How to plan an International Birthday trip for 10 or more people

Hello. If you are reading this blog then you may have come here from my Youtube channel to learn how to plan and successfully execute a birthday party abroad. I have my 7 step guide to make you look like a pro at planning and help ease the pressures of planning. Read below and please let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Enjoy.

1. Pick your dates

The hardest part is deciding on the best date for the birthday person. Do they want to go during their actual birthday or can they wait a few weeks or months when the price is cheaper for a more budget friendly option? For warmer climates, keep in mind, in between holidays during the school year is the best budget friendly time to go. If you must go during holiday’s or summer vacation, try to shop during black Friday deals or consider signing up for credit card to earn and spend reward points. Pro- tip is try to plan the trip at least 10 months in advance if you are planning for a big group. This allows everyone time to make payments and arrangements.

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2. Pick a Hotel and/ or an All Inclusive

When I pick a hotel, I decide first, how much of my time will be spent on the resort. If I spend 75% or more time on the resort then I begin researching all- inclusive resorts and packages. If I know I plan on spending a great bit of time off the resort then I will not pick an all- inclusive hotel or package. Once I have decided how I will spend my time, I begin my search on google. I begin to narrow down all the hotels, in the area I want to stay, down to 5 hotels based off of pictures, when the resort was renovated, and things they offer. Once I have my top 5 then I visit trip advisor. I begin looking at user photos and reviews. I look at this website because it lets you know of recent problems these resorts have encountered and the photos are not the polished day 1 the resort opened photos you get off of the hotel website. You get the real deal. Actual pictures of rooms and what conditions they are in. This is very important in making a decision that everyone is comfortable with. Next, I narrow down the choices to two hotels based off my findings. How I choose the “it” hotel is I compare overall value, where the median person will be comfortable staying, and what they can afford in the timeframe we have to pay for the trip. I usually try and plan the trip at least 10 months in advance.

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3. Flights and transportation

Decided which airline you would like to work with and who offer’s the best deal around the time you want to go. The same logic applies for the airline as the hotel when it comes to booking in the off season. Delta Vacations is who I love to use for international trip planning but booking flights in general I love to use Delta because that’s who I have reward points and program perks with. I wouldn’t stress too hard on finding flights because guests are ultimately going to choose who works best for them. Which airline you choose to fly with is your personal preference and really doesn't matter. I wouldn't stress over trying to book everyone on the same airline or flight. People are going to do what they want anyway. How they get there doesn't matter as long as they are there to have a good time when they arrive. When it comes to transportation to and from the resort, see if the hotel offers it. If they don’t, call the hotel and get recommendations from them. Don’t get there and just hop on a bus or jump into the car with anyone. Be careful.

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4. Send E-vites

Now that you have the when and where, as a host, it is time to let your guests know about your plans. You want to let your guests know as soon as possible so they can start making arrangements. I use evite to send my invitations because of its flexibility and ease of use. I love that you aren’t confined to sending e vites to emails you can text invitations to phone numbers. People can reply and you can keep up with your rsvp’s all in one place. You can even delete and add people based on their RSVP response. Pro-tip is there is no need in keeping someone in the loop on the e-vite that RSVP'd no. It gets confusing and hard to keep up with. One of the features I love is the reminder and update features. This website will remind everyone about the trip based off of how you set the reminder (s). In addition, when you make updates because it will happen, everyone will get notified and the links they are sent will take them right to the updated invitation. One last thing I would like to mention, as an option, is e-vites gives you the space to add what to pack list and any additional notes you would like to add to tell guests about how to plan your trip.

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5. Start Planning Itinerary

2-3 Months before departure start planning the itinerary. Set up a LOOSE itinerary for what you would like to do on the trip. Stick to 2-3 activities, that are planned out, to do during the trip that everyone must attend and let them spend/ plan the rest of the trip how they wish. I mean loose itinerary because you are on vacation and want to enjoy this time as well. Don’t pack your schedule and stress yourself out thinking that everyone has to do everything. Give yourself and your guests time to relax.

If you are staying for 7 days, plan a couple of beach days. Put an emphasis on things that must be attended and let everyone know outside of these 2 or 3 things they are free to attend or plan what they would like. If you would like to throw a birthday party plan ahead and ask the hotel for recommendations on companies that can make this happen.

For instance, I planned a sunset cruise for my mom’s birthday. I was careful to select a company that the hotel recommended. Paying so much money sight unseen and never had experienced before you want to make sure you get someone legit. Beware of scams and everything that may save you a few bucks ain’t always golden. It can be a bigger headache than you need. I have my recommendations for who I used in Jamaica in my Youtube video. Don’t stress over the small things like snorkling. That is something that can be coordinated once you get to your destination. Anything that has to be done during a specific date and time has to be completed first. One thing I love about the evites is as you get information you can update the invitation and itineraries accordingly and it will notify every.

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6. Start planning the "little" things

2-3 months before departure, start planning extra things you want to do to make the trip memorable. For my mom’s birthday, I sent all the women that was going on the trip a message to see if they was interested in gifting her something for her birthday based on what was planned for that day. For instance, if my mom was having a beach day they could purchase sunscreen, lipbalm, and a magazine. It could be anything they wanted to gift her. All they had to do was bring it by her room on their specific day. She loved it!

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7.Finalize your trip

30 days before departure, start packing for the trip and get a headcount of who all is coming. By this time the excuses are out the window and everyone should have fully paid for the trip 30 days before departure. Optional: Add helpful packing tips, what to pack list, and weather report 2 weeks before the trip to your evite. Make sure to print out receipts, reservations, tickets, and anything else you feel you made need to show proof for.

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