I love a good girls trip, but it can take a lot of planning to get the girls trip out of the group chat! I have successfully gotten more than five girls trips together and they were all amazing! I love getting to spend quality time with my friends. My friends live all over the U.S, so it is so special to get to spend intentional time together while exploring somewhere new (or old!). I have been to Mexico, Palm Springs, Austin, and Michigan on girls trips and will be going to Mexico for another girls trip this year! Today I am going to share my tips for planning a trip from all things finances, time off, where to go etc! My friends are so special to me, so these trips are some of the highlights of my year!
1. Pick your People
Okay so this may sound obvious, but a lot of thought can go into this! The more people, the cheaper, because you can split the cost, but it is also more moving parts to plan and coordinate. I have been on trips with just one other friend all the way up to a group of 4 of us girls! I personally think 4 is a great number because you can all fit into one hotel room (so it gives you the option of booking a hotel or an Airbnb). It also is important to travel with people who share similar values on what they want to get out of a trip.
2. Plan Early
Okay so you have thought of either a friend, or a group of friends who share similar values, now it is time to text everyone. I recommend texting very early. For example, my friends and I go on a yearly girls trip in April and each year we start vaguely discussing the trip in September (8 months out) and more seriously getting things together in November/December (4/5 months out). The farther in advance you mention it and plan the trip, the easier it is for others to save money, as well as plan for putting in PTO at work, which can increase the likelihood that everyone will go!
Find your people and shoot a text far in advance! You can say something along the lines of “Hey!! I was thinking it would be so fun to do a girls trip this year! Would you guys be interested in discussing this further/planning something?”
Sending a text like this gets the ball rolling!
3. Not Everyone will Go
It can be hard to not take this personally when people deny you, but just know that some people may be in different stages in their lives or honestly they just don’t want to prioritize spending time with you in this way. Be gracious and understanding, and maybe next year they will be able to come!
4. Pick a Budget
Bringing up money can feel awkward, but in order to get the girls trip running you need to talk about it! It’s important to figure out what everyone’s budget is, so that no one is put in a stressful situation. I always bring this up by saying something like “It’s important we have a range for our goal spending so that way we can be considerate of everyone! What is everyone’s price range? I am thinking anywhere from $1500-$2000.”
If it is a larger group I will mention that people can text me separately too if they feel more comfortable doing that! I find that picking a budget is more important than picking the time and the place because once you have your budget set you can determine how long you want to go, where you should go, etc. based off your price range!
A fun way to do a girls trip on a budget is visit a friend that lives in a city and have the group stay with them! My grandpa has actually done this for the last 50 years with his college buddies and each year they just rotate whose house they will be staying at!
5. Pick the time
For some jobs, picking a time isn’t as important, but for nursing, PTO requests are due so far in advance! For my April trip I submitted my request in December- so picking a time earlier is nice so others can plan around the trip. I recommend sending a text and asking everyone to put a month or two that works for them! For example, for my nursing friends yearly group trip we picked April in 2023 and on the trip we just decided that every April we are going to try and keep our calendar open for a trip- so that’s what happened and now in 2024 we are going back to Mexico in April. I feel like for this part you need to just suggest a time based off everyone’s month preferences and go with it! My friends and I always do our girls trip in April, but the exact dates change every year!
6. Pick a Place
Now is the fun part!! Having your budget and time set helps narrow down places because if you are going for 5 days you might not necessarily want to fly to Italy due to time constraints! Or if your budget is $1,000, I don’t know if a week long trip to Turks and Caicos will be doable! Think about what type of vacation do you want: Beach? Mountains? City? International? Domestic? All inclusive?
I have done weekend trips to other states with friends, international all inclusive trips to Mexico, and lake weekends! There are options for everyone! All inclusive tends to be easiest with budgeting because all of your food and drinks are included, but also you sacrifice experiencing the culture of a country on an all inclusive trip!
7. Be the Coordinator
If you have been following all of the steps above, you have already taken over part of this job, but if it is feasible for you, volunteer to book the trip on your credit card! It can decrease the strain on your friends and as long as you trust them to pay you back, it allows them a little more time to save or budget and decreases their stress! I trust my friends, so I don’t mind booking the hotel/airbnb on my card and my friends paying my back within a month or two!
8. Have Fun!
I always have the best time on girls trips! I love getting to spend time with my friends and explore new places with them! There is nothing quite like some good girl friends! Let me know if you find these tips helpful and if you want more posts on girls trips!
Great article!!