Holidays to go on with friends: book a hosted group trip together

The easiest holidays to go on with friends are the ones where somebody else has already done the organising, and that is what Spice Escapes does: two, three or four of you book places on the same small hosted group holiday, and a host travels with you and handles the plans. You keep each other's company, you meet a few new people along the way, and nobody in your group has to become the unpaid travel agent.

If you have ever tried to get friends from "we should go away" to an actual booking, you know where it stalls. One wants a beach, one wants a city, and whoever said "leave it with me" ends up with forty browser tabs. This page is for friends who want the trip without that part.

How booking together works at Spice Escapes

Spice Escapes runs mixed hosted groups, and most people book on their own. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty. Friends are welcome to join one together: you each book a place on the same departure and share the days and evenings with each other and the rest of the group.

Two things are worth knowing before anyone sends the group chat a link. First, every holiday carries a single supplement or a cost for a room to yourself, so if two of you would happily share, ask us which holidays can do that and we will tell you straight. Our single supplement page explains how the room costs work. Second, if there are enough of you that you would rather have a trip of your own, tell us how many and what you have in mind, and we will say honestly what is possible.

Why a hosted group suits a set of friends

Friends on holiday tend to fall into the same three arguments: where to eat, what to do tomorrow, and who is paying. A hosted group takes most of that off the table. The host has a plan for each day and sorts the practical things, so your energy goes on each other.

There is a quieter benefit too. Even close friends can run out of things to say by day five. With a dozen or so other people around, you get fresh conversation at dinner and room to go off in pairs without anyone feeling left out. If one of your group is nervous about travelling with strangers, our guide for first-time solo travellers and your first group holiday both explain what the first evening is really like.

Learn something together: Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition

For friends who want to do something rather than just see something, the Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition is the one to look at first. It is 7 nights in northern Spain with tuition from Dale Scott, who teaches all levels, with sketch pads and a canvas provided. You stay in Agara, a twelve-bedroom house rather than a hotel, with local wine, beer and spirits in the house to help yourselves to, and a very friendly resident dog.

A house suits friends well. There are no bars and nightclubs on the doorstep, so evenings happen around the table, and a few friends can make the place feel like their own. Three rooms are en suite, with a supplement, so ask early if that matters. Dates: 25 Apr 2027 – 2 May 2027. Price from £929. Places: 9 places left.

A long weekend everyone can fit in: Surprising Seville

The hardest part of a friends' trip is finding a week everybody can get off. Surprising Seville is 4 nights, which is easier to squeeze into several diaries at once. The hotel is minutes from the cathedral and the Barrio de Santa Cruz, and a 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket is included so you can pace yourselves. The Alcázar and a flamenco evening are optional, so the friend who wants every monument and the one who wants a long lunch can both have their way. See more of the country on our Spain holidays page.

Host: Jackie Whyte. Dates: 4 Mar 2027 – 8 Mar 2027. From £549. Places: 23 places left.

The festive one: Prague Christmas Magic

If your friends already swap presents every year, Prague Christmas Magic turns that into a trip. It is 3 nights in a central hotel, so the Old Town Square market is minutes away, with Prague Castle and St Vitus in the morning and Malá Strana in the afternoon. A Spice Escapes host, Sally Wiltshire, is with the group for all three nights. Dates: 4 Dec 2026 – 7 Dec 2026. From £675. Places: 5 places left.

Everything paid for up front: All Inclusive Perfect Paris

Splitting bills is the small, steady irritation of holidays with friends. On All Inclusive Perfect Paris it barely comes up: your hotel is the boat, moored a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, with full board and drinks on board, so the wallet stays in the cabin. Two guided tours are included, the city by coach and Montmartre on foot. People arrive by plane or by Eurostar and link up for the day, so friends coming from different parts of the country can still meet on the first afternoon.

3 nights with Samantha Pike. Dates: 3 Feb 2027 – 6 Feb 2027. From £679. Places: 13 places left.

The proper week away: Crete Discovery

For friends who have been promising each other "a real holiday" for years, Crete Discovery is 7 nights across two bases only, three nights in Aghios Nikolaos and four in Rethymno, so there is very little packing and unpacking. Both hotels have two pools and a spa, and it is half board throughout, with a home-cooked lunch at a family taverna up on the Lasithi Plateau. The tour operator is Living Crete, with Spice Escapes acting as agent, and your Spice host is Lauren Fawkes. Dates: 5 Oct 2027 – 12 Oct 2027. From £1,499. Places: 12 places left. More in our culture and discovery holidays.

Travelling with friends or on your own?

Travelling with friends gives you shared jokes and someone who knows how you take your tea. Travelling on your own gives you freedom and more new conversations. A hosted group lets you have a bit of both. Our over 50s solo holidays page covers the travelling-alone side, and what makes a Spice Escape different explains how the host fits in.

Questions people ask

Can a group of friends book the same holiday together?

Yes. Each of you books a place on the same departure and you travel as part of the hosted group. Let us know you are coming together and we will help you get the places at the same time.

Will we be stuck with strangers the whole time?

You will be part of a group of around fifteen, and some reach twenty, but you can spend as much of the trip together as you like. Most friends enjoy a mix of their own company and the group's.

Do friends get a cheaper price for booking together?

Prices are set per person for each holiday, and every holiday carries a single supplement or a room-to-yourself cost. If some of you would share a room, ask us which holidays allow that and what it does to the price.

What if one of our group has to drop out?

Everyone books their own place, so the rest of you can still go and the trip goes ahead with the group and the host. Ask us about cancellation terms before you book so each person knows where they stand.

Are the holidays financially protected?

Spice Escapes holds ATOL licence 9046, which covers flight-inclusive holidays. We will tell you exactly how the holiday you are looking at is protected before anyone pays.

Get the group chat to a booking

Send two or three of the trips above to your friends and ask which one everyone could actually do. Then tell us how many of you there are and which holidays made the shortlist, and we will check places for the whole group at once.

Get in touch through our contact page and ask for Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes and hosts holidays himself. He can hold the conversation with one of you while the rest decide, which is usually how a friends' holiday finally gets booked.