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<p>Traveling with a bunch of friends or family can be among life's most rewarding experiences, especially when you put time and thought into the pre-trip planning.</p><p>To help you make smart decisions on your destination, activities, lodging and more, we tapped top pros for their best group-travel tips. These expert ideas can help you get organized, enjoy the journey and ensure it all happens without a hitch. </p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/GettyImages-941491560_web.jpg" alt="a group of friends celebrate with their hands in the air at the top of a mountain" class="right_image" /><h2>Consider personalities </h2><p>Your choice of destination will have a big impact on the experience, so think carefully about which setting will suit your group best. If your companions are the type who like their independence, for example, you may want a walkable city like San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Portland, where you can all go your own way once the planned outings are done for the day. For lodging, pick a centrally located spot with easy access to coffee shops and restaurants; that way, everyone can easily find what they need without having to rely on the group. </p><p>If, instead, you're a tight-knit crew with unified interests, you might try a more secluded locale, suggests destination event planner Michelle Rago. (Think a small beach town in Portugal or a historic village in Italy.) </p><p>For cross-generational trips, guest ranches in Montana or Colorado are an ideal option, Rago adds, because families can stay close together and also have the freedom to do activities like horseback riding, kayaking or trout fishing on their own.</p><p>A road trip abroad can also be a crowd-pleaser — even if participants have different interests and sleep habits, according to parenting blogger Yashy Murphy, who once drove from Dublin to the shores of southwestern Ireland with her husband, their child, her in-laws and two aunts. "Some people liked to sleep in, while others were early risers, so I made sure to plan morning activities and come back in time for lunch to meet the rest of the group," Murphy says. Ireland was an excellent choice, she adds, because of the relatively short distances between stops and the diversity of beautiful landscapes and historic sights.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/GettyImages-576721759_web.jpg" alt="A family with 2 kids sit on the ground looking out at mountain scenery" class="right_image" /><h2>Stay organized, from start to finish</h2><p>Online tools and apps can streamline your planning. Instead of trying to pick a date over an unwieldly group chat or email chain, for example, send out a poll via Doodle.com, a free scheduler that can automatically pinpoint the group's preferred options. Sygic Travel Maps, a global app that compiles top sights, museums, restaurants, shops and more from travel editors and fellow travelers, is a helpful tool for creating itineraries. And the Splitwise app is an easy way to keep a running tab of who owes money to whom, with an option to settle the bills at the end of the trip.</p><h2>Choose transportation strategically</h2><p>The more people you have on your trip, the more of a possibility there is for unexpected snafus like missed flights or lost luggage. Your best bet is to keep the travel plans as streamlined as possible. "Avoid connecting flights at all costs, especially if there are children or older people," advises Eli Ashear, a travel agent with Embark Beyond, because those can add a layer of unnecessary stress. (Ashear once worked with a client who organized a birthday party in an exotic locale, only to learn his father was hesitating to attend because it entailed a layover, he says.)</p><p>If a connection is the only way to get there, consider hiring VIP ushers. For an added fee, many large airports around the world offer concierges or meet-and-greet services through third parties that can facilitate connections, arrivals and getting through security lines.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/group-adventure_body-2_901596148.jpg" alt="Four friends look out upon the New York City skyline" class="right_image" /><h2>Get the most out of your lodging</h2><p>You want everyone to be comfortable and happy with where you're staying, so understanding the group's expectations and budget is a good place to start to help you narrow down your options. A cozy boutique hotel is often a good choice for a group because there's generally a sense of intimacy and the service can be more personal. But if your companions' price ranges vary, a larger hotel can be an easier option because many major chains allow travelers to reserve rooms at a discount when booking 10 or more. Even if your crew is not quite big enough to qualify, it's a good idea to call the property to inquire about a special rate or potential perks.