darthbimmer

I've done all of these.

An astute traveler recognizes that these are different kinds of trips. Each has tradeoffs with different pluses and minuses that make it more or less suitable for different goals. Ultimately they create different experiences. For example, solo travel offers the advantage of choosing exactly what you want (accommodations, activities, budget, schedule) but means less camaraderie as there's no partner to share experiences with. Travel with a small number of friends/relatives trades off a bit of control, though if the companions selected have fairly compatible styles and interests the loss there may be more than compensated by the presence of friendship and the richer perspectives others may bring to the trip. Travel with a larger number of people virtually precludes compatibility. At that level you've got to split the trip's activities into "together" activities that work for mostly everyone and solo/small group activities for whoever's interested.