How to Pack for Your Long Weekend Getaway
Travel Team | Jul 11, 2022
Long weekends away with friends are back! Travel restrictions are easing, hospitality businesses are up and running, and this is the perfect reason for planning a group trip to reconnect with your friends and experience new places.
One of the most important things about traveling with a group can be deciding what everyone will pack to make the whole weekend run smoothly. Having the right clothes, equipment, food, and essentials can make or break a trip. Have a look at our top tips for coordinating your packing to help bring your weekend together.
Agree on What the Goal Is.
Are you all looking to get the same thing out of the weekend? Is it about adventure? Relaxation? If you’re all going with different agendas, you’re probably going to pack different things, and there will always be someone who didn’t pack for an activity you end up doing. By agreeing on what your goal for the weekend is beforehand, you’ll know exactly what to pack — and no one will be left wanting or showing up to dinner dressed the opposite of what was in mind!
Coordinate Your Packing.
For the most effective way to pack, coordinate your baggage to make sure you’re all on the same page and vitals don’t get missed. Share lists, make itineraries, and check in with each other to make sure all the essentials are remembered, including anything you need to stay in line with COVID guidelines.
Share Essentials.
A top tip for keeping luggage to a minimum is by sharing essential items. Do you really need seven hairdryers, or can you share? The same goes for chargers, plug adapters, and other items that you’re unlikely to all use at the same time. Other items, such as a guidebook or a can of bug spray, may be integral to the trip but having one for everyone to use is plenty. Knowing who you’re going to be sharing a room with will make sharing essentials even easier, so it’s a great idea to discuss who you’ll be buddying up with before you begin to pack.
Assign Areas.
Outside of your personal belongings, in order to make sure nothing is forgotten and things aren’t duplicated, you can assign each member of the party an “area” of responsibility. For example, one might be in charge of drinks, another entertainment, and someone else might take items for a beach day. When you only have one area to focus on, you’re less likely to forget things and your packing will be more thorough.
Take a Day Each.
Another way to break up packing duties is to give everyone a day or evening for which they are responsible. For these days, each “host” will bring entertainment, games, or activities related to their chosen theme. Ideally, discuss this before you go so everyone is on board.
Share the Cooking.
If you’re staying in a rental, you might decide to cook some of your meals. Rather than attempting to figure out who is cooking what when you arrive at your destination, and then heading off to the store with a massive list, decide this ahead of time. Assign each person to a meal, and then grocery shopping can be divided between guests. If you're driving to your destination, you can pack your groceries and bring them with you.
Get Trip Protection.
For a group trip away, you will want to look at travel insurance options. There are a number of ways the right trip protection can help.
Group travel insurance: If there are 10 or more of you in your party, some providers offer group travel insurance.
Protect against any fallouts: Weekends away with friends are fun and exciting, but we all know living with people can sometimes cause tensions and arguments. Did you know you can actually protect against this with optional Interruption for Any Reason (IFAR) coverage? It allows you to interrupt a trip for any reason you wish, including if you have an argument with your travel companion or host and decide to go home or to your next destination early.
Seven Corners has trip protection and other insurance options to suit your needs whether you are a small or large group and whether you're traveling in the U.S. or abroad. Get a quote today.
About the Author
Nikki Vivian is a UK-based writer with more than 10 years’ experience writing for print and online publications, covering topics from lifestyle and parenting, to food and travel to careers and professional development. Nikki has been published in The Guardian, writes regular profiles for Prospects, and is an expert contributor for several careers websites to name a few.
Search Posts
Receive our monthly inspiration and travel tips from the travel insurance experts.
Sign me upThis website and various social media updates provided by Seven Corners contain content, information, articles, videos, and links to websites created by third parties. Seven Corners, its owners, and its employees neither endorse nor are responsible for the accuracy, timeliness, or reliability of any third-party information, statements, opinions, or advice and are not liable for any loss, harm, or damage caused by your reliance upon them. Use of such information or the linked websites is entirely at your risk. Concerns regarding this third-party content should be directed to the third party. Seek professional advice, as appropriate, regarding your use of such information and websites.
Because the information on this website and in Seven Corners’ blogs and other social media is written and compiled using knowledge and information available at a certain point in time, it may become outdated. For that reason, information, events, legal requirements, and product changes (including benefits, limitations, exclusions, and services) may not be up-to-date, complete, or accurate at the point in time it is being read. Again, use of such information is at your risk.
