"With" Usage of と and で


I have seen と used in the following manner.

> 公園に田中さんと行きました - I went to the park with Tanaka-san

And I have seen で used as follows.

> 公園に二人で行きました - I went to the part with 1 other person (2 people including me)

But now I have the following sentence.

> 家族で旅行に行ってきました - I went traveling with my family

Would it have been appropriate to use either と or で in this situation? Or is
there a reason で was used?

I am thinking maybe the use of で indicates you are in the group you're going
with and と indicates you are not a part of the group. Is that what's going on?




I think your intuition is correct. When speaking of family though, it's kind
of tricky. `家族で` just means "as a family" - like the whole family unit. `家族と`
indicates to me that you went "with your family", but implies that you are no
longer part of the family unit, i.e., probably living on your own.

Related - [What is the difference between 一緒に and
二人で?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4401/78)




I think your intuition is correct. When speaking of family though, it's kind
of tricky. `家族で` just means "as a family" - like the whole family unit. `家族と`
indicates to me that you went "with your family", but implies that you are no
longer part of the family unit, i.e., probably living on your own.

Related - [What is the difference between 一緒に and
二人で?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4401/78)

