Planning a girls trip for you or a client? Some essentials….and some nice to haves!
Lats year I organised a girls holiday for me and my friends to celebrate our 40th birthdays and thought I would share some tips and ideas to help if you are planning your own (but a girls trip is always a good idea right!?)
- Start a savings pot – whoever is the organiser of the group (usually me), set up an instant saver pot via your online banking and get the girls to set up a standing order based on your budget and timescales to save. We saved £20 a month for 3 years and then upped it to £30 a month for the last 12 months giving us a super healthy budget (in 2022) of £1k for a 4 night trip. We opted to go to Tui Blue Sensatori Coral Sea, Sharm el Sheik and it was perfect. I didn’t miss the money each month and the standing order element meant it was automated so no one had to remember to make the transfer. The key here is everyone doing the same amount where possible just to make life easy for the organiser.
- Be realistic about your budget and the group finance dynamics – when organising a girls trip, be realistic about the financial dynamics of your group. Are you all in a similar position financially? Have a similar level of disposable income? If not, then an all-inclusive is a good option as no one has to worry about this meal costing that or how to split the bill for the drinks.
- If all-inclusive isn’t your bag consider building up a kitty for food and drinks while you are away, but make sure you don’t have a mate that orders champagne and steak, while you prefer a spag bol and a pint! Nothing can kill the vibe of a night out or group dinner than people getting upset when the bill comes and someone hasn’t played fair!
- Think about what you want in a holiday? Are you after sunshine or city streets? Pure relaxation or a cultural experience? We wanted hot weather and chill vibes and we went in the Easter holidays as we has a teacher in our group. The weather was 30 degrees everyday, the flight was just under 6 hours with a 15 min transfer from the airport so totally do-able for a long weekend in my opinion.
- If you are looking for a city break, then you have lots of options all year round. Cruise the Seine in Paris then hit the Moulin Rouge? Tapas and Sangria on the Las Ramblas, then a chill on the beach in Barcelona? Or how about pizza and an Aperol spritz, with a side of shopping in Milan? Whatever you choose, make sure you have a think about the accommodation you choose. Hotel rooms can be great value but if you have are on a city break, an apartment might be better if there are a few of you and you want to gather together all in one place. If you are in separate rooms, make sure to contact the accommodation a head of time to request rooms next door to each other if possible.
- Transport and at the airport – Depending on how many of you are going it might be better value to organise an airport taxi / coach and also means no one has to be the one that does the driving! You might want to think about booking an airport lounge too for some pre flight drinks and nibbles, which can be a fab way to get your holiday started. And before you set off – make sure you are that person that does the annoying check – “Has everyone got their passports?!”
Little extras that are totally unnecessary but also super practical. I organised a few little treats for the group as a surprise which are obviously not essential but you may want to consider especially if its for a special occasion. [insert photo]
- Turkish towels – I ordered personalised Turkish towels from Etsy for all of us to use whilst away. This item quickly became a holiday staple for me as it can be used as a blanket on the flights, as a sarong, as a yoga mat and of course as a beach towel. They are super lightweight and dry quickly so multi-use and versatile.
- Jute beach bags – I got us all a personalised jute beach bag (again Etsy!) which we all ended up using as our hand luggage bags too! Relatively cheap and hardwearing, it was perfect for shoving all our pool side essentials in and something I have used day to day when back off holiday too.
- Holiday playlist – I put together a playlist on my phone of some old school tunes that brought back all the memories and good vibes form our ‘youth’, which we played while lounging at the pool and getting ready. Low by Flo Rida anyone?
Looking for some inspiration for a girls trip? Check out my FREE eBook ’10 Resorts for a Girls Trip’ here.
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