</p><h2>Be a (benevolent) leader</h2><p>If you're the one in charge, make an effort to be sure every traveler feels included and heard. "The person doing the planning should try to curate all the possibilities for the trip, thinking about different types of activities and even options for downtime, and then share [the plan] with the rest for feedback," says Rago. She also suggests creating a folder or presentation of the destination and potential plans with images. "Providing visuals gives everyone a better idea of what the experience might look and feel like," Rago says.</p><p>If you find that leading the charge alone is too much, you may want to assign other travelers specific tasks, such as finding a hotel, making dinner or renting vehicles.</p><h2>Hire a travel agent — or think like one</h2><p>Not everyone has the bandwidth (or patience) to manage the schedules and needs of a group, so it can be helpful to enlist a professional. Working with a travel agent carries a cost, but a pro could also end up saving you money and time. Agents can help negotiate cancellation policies with hotels or quickly rebook a canceled flight, freeing you up to focus on those you're traveling with, for example.</p><p>Of course, you can also tackle these types of tasks on your own; if you're traveling with 10 or more people, many airlines offer group discounts and special services like priority check-in, so all you'll need to do is ask. You can also protect against fees for changes in dates or itineraries by purchasing refundable tickets and group travel insurance.</p><p> </p><p style="margin-bottom:11px"><em>— With additional reporting from Life and Money by Citi editors.</em></p>

How to Plan an Unforgettable Group Trip

<p>The start of a new season is good a time for kicking off new commitments in the spirit of betterment.</p><p>Which makes it an ideal moment to consider pressing reset on your finances. When you cultivate, implement and refine meaningful and sustainable money practices, you not only improve your finances, but the confidence you build can lead to transformation in other areas of your life.</p><p>To achieve this new level of financial wellness, I suggest incorporating values-based budgeting into your current money practice. How? First, reflect on your values — the beliefs and principles that drive behaviors and attitudes — to determine your life and financial goals. A values-based budget is, then, a personal saving and spending plan aligned to what matters to you the most.</p><p>It's basically an extension of you. And, like you, values are dynamic; they expand as we evolve and grow more self-aware. A values-based budget leaves room for you — and your finances — to grow over time.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/Young-woman-at-cafe-using-laptop.jpg" alt="Young woman at cafe using laptop" class="right_image" /><h2>Start with your 'why'</h2><p>What's important to you at this stage in life? And how can you make sure that your budget lines up to best support those goals? Sticking to a values-based budget can become second nature once you're clear about what you want out of life. The subsequent purchases and experiences will all work in service of your vision.</p><p>But nailing down your values can be a challenge on the first try, especially if you've never contemplated what brings meaning and joy to your life, let alone your finances.</p><p>If you struggle with identifying your values, try this exercise: Visualize your ideal day. Paint the picture of the type of work you do, your preferred work culture, where you're living, your support network, your hobbies and how you engage in self-care.</p><p>An app like <a href="https://www.clasp.app/about.html">Clasp</a> can help you make sense of how you feel about money, your emotional triggers, and your most influential financial role models — all necessary pre-work to help you think more critically about how to match your money with your values.</p><h2>Reevaluate your costs</h2><p>Once you home in on your core values, you'll be able to reevaluate your fixed and variables costs with a new, more precise lens.</p><p>You may realize, for instance, that you could save a couple hundred dollars of your take-home pay every month on a need like housing because you don't care about living in a designer zip code. Or you may opt to sell your car and take public transportation if you live in a transit-friendly city and value eco-friendly living. It may even dawn on you that you could trim the fat on your grocery bill without sacrificing your need for quality cuts, produce, or ingredients if you decide to shop by menu, with a list, or on a weekly basis to avoid food waste, duplicate purchases or impulse buys.</p><p>With this approach, you could use any freed-up money to create other values-based short-term and long-term saving and spending goals such as a rainy-day fund, investing, quarterly travel, paying for a personal chef or a cleaning service.</p><p>Similarly, you may notice that variable or mutable costs like monthly magazine subscriptions, streaming services, unused data plans or eating out are wasting money. Instead, earmark those funds to enroll in personal development classes, host monthly dinner parties, build a website around your freelance services or dip your toe into the world of investing. Once you define goals and values, your budget can shift to support those things.