Why holidays with close friends are a great idea

At the end of 2014, friends of ours phoned my husband and asked – completely out of the blue – if we would be interested in joining them and two other couples on a Mauritius breakaway. He came across a good offer at one of our local travel agents and convinced them to give us some extra discount and benefits, if he makes sure that we are a group of 8 people… and all pay within 24 hours! So I only heard one side of the conversation, and all I could gather was “Something-something-Mauritius” and “Yes, that sounds great, we are in!”

That leads me to one of the best pieces of travel advice that I could give: always say yes and commit as soon as possible!

Without thinking about it too much, we committed and made our booking. And six short months later we arrived at the airport, all dressed up in island-themed outfits!

The group included three newly married couples and one couple who actually got engaged while we were there! It was the first time we were all on holiday together and it is always a bit of a risk because you never know what to expect. Will everybody get along? Will there be issues because one person wants to do this and another wants to do that? Will we work on each other’s nerves and cause damage to the relationships?

We found that the secret is to make it clear at the beginning of the vacation that while we want to spend time together and take part in group activities, it is important that everybody knows they are allowed to do their own thing. If someone is not keen to join the others, they can break away from the group for a while and meet up later.

We ended up spending a lot of time together as a group and it was so much fun. We had all our meals together including a special seafood dinner instead of the normal buffet. We booked two excursions, one catamaran day trip to the exquisite Ile aux Cerf and one trip to Port Louis, the capital, where we explored the old fort and the markets. We spent a lot of time together relaxing on the beach and working through the list of cocktails available on the menu. We had game night more than once where we played card games and board games and laughed way too much.

But still every person did what they wanted to, when they wanted to. My husband and I tried out all the activities offered by the hotel, including snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides, paragliding, walks on the beach, canoeing and spa treatments. Others preferred to work on their tan and relax on the beach more. We respected each other’s preferences and had an incredible time together being spoiled by incredible staff in such a beautiful spot.

Vacationing with friends can work and can turn out to be incredible, as long as you respect one another and always be considerate. Choose your vacation partners wisely. A weekend away is one thing, but planning a big expensive trip with friends for a week or longer and only realising that you are not compatible when on vacation, could spoil the whole trip.