“The first time I took a group vacation about three years ago, I thought it wouldn’t be exciting as I was going to travel with strangers,” said Anna Andrinilawaty, 41, a travel enthusiast from Cengkareng in West Jakarta. “But it turned out I enjoyed the trip and made new friends.”

Since then, Ana has traveled in groups to Derawan Island in East Kalimantan, Sumba and Labuan Bajo, both in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and Pahawang Island in Lampung.

Anna is one of many Jakartans who now rely on individual travel planners offering its services on social media outlets such as Instagram to arrange their trips.

Traveling in a group has proven to be a cheaper alternative to traveling solo, and it also provides a chance for single travelers to find new travel partners.

A number of travel accounts offering group trip services such as @lumitrip_, @jalan2terus, @kakabantrip, @tukang_jalan and @lookindonesia.adventure are mushrooming on Instagram.

Founder of @lookindonesia.adventure, Ashadi Natha Prasetyo, 24, said he could arrange itineraries for single travelers. However, many of his customers wanted to travel in groups as it was much cheaper.

“A four-day long trip to Komodo Island [in NTT], for example, costs only Rp 2.45 million (US$183) per person if you travel in a group, while you may have to spend Rp 12 million if you travel alone,” he told The Jakarta Post.

A group vacation, mostly with strangers, arranged by travel planners is commonly referred to among local travelers as an “open trip”.

Instagram travel account @lumitrip_ offered a group trip for two days to Tunda Island in Serang, Banten, for Rp 350,000 per person.

The price included transportation from Karangantu Port in Serang to the island, a place to stay, a snorkeling boat, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Theresia Olivia, 25, told the Post that to enjoy her vacations, she preferred turning to trip planners, instead of arranging her own trips.

Aside from easing her tasks, trip planners usually recommend “hidden gems” in addition to tourism spots to visit.

“However, we have to be selective in choosing the trip planners to make sure our trips will be well-spent,” said Olivia. “I prefer to choose the ones recommended by my friends.”

With the new year coming, travelers have begun preparing for their next vacations.

There will be at least seven long weekends in 2017, including the holidays during the Good Friday celebration from April 13 to 15 as well as the holidays to celebrate Idul Fitri from June 23 to 28 and Christmas from Dec. 23 to 26.

Another travel enthusiast, Sri Indriati Yuliastuty, 40, said she and her family planned to take a group vacation or “open trip” during the next Good Friday holiday to Labuan Bajo in NTT.

Just like Anna, Sri said she loved to travel in groups as she could meet new people during the trips. “Besides, by joining an ‘open trip’, I don’t have to prepare my trip by myself because I have a person to arrange it for me,” Sri, who lives in Bogor, West Java, said. (vny)

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