How to Plan Your ATL Greek Picnic Experience
For years, I always wanted to attend the Atlanta Greek Picnic, also known as AGP. AGP is one of several meeting places for members of the Divine Nine to come together for service, networking, and making memories. For some of you, AGP is a whirlwind, especially as a first-time participant. For me, my first time at AGP was eventful but also very well-planned. Mind you, things do not always go according to plan, but it’s good to know how to plan a weekend trip, especially for a trip like AGP where there is a lot of opportunity to interact with other Greeks and remember essential travel tips.
Know your numbers
Whenever I plan a trip, I think that it’s important to know the numbers. This can include the number of people going, the number of cars needed (if any), and ultimately the cost of everything. It’s important to get an idea of the numbers before you plan your trip so that you’ll know how much you and your friends can pay. I recommend knowing the numbers at least three months in advance so that you all can save and pay for what you need ahead of time.
Plan your events & routes
Once you know the number of people going, you can plan the events that you want to attend. Now, you don’t have to wait until you know the numbers to plan your event, you can always plan your events prior to asking others to go with you and see what everyone else is interested in doing. If you’re driving or flying from out-of-state, it’s important to plan ahead your routes be it from the airport to your hotel or house. Or even your meeting place to start your drive to your destination.
Budget your expenses
One of the most important things about planning a trip, especially for the weekend is budgeting. As someone who frequently traveled to Atlanta for weekend trips, it’s very easy to spend a great deal of money on food and nightlife. If you plan on doing more activities other than what AGP has to offer, then I recommend budgeting for those activities. While you’re planning your events, it’s important to know the cost of each ticket as well as any other activities that you plan to partake in. Other expenses you should bear in mind include gas, food (including alcohol), hotel security deposits, and parking. Read every detail of your hotel or house that you’re staying in to make sure that there are no hidden fees when you get to your place!
Book it! Lock it in!
Once you’ve confirmed all the suggestions above, book your hotel! If you have the chance to book your stay at least three months in advance, do it so that you have a place to stay during your trip. If you don’t have the money to book your room right away, look into reserve now/pay later options, especially for hotels. Typically, the first thing that I book is my hotel so that I know where I’m staying before I purchase tickets. I’ll typically reserve my hotel and so that my sorority sisters and I can pay when we get there. This gives us a chance to save our money (if need be) for June. Once I know where I’m staying, I will buy my tickets. When looking for a hotel, I recommend checking its reviews and distance from each venue so that we can calculate the cost of travel and the time it’ll take us to get to each event.
My best recommendations for travel apps are:
Expedia (for hotels, flights & attractions)
Hopper (for flights)
Airbnb (for stays)
TripAdvisor (for reviews & attractions)
Google maps or iPhone Maps (for driving)
Ways (for traffic routing)
For more information on how to plan for AGP, check out my exclusive video on my channel.
