I love to travel, love to go anywhere and I love that I can travel with my girls, as in girlfriends. We started this girl’s trip about ten years ago. This vacation is critical for all women or girls, in my opinion. Our husbands are supportive and we started out going to the less expensive places to the more expensive places as we got older. But the point of my article is to explain why traveling or planning a trip is important.

First, pick your friends wisely. In fact, our first year we invited a whole bunch of girls to attend. Since it was two of us really planning the first travel excursion, we invited all the wives that we liked and knew fairly well. We were strategic in making sure we had an even number of women and tried to take into account the personalities (if that is possible).

Second, pick a location, vacation packages are available but location is cruical to your vacations, make sure it’s easy to travel too. In addition, we wanted to drive to the vacation destination versus flying. To save money and to be close to home, in case someone needed to leave due to an emergency. Traveling for all women and/or girls requires thinking, planning, organizing and having details buttoned up to coordinate children schedules, pick ups, husband’s to-do, babysitters, etc… Believe it or not, planning for a girl’s trip is critical for the overall family.

Third, when traveling, you have to have a wardrobe review. All girls will bring clothes but you want to make sure we bring the right clothes and more clothes, in case your friends need to borrow them during the trip. Having the right clothes, for the right venue and of course, shoes, accessories and bathing suits are all critical to bring on vacation.

Fourth, splitting the girls into hotel rooms, who is sharing with whom? I will tell you we have tried this many different ways, but the very best way is to put all the names in a bucket and pick them out per room, its fair and the best way.

Fifth, we put the hotel on one credit card (to reserve the room), at the end of the trip, everyone has to pay for the hotel room with cash and cash only. On site, each person has to pay for their own meals, drinks and other items however they want. But at the end, each pay cash for hotel.

Lastly, after we have planned, organized and ready to leave for the trip, it becomes important to just enjoy the trip, inexpensively and why it’s important to take a girls trip. Well, here are the reasons I feel it’s important to take a girls trip every year;

• Relaxation (most important) just to recharge
• All year long we women look forward to traveling with each other; we discuss, plan and continually talk about it
• Our friendship is stronger because we talk, laugh, cry and share many feelings
• Our husbands encourage us to go because they see the benefits of our travel
• Our children get to have time with their fathers
• We are refreshed and feel great from the traveling

These may seem simple to most people, but let me tell you, plan your girls trip, pick the vacation spot, I recommend somewhere relaxing, a nice pool, maybe an active downtown area, for some shopping and great places to eat. A spa is crucial and of course, just a fun place where there is a lot of surrounding activities but more importantly, relaxation.

Over the years, we have reduced our group to the standard four girls that go now. However, the other girls that did attend on the first trip, have formed their own girls trip (that work best for their group) we actually work out our travel so we can help out with each other’s children; it’s a great way to trade off babysitting. Plus, we can travel each year until we are too old, hopefully well past our seventies. :)

If your girlfriend, wife, significant other talks to you about going on a girls trip, say yes. It is beneficial to them and to you. Encourage them to go and have fun traveling. All women out there, start planning your travel now, pick your friends, pick your hotel, plan minimal activities and most of all, have fun and relax. I highly recommend it.