Key Takeaways
- Planning a girls’ trip requires setting a budget, choosing a destination, and organizing schedules.
- Consider group discounts and use apps like Splitwise to manage expenses effectively.
- Select a theme for the trip, such as wellness, adventure, or cultural exploration, to enhance the experience.
- When choosing lodging, think about options like hotels, vacation rentals, and resorts to fit everyone’s needs.
- Pack essentials and ensure everyone has a great time together while creating memorable experiences.
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Ensure you have everything covered for planning a fun and stress-free girls trip with this comprehensive girls trip planning checklist. From budgeting to choosing the right destination, this guide has you covered.
Table of Contents
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My annual girls trip tradition all started when one of my college roommates bought a house with a pool.
Picture it, it’s 2021, and this was the first time I’d flown in 18 months. I’ve visited my two college roommates (Laura and Nell) individually over the years since graduating from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and I don’t think we’ve all hung out together in 17 years. When Laura bought a house with a pool and invited Nell and me to come to Oklahoma, it seemed like a great reason to reunite.
Pro Tip: Bookmark this page to come back to it when you’re planning a girls’ getaway!
Planning an Annual Girls Trip
I remember having a lot of excitement for that flight since it was my first post-pandemic (I even considered a themed t-shirt). I arrived in Oklahoma, and we spent the weekend in Laura’s pool, catching up as if no time had passed.
We’ve now carried on the tradition for four years, and it’s wild how we always pick up where we left off. While we text regularly about the small details in our lives, having an annual girls’ trip is nice to spend quality time together. While our trip is relatively easy to plan since we stay at Laura’s house, there can be a lot more to consider when planning something on a bigger scale.
How to Plan a Girls’ Trip
Time with your gal pals is important and worth celebrating! Having time away with friends is the best way to reconnect, catch up and have some much-deserved fun. This guide will cover the important topics to consider for planning a girls’ trip, from choosing the destination, setting a budget, and determining the length of your stay.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you plan the perfect girls’ trip!
Planning a Budget for the Girls’ Trip
The budget can be the most important piece of planning for the trip. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page with expectations and boundaries.
- Tips for Saving: Utilize group discounts, book early to secure deals, set Google alerts on flight details, and look for travel packages in order to help save money on the trip itself.
- If you want options for saving for the long term, I use the Acorns app. You can have automatic deposits and purchases rounded up to be added to your account to grow your savings (get a $5 bonus investment for free when you sign up).
- Splitting Expenses: Consider using an expense-sharing app like Splitwise to divide out each of the expenses. You can use it for dividing costs among specific people, and it gives you a total for who owes what when the trip is over. It’s a lot easier than managing it in a spreadsheet!
- Consider Using a Credit Card with Travel Benefits. While every card program is different, travel credit cards usually include bonuses for travel-related purchases like plane fares, hotel stays, or restaurant meals. You also may get benefits like travel protection and rental car insurance.
- The United Card includes a free checked bag, two passes to the United Club, and upgraded group seating, in addition to a sign-on bonus. Check these details and up to 90,000 bonus miles depending on which United Card you select!
- Need tips for building miles with your regular purchases? Check out this guide to maximize your miles.
Related Post: When planning a budget for a girls trip, it’s crucial to speak up and create boundaries. Here are tips for advocating for yourself!
Planning a Girls’ Trip on a Budget
While the budget generally refers to how much you’d like to spend, this can also determine how much time you’re willing to spend on the trip. Depending on the location you select, the travel time could have a huge impact on the amount of time you have at your destination.
- Budget Consideration: Financial: Determine a maximum on how much you will spend on accommodation, activities, and dining before you select the location.
- Budget Consideration: Time: Decide how long you’re willing to spend traveling to the location and consider the impact of different time zones. If you’re training for a race during your trip, you’ll want to determine how that factors into your schedule.
For more on budget travel tips, here’s a whole post dedicated to planning a girls trip on a budget!
Related Post: Want tips for how to maintain a running routine? Check out this guide with advice on how to stay active while you travel.
Set a Goal for the Girls’ Trip
Are you looking for a weekend to relax and catch up? Maybe you’re looking for an event or a music festival. Or are you looking to visit somewhere central to the group? It’s really important to determine the goal of the trip in order to ensure everyone is on the same page through the planning process.
Girls Trip Destination Planning
Selecting the right destination sets the tone for your trip. While I’ve never done this, I have friends who’ve created pitch decks for their girls’ trip ideas. They get together and present their pitch. As part of the presentation, each person researches important details like estimated costs for flights, lodging, and activities. Once all the presentations are complete, the group votes on the location.
When planning the destination for your girls’ trip, consider the following factors:
- Budget: Pick your location based on the determined budget and length of time.
- Travel Distance: Opt for a destination that suits everyone’s travel preferences—whether everyone meets in a new city or in someone’s hometown.
- Interests: Align the destination with shared interests like relaxation, adventure, culture, or food.
- Climate: Check the weather conditions to pack accordingly and ensure enjoyable activities.
