5 lessons I’ve learned from my group holiday

About 2 weeks ago I went on holiday with a group of 12 ladies. Yes, 12 ladies!

I had been desperately needing a break from parenting and all the duties that come with it and this holiday couldn’t have come at a better time. To be honest I felt like I was drowning slowly and I had no one to rescue me. I was tired, exhausted and my impatient self was starting to shine through.

Normally I go on holidays with my lil family – My partner and our Daughter and we normally holiday for up to 3 nights away from home (past this we get home sick..LOL). These are very easy going holidays, no pressure, no expectations, just fun, and taking loads of pictures and of course Vlogging/video recording it all.

But when my Mom told me about a “Mom holiday” trip they were planning with her colleagues; I had to go! I felt it was something that will really give me exactly what I want – to RELAX.

This trip was planned over 8 months and when the time finally came, I was extremely excited. I was looking forward to hoping on a plane,relaxing by the pool (I can’t swim) and just kicking off my shoes and just unwinding. So the date finally came and we flew down to Durban and 5 days later we went back home. A lot happened but this is a few things I’ve learned about group holidays

1. Limit your expectations – This is a mistake some of the ladies made and these range from getting things done for you, activities to do, and things like that. More than once we had frictions among us due to simple things that never should have happened but did.
2. Communication is key – there’s nothing that can ruin a holiday like lack of communication. This can cause misunderstandings which eventually leads to lack of enjoyment. Rather communicate clearly what it is you want/need and when you need it rather than assuming people will know.
3. Be a team player – Yes, there is always that one person who wants to lead the team which is not wrong however when you are on holiday, this can lead to a lot of unhappiness among other trip mates. We all have things we want to do if you want to lead with a *It’s my way or …* then the holiday fun goes out the window. It would be better to rather consider everyone’s plans, find out what it is everyone wants to do and if you can’t work around it, then go in separate groups(there really is nothing wrong with that).
4. You might want to put relaxing on hold – It really is difficult to try and relax when you are on holiday with a lot of people. The noise level is constantly up and there’s always someone wanting to do something or explore somewhere. And yes, this means I went back home more tired than I was when I left.
5. Always remember to be considerate and respectful of others – There’s nothing worse than having a person disrespect the next person just for the mere fact that they are on holiday together. You may be on the same holiday or even sharing a room while on holiday but that does not give you the right to think that you are equals with your *roommate*. Remember to always be respectful.

Overall, It was a pretty good holiday. A ton of memories, some to keep and some I wish I could forget but truly they all gave good lessons. These 5 that i’m sharing are the ones that stood out for me. I will definitely be holding them very close and using them as guidelines for my next group holiday – which won’t come for a while, i’m still recovering from this one.

Have you ever been on a group holiday? How was the experience?

xoxo

Oluv