</p><h2>End with your 'how'</h2><p>Now that you've figured out why you want to adjust your spending and savings, find the right resource or guide to help you stick with it.</p><p>Tools like an old-school spreadsheet and the latest budget app play important supporting roles in building an authentic, values-based relationship with your money. They provide the "how" — the system or structure — for tracking expenses, staying organized and keeping yourself accountable across months and years.</p><p>But doing the opposite — focusing on the how before the why — essentially treats the acts of saving and spending as isolated and transactional moves rather than the relational and contextual ones that they are.</p><h2>Help, I'm fancy and so are my values!</h2><p>Values-based budgets can serve as a key structure in any comprehensive financial wellness plan. Practiced responsibly, values-based saving and spending can spare you feelings of shame, confusion and anxiety that might otherwise emerge at the end of the month when you discover you have little in the way of savings or memorable purchases to show for your earnings.</p><p>Regrettably, in inexperienced hands, there's also a chance that values-based budgeting can lead to poor money management in the name of living your most aligned life. You may justify the purchase of a pricey retreat with credit because you're focused on self-improvement or take out a personal loan in order to buy high-end music equipment because you want to explore your creative side.</p><p>In 10 years, I'll be 50 years old. If my 50s promise to be anything like the last two decades, I'll have new goals and values. And along the way, I'll have a budget that allows me to embrace and experience it all.</p>

Make Room for What Matters with Values-Based Budgeting

<p>When Emily Scott packs for a trip, the 33-year-old makes sure she has plenty of clothes, toiletries and surgical gauze.</p><p>Medical supplies in your carry-on? It could become more common than you might expect. Scott, a nurse from Seattle, WA, is one of a growing number of travelers who are seeking out volunteer experiences abroad. Sometimes referred to as "voluntourists," these travelers partner with organizations around the globe on projects ranging from helping to build houses in hurricane-ravaged communities in the Caribbean to pitching in at under-served medical clinics around the world.</p><p>Here's the why and how of medical volunteering from those — with and without professional medical backgrounds — who have done it.</p><h2>No medical background required</h2><p>While some medical volunteering programs insist that volunteers have a healthcare experience, others accept volunteers of all professional backgrounds. What's more, not all of these opportunities require far-flung travel. </p><p>Kelsey Swenson, 27, of Minneapolis, MN, says her grandmother, Georgann, promised her a trip to after her high school graduation. As graduation loomed, however, her grandmother presented a different offer: They could go to Europe, or she could bring Swenson to Camp Goodtimes, a camp for children with cancer located outside of Seattle, where Georgann had volunteered one week of her summer for the past 15 years.</p><p>"I chose the camp," says Swenson, who now spends two weeks of each summer volunteering at the organization using her vacation time. Swenson had no medical experience when she first started helping out, but Camp Goodtimes partially inspired Swenson to become a nurse as well.</p><p>"I always have people say, 'Wouldn't you want to go to a resort or something?' But I truly wouldn't. Yes, I'd sleep more. The food would be better. I'd have a chance to relax. But I always come home and to my real job so much more fulfilled. There aren't a lot of vacation opportunities where you're able to give to others while giving to yourself, too," Swenson says.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/GettyImages-855467380_web.jpg" alt="unidentifiable nurse in blue scrubs with crossed arms and a stethoscope" class="right_image" /><h2>How to find places to volunteer</h2><p>Want to give back? Seasoned volunteers share their tips on finding the right experience for you.</p><h3>1. Get your feet wet</h3><p>Before you embark on a two-week volunteer journey, Scott says, research a "social impact trip" — essentially tours that incorporate some low-impact volunteer opportunities. "These can help you find out if you like living with a host family, being more engaged in the day-to-day of a community and help you experience a country for the first time without the pressure to perform a job," says Scott. Searching "social impact travel" online can surface organizations that specialize in these sorts of trips.</p><h3>2. Look for an experienced outfitter</h3><p>There's a lot of value in assisting an established organization — not least of all because they will have the capabilities in place to protect your health and safety, says Sun. Once you've found an organization that seems in line with what you want to do, ask for a few referrals from past volunteers. They'll be able to provide you a more detailed sense of the daily schedule, the ups and downs of the trip, and more.