How to Plan a Girls Trip (& still be friends afterwards!)

How many times have you sat around with your friends, talking about the dream girls trip? When you all finally agree on a location and dates… what next?

You’re about to spend a lot of time with these people, there needs to be some conversations around expectations, ground rules, & flexibility.

Planning

Choose dates in advance, and then plan where to go/where to stay/what to do. In my experience, the dates are the hardest part to nail down. Most girls trips I have done are 4 or 5 days long. Any longer and it can be hard to get everyone to commit or to get days off work.

The first time I took a friends trip, we chose the destination based on a video we had seen on Facebook. The second trip I took was chosen because it was the cheapest beach getaway we could find, and the most recent destination was chosen because a friend had just moved there and none of us had visited before. Sometimes trips are about the destination, but some are just about who you’re going with.

Transparency 

Have numerous conversations about what to expect. How much money will we spend? How often will we eat out? Is this a relaxing or go-go-go type of trip? I am someone who does not like to cook while on vacation (they are my time away from cooking), try to be savvy about saving money, and to do mix of adventure and relaxing. Start a group message and ask these questions about everyone’s thoughts and expectations. Try to tackle these questions upfront, so everyone is on the same page.

Flexibility

Did you come up with a list of must-see attractions and then your friend shot it down? Been there. Don’t worry. But you do have to be flexible. When you are bringing together a bunch of people with different vacation styles, everyone is not going to be able to do everything that they want. The purpose of the girls trip is not to see everything there is to see in [insert city name], the purpose is to spend time with your friends. Go back another time by yourself or with your significant other to hit everything on your checklist. Perhaps choose your top few things and say, “My main must-see for this trip is ___________. Do you think we could spend some time there on [this day] while we are nearby?” Bam. If they say no, then suggest that you split for a few hours one day.

In my experience, the most hurt feelings happen when one person in the group is making all of the plans and not open to what someone else wants to do, or when someone is inflexible about their expectations.

Ground Rules

Talk through this with your friends. On girl’s trips I’ve been on in the past we’ve just had conversations around sobriety and making sure that at least some of us have our wits about us. When I have gone on trips with single gals, we have usually thrown in a rule around focusing on our friendship and not on romance/meeting someone in a far away city.

The most important rule is to avoid chains… eat and drink like locals while you’re there. You don’t need to eat at Red Lobster when you’re in Maine.

Where do you and your friends want to travel to?

Traveling soon? Use my Airbnb Discount for $40 off your first trip!

[addthis tool=”addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ovxd”]