If you've ever tried to find a date that works for everyone for a group trip, you know it can feel like solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded. Jessica can't do weekends, Mark has work travel in April, and Sarah's cousin's wedding is... sometime in the spring? Good luck.
The good news? You don't have to rely on endless back-and-forth messages. There are actually some pretty solid ways to coordinate group travel dates that won't make you want to cancel the whole trip.
Various tools and methods for finding dates that work for everyone
Option 1: Availability Polls
Tools: Doodle, When2Meet, Google Forms
Let's start with the basics. Creating an availability poll is probably the easiest way to find a date for your group trip. Tools like Doodle and When2Meet let everyone mark which dates work for them, and you can see the results in a grid format.
A typical Doodle poll showing group availability
The upside: It's free, it's simple, and your friends don't need to create an account.
The downside: These tools were really designed for scheduling single meetings, not planning multi-day trips. If you're looking for a Doodle alternative or When2Meet alternative for vacation planning, you'll find they're limited to specific dates, which is tricky when coordinating a trip that could happen anytime within a 3-month window. Plus, once you find a date, you're on your own for the actual booking part.
Option 2: The Spreadsheet Approach
Tools: Google Sheets, Excel Online
The trusty spreadsheet. Create a grid with dates across the top and everyone's names down the side, and have people mark when they're free. I've used this method more times than I can count.
A Google Sheets setup for tracking when everyone's available
The upside: Completely customizable, and most people know how to use a spreadsheet. You can add extra columns for flight prices, hotel options, whatever you need.
The downside: Not everyone is comfortable editing spreadsheets, especially on mobile. There's definitely a learning curve for some people, and formatting can get messy when multiple people are editing at once. Also, you're still manually searching for flights and accommodations elsewhere.
Option 3: Group Chat Coordination
Tools: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Discord
Just... throwing this out there because I know people do it. You ask everyone when they're free, responses trickle in over several days, and important details get buried under other conversations.
The upside: You're probably already using these apps with your travel group.
The downside: Pretty much everything else. Trying to find when everyone is available for a group trip through messages is chaos. Information gets lost, people forget to respond, and good luck finding that one message where someone mentioned their availability three weeks ago.
Option 4: Trip Date Planner Tools
Tools: Calendude, TripIt (more for itineraries), Troupe (group coordination)
This is where you get tools specifically built as a trip date planner for group vacations. Full disclosure: this is what we built Calendude for, so I'm obviously biased here.
The upside: These tools combine the availability tracking with the actual trip planning. Everyone marks when they're available, the tool shows you which dates work for the most people, and you can search for flights and accommodations right there. No jumping between apps or tabs.
Calendude combines availability tracking with flight and accommodation search
With Calendude specifically, once everyone's marked their availability, you can narrow it down to a handful of dates that work for the group. Then it fetches flight and accommodation prices for those specific dates, so you can see not just when people are available, but when it's actually affordable to go.
The downside: It's one more tool to use, though honestly if it saves you hours of coordination time, it's worth it.
Best Ways to Schedule a Date for Your Group Trip
Here's what I've learned after planning way too many group trips:
Start broad, then narrow down. Instead of asking "can everyone do March 15-22?" ask "who's available anytime in March?" You'll have way more flexibility.
Give people a deadline. "Mark your availability by Friday" works better than "fill this out whenever." Otherwise, you'll be chasing people down for weeks.
Consider flexibility as a factor. Sometimes the person who's available on the most dates should have slightly more say in the final decision. Just saying.
Price matters. The cheapest dates to travel aren't always when everyone's available. Finding that sweet spot between availability and affordability is the real challenge.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a date for a group trip when everyone has different schedules?
Start by asking for broad availability (like "anytime in March") rather than specific dates. Use an availability poll like Doodle or a dedicated trip date planner to visualize when most people are free, then narrow down from there.
What's the easiest way to plan vacation with friends?
For quick trips with 3-4 people, a simple availability poll works fine. For larger groups or longer trips, use a group vacation planner like Calendude that combines availability tracking with price comparison so you don't have to juggle multiple apps.
How do you coordinate dates with a large travel group?
Set a deadline for everyone to submit their availability, use a shared tool (not group chat), and focus on finding dates that work for the majority rather than waiting for unanimous agreement. Sometimes you have to move forward even if not everyone can make it.
The Bottom Line
There's no one perfect way to find a date that works for everyone for your group trip. It depends on your group size, how tech-savvy everyone is, and how complex your trip is.
For a quick weekend getaway with 3-4 friends? An availability poll might be all you need. Planning a week-long vacation or holiday with 8 people across different countries? You probably want a group vacation planner that's more robust.
The important thing is to pick something - anything - that gets everyone's availability in one place. Because the alternative is scrolling through that group chat trying to remember if Tom said he couldn't do Tuesdays or Thursdays, and nobody wants that.
Whatever method you choose, just start collecting availability. Your actual trip won't plan itself, but at least you'll know when everyone can actually go. And once you've got those dates figured out, check out our guide on finding the cheapest time to travel as a group to maximize your budget.