Girls Trip Ideas: 11 Great Destinations From Antigua to Montauk

09.09.2024 - 20:47 / cntraveler.com / Meaghan Kenny

There's nothing better than some uninterrupted girl time, whether it's going out to dinner or just hanging out on the couch binging TV shows. On some occasions, though—and especially for long-distance best friends—a trip might make the most sense to finally get some quality catch-up time.

The best girls trips always strike a balance between relaxing and rousing. You should never come back home feeling the same as you left (especially if that feeling was tired, overwhelmed, or deflated). But between settling on a destination and coming up with an itinerary, there can be a lot of pressure put on the friendship and high expectations to plan the perfect getaway. To make the next getaway a bit easier on your group, we've tapped travel writers and specialists to dish the details on their favorite girls trip destinations they've gone to, plus where to stay and what to do while visiting. From national park stays to resort getaways, here are 11 tried-and-true girls trip ideas to pull inspiration from for your next trip.

Every June, a group of 10 of us clear our calendars, pack our bags, and head out east for a four-day weekend in Montauk. If you live in or near New York City, it’s about a four-hour drive with traffic, or a few hours on a Jitney, making it an ideal summer destination to visit if you only have a few days to get away. There’s lots to do—from restaurants to beaches to shopping to bars—so you won’t run out of places to be and things to see. Book a stay at one of Duryea’s sunset cottages, then head to lunch right by the water at their restaurant (make sure to split the iconic Lobster Cobb Salad). For the chance of a celeb or influencer sighting, head to Surf Lodge, a popular outdoor bar with good music and even better sunset views. My girlfriends and I spend most of the weekend lounging on the beach, chatting nonstop, already planning our next trip back. —Meaghan Kenny, commerce editor

For my mother’s 70th birthday, we chose to stay at the Sea Pines Resort in South Carolina at one of the premier villas. We traveled with a large multi-generational group, millennials to baby boomers. The house was immaculately outfitted with a massive kitchen and lovely pool, and we were close enough to the beach that a group of us walked every morning for sunrise yoga. Breakfasts were a grazing affair, all of us getting up on our own schedule and pulling together whatever we felt like eating. One afternoon we took a private boat out to Daufuskie Island for a golf cart tour of this incredibly preserved piece of history. We spent a day on the beach, and one in Savannah. To keep everyone busy, we had a chef come in one night for a cooking lesson and he then prepared dinner for us all in the villa kitchen. We also