You go, girlfriends

Girlfriends’ getaways – where women travel with other women and leave the menfolk home – are booming. And the phenomenon is not just about bachelorette parties or 20-somethings on spring break. Women are taking knitting trips, adventure trips and spa trips. The Fine Living Network recently launched a series called “All-Girl Getaways,” hosted by Stephanie Oswald, editor-in-chief of travelgirl magazine.

And Marybeth Bond, the author of “50 Best Girlfriends Getaways in North America,” has just written a sequel: “50 Best Girlfriends Getaways Worldwide” (National Geographic, 272 pages, $15.95).

Bond, who has been tracking data since 1993, says there has been a 230 percent increase in the number of women-only travel companies in the past seven years.

Many women who are taking girlfriends’ getaways are married but leaving their husbands at home.

Oswald says some women feel guilty about taking a vacation without their mates. But Bond says men often encourage their significant others to travel with other women to enjoy activities that husbands and boyfriends may not be interested in – whether it’s shopping, cooking classes or visiting a botanical garden or museum.

April Merenda, co-founder of Gutsy Women Travel, sees more time-pressed career women in their 30s and 40s taking girlfriends’ getaways.

But not everybody goes with friends; about 60 percent of her clientele consists of women booking a solo trip. Merenda says her business is up 25 percent from last year.

There’s also more multigenerational travel, where Baby Boomers travel with their daughters or even their mothers.

Marcia Walker, 57, of Taylorsville, S.C., went on a 10-day tour to China earlier this year with her daughter and noticed other groups where women were shopping while their spouses waiting outside for them to finish.

“You don’t have that burden. I didn’t have anybody breathing down my neck,” she says, adding that her ex-husband never wanted to travel unless he could drive there.

The phenomenon of girlfriends’ getaways and women traveling alone represents a cultural shift.

Thirty years ago, women didn’t vacation without their families, says Susan Eckert, founder and president of AdventureWomen, a travel company for women age 30 and over. A woman who did travel without her husband was asked whether there was something wrong in the marriage, she adds.

Traditionally, women planned family vacations where they were the ones “making sure everyone is happy, everyone is safe, everyone is entertained,” says Oswald.

Meanwhile, men went camping, fishing or golfing with the guys, and teenagers started traveling, too, with school and youth groups while their parents footed the bill.

Now, Bond says, women are insisting, “It’s my turn.”

Because so many women work these days, they can afford to travel. At the same time, they’ve moved away from childhood friends and college roommates and they see travel as a way to reconnect.

Going away with other women is an opportunity for them to really “recharge their batteries,” says Oswald.

“They have never been more independent than they are now,” adds Allison O’Sullivan, managing director of The Women’s Travel Club ( www.adventurewomen.com/), which offers 60 destinations.

The club’s founder was a married woman who wanted to travel to other parts of the world that her husband wasn’t interested in.

The travel industry has responded to the increased demand. Abercrombie & Kent recently announced new women-only trips to places like India, China, the Bordeaux region of France, and Argentina.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, along with several other hotel chains, is catering to women with amenities and special vacation packages.

“The industry has rolled out the red carpet,” says Oswald. “Everyone is coming up with girlfriend getaway programs.

“I think that’s a great sign that this is a phenomenon and not a trend. It’s here to stay.”