‘They changed it from a weekend of hiking, fishing, hunting, into a couples trip’: Man backs out of a planned guys camping trip after his friends turn it into a couples retreat

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Sep 16, 2026 11:45 AM EDT

Camping with the right people feels like slipping into a hoodie that survived 3 moves, 2 breakups, and a 1-year stay in a car trunk. Doing any activity where everyone knows the routine, the jokes don't need setup, and the decisions happen on a telepathic level requiring only a nod is just the best, whether it's a long weekend of camping or a couple of hours over drinks.

And I know this might sound like Guy Talk, but while I am a guy, this is absolutely not about a boys' trip. The way I see it, it's about different social situations and how we act differently in relation to who we're with in these situations. 

Different social settings have their own unspoken dress codes. At a house party, you can thrive shouting over loud music, competing for aux control with someone attempting karaoke with the confidence of a rockstar during a stadium tour. Dinner with relatives demands softer voices, careful topics, and the emotional labor of pretending your aunt's story about her neighbor's cat is the highlight of the evening.

You see my point.

So, for this guy, if you change the camping trip crowd, the same weekend turns into a supervised field trip where every activity needs a group vote, and the fire has to follow a manners and etiquette protocol.

Advertisement

  • AITA for backing out of a camping trip with my friends causing their cost to go up after they decided to bring their girlfriends along with them?

    DedthaTopik

  • Man sits beside a forest stream near a wooden cabin, surrounded by trees and greenery.
    via Bogdan Sonjachnyj

    Guy contemplating near a cabin in the woods

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

  • Me(24M) and my friends really enjoy the outdoors and for the labor day weekend we have been planning on renting a cabin out in a camping area for a guys trip. I say guys trip because when we originally, we planned on it just being us. All my friends have girlfriends, I do not, and very frequently, events or trips or hangouts end up including the girlfriends.

  • I have no issues with them as people, it's just very frustrating to plan to have a good time with my friends, then ending up as the spare wheel because they all decide to bring their girlfriends along. I have made it known that I don't like it, but it's 3 to one and they always promise that the next time it'll be just us guys. Also because they have different interests, they decide to change the entire purpose of the trip to accommodate them and it's less fun

  • So shocker two weeks ago, the camping trip changed from just us enjoying a weekend of hiking, fishing, hunting and being friends together, into a couples trip. This caused three very big changes.

  • Man sits beside a forest stream near a wooden cabin, resting his chin on one hand.
    via Bogdan Sonjachnyj

    Lonely guy outside a camping area cabin 

    Representative only.

  • First, we decided on room arrangements ahead of time, there were 3 rooms and we decided whoever took the couch would pay a reduced share of the trip. Someone volunteered and it was fine, no issues. Now that he was bringing his girlfriend along, they wouldn't both be able to be on the couch so now I was sleeping on the couch. This pi3$ed me off, but I was fine.

  • Second, very limited drinking allowed because one of my friends girlfriends thinks he drinks too much and he promised her he wouldn't drink much. So now we actually had to adhere to that so we decided on only a case of beer for the entire trip. This I could also be fine with.

  • Lastly, and what set me over the edge was that we were now going to do more of the campsites more touristy stuff because the women don't like hunting or fishing, so those things were nixed. This kinda defeated the whole purpose of the trip for me. Why am I going to a campsite so I can have some park ranger teach me how to make bracelets or go on a guided nature walk. I just wasn't a fan. So wednesday, 2 days before, I told them I was out.

  • I feel kinda bad, and they are my friends and I did want to see them, I just have no desire to hang out with their girlfriends and it's so frustrating they can't take 3 days away from them. So, AITA?

  • Edit: To clarify a typo, it didn't increase 200$ each. It was 200 dollars total split between them. I was really high when I made this post

    DedthaTopik

  • Jesuss_Fluffer NTA. If they all bring their girlfriends, and their girlfriends pay their share, then everyone's cost should go down. Problem solved
    via DedthaTopik

  • A guys' trip has its own lane, built around shared history and activities that make sense only to people who have been there since the beginning. Add partners into that mix and the whole vibe shifts, and the plan changes to include fewer rough edges, more compromise, and activities designed for people who didn’t sign up for mud, bugs, and cooking methods that would get a restaurant shut down, AKA, camping. 

  • Seraph782 Nope NTA at all. I would have backed out too. It's now a couples' trip. I'd go do something solo dolo
    via DedthaTopik

  • Some experiences depend entirely on who shows up, and a camping trip with the original crew is one thing. The same trip with a different social configuration becomes something else entirely, like bringing a boombox to a library reading hour and acting surprised when people stare.

  • HappySunshineGoddess If the girlfriends were coming along, that's three extra people and they should be contributing to the cost, thus making it cheaper. NTA. Not what you signed up for and fair that you didn't want to go
    via DedthaTopik
  • Steavee NTA, I would have backed out too. Probably when they unceremoniously stuck me on the couch.
    via DedthaTopik
  • Lactating-almonds NTA it's not about the girlfriends being there. It's about the fact that they changed the entire trip. Different activities and a less good sleeping arrangement than agreed on (for you). Totally fair to drop out
    via DedthaTopik
  • Pomegranate No4660 I never understood how the friends in these stories act as though it's fine to just completely change the plans at the last minute. And how do they pretend as though the entire group dynamic doesn't change once significant others are invited?
    via DedthaTopik

  • Yes, backing out looks bad: it makes costs rise, the plans scramble even more, and friends get annoyed. But staying on a trip that no longer matches what you signed up for also has a cost, and sometimes that cost is spending an entire weekend feeling like a guest in your own friend group.

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

friends girlfriend camping trip cabin vacation
Scroll Down For The Next Article