Is This Your Next Girls Trip? The Ultimate Guide to Where to Go and How to Do It Right
Rancho Santana, Nicaragua
Is This Your Next Ladies Trip?
There is something that happens when women travel together, or alone, that is different from any other kind of trip. The pace changes and conversations go deeper. The itinerary becomes less about checking things off and more about actually being present. The best meals stretch into hours. The hikes feel more purposeful. The sunsets get properly witnessed.
I have been on ladies trips that changed friendships. I have taken solo trips that changed me. And as a travel advisor, I have helped plan experiences for women that became the stories they still tell years later.
Sun and Sand: For the Trip That Feels Like a Deep Exhale
Some trips are simply about warmth, water and the particular freedom of having nowhere to be. These destinations deliver all three, with enough beauty and character to make them feel genuinely special rather than just another beach.
Cabo San Lucas and the Los Cabos Corridor, Mexico
There is something about the way the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez at the tip of Baja California that feels like the edge of the world in the very best way. The dramatic rock formations, the desert landscape tumbling toward turquoise water, the extraordinary food scene that has emerged along the corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo over the past decade. Cabo rewards both the group that wants nothing more than a pool, a cold drink and a perfect sunset, and the one that wants whale watching, world class sport fishing and chef driven dinners under the stars.
For something more intimate and removed, Villa Santa Cruz, part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, sits on the beachfront on 20 acres in the Todos Santos area of Baja California, a quieter and more elemental stretch of coast where the pace slows even further and the connection to the landscape feels more genuine. With farm-to-table dining, an on-site stable, beekeeping and wellness, it is the kind of place that makes you wonder why you ever went anywhere crowded. (Book with Gold Coast Travel and receive a hotel credit, daily breakfast, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: VillaSantaCruzBaja.com)
Jamaica
Years ago I attended a wedding in Negril and spent several days on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. The water is the kind of clear, warm turquoise that makes you wonder why you ever go anywhere else (almost!). But the experience that stayed with me most was a horseback riding excursion that took us through lush coffee plantations and then, bareback, directly into the ocean. It is the kind of thing that sounds almost too good to be true until you are actually doing it.
Jamaica is having a genuine renaissance right now, with a new generation of boutique properties and culinary experiences joining the established resorts. It is also a destination where your visit matters. Tourism is one of the primary drivers of the Jamaican economy and the country continues to rebuild and grow, especially after the most recent destructive hurricane. Going is a genuinely meaningful act.
Nestled on Jamaica's north coast in Oracabessa Bay, GoldenEye is the legendary estate where Ian Fleming wrote the original James Bond novels. Today it's a collection of private villas, cottages, and beach huts set among secret coves, tropical gardens, and a stunning lagoon, blending rich history with effortless Caribbean luxury. (Book with Gold Coast Travel to receive daily breakfast, $100 resort credit, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: GoldenEye.com)
Bermuda
For travelers in the Northeast, Bermuda is one of the most underutilized escapes available. Just 90 minutes from Westchester's HPN airport, it feels like a world entirely apart. Pink sand beaches, pastel cottages, extraordinarily clear water and a British colonial elegance that gives the island a unique and charming character unlike anywhere else in the Atlantic. The island is compact enough to explore thoroughly in a long weekend, refined enough to satisfy the most discerning traveler and warm enough to enjoy year round. Serious golfers will find championship courses that draw players from around the world in every season. Mopeds or the Renault Twizy (an electric two-seater perfect for cruising the island's narrow roads) are the preferred mode of transportation and renting one with your girlfriends to discover hidden coves and tucked away lunch spots is one of the great pleasures of a Bermuda trip.
The first hotel built from scratch in Bermuda in decades, The Loren at Pink Beach is perched at the cliff's edge above the southern shore. It blends laid-back luxury with modern elegance, offering panoramic views of the island's famous pink sands. (Book with Gold Coast Travel to receive daily breakfast, $100 resort credit, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: TheLorenHotels.com)
Belize
For the group that wants something genuinely adventurous alongside their beach time, Belize is one of the most extraordinary destinations in the Western Hemisphere. The Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world, makes for world class snorkeling and diving. Inland, ancient Mayan ruins emerge from the jungle canopy, and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve offers hiking, waterfalls and wildlife in a landscape that feels genuinely wild. The food is a beautiful blend of Caribbean, Creole and Garifuna traditions. And the scale of the country, small, intimate and unhurried, means that a week here feels like a genuine immersion rather than a surface level visit.
Shaka Caye Private Island Resort is the property I keep coming back to when clients ask about Belize. A private island resort just nine miles from Belize City, accessible by a short 25 to 35 minute boat ride with no puddle jumper flights, no long transfers and no crowds. The all inclusive experience here is genuinely intimate, with a limited number of guests on the island at any time, newly renovated beachfront villas, sea and farm to table dining and direct access to the reef for snorkeling and diving right from the shore.
