Travelers Thoughts

Since most women love to travel and we ALL occasionally need to get away, why not start planning a fun girls’ getaway with a couple of your friends or family. There doesn’t need to be a special occasion for a fun trip with ‘the girls’. No occasion at all can be the best reason to celebrate and take a little breather. It may just include a long weekend or three or four days, and needs to be relaxing and/or exciting, but definitely guilt-free.

This kind of small, female group travel is one of the hottest trends today and most resorts and hotels across the country are aware of it. You can find package deals almost everywhere, almost any time of the year. Promotional packages can include spa treatments of every kind, chocolates and champagne or gourmet dinners, tickets to the theater or other special events. They can include cooking lessons, dancing lessons, horseback riding or rock climbing — it will all depend on when and where you decide to go and with whom.

One drawback of the pre-planned getaway package is that the perks of the package have to appeal to all the women in your group. If they don’t, then the price of the package will not be worth it. You should be careful when you choose a promotional deal because sometimes the price of an all-inclusive package is just not worth the sum of its parts. You may have much better luck planning your time away by purchasing a la carte items to entertain yourselves.

While in those fun planning stages, the girlfriends can determine if they want to get away to be pampered or go hiking, be in the sun by the pool or go snow skiing, or just try something they have never tried before. (I’m always for being pampered and relaxing because I‘m practically an expert at it.)

Once your interests and activities have been narrowed down and your destination chosen, research some of the points of interest in the area. Contact the local chamber of commerce or visitors’ bureau. Check to see if there are any specials or discounts available at the hotels or resorts that look interesting in the area.

Pull in all those discount offers you can. Are you senior citizens? Does someone in your group have frequent flyer miles to share? Are any of you AAA members? All the breaks you can get in prices can be spent elsewhere on your trip (or not spent at all).

If you can plan six or nine months ahead (or more), you can all start saving towards the big event. Every pay period, each of you can set aside a certain amount. You may want to consider putting it all into an interest-bearing account. If you plan the financial end of it ahead of time, none of you will feel the squeeze when it comes down to booking the event(s) and coming up with the deposit money.

Whatever you do, where ever you go, allow yourselves enough time in your schedule to regroup and reconnect and enjoy those relationships. And remember, you are not abandoning your loved ones and your responsibilities. You are taking a well-deserved mental health break. You are not only entitled to some “Me” time, you owe it to yourselves (and your families) to leave the stress behind for just a little while. You will emerge a better mom or wife or sister or girlfriend for it. Have fun! Wish I were going.

You must plan these things according to rates and availability, of course, but no matter how inexpensive it is, you probably won’t choose to vacation there in the cold winter months when the outdoor sights and activities are not very accessible. Now spring would be great as well as summer, I believe. The gray whales and the humpback whales are in the area at that time for your viewing pleasure. (The seals and orcas are there year-round I am told.)

I know there are many lodging alternatives to The Wickaninnish Inn, but since some friends stayed there last spring, I have not been able to get it out of my mind. It is a lovely small hotel sitting out atop huge rock formations that jut out into that wild Pacific coast. The beach stretches out for miles and miles. The ancient lush, green forest surrounds the beach. Most of the rooms have incredible views. The restaurant is one of the finest in the country and the spa on the premises pays attention to every detail designed to make it an extraordinary experience for you. Their website alone gives you a little peek into paradise. (www.wickinn.com)

The most difficult thing for me personally, will be getting there. I happen to live at just about the most extreme opposite corner of North America — in central Florida — and I must get drugged up to travel by air. So it will be a flight into either Seattle or Vancouver, then most likely a car rental for the remainder of the trip. Although, there are now flights available from Seattle or Vancouver directly to Tofino, the small town just a short distance from the Inn. Either way, the hours involved in the journey will be more than worth it.

