Girlfriend getaways
Here are some of the types of “girlfriend getaway” trips that women are taking:
Special interest: Some women’s travel companies offer niche trips focusing on wine-tasting, running or even knitting. Sally Black, founder of StitchAwayTours ( www.stitchawaytours.com), has been organizing knitting trips for several years to places like Scotland and London. Knitters visit sheep farms, yarn shops and yarn factories.
“Knitting has such a great history to it,” says Black. “There’s so many different techniques that come to us from all over the world.”
Learning trips: All of Gutsy Women Travel’s trips ( www.gutsywomentravel.com) include something instructional, says co-founder April Merenda, such as learning to prepare authentic Moroccan cuisine, creating an individual fragrance in Provence or painting handicrafts with local artisans in Costa Rica.
Pampering: One of the most popular types of travel among women is a pampering escape, says travelgirl magazine’s Stephanie Oswald, whether it’s a spa resort or a cruise.
“Spas certainly provide that amazing atmosphere that lends itself to girls being able to share stories, spend time together and get pampered along the way,” she says.
Adventure: The average age of women on trips with AdventureWomen ( www.adventurewomen.com), which has been in business for 27 years, is between 50 and 55.
“We scuba dive, we snorkel,” says founder/president Susan Eckert. “We do a horseback trip in Yellowstone. We’re bringing back our cattle ranch trip.”
Softer adventure excursions include sightseeing tours to places like India, China and Greece.
Big cities: Cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Boston and San Francisco are popular girlfriends’ getaway destinations, says Oswald. They’re accessible, and there’s lots to do – shopping, museums, nightlife.
Eco-travel: Go Eco Travel ( www.goecotravel.com) offers “green” trips to destinations like Aspen, Colo., and Montauk, N.Y. The itineraries avoid mega-hotel chains, opting instead for historic inns, solar-paneled farmhouses and smaller, independent hotels.
They include activities like yoga, hiking, surfing and cross-country skiing; trip participants carry nondisposable water bottles and buy food from farmers.