holidays with other families - tips for a better experience?

[CristinaTheAstonishing]

I spent a few days in Paris with my sister and her family. They were there for a week, I took the DCs for just 3 days. The main purpose was for the DCs to see each other again, as we all live in different countries.

I think this was the first time I spent part of a holiday with another family (and related one at that) - it was awful. We seem to have different ideas about what to do, what to visit, where to eat etc etc. How do you reconcile such differences when you spend time with others? I'm quite sociable and easy-going but this was stressful. The cousins enjoyed themselves - which was important. How do you pick up your travelling companions? Did we perhaps spend too much time together? Any tips appreciated as we thought of doing this again, as an easy option of getting the cousins to know each other while growing up.

What has worked for us.....
Lots of space and separate bathrooms if possible!
Just spend part of the day together and days apart also work (although hard in 3 days!)
Rotas of who is responsible for cooking and what nights (usually 2 week holidays)
If it is a kid focussed holiday then keep it at that - forget about what you would prefer to do.
Wear everyone out as much as possible during the day - makes for relaxed nights.
Start drinking early

Thanks, Zazas. We had separate rooms in the hotel, thankfully. IKWYM about keeping the holiday for the children if that's what we'd decided to do but it was even with what to do with the children that we disagreed.

I think it's a good idea to say from the beginning that we'd only spend part of the day together. E.g. we went for a long sight-seeing tour one day and I would have wanted to carry on but my sister and BIL were too tired so we all came home. I should have just said I'll carry on with mine.

I was also annoyed by some of their interventions, e.g. "don't walk on walls, you're a girl", which I guess could have happened in a shorter visit too but there were just many more occasions to find irritating things in 3 days.

(Oh, and they don't drink either...)