Planner of friends' international group trip demands to add her family to the vacation, other participants refuse to allow them to join: ‘She didn’t tell us she’d be bringing extra people’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 16, 2025 5:00 PM EST

A vacation with your family and a vacation with your friends are two wholly different experiences, and usually, people enjoy one much more than the other. Your family can be great, but going on a trip with them is a lot, and not many people are ready to take on that challenge. Your friends, on the other hand, are usually more up to your speed and are quicker to open their minds to accommodations for the group's sake.

Combining the two vacations, one with friends and one with family, into one big vacation sounds like a recipe for disaster. What good will come from having to find a common ground between your mom and your friend from college?

This question is directed towards the girl in the story below, who planned a friend trip with her three friends, and decided to add her mom, sister, and sister's girlfriend into the mix. 

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  • Unsurprisingly, one of the friends is not too excited about the idea of international travel with her friend's family.

    It's one thing to travel with your own friends and family, it's something else entirely to travel with your friend's family instead… 

  • Friends at Summer Vacation Rental
    via monkeybusinessimages

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA if i got annoyed that my friend booked her family to our first international trip

    We're a group of four friends planning our first international trip together. To make things easier, we let Friend A handle the booking for all four of us.
    via xwonu
  • What she didn't mention was that she was also bringing her mom, her sibling, and her sister's girlfriend.
    via xwonu
  • It would've been totally fine if they were traveling separately, but she even suggested that we should all travel together "cause it's easier," and she also requested that we book just one Airbnb/hotel for everyone.
    via xwonu
  • She doesn' want us to split up while on the trip, cause "it's hard to meet up".
    via xwonu
  • For me, this was supposed to be a friends' bonding trip. I was honestly a bit thrown off that she didn't tell us she'd be bringing extra people, and now it suddenly feels more like a family trip.
    via xwonu
  • My other friends seem okay with it, especially since one of them is even considering bringing her mom too.
    via xwonu
  • So now I'm confused, am I overreacting for feeling annoyed, or is it valid to feel this way since none of this was communicated properly?
    via xwonu
  • United States Passports
    via DAPA Images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Runningwithbirds1 This trip is going to become their trip, and you will be third wheel. Keep the flights, travel by yourself!
    via Runningwithbirds1
  • Living-Ear8015 NTA. Feel free to cancel going. You wouldn't be the AH for doing so, as your friend has changed the whole dynamic. I can't even believe someone is so lacking in common sense that they would book their family without having a proper conversation and agreement with you
    via Living-Ear8015
  • RedditJustTheOnce Yeah I 100 percent wouldn't want to go either. Friend holiday and family holiday are two very different things and an expensive international trip should be exactly what you want it to be, not a tag along with the family of your friend. Is it too late to cancel? If yes, at least definitely say no to the Airbnb and explain that you're just looking for a holiday with friends, and that parents being there is just too weird for you.
    via RedditJustTheOnce
  • Tough Crazy_8362 NTA and I'd be reconsidering the trip. The whole vibe is changed.
    via Tough_Crazy_8362
  • ada-byron It's only going to get worse. You will need a vacation after your vacation. Cancel now. NTA
    via ada-byron
  • NTA j_jqqq Did friend A purposefully ask for the booking task so she could add the others? A joint trip is supposed to have everyone on board with the entire crew list.
    via j_jqqq
  • bizianka The hell? Unless family/friend mix is agreed beforehand, this is would not be enjoyable trip. I'd cancel. Because why would you spend a lot of money to hang out with her mom? Especially, no sane and boundary respecting adult would insert themselves into young adults' vacation. So her mother will definitely try to take over the trip, treating you like children who need supervision. NTA
    via bizianka
  • Only-Breadfruit-6108 I would cancel. That's not the trip that you agreed to, it's a big change. NTA
    via Only-Breadfruit-6108
  • Secret-Alfalfa-5411 NTA...she is, though. Bringing family should be agreed on by all beforehand! I would never do such a thing! A friends' trip should just be that! I'd talk to her first and then cancel or just travel on my own!
    via Secret-Alfalfa-5411

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international friendship aita friends entitled trip road trip family vacation entitled people vacation
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