</p><h3>3. Make sure your own logistics are covered</h3><p>Prior to any volunteer travel opportunity, it's essential to ensure you're protected — get necessary travel insurance, vaccinations or paperwork prior to going abroad. Some organizations can assist you through this process, but volunteers say it's important to also do your own due diligence and be realistic about the risks you may face. It's also helpful to consider other potential barriers: If you don't speak a local language, for example, ask whether interpreters will be on hand to aid you in communication.</p><h3>4. Don't discount local opportunities</h3><p>While a trip abroad may be the dream, it can sometimes be hard for schedules and logistics to line up. In that case, Sun advises, consider local opportunities to make a difference. These sorts of opportunities can be equally as valuable and are often times more accessible.</p><h2>Medical volunteer organizations to consider</h2><p>Ready to pack that surgical gauze in your carry-on bag? These groups offer a jumping-off point for medical volunteer opportunities abroad. Many organizations have roles available for those with and without a medical background. While programs vary, those who don't have a medical background may be tasked with administrative work, general patient support, assisting medical professionals in organizing and delivering supplies, providing emotional support to patients, and helping create and staff clinics in the field.</p><h3><a href="https://www.goeco.org/tags/medical-volunteering?source=Google&medium=cpc&campaign=medical-volunteering-BMM&term=%2Bmedical%20%2Bvolunteering&site=&content=USA-Search&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI84qRldqR3AIVULbACh3jfQEyEAMYASAAEgKKnvD_BwE">GoEco</a> </h3><p>This sustainable travel organization has medical placement and volunteer opportunities around the world from one week to several months long. This organization offers placements for both medical practitioners and those who are not in the field.</p><h3><a href="https://www.unitedplanet.org/healthcare-volunteer-abroad">United Planet</a> </h3><p>This organization offers worldwide placement, in varying time frames, for all medical professionals, including nutritionists, social workers and physical and speech therapists. This organization focuses exclusively on those in the medical and medical-adjacent fields.</p><h3><a href="https://www.thegoodtimesproject.org/">Goodtimes Project</a></h3><p>This non-profit supports camps, events and local events for pediatric cancer patients and their families in Washington and Alaska. Medical and non-medical volunteer positions are available for the summer camp program.</p>

Go Abroad, Give Back: Medical Missions Aren't Just for MDs

<p>For most of the year, New Yorker Lori Levine is deeply ensconced in her urban life and job at an advertising agency.</p><p>But when it comes to those hard-earned vacation days, she spends them a world apart from her everyday routine. A flip through Levine's vacation albums reveal snapshots of her working alongside locals in South Africa at a lion sanctuary, in a Rwandan rhino preserve or at a Cambodian elephant rescue.</p><p>Levine is hardly alone in her large-hearted, far-flung approach to outreach. The multi-billion-dollar volunteer tourism industry in Latin America, Asia and Africa has been expanding over the last two decades. Nancy Gard McGehee, a professor at Virginia Tech, estimated in a report that people are collectively spending up to two billion dollars a year on volunteer trips overseas.</p><p>Levine was made aware of volunteer tourism — or voluntourism — after she caught a news report detailing the conservation efforts of a South African animal sanctuary called Lion Whisperer. That night she wrote to the nonprofit organization to ask if there was any way she could help.</p><p>Three weeks later, Levine boarded a plane bound for South Africa for her very first trip not only to Africa but to an animal sanctuary. The total cost of the trip was about $2,500 (roughly $1,500 for airfare and $300 to $400 a week for room and board). That's no small cost for giving of your time, but for Levine the experience and knowledge gained proved priceless.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/Darkened selfie.jpg" alt="blonde woman taking selfie with lion in background" class="right_image" /><p>Lion Whisperer founder Kevin Richardson started the sanctuary to protect African lions from being raised to fuel the tourism business. Richardson had worked in a lion park which bred lion cubs for tourists who would pay top dollar to pet and pose with cubs for pictures. When the cubs mature, many are sold off to "canned hunt" ranges where tourists pay up to $100,000 to trophy hunt these lions who were not raised in the wild, so are relatively easy prey.