Child-free travel ideas for blissful getaways

Modern life is busy, making it hard to coordinate time with friends – as anyone who’s had to mute a group chat knows. While planning a getaway with loved ones can be difficult, finding group accommodations that combine a sense of togetherness with enough space for everyone is a great starting point, which leaves you time to research and book local experiences. To inspire your next trip, four Booking.com employees share insights from the child-free trips they’ll be reminiscing about for years.

When Erico Santos had the opportunity to introduce five friends—a diverse group of his Booking.com coworkers—to the culture of his native Brazil, the volcanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha was an unforgettable destination. Here, island living invites a renowned scuba-diving scene. There are also world-class beaches like Sancho Bay, tons of wildlife—including dolphins—and a laid-back lifestyle.

Erico writes: “The dives were the main activity we planned for, and they didn’t disappoint… Big turtles and rays were common. We also saw many, many fish from the local reefs, such as big barracudas, red snappers, jacks, surgeons, parrot fish, box fish, flying fish, moray eels, lobsters, reefs, and nurse sharks.”

The group stayed in a colorful guest house surrounded by lush vegetation. Erico warns that Fernando de Noronha’s dining scene can be pricey. If you’re on a budget, consider alternating meals out with cooking, and book accommodations with a kitchen. The turquoise Noronha Dreams apartment offers plenty of space, with a large wooden balcony that overlooks the private garden – perfect for sipping caipirinhas during an at-home happy hour.

Reflecting on his experience, Erico adds: “I learned that Brazil is richer than I usually take for granted. And I also learned that it’s not so different from the rest of the world after all, given how my friends, so many times, felt heart-warmingly at home.”

Lois Robertson traveled to Bali for her cousin’s destination wedding and stayed afterward with a large group of other guests – many of whom didn’t know each other. Their travels took them from Uluwatu to Ubud, and in the end to Canggu. Booking accommodations with a balance of social spots and privacy was a priority.

Having beautiful dining areas was equally important, because finding restaurants with enough space that everyone could agree on was—to put it lightly—character-building. One home the group stayed in was the lavish Villa Santa Monica near Monkey Forest. Rising out of the Ubud jungle, this contemporary, multi-level property features six large bedrooms, several communal areas, and a tube slide at the pool.

A jam-packed itinerary saw Lois and her new friends surfing, river tubing, riding ATVs through the jungle, and unwinding at beach clubs like Canna Bali. If you’re up for an early start, a sunrise trek, like the one Lois’s crew tried, will reward your efforts with the spectacular colors of daybreak at the top of Mount Batur – complete with breakfast eggs cooked in one of the active volcano’s steam craters. Or you could head out on a private snorkeling tour to the island utopia of Nusa Penida.

Lois’s top travel tip for Indonesia is to finalize your flight bookings on a weekday and also to book weekday flights, both of which can lead to significantly cheaper prices.

Many of Manchester-based Anna Jones’s closest friends still live in the UK, but are now spread out across the country. With this in mind, the group decided on a staycation that each member could get to by car. Anna said, “[It’s] difficult to arrange group trips, since everyone is on a tight schedule and has their own budgets. It feels like you’re looking for a unicorn, trying to please everyone.”

Given that nobody would need to drive too long, the friends didn’t have any specific location in mind, and instead made finding a dream home the key factor. After using Booking.com’s on-site map to narrow the search area and filter by budget, the cathedral city of Lincoln in England’s East Midlands was the winner. There they found a house with enough bedrooms as well as everybody’s must-have – a hot tub.

Anna recommends filtering the search by the number of bedrooms. That way nobody has to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room – one of her pet peeves: “You have nowhere to put your stuff, you have to stay up, and everyone’s hanging out in your bedroom.” If you’re planning your own trip to Lincoln, check out a similar property. This historic brick home has a terrace, private parking, and a large, manicured garden out in the countryside. 

The group made the most of their three days together, going for walks in the countryside, testing their wits at an escape room, visiting Lincoln Cathedral, and exploring the Lincoln Castle, where they saw one of the original copies of the Magna Carta, sealed there by King John in 1215. They also treated themselves to dinner cooked by a private chef at home.

For their three-day trip, Supriya Bohra and her college friends decided to bring their childhood dreams to life and experience the magic of Disneyland Paris. Being based at Booking.com’s Netherlands HQ meant that Supriya could take the Eurostar train from Amsterdam Centraal directly to Paris in approx. four hours. The group booked a homestay atDisney Skyline Suite, just 15 minutes away from the park by local train, with their sole daily transportation spend being a two-way ticket.

Although Supriya isn’t a fan of rides, she still braved the rollercoasters with her friends, which made for a fun souvenir: “The pictures where everyone is exhilarated while I’m scared for my life will always be hilarious.” Supriya’s favorite attraction was Ratatouille – The Adventure 3D ride, while her thrill-seeker friends recommend The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

For breakfast, the group visited a local bakery for some buttery French pastries before a busy day in the park. Disneyland Paris offers dozens of themed restaurants, bars, and on-the-go snacks to cater to all tastes and preferences, but Supriya confirms that the famous Mickey ice cream bar is a must. The group also made time for one splurge meal: lunch at the opulent Le Train Bleu atGare de Lyon before their return journey.

While the park offers more attractions than anyone could cover in three days, Supriya’s top Disneyland travel tip is to adopt a flexible itinerary that meets everyone’s needs and to let people venture off alone if there’s something they want to do in particular.