(photo: ShakaCaye.com)
Wellness and Spa: For the Trip That Restores You Completely
Some trips are about adventure. Some are about connection. And some are about remembering who you are when you are not managing everything for everyone else. These destinations are built for the latter.
Austin, Texas: The Wellness Edition
For a ladies trip focused on restoration, the destination just outside Austin is where the real magic happens. Nestled on the peaceful shores of Lake Austin in the Texas Hill Country, just 30 minutes from downtown, Lake Austin Spa Resort is an all-inclusive wellness retreat like no other. Every stay includes thoughtfully prepared meals, a full daily schedule of wellness classes and lake activities, plus access to the award-winning LakeHouse Spa. The spa earned the title of #1 U.S. Destination Spa by Condé Nast Traveler in 2024 and 2025.
(photo: LakeAustin.com)
Mayflower Inn and Spa, Washington, Connecticut
For those of us in the Northeast, one of the most exquisite wellness escapes in the country is hiding in plain sight in the Connecticut countryside. The Mayflower Inn and Spa is a Relais and Chateaux property that haslong set the standard for New England luxury. The spa is extraordinary, the rooms are individually appointed and deeply comfortable, the grounds are beautiful in every season and the dining is the kind of thoughtful, ingredient driven cooking that makes you want to linger over every meal. It is the perfect long weekend destination for a small group who want to feel genuinely restored without getting on a plane. (Book with Gold Coast Travel to receive daily breakfast, $100 resort credit, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: Auberge.com/Mayflower)
Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee
Set in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Blackberry Farm is one of the most celebrated luxury properties in America for very good reason. This working farm has long set the standard for American pastoral luxury with stone cottages, heirloom gardens and a kitchen that honors the Appalachian region in a way that has earned national recognition for decades. The spa, the farm to table meals, the hiking trails and the extraordinary wine program make it a complete and deeply nourishing experience. For the group that wants beauty, comfort, exceptional food and a genuine connection to the land, Blackberry Farm is incomparable.
Wine and Food: For the Trip Built Around the Table
Some of the best ladies trips are organized entirely around a shared love of exceptional food and wine. These destinations reward that instinct completely.
Napa Valley and Sonoma, California
I took my mother to Napa and Sonoma for her 60th birthday, and it remains one of the most special trips we have ever taken together. We began with a night in San Francisco, walking the city and having a memorable dinner before renting a car and driving north into wine country the following morning. I cannot recommend this San Francisco add on highly enough. It gives the trip a beautiful sense of arrival and frames wine country as the destination you have been building toward.
We hired a local driver-guide to take us to their favorite smaller wineries for a full day, including a casual lunch at a spot only locals know about. We stumbled upon ZD Wines and left with a membership. We booked a tasting menu dinner at Jordan Winery that was one of the most beautiful dining experiences I have had anywhere. And we had the privilege of dining at the French Laundry, which requires a reservation booked exactly two months in advance to the day and is worth every moment of the planning.
(photo: JordanWinery.com)
The lesson I took from this trip is that Napa and Sonoma reward the traveler who slows down and goes deep into one or two experiences rather than rushing between as many wineries as possible. Hire a guide, linger over lunch, let the afternoon unfold.
Where to stay: Auberge du Soleil is the iconic hillside choice with sweeping valley views and one of the great restaurant terraces in California. Meadowood Napa is a beloved resort set in a valley with exceptional dining and a genuine sense of seclusion. Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection is the newest and most exciting addition, a working ranch reimagined as a luxury resort with an extraordinary sense of place. Solage, also an Auberge property, offers a more modern and spa forward experience in Calistoga that is particularly well suited to a wellness minded ladies trip. (All properties come with Gold Coast Travel perks.)
(photo: Auberge.com/Solage)
Portugal: Porto and the Douro Valley
Portugal is one of the most extraordinary travel experiences I have had in my life, and I went alone, which turned out to be exactly right.
The Douro Valley is one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world. Terraced vineyards climb the hillsides above the river in a landscape so dramatic it barely seems real. A river cruise through the valley, stopping at quinta after quinta to taste port and still wines while the scenery unfolds around you, is one of the great slow travel experiences available anywhere.
Porto itself is one of the most walkable, warm and genuinely beautiful cities I have ever visited. The people are proud of their city and it shows in every interaction. The food is exceptional and refreshingly unpretentious. And crossing the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia for sunset with a glass of tawny port at Graham's, watching the golden light drape itself over the Porto skyline, is the kind of experience that stays with you in a way very few travel moments do.