- Consider a Travel Agent: If you’re open to having support with this, consider asking a travel agent to plan for you! Travel agents can help if you plan on having multiple stops, traveling overseas or don’t have a lot of time to research. And given the recent airline outage, having extra support for rebooking your trip is invaluable! My friend, Maggie, is a travel agent with the Travel Byrds and can help you book the trip of your dreams (girls’ trip or other). Her contact details are here.
Related Post: Learn how using a travel agent can be a huge win for your girls’ trip!
Organize and Schedule the Girls’ Trip
It’s inevitable there is at least one friend who handles all the scheduling, and she organizes it in a Google document. However you decide to plan the trip, it’s important to keep track in a central location to ensure all the details are accounted for.
Finding a suitable date and managing schedules is crucial to planning a successful trip.
- Finding a Date: Coordinate with everyone’s availability using scheduling tools or apps like Google Calendar or Doodle.
- Using Tools: Simplify planning by using shared calendars and group messaging to finalize plans efficiently. You can store important details like confirmation numbers, flight numbers and arrival times in a Google Sheet. Apps like Splitwise can make the complicated aspect of spliting costs so easy (they’ll even consolidate to reduce the number of Venmo requests).
Related Post: Pack for your girls’ trips without overpacking! Plan your packing list using this AI prompt!
Picking a Girls’ Trip Destination
Choose a theme that resonates with the group’s interests to enhance the trip experience:
- Wellness Retreat: Focus on rejuvenation with activities like yoga, spa treatments, and meditation.
- Ideal Destinations: Wellness resorts, hot springs, or nature retreats.
- Adventure and Outdoor Activities: Thrilling experiences such as hiking, kayaking, and zip-lining.
- Ideal Destinations: National parks, adventure resorts.
- Cultural and Historical Exploration: Dive into local history, museums, and cultural festivals.
- Ideal Destinations: Cities with rich history like Washington DC (lots of free museums) or guided tours (Chicago has amazing architecture tours on boat and on foot)
- Relaxation and Pampering: Indulge in beach lounging, poolside relaxation, and luxury dining.
- Ideal Destinations: Beach towns
- Food and Wine Tour: Delight in wine tasting, culinary classes, and gourmet dining.
- Ideal Destinations: Wine regions (did you know the Midwest, Virginia or Southern California have great wine options) or foodie cities.
If you want to add some fun party favors for the weekend, check out this inspired list on Amazon!
Best Options for Lodging for a Group Trip
Choose accommodation that suits the group’s preferences and budget:
- Hotels: Offer amenities, convenience, and various services.
- Considerations: Location, price, and guest reviews.
- Vacation Rentals (Airbnb, VRBO): Provide privacy, space, and a home-like feel.
- Considerations: Property amenities, host ratings, and cancellation policies.
- Resorts: Feature all-inclusive options, entertainment, and extensive facilities.
- Considerations: Resort activities, dining options, and package deals.
- Boutique Hotels: Known for unique designs and personalized service.
- Considerations: Exclusivity and ambiance.
- Someone in the Group’s House! While this might seem like a silly option, it helps with the expenses if you don’t have to spend on the lodging (bonus points if they have a pool).
Girls Trip Planning and Packing
Pack the essentials you’ll need to ensure comfort and preparedness throughout the trip. Did you see my list of must-have items for your carry-on bag? Check it out here.
- Essentials: ID, passport, tickets, credit cards, cash, and travel insurance.
- Clothing: Weather-appropriate outfits, swimwear, and comfortable shoes.
- Toiletries: Skincare products, haircare essentials, sunscreen, medications, and vitamins.
- Tech and Entertainment: Gadgets like a phone and charger, along with entertainment options like books and games.
- Miscellaneous: Snacks, drinks, a travel pillow, a blanket, and a reusable water bottle.
In conclusion, planning is key to a successful girls’ trip. It’s important to make sure everyone has a great experience and is within budget. Most importantly, it’s key to spend time together and create memories!
With these steps and considerations in mind, your girls’ trip is sure to be a fantastic and well-organized adventure! Happy wandering! Have a great trip idea you want to share? Leave your experiences and tips in the comments!
Need a complete list of my travel favorites? Click here to shop the essentials on Amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions: Girls’ Trip Edition
When planning a girls’ trip, start with the basics! Determine who is going to attend, the budget, and the travel dates to start. You can then refine the location options based on these three things.
You should plan 1-6 months in advance to take advantage of cheaper flight and hotel accommodations. It also gives everyone enough time to save for expenses or accumulate loyalty program points.
Aligning schedules and budgets is usually the biggest challenge. when planning a girls’ getaway. Clear communication early on helps avoid stress and last-minute expenses. To keep track of your expenses, use an app like Splitwise to help divy up the shared costs.
The number one mistake when planning a girls’ trip is not discussing the budget or financial expectations. Assumptions and misunderstandings can add extra stress and frustration, which can spoil your experience!
Ready to Plan Your Girls’ Getaway?
Hope these steps outlined the major pillars for planning a girls’ trip! No matter where you’re headed, the best part of the trip is catching up and spending quality time together.
Your turn: Have tips for planning a girls’ trip? Leave a note in the comments!
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