta Key was my friend group’s final hurrah to celebrate graduating from high school. We spent everyday on the beach playing frisbee, floating in the ocean, or trying (key word, trying) to wakeboard. We woke up early to see the sunrise… and walked to the wrong sites of the coast. We soaked up the sun, tanning on the beach… until it started pouring rain, and we had to sprint ten minutes back to our Airbnb. We had fun and laughed through the entire trip, even the parts that didn’t go quite as planned.
This trip was a celebration of all of our past achievements, and all our future endeavors. I’ll always remember that night dancing on the beach singing to our favorite songs while debating if we had seen a UFO. This trip was happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way.
San Diego – Fall Break
San Diego was my first ever WBB adventure (WBB: World Bachelor of Business – my major), and now I’m so excited for all the ones to come.
We all bused to San Diego and checked into our AirBnb. We started exploring as soon as we put our backs down and headed to Balboa Park to visit the rose gardens and museums. We saw the seals in La Jolla and went to a farmers market.
We did all of this adventuring, while competing with one another for a case competition. Planning museums for our friends during the day, but plotting against them at night.
When we were home we kept ourselves busy, I learned more card games than I’ll ever remember. We watched horror movies every night and were treated to a home cooked Italian dinner. Our conversation around the fire pit was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We all opened up and it was so pretty to think how all along there was some invisible string tying all of us. It was the best preview for the next two years traveling the world together.
Tips
AirBnB’s work out really well with big groups… just make sure to figure out the room situation in advanced (I’ve had to help move mattresses before).
Don’t be afraid to split up during the day, because it can be fun to recall your days together when you are back home again. Everyone has a different vacationing style: some people are relaxers at the pool and some like to go sightseeing. Some wake up 8 am and some at 12 pm, the most important thing is to communicate with the other people you are traveling with so they know what to expect. When you are communicative and flexible, it is much easier to plan for the day.
And remember, you don’t always have to be out of the hotel/Airbnb. A lot of my favorite memories from these trips were when we were sitting around playing cards, watching movies, or cooking together.
Just travel with people you love, and everything will turn out alright.
If you liked this post, check out my Instagram for pics and stay tuned to see these trips chronicled in my travel journal. Tell me in the comments if you spotted the lyrics I mentioned in this post.
Teen Traveler 