For a ladies trip, Portugal offers everything. Extraordinary wine, exceptional food, beauty at every turn, affordability that genuinely surprises most American travelers and a pace of life that aligns perfectly with the kind of travel that actually changes you. Portugal deserves its own dedicated post and one is coming. Stay tuned.
For those who want to immerse themselves deeper into wine country, the Douro Valley offers some of the most breathtaking places to stay in all of Portugal. Six Senses Douro Valley is set in a beautifully restored 19th-century manor on a hilltop, with panoramic river views, an exceptional spa, and a wine library that will knock your socks off. Torel Quinta da Vacaria is a newer boutique gem on one of the valley's oldest wine estates dating back to 1616. And Casa da Calçada is a Relais & Châteaux property set in a 16th-century building in the charming town of Amarante, sits perfectly between Porto and the Douro Valley with its own wine estate producing celebrated Vinho Verde ("Green Wine") and Douro wines just minutes away. (All properties come with Gold Coast Travel perks.)
If you would rather stay closer to the city, Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia sits on the Gaia side of the river, built directly above the cellars of Kopke, the oldest port house in the Douro. For a group of women it is close to ideal: guided tastings of aged tawny in the original cellars downstairs, a spa whose treatments are built around grape seed oil and granulated cork left over from port production, two pools, dining from three Michelin starred chef Nacho Manzano, and a rooftop bar looking straight across the Dom Luís I Bridge at the Porto skyline. It is the version of this trip where you can spend the morning among the vineyards and still be on that terrace at sunset, glass in hand, with nobody having to drive. Book with Gold Coast Travel for added amenities such as complimentary breakfast, $100 hotel credit, and a room upgrade upon availability.
Nature and Adventure: For the Trip That Reminds You How Wild the World Is
The Pacific Northwest and Vancouver, Canada
I have been to Vancouver for work and stayed long enough to fall in love with it. It is one of the most effortlessly livable and beautiful cities in North America, with mountains rising directly behind the skyline and a creative neighborhood energy that makes it endlessly interesting to explore. My best friend met me there and we shared a hotel room, enjoyed the spa, had excellent dinners and did a glorious bike ride along the Stanley Park seawall, one of the great urban cycling experiences in the world. Vancouver is walkable, easy to navigate and the perfect base for exploring the extraordinary wilderness that begins just beyond the city limits.
From Vancouver, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge on the west coast of Vancouver Island is accessible only by floatplane or boat and is one of the most extraordinary wilderness experiences available anywhere. This all inclusive camp pairs genuine seclusion with elevated safari style tents, world class guiding and a landscape of old growth rainforest and Pacific coastline that is unlike anything else on Earth. (When you book through Gold Coast Travel you receive a $100 helicopter credit, daily breakfast, an upgrade and extended check in / check out upon availability.)
The Canadian Rockies
A short flight or scenic drive from Vancouver, the Canadian Rockies offer some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the world. The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is one of the great drives on the continent, passing glaciers, turquoise lakes and jagged peaks at every turn. Moraine Lake and Lake Louise draw visitors from around the world to see those impossibly turquoise waters in person. Jasper adds dark skies, quiet trails and some of the best stargazing on the continent.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise overlooking the iconic lake, Fairmont Banff Springs in its castle in the mountains setting and Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge with its relaxed collection of cabins and wildlife filled trails are all exceptional properties. (Book with Gold Coast Travel to receive daily breakfast, $100 resort credit, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: Fairmont.com)
Nicaragua: Rancho Santana
For the group seeking something genuinely off the beaten path, Rancho Santana on Nicaragua's Pacific coast is one of the most beautiful and undiscovered beach and wellness destinations in Central America. Spread across 2,700 oceanfront acres and five private beaches, this intimate resort offers exceptional wave and sand surfing, yoga, hiking, biking, and horseback riding along the coast and the kind of raw natural beauty that feels increasingly rare. Nicaragua's Pacific coast remains one of the last genuinely uncrowded coastlines in the region and Rancho Santana is the finest way to experience it. (Book with Gold Coast Travel to receive daily breakfast, $100 resort credit, and an upgrade with early check in / late check out upon availability.)
(photo: RanchoSantana.com)
A Final Note
The best ladies trips share one thing regardless of destination. They are built around what the group actually needs rather than what seems impressive on paper. Sometimes that is a week of pure sun and sea. Sometimes it is a transformative wilderness experience. Sometimes it is a wine soaked week in a beautiful valley. And sometimes it is something completely unexpected that becomes the story you are still telling ten years later.
Whatever kind of trip you are planning, I would love to help you plan it right. Reach out at kristin@goldcoasttravelct.com or complete the inquiry form for a complimentary consultation. Let's figure out where you are going next.