How to pick a destination when everyone flies from a different city

Why the first city someone suggests is usually the wrong one, and a method that is fair to everyone.

Updated 7 October 2026

Why the first city someone suggests is usually the wrong one

In most groups the destination is chosen by whoever speaks first. Someone says “let’s go to Lisbon”, a few people send a thumbs-up, and only then does anyone open a flight search. By that point the group has an anchor. For one person the flight costs 60 €. For another, flying from a different country, it costs 380 € with two connections. They often say nothing, because everyone else seemed happy. The trip then loses people one by one, or goes ahead with someone quietly paying far more than the rest.

The fix is to turn the order around. Start from where everyone is, and let the places come out of that.

A method that works for any group size

1. Fix the dates first. Fares change from one day to the next, so prices only mean something when they are for the same dates. Agree one pair of dates, even a provisional one, before looking at any place.
2. Write down where each person flies from. One city or airport each. If someone lives between two airports, note both and try both.
3. Agree what “reachable” means. A maximum travel time each way, and whether a stopover is acceptable. For a long weekend many groups settle on direct flights of about four hours at most. A flight that takes ten hours for one person is not a flight that works for the group.
4. List the places everyone can reach. For each person, list the destinations that meet the rule, then keep only the places that appear on every list. Done by hand this is the slow step, and the easiest one to get wrong: one forgotten person and the list is wrong.
5. Price each place for each person. Round trip, same dates, and the same baggage assumptions. Low-cost fares often leave out a checked bag, so a fare with a bag and a fare without one are not comparable.
6. Compare on two numbers, not one. The total for the group, and the highest price any single person pays. The cheapest total can hide one person paying double, and that person decides whether the trip happens.
7. Let everyone choose from the shortlist. Each person marks the places they would be happy with. Keep the places everybody marked, let each person rank them, and add up the positions. The lowest total wins, and a tie goes to the cheaper trip for the group.

An example with three people

Three friends fly from Berlin, Lisbon and Dublin. These are round-trip prices for the same dates. They are invented, to show the method.

Barcelona has the lowest total and also the lowest highest-single price: nobody pays more than 94 €. Porto is the cheapest place of all for the person in Lisbon, but it costs the other two more, so it would only win if the group chose it for other reasons and agreed to even out the cost.

Mistakes that sink group trips

• Choosing the place before the dates. The prices you saw may not exist for the dates you end up with.
• Looking at the cheapest flight only. The most expensive one is the one that can cancel the trip.
• Ignoring arrival times. If one person lands at 7 in the morning and another at 10 at night, the first day is gone. Aim for arrivals within a few hours of each other.
• Comparing unlike fares. One with a bag and one without, or one direct and one with two changes, is not a comparison.
• Waiting. Prices move. Once the group has chosen, everyone books on the same day.

Doing it with KupuKupu

KupuKupu does the listing, the pricing and the voting for you. One person creates the trip with the dates and the number of travellers and shares a link. Each friend opens it and adds the city they fly from. KupuKupu then finds the places everyone can reach and shows each person’s own price and the group total. Everyone picks the places they like and ranks them, and the group’s favourite wins.

It is free and needs no card. It does not sell tickets: prices come from Kiwi.com and Ryanair, and each person books their own flight there.