We had heard  how amazing Cinque Terre was for years before we were able to make it to this cluster of villages on the West Coast of Italy.  To give you an idea of what to expect, in case you haven’t heard, the word most often used to describe Cinque Terre is beautiful, closely followed by relaxing and easy.  The average day here consists of laying in the sun, drinking wine, and eating seafood; which is to say this is a beautiful, relaxing place.  However, Cinque Terre literally means five villages, and each of the five has its own atmosphere and amenities. So, any trip to Cinque Terre would be incomplete if a visitor didn’t take enough time off from drinking wine by the Medeterranian to see each one.

Now, like I mentioned, everyone we spoke to loved their time in Cinque Terre, but no one seemed to be able to describe how to actually do the hike through all five villages.  In fact, all the advice we could get was that there is indeed a trail that lead between all five villages, and no matter where you stay, you can do the hike.  We booked a room in Riomaggiore, so here we are going to outline our tips and trials so anyone else wanting to hike through all five villages can be prepared.

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Together, the three of us did the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu for 245 CNY (+150 CNY for the Slideway down).  Which means our entire trip to the Great Wall for three people cost us less than $60 USD.  We took the 936 bus out to this more scenic and ‘less’ touristy section of the Great Wall and added a ride down the slideway for only slightly more than it would have cost one person to take a tour to the Badaling section.

At first, Jade and I were excited to figure our own way to the Wall, and then it was just me, and now I would have to say, I don’t recommend this option.  Don’t get me wrong, The Mutianyu Great Wall was everything I had hoped the Great Wall to be, and I am infinitely glad we made it.  However, the manner in which we took the trip was super stressful and ultimately, like any tour we would have taken, we were a slave to timetables.  In case you do want to try taking the bus to Mutianyu Great Wall, here is the way we figured it out and some tips we had to learn the hard way.

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“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” — Mark Twain

No quote may be truer than this in regards to traveling with groups.  Having a lot of friends around can be exciting and fun but oftentimes it becomes a delicate juggling game of split personalities.  Everyone has their routine, their way of existing that makes sense in their minds.  You have the push-overs, the nay-sayers, the optimistic, the up-for-anything, take chargers and the bullies. Some people go with the flow and accept other people’s routines while others constantly power trip that their way is the only way and there is no use doing anything else.

During a trip to Ireland, I traveled in a group and experienced a lot of this.  I found myself put between several of the people trying to create a balance so that everyone could get along and enjoy what Ireland had to offer- not argue about what time we were going to eat!  Years later, and all the more wiser, I struck that balance during my recent trip to NYC.  Here are my 10 ways to enjoy traveling with a group.

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