Taking the holiday route...
“Only if all of them try to act as the cook,” says Arindam Mitra, a sales manager.
“If only one or two people act as leaders, it’s fine but if everyone is highly opinionated, then it become messy,” he adds. The one benefit of travelling in big groups is cost reduction “The cost comes down and you can afford things which otherwise are out of budget,” says Shreya Sharma, a marketing professional. “Six people together can hire a car which two people would find expensive,” she adds. “There are advantages like saving on food and accommodation and you are in a better position to negotiate on room rents,” says Chaitanya P, who interns with an advertising firm. But one has to be careful choosing the people you travel with. “In an ideal situation, one would take a trip with friends. But not all your friends are free at the same time. So you have to make do with ‘friends of friends’,” says Neha, a student.
Others agree too. “As long as the people you are travelling with are of the same frequency, big groups are fun. Otherwise, it is a pain having to coordinate with everyone and taking travel tantrums,” says Shreya. “It’s not always possible to please all and that is the main problem with big groups,” says Neha. “There is always one person who thinks he knows better and acts as a spoilsport,” she adds. Sharing finances also cause trouble if not tackled carefully. “There is often confusion about money. The best way is to pool in all the money initially or let one person handle all the finances,” says Jomon, software professional.
“Also cost sharing becomes a problem as each and every expense might not be common to all. Keeping the bills for meals is helpful,” says Aditya Deshpande, a professional. As it turns out, all the fun comes with its own complications. “Irrespective of all the problems, it is fun to travel with a lot of people. Travelling is not a problem as long as people are willing to adjust a bit here and there and the focus is on having a good time,” says Aditya.