</p><p>A large part of the trip is focused on raising awareness about the plight of the lions and the multimillion-dollar industry for lion cubs. During her two and a half weeks at the sanctuary, Levine learned how to safely work with the lions and the sanctuary's other residents, including hyenas and black leopards. Levine was also instructed on how to prepare meat for the lions' meals and clean the pens.</p><p>The payoff of all the daily labor is the proximity to these majestic animals. "I love the quietness of watching the animals," says Levine — who grew up on a horse farm in central New Jersey. As a tourist, she notes that she would never have had access to observe the lions with such intimacy. "You'd never see how they eat or how they fight," she says. "In our downtime, we would photograph them."</p><p>Along with the animals, Levine also cherishes the wisdom and friendship imparted by the sanctuary workers who have dedicated — and sometimes risked — their lives to help these animals. Not to mention the first-hand political education gained from being in a place and working with the locals.</p><p>Immersive education is an essential element of voluntourism. When the Toronto-based Operation Groundswell sends its clients — mainly students aged 18 to 24 — out on its 40-day Thailand/Cambodia program, the organization encourages "local change makers and activists" to guide their volunteers. The group's mission statement for its various trips led around the world is "to create a more equitable, just and sustainable world through the power of travel."</p><p>"We want to take the lead from local community organizations because they are the ones who live and work there and understand the scope of the issues," says Justine Abigail Yu, the organization's communications and marketing director.</p><p>On one level, an assignment might be to help a group, such as an elephant refuge to clean up a bamboo area for the animals. Yet visitors will also be learning about the rehabilitation process for Asian elephants and broader environmental concerns.</p><p>No matter what type of volunteer tourism you choose, it's key to do your research and know that the animal-focused wildlife organizations are legitimate.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/body_1.jpg" alt="woman in front of elephant with arm outstretched" class="right_image" /><p>"Responsible tourism is fairly new," says Dave Bouskill, a travel writer who, along with his wife Deb, writes the travel blog The Planet D<span>.</span> In Sri Lanka, for example, the couple found a resort that donates part of its fee to a leopard project which helps local residents build fences and pens for their livestock to prevent them from being attacked by leopards. In turn, the effort helps save the leopard population.</p><p>Sometimes it takes getting an up-close view of things before you can even properly define "responsible."</p><p>Take the popular photo-op of sitting astride an elephant. While volunteering at the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia, Levine learned that riding Asian elephants can cause the animals to develop arthritis or crooked backs.</p><p>This sanctuary for aging and endangered elephants is a nonprofit that provides local elephant owners money to replace what they might have earned from the animal's forced labor and then offers a home for the elephant at their reserve. "The owner is happy, the elephant is happy and the sanctuary is happy," Levine explains.</p><img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/Rosie tribe - Desert elephants - Namibia.jpg" alt="namibia landscape with desert elephants" class="right_image" /><h2>Choose your destination</h2><p>Five wildlife and animal conservation-focused volunteer organizations to consider:</p><h3><a href="http://www.lionwhisperer.co.za/">Lion Whisperer</a></h3><p>South African lion preserve focused on stemming the rapid decline of African lions due to factors such as habitat loss and illegal hunting. </p><h3><a href="http://www.imire.co.zw/">Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservation</a></h3><p>A preservation dedicated to the breeding of rhinos, care of African elephants, environmental sustainability and community building in Zimbabwe.   </p><h3><a href="http://www.elephantvalleyproject.org/">Elephant Valley Project</a></h3><p>Asian elephant sanctuary in Cambodia that aims to improve the health and welfare of captive elephants, work to conserve the environment and the local people who work with the animals. </p><h3><a href="https://www.saveelephant.org/news/">Save Elephant Foundation</a></h3><p>Asian elephant sanctuary in Thailand that rescues and cares for injured and overworked elephants and returns them to a natural habitat.</p><h3><a href="http://www.4apes.com/get-involved/volunteer">The Ape Alliance</a></h3><p>Founded in 1996, this international coalition works for the conservation and welfare of apes. Several of its member organizations have volunteer programs including a chimpanzee rescue center in Cameroon in West-Central Africa and one for endangered orangutan in Indonesia.</p>

Wildlife Voluntouring: Talk to the Animals

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