Tofino itself is quite quaint (must remember those words for Scrabble next time) and offers sight seeing excursions by air and by sea. There you will also find restaurants and shops to investigate for that one special souvenir or piece of art and such friendly people. Also, always close to my heart is really good food and I understand you can dine on some of the finest, freshest fruits of the sea that the Great God of Gourmet could ever hope to have available.

So my trip is still in the planning stages, but I can hardly stand it. I know how to pack light and how to pack in layers. I know to plan ahead for all the details of leaving my dog and my house for a period of time. I’ve learned how to psyche myself up for air travel. I know to book my spa appointment way ahead of time and I‘ve started my checklist already. If you can think of any little thing I might possibly overlook, keep me advised. Goodness knows, this will be a trip to remember, but I guess that’s what traveling for pleasure is all about — the memories.

I simply cannot think of a better way to take a great vacation than to take a cruise. I am sure that many experienced travelers may think of it as limiting in some ways but if you are considering an all-inclusive travel experience, you really must consider a cruise. What is there not to like about paying one price and being completely free from having to check out some appropriate accommodations, planning your mode of travel, budgeting in entertainment and meals and all of the other planning you must do if you travel in any other way.

A cruise has it all. Where do you want to go? Do you want to cruise the Caribbean or the Alaskan waterways? There is a cruise for you, I assure you. Do you like to have a slow-paced, casual and relaxing vacation or do you prefer to dress up a bit and have a few more formal events available to you. There is a cruise for you, I assure you. Are you single and don’t want to get stuck with an entire vacation used dodging children and the noise and havoc that can wreak or are you the member of a family with teens or smaller children and you want to have things available to entertain them on your vacation? There is a cruise for you, I assure you. Are you gay or lesbian? Do you love blues or country music? Are you retired or a senior citizen? Are you physically handicapped in some way? Are you a gourmand and insist on fine food and fine wine? Must I continue to repeat myself — there is a cruise for you, I assure you.

Once you have decided if there is a specific category that you fall into and if that is the way you would prefer to travel, then call a travel agent or go online and start planning. Here is what you can expect on a cruise — almost all expenses covered in one price.

With the least expensive accommodations, your room may be on the small side but it will be clean and efficient and comfortable. You may prefer to stretch your budget a bit and go for the larger room with a balcony or a larger bathroom (that is my particular favorite, especially on longer cruises). I promise you though, other than sleeping, you will not be spending very much time in your room with all that is made available to you on a cruise. The meals are all provided and you may have never realized how much food you can eat until you have eaten your way through a cruise.

If you enjoy dancing and live entertainment, it is provided for you on your cruise. If you want to lounge outside in the fresh air and devour that new book you brought along with you, no problem. Lounging areas abound on the cruise ship whether you want to be in the sun or in the shade. If you want to try your hand at one of those rock climbing walls, a lot of cruise ships have them available. The cruise directors plan lots of fun games and competitions too, it’s amazing what crazy things people will do to win silly promotional items like a Carnival fanny pack. Take a while out to enjoy the pool and Jacuzzi too or schedule a massage or facial or a manicure or pedicure. It can all be available to you right there on your cruise ship.

The ports-of-call are so varied and it all depends on your chosen destination stops. When the ship arrives in one of its predetermined ports, you really must embark. You will find more shopping and vendors and eating and drinking establishments as well as excursions waiting for you. Depending on how long your stay is in each port, you will be able to see more and do more than if you had arrived at that destination by any other means of travel and visited it for a day or short period of time and you won’t have to find a place to sleep. Just get back on your ship, have a nightcap or a nibble in one of the many lounges or even in your room, then most likely when you awake the next day, another port awaits to taste and smell and discover.

Have I convinced you yet? Well, if this little message has not totally convinced you, then you need to do just a little more investigating. Ask your friends who have cruised. Go online and do a little research. Call a travel agent. I guarantee once you have been on a cruise, you will wait with anticipation until your next vacation time rolls around again and you can take another one. Bon voyage, my friends.