Girls Weekend Ideas

[Tacocat]

My girlfriend and I are both turning 40 this year and want to plan a girls weekend away. Right now we are thinking early to mid May. We live in the Midwest, so would like to fly somewhere. Some ideas we have thought of are Portland OR or Charleston SC. We like wine, food, pretty landscapes/nature (mountains, oceans or something we don’t get in the Midwest). Somewhere we can do some sightseeing but isn’t super busy/touristy. Any other suggestions?

[NewGirlNic]

I loved Charleston (went with my H) and would go back in a heartbeat for a girls trip. Lots of good food, shopping, history. I'm sure there's some nice spas too. May would probably be a nice time to visit. We went in September and it was HOT, but we still had fun. 

My friend just bought a condo in Scottsdale to Airbnb and we're planning a girls trip there in May/June. 

[TR]

Charleston will be very touristy.

[Deleted]

We're going to Charleston this Saturday! I'm so excited, I love that city - the history, the food, the drinks, all of it. It will def be touristy then, but if you don't mind that then it's a good option for a trip.

There are also the Finger Lakes - wineries, distilleries, the views are gorgeous. Certain weekends are themed on the different lakes. Before-times, I would go on a girls weekend to Keuka (I think) Lake and that's when they had the Herb & Garden Festival in late Apr/early May. You purchased a wine passport and that got you tastings at 6-8 wineries along that lake along with a potted herb from each winery. There was about 10 of us and we rented a limo for the day. It was really fun! But with that comes crowds, so keep that in mind.

[bex1973]

Girl trips I've done & loved - Chicago (though that doesn't really fit what you're looking for!), Finger Lakes (as mentioned before), Sedona Arizona but my most favorite that actually surprised me was Park City Utah. We did spas and ate great food in all those places.

I've also done Charleston and Hilton Head with H and really liked both.

[Deleted]

Another thought... If you want to avoid crowds, maybe a spa weekend would be good. There's a spa resort in the Poconos (in PA) that my H and I went to a few years ago: The Lodge at Woodloch Spa. There are 2 properties. One of more family-oriented and the other is adults only (the spa side). The grounds are gorgeous. We brought our bikes and hit up some of the trails a few times. Your meals are included in the per day rate. We also took advantage of the pools (indoor and outdoor), some of the exercise classes, and we got massages. It was super relaxing.

www.thelodgeatwoodloch.com/?_vsrefdom=lodgeatwoodloch-ppc&gclid=9af6f702f4d01a8332d696fbbe13be3e&gclsrc=3p.ds&

[Tacocat]

Feb 1, 2022 9:29:37 GMT -5 @psugrad said:

We're going to Charleston this Saturday! I'm so excited, I love that city - the history, the food, the drinks, all of it. It will def be touristy then, but if you don't mind that then it's a good option for a trip.

There are also the Finger Lakes - wineries, distilleries, the views are gorgeous. Certain weekends are themed on the different lakes. Before-times, I would go on a girls weekend to Keuka (I think) Lake and that's when they had the Herb & Garden Festival in late Apr/early May. You purchased a wine passport and that got you tastings at 6-8 wineries along that lake along with a potted herb from each winery. There was about 10 of us and we rented a limo for the day. It was really fun! But with that comes crowds, so keep that in mind.

Finger Lakes actually looks like exactly what we’re looking for! Any recommendations on places to stay?

[sdlaura]

3 girlfriends and I do a girls trip annually. We’ve done Oregon coast, Palm springs, CA wine country (Healdsburg), Boulder, CO, Scottsdale. We’re all located in the west though. I’m sure Charleston would have been on our list if we were on the east coast/Midwest.

This year in a few weeks we’re going to Tucson, and got day passes to the fancy Miraval spa. We booked activities like a hike, meditation in hammocks, wine tasting, intro to pickle ball…I’m excited. Our trips are pretty quiet - some nice meals, hikes and exercise, spa and pool, maybe some wine tasting. We like to do a puzzle in the evenings

[Deleted]

It was Cayuga Lake we were at for the Wine & Herb Festival (not Keuka) - the passport included 16 wineries over the course of that weekend (we did 8, LOL). But really, all 4 lakes have endless wineries and events if that's something you're interested in. You can't really go wrong. I would suggest getting on their mailing lists to see what's happening from month to month.

www.cayugawinetrail.com/
senecalakewine.com/
www.keukawinetrail.com/

We actually stayed in Geneva, NY at a Fairfield Inn, which IIRC was about 30 min from the wineries. The Seneca Falls area is a good option too. We didn't price out any places right on the lakes because we assumed they would be booked up and the $$$. But I'm sure there have to be VRBOs/AirBNB options.

[carmenere]

Somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains might fit the bill. Asheville has a hip, not too touristy vibe and has some wineries. It's also not too far from Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg if you want to spend a day doing kitschy tourist things.

[luckystar2]

I live not too far from fingerlakes. If you’d like some specific recs or winery recs let me know.

I personally like Seneca lake a lot. I had a girlfriends weekend there a few years ago. We stayed at this Airbnb and loved it.

www.airbnb.com/rooms/13979030

Might not be totally what you are looking for. We are all really close so we didn’t mind the bunk beds. Although there is 1 private room. It was a great location. And I talked with the owner beforehand about being wine tour driver. The cost was reasonable and the guy was super nice.

