Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, we’re talking about girls’ trips. Getting away with your best girlfriends is a fun tradition for my friends and I (Jocelyn filming this video). As you know, here at Wolters World, we like to prepare travelers with the good, and the bad, about different aspects of travel. So these are the five things you’ll love, and the five things you’ll hate about girls getaway trips.
Love #1: It’s a GIRLS Trip
The best part of girls’ trips is traveling with just the girls. If you’re a mom or a wife, you get to enjoy your travels and only worry about yourself! You don’t have to worry about husbands, kids, boyfriends or anyone else. (If kids or husbands are invited, it’s NOT a girls’ trip!). Therefore take the time and enjoy being with your friends and being free from the responsibilities that you have left behind.
Hate #1: Missing The Family
While I love traveling with my friends, I always miss my husband and kids back home when I’m away on a girls’ weekend (the kids more than Mark). Not only do I want to share my travel experiences with my family, but I’m also missing out on milestones and activities back home. Liam lost his first tooth while I was away on a girl’s trip for example.
Love #2: No Housework
When you’re on a girls’ trip, you get to leave the responsibilities of home at home. You don’t have to worry about dishes, cleaning, laundry or any other day-to-day chores. Of course, you might decide to rent an apartment and do some cooking, which requires a bit of cleaning, but that’s totally your choice. And on a girls’ trip, nobody’s looking to you to do any of their chores for them!
Hate #2: Carrying Your Own Luggage
When I’m traveling with friends, we’re all responsible for our own stuff. It’s kind of nice having my husband or kids along to tote my luggage and bags, especially after a day of shopping. This is just one of the many reasons that I miss having my husband along when I travel. He makes a good pack mule.
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Love #3: Having Your Squad With You
Besides the pleasure of traveling with your besties, these girls have your back. If you forgot something, there’s a pretty good chance one of your girlfriends will have you covered. From hair ties and tampons to band-aids and moisturizers, traveling with all-girls can be super convenient. There’s always a few moms in the group, so someone always has tissues, TP, snacks, and anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.
Hate #3: Money Issues
Traveling with friends can bring up some money issues. Even without any real issues, it gets tricky trying to keep track of who paid for what and then sorting out the balance at the end of the trip. It helps to decide ahead of time how you will split the bills, and how everyone will settle up at the end. Sometimes, it’s easiest to have one person pay for everything and then even up at the end of the trip. Paying back friends after a girls’ trip can also cause friction, so make sure you’re paying your friends back on time! There are some great apps now that make it easy to split travel costs.
Love #4: Not Being Rushed
Women have a different process with time. When I travel with my husband, we’re on the go constantly. When I travel with my girlfriends, it feels like we slow down a bit more to savor the experiences. Some of the best girls’ trips are just spent sitting around our rental house, drinking wine and catching up on each other’s’ lives. We don’t have impatient kids with us who are getting hungry or bored, or boyfriends or husbands wanting to dote on us constantly… or something like that.
Hate #4: In-Fighting
Even the best of friends can get snippy after a while, especially in a group of all women. Everyone has different budgets, different travel styles, and being away from your husband and kids can also put stress on you. Sometimes not everyone can agree on what activities to plan, or where to eat. Usually, there’s a bit of bickering towards the end of the trip, but if you’ve had the same travel squad for years as I have, everything will sort itself out. One thing we recommend is discuss before the trip that it is OK for people to split up for a day and do their own thing. We usually plan the fourth day out of a week away as a “free” day where people can do whatever they want without feeling pressured to hangout with the group if they don’t want to.
Love #5: Shopping
If you’ve tried shopping on vacation with a husband and kids in tow, you know it’s not always the most fun for them, or for you. On a girls’ trip, you can meander and browse at your leisure, and you have your girls to give you honest feedback about whatever you are trying on. Some of the best girls’ trips are shopping trips!
Hate #5: Bathroom Space
When you’re traveling with all women, there’s never enough bathroom space. Unless there is one bathroom per person, you’re always going to be waiting for someone else to finish getting ready. This can cause friction if you have one person who preps for hours while everyone else is getting hangry. After a few trips with the same crew, you’ll quickly learn who to send off the showers first so the entire group isn’t waiting on them.
I think girls’ getaway trips are so important for friendships and your own sanity. There are a few downsides, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, in my opinion! Want more travel tips? Check out these blog posts: