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Good planning key to girlfriend getaways
Girlfriend getaways are an important part of the lives of American women. According to a survey conducted by AAA and Aspire magazine, 24% of American women have taken a girlfriend getaway in the past 3 years, and 39% plan on taking one in the next 3 years.
An enjoyable girlfriend getaway begins with good planning.
My grandmother was the queen of girlfriend getaways — before the term was invented. Her trips to the Yucatan Peninsula with her girlfriends were well-orchestrated affairs. Preparations included numerous inoculations, the purchase of strange survivalist gear and the hiring of guides. Even short trips with my mother and I were carefully planned.
Eager to follow in her adventurous "Of course you can travel without a man" footsteps, I decided to take a trip to Palm Springs with my friend Marcia. I soon learned there are a few key elements to planning a great girlfriend getaway that Grandmother probably could have told me about.
Stay at the best hotel you can afford.
Our vision of the perfect girlfriend getaway was a reasonably priced hotel with its own spa, not to mention a large swimming pool equipped with cabana boys and poolside beverage service. Had we picked a Diamond-rated property in Palm Springs first, we might have not had to move from our unfortunate first choice — an ant-infested no-name facility. After a quick relocation we discovered, to our surprise, that during the off-season the Diamond-rated property was only a little more expensive.
Stay at a location close to the amenities you wish to use.
Thinking we would save money by being further off the beaten path, we found the neighborhood of the first hotel to be less-than-desirable for two young women. When we switched hotels, we found we could easily walk to shopping, good dining, and much more entertainment — and we felt safer doing so.
Look for package deals.
In the first hotel we booked, all services were a la carte — and turned out to be limited to a broken-down Jacuzzi and a murky green swimming pool, as those promised cabana boys and spa staff didn't work summer hours. Our new hotel offered us fabulous spa and dining packages, both in the hotel and with partner establishments nearby. The money we saved on the package deals more than made up for the slightly higher hotel cost.
So, whether you travel with a girlfriend, aunt, daughter, mother or even a grandmother, careful planning can make your girlfriend getaway memorable for all the right reasons.
Here are some ready — made AAA girlfriend vacations (without the ants). Each vacation package offers a choice of well-rated accommodations in various price ranges, admission to various attractions, and can be customized with airfare and car rental. Combine that with AAA's TourBooks and you'll have a well-planned girlfriend getaway.
AAA offers 44
Girlfriend Getaways from
Palm Springs Adventure, Philadelphia Heritage and Art - King Tut Exhibit, Flavor of New Orleans, The Southern Way of Savannah, Luxury Wine Tradition, Sonoma and so much more!
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