I prefer this side of the lake but you can drive over to other side to catch some wineries. If you’re interested in hiking, Watkins Glen is beautiful. It’s near the southern tip of Seneca lake.

I’ve also rented a house on the other side of the lake too. You can hit up that side of Seneca as well as Cayuga lake. If you’re interested in hiking it’s closer to get to Ithaca from that side and there are several beautiful hikes that way. Ithaca is near the souther end of Cayuga lake.

[jwright]

I live in Charleston and agree it’s great for a girls weekend. Also agree that May is a prime tourist time and it can be surprising how expensive hotels and restaurants are. Check the calendar, college graduation weekends can get very busy and Spoleto Festival begins at the end of May.

All that said - let me know if you want specific recommendations.

Also,also.. last year my group did a girls weekend n Santa Barbara and loved it.

[Bernadine]

Seneca Lake is gorgeous! And they do busses that go around to the wineries, so you don’t have to worry about driving.

[expectantsteelerfan]

We did a girl's trip to Annapolis MD and enjoyed it!

[Whitecaps]

Savannah, Charleston or the Napa area.

[seabitch]

Another vote for the Finger Lakes Region, La Tourelle is another spa below Cayuga lake that we have enjoyed a sister weekend at. If you are flying in, I assume you would go to Rochester NY or Syracuse on your flights in. There is shopping outlets off the Waterloo Exit on your way to either Seneca or Cayuga that are fun.

Another thought would be Savanah GA area. Lots of fun things to see and do.

[jg183]

May can be unpredictable in Portland. Mothers Day has been nice weather a lot of years but you just never know.

Charleston, Santa Barbara, Napa, Scottsdale, Palm Springs will all be warm for sure

[ellipses84]

Palm Springs is amazing. I’ve done college girlfriends trips in May and it was great weather. We rented a house with a private pool. It’s very relaxing and there’s a few blocks of downtown with good restaurants. I totally understand if you’d rather be coastal though. It’s beautiful and Joshua tree is about an hour away and takes half a day minimum to drive through with a few main stops at rock formations.

Portland may not be the best weather in May but it’s a great city! It’s about an hour from the coast (like Cannon Beach with the rocks from Goonies). There is wine country about an hour south. The same group of friends I went to Palm Springs with went wine tasting and stayed in McMinnville which has a cute little downtown with lots of wine tasting rooms and a few restaurants. We’ve done Oregon Coast beach weekends too. It’s usually cold so I recommend you stay somewhere with a view and a hottub.

San Diego is always a good time with great food and outdoor activities. Sometimes it can be gray and overcast in the may mornings but it usually burns off and is sunny enough for the beach in the afternoons.

SC is a good option for that time of year.

[sdlaura]

ellipses84 , I live in San Diego and I think May is our worst weather month I realize that our worst weather is still better than a lot of places, but it can be really gray and depressing. I definitely agree with your Palm Springs recommendation for May. That's where we did our girls trip at the height of the pandemic/pre-vax - we rented a house with a private pool and four separate bedrooms/bathrooms. We just hung out outside and had a massage therapist come to us.

[emilyinchile]

If you like wine, food and the ocean, fly into SF then head up to wine country. Obviously it's not exactly off the beaten path, but there are enough wineries for everyone without it feeling like you're on a tourist conveyor belt.

[erbear]

The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia has great wineries and is really pretty.

[sdlaura]

Feb 1, 2022 19:11:05 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

If you like wine, food and the ocean, fly into SF then head up to wine country. Obviously it's not exactly off the beaten path, but there are enough wineries for everyone without it feeling like you're on a tourist conveyor belt.

Agree. For specific airports, though - don't fly into SFO - fly into Santa Rosa or Oakland. They're closer to wine country and have fewer delays.

[emilyinchile]

Feb 1, 2022 19:29:23 GMT -5 sdlaura said:

Feb 1, 2022 19:11:05 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

If you like wine, food and the ocean, fly into SF then head up to wine country. Obviously it's not exactly off the beaten path, but there are enough wineries for everyone without it feeling like you're on a tourist conveyor belt.

Agree. For specific airports, though - don't fly into SFO - fly into Santa Rosa or Oakland. They're closer to wine country and have fewer delays.

I said SF to get the ocean in there too First night in the city, then wine. If the ocean isn't essential then I totally agree Oakland is probably going to be the best combo of flight options and distance.

[ellipses84]

[mention]sdlaura [/mention] Me too! I was thinking from a Midwestern post-winter perspective it would still be nice and there’s a lot to do even if the weather is meh. My kids bdays are in May so I always pay attention to the weather because it’s hard to guarantee an outdoor party. We’ve definitely had some years where there’s been a couple rainy days in a row. I’d rec Palm Springs over SD in May unless they want to see the ocean.

[sdlaura]

Feb 2, 2022 14:38:49 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

[mention]sdlaura [/mention] Me too! I was thinking from a Midwestern post-winter perspective it would still be nice and there’s a lot to do even if the weather is meh. My kids bdays are in May so I always pay attention to the weather because it’s hard to guarantee an outdoor party. We’ve definitely had some years where there’s been a couple rainy days in a row. I’d rec Palm Springs over SD in May unless they want to see the ocean.

Ha, half of our family birthdays (DH, DS3, and me) are all in May, so we also pay a lot of attention to the weather then. It was always such a pretty time of year growing up on the East coast, but is usually the worst weather here. I prefer no clouds