What Really Happens When You Travel With a Group

A lot of people want to go to a far off location with their team, but it seems an extravagance. After all, isn’t it really just work pretending to be a vacation or vice versa?

But it turns out that traveling with a group is transformative for the team as a whole and the individuals who make it up. I have seen this first hand time and time again. People get to know each other on a much deeper level and bond in ways you never thought they could. You also see the world in a totally new way, getting more out of your travels because you came along with others.

So let’s dive into what really happens when you travel with a group.

Traveling Is Hard, But Not as Hard Together

We all know that traveling, especially internationally, can be hard. A group doesn’t solve that, but it really, really helps.

Getting acquainted with a new location is much easier when you have helping hands around. The practicalities of wayfinding and navigation are easier with groups. But it goes much deeper than that.

Having others around who are sharing the new experiences you are having brings you closer together. All of a sudden, you find that you are new people out in this place, and you are able to clearly see coworkers as more than their role.

Moments like sharing a bumpy flight, fighting your way through crowds to get a taxi, and trying to figure out where the coffee is — these are those difficulties of traveling that turn into the bedrock of strong bonds.

Get More Out of Your Destination

One of the best reasons to travel with a group is the number of experiences you couldn’t have without teammates. Going to places solo can be intimidating, but with a group, you have people to go exploring with you. And you have more eyes on things to do and discover.

You also take more with you when you return from your destination.

When humans are bonding, they make deeper memories — that ends up enhancing the retention of the places you go with your team. But you know what also helps you make deeper memories? Traveling.

That creates a feedback loop, where the exciting location and the moving moments of connection keep making each other more and more powerful.

The community you form and the location you visit benefit from each other, and those benefits last a long time.

Find Real Meaning

So much of our lives are defined by a search for meaning. Traveling with a group gives you a deep well of meaning to draw from long after your plane has landed back home.

Having a greater sense of the world outside and the world inside others is big stuff. It’s the kind of thing that people hunger for their entire lives without ever really glimpsing. But traveling with a group and bonding through intentional connection building and freeform exploration unleashes this broader perspective.

And what does that perspective do? It unlocks access to that feeling that we are where we are supposed to be. Right now.