Print the instructions on our Getting Started page, which will guide you through the easy steps to take to create your first group trip.

Print the instructions on our Getting Started page and use it as a reference while you create a new group trip.

Currently there is no limit to the number of trips you can create and store in your account.

Yes, No, or Maybe = latest RSVP status

Joined = visited the site but did not provide their RSVP

Invited = invitation e-mail sent and the invitee has not visited the link provided in the e-mail. You may want to check with the invitee directly to make sure they received the e-mail, as it may have been filtered out as bulk mail by their e-mail provider.

Visited = invitee has visited the link provided in the e-mail

Left = invitee has removed themselves from participation

Your itinerary should include the group's travel plans and any planned group activities, events, meals, etc. and is available on the Itinerary tab. Any group participant can add items to the itinerary. For each itinerary item, enter a name and, if desired, a link, description, location and address.

Use specific days if you have not set trip dates or for quick entry if you know the corresponding day (1 = day 1, etc.), otherwise use specific dates by selecting the date(s) via the calendar(s). If you don't know either, you can leave all date fields blank. Your itinerary items saved to specific days (1, 2, etc.) automatically get aligned to the dates set for the trip when available. Itinerary items spanning more than one day are automatically shown on each day.

For a printable view of the Itinerary (a great thing to take with you on the trip), select the Print button.

Tasks can be used to organize your to-do list and to get the group involved in the trip planning effort. An easy way to start is to choose relevant tasks from the suggested tasks list and then customize the name, link, description, and priority associated with each one to the extent you need to. As a trip leader, you can assign tasks by selecting any group participant, the group (one task for the whole group, such as "Find Accommodations Options"), or everyone in the group (everyone gets assigned the same task as an individual, such as "Book Flights"). Note: only trip leaders can assign tasks to others.

Group participants should check off any tasks they have completed, and edit task notes field to provide status updates on assigned tasks. The trip leader is solely responsible for marking the tasks assigned to the whole group as completed.

Add a New Task each time you want to further build out the task list.

Note: it's easy to link a task to your group trip planning pages on Triporama. For example, you could create a group task to "Find Accommodations Options" and link it to http://triporama.com/bookmark/bytag/accommodations (we suggest you create at least one bookmark with this tag before doing this).

Topics will help your group make decisions and coordinate on travel. Anyone can create a topic from the list of Suggested Topics (such as "where should we stay", "trip budget", and "room sharing") or from scratch through the New Topic button. For each topic, everyone in the group can post their comments and information, including hyperlinks (automatically "link-ified" by Triporama). The refresh link (above the message listing) will display new topics or new comments. Organize topics by tags, which also automatically integrates your group's bookmarks on the related topic pages.

When coordinating on travel details, enter in your plans (starting with preliminary plans) for arrival/departure, accommodations, ride sharing, and other details. Review the information entered by others and then coordinate on travel directly with them. For example, you could ask to share a rental car with someone due to arrive close to your arrival time.

Messages are very useful for posting announcements, particularly when you aren't looking for group discussion. Your messages can include hyperlinks (automatically "link-ified" by Triporama) and text.

The Message list will include all of the group's postings, which you can sort by Date, From (who posted it), or Subject. To sort the message list, click on a heading (to sort in the reverse order, click on that heading again). The refresh link (above the message listing) will display new messages. Click expand or contract to toggle between the full view and short view of all messages. If you click Full Message after any particular message, it will automatically switch to the expanded, full view of all messages. Finally, the trip leader can click Delete to permanently remove any posted message.

Note: when starting a group discussion, use Topics rather than Messages. Please see the topics section above for more information.

The Bookmarks section is where your group should store and share web research for your trip. To create a bookmark, select New Bookmark and enter in the URL (web address of the page to bookmark, such as www.how2vacation.com), title (bookmark name), and notes. Note: you must hit Refresh to display bookmarks you enter directly from this section.

We strongly recommend that you utilize the Triporama Bookmark button to easily create bookmarks. After you load this button into your browser toolbar, you'll be able to create new bookmarks on the fly as you perform research on the web! When you find a page that you wish to bookmark, just click the Triporama Bookmark button. Details from that page will automatically load into the new bookmark form. Just add notes and tags, then click Submit to create the bookmark. Note: some web pages are not re-accessible after you exit a web site or close your browser. You can delete a bookmark through the link at the end of a bookmark posting. Group trip leaders can delete any bookmark, regardless of who entered it.

The trip leader establishes the poll (trip leaders should view our next steps help page for step-by-step instructions).

As a participant, you can respond to the poll (or update your response at any time) by selecting "works for me", "can't do", or "maybe" for any/all alternatives and then clicking Submit.

Group trip leaders select the Send invites/reminders button on the group profile page (access this page via the link in "The Group" section on the group trip home page). To invite more people, enter in e-mail addresses one per line in the box provided. To remove people, check the box next to the person to remove. When finished, click Submit.

The Topics section is the best place to note that you are looking to share your hotel room, rental car, ride from the airport, etc. If a relevant topic has not already been created, choose one from the list of suggested topics or create a New Topic on the Topics tab.

Alternatively, you can post a message to the group. See the messages section above for more information.

You can e-mail others in your group by clicking on their name/e-mail address wherever it is shown, including the participants list on the group profile page. View this list from the group trip home page via the link under "The Group".

You can send an e-mail to the entire group through the E-mail group link, located in the Trip Planning Tools section at the bottom of the group trip home page. Note: unfortunately, some e-mail applications will not pull e-mail addresses through properly from your web browser.

Click the Update Your RSVP link in the Trip Planning Tools section of the group trip Home tab, then update your RSVP status and how many guests (including yourself) are coming.

We suggest you start by reviewing our Travel Provider Directory, which includes high-quality, professional travel providers who can save you time and money as well as help customize your trip to best fit your group's needs. There's a page for each provider in the directory with their contact information, website address, and details on what destinations, themes, and types of travel they service.

From the directory home page, you can browse through featured categories or review a complete listing of providers. As you view listings, just click on any provider's name to see more information.

If you can't find any travel providers in our directory that appeal to you, click on the link at the bottom of any listings page for more help and resources on how to locate a travel provider for your trip.

Yes. Just type in or copy the link into your message before posting. Trip leaders can also do this in the trip description section. Triporama automatically "link-ifies" web site addresses entered in these areas.

You can set a nickname to make your message and topic comment postings more personal. To set a default nickname, log in and click Update your profile in the Triporama Links section in the right column. The nickname on this profile page is used for all of your group trips, unless you set a different nickname within a specific group trip. If you would like to set a unique nickname for a specific trip, go to the group trip home page, click the link under "The Group", then click the Edit button (if you have a default password) or the Add nickame button (if you don't).

Log in and click Update your profile in the Triporama Links section in the right column. You can then change and edit your nickname, photo, contact information and password.

Access the login page and click on the forgot password link. Your password will be sent to you via email.

Log in and click Update your profile in the Triporama Links section in the right column. You can then change and edit your contact information and password.