Plan a trip with friends

Settle the frame first

Before anyone sends a restaurant link, agree on three things: the dates, a rough budget per person, and who is actually coming. Everything is easier once those are fixed, and it stops the planning from going in circles. Write them down where everyone can see them, not in message 212 of the chat.

Collect ideas in one place

Ideas arrive from everywhere: a friend’s story, a podcast, a pin in Google Maps, a newspaper list. Save each one in a single shared list with its link and place, and decide later. Collecting is free; deciding comes after.

In Awayfolk, paste a link, review its preview and choose Add idea to save it for the group. The card uses the details the page provides; a saved idea with a known location can appear on the shared map. Check the place before relying on the pin.

Put ideas on days, and leave gaps

When the ideas are in, look at them on a map and group what is close together. Give each day one or two fixed points, a dinner you booked or a museum with opening hours, and leave the rest open. A plan that fills every hour falls apart on the second day; one with room in it survives the weather, the hangover and the lucky find.

Pack together, and alone

Some things the party needs once: a speaker, sunscreen, the first-aid kit. Others everyone needs for themselves. Keep a shared list for the first and a private one for the second, and give each shared item to a person, so nobody brings three and nobody brings none.

Keep bookings where everyone can find them

Flights, the apartment, the table on Saturday: put the details in the trip, with times in local time and the confirmation reference. On the day, nobody should have to search an inbox for the check-in code while the others wait.

Be clear about money early

Agree up front what is shared and what is not, and who is included in each expense. Note expected costs as you plan, so the budget stays visible. Keep those estimates separate from what someone has actually paid; a restaurant idea with a price is not a shared expense yet.

Split the stay fairly with the free group trip budget calculator

On the trip, keep today in everyone’s pocket

What matters on the day is today’s plan, the next booking, directions and the packing list, on every phone, not in one person’s head. Awayfolk’s Today view shows exactly that, and it can be added to the home screen like an app.

Use AI if it helps

Many people already ask an AI for ideas. The trouble is that the answer stays in one person’s chat. Awayfolk’s optional Claude and ChatGPT connections can read the trips you allow and save ideas you choose, where the group can see them.

Open the AI connection guide below, choose your service and follow its setup steps. You can also add ideas directly in Awayfolk.

Settle the remaining expenses

Before closing out the trip, check that everyone has added their shared expenses and that each cost is split between the right people. Record repayments once the money has been sent, including partial payments, so everyone can see what is still owed.