Top 5 Tips for an unforgettable girls trip

  I’d been dreaming about one day travelling to Rome for many years, but it always seemed expensive and I was secretly holding out to go there with bae.
The day after my 29th birthday, I decided to stop holding my breath for invisible bae and plan my 30th birthday in Rome as a girls trip.
It will go down as one of the most fun and unforgettable holidays I’ve had so far in my life – and  the other girls say the same!

So here are some tips to plan your next girls trip – conveniently aligned to song titles to help you remember better, you’re welcome 🙂 

Tip 1: Jesus take the wheel

Provided your trip isn’t one where your focus is on doing something illegal or immoral, God is very interested in us having fun in our lives, so commit your plans to Him – He’s happy to help.
Be it with finding the best deals or keeping the peace.

There were times I’d get so anxious about my trip and all the things that needed planning, but Holy Spirit would keep nudging me to relax, take a deep breath and trust it would all work out.
In the end, even last-minute flight cancellations ended up working in our favour, to the point were I almost got all my travel money back after the trip!

He works it all out for our good when we trust Him with it.

Tip 2: I’ve got the power!

Is this just a trip for the sake of it being a trip?
Is it to celebrate something or someone in particular?
Is it the location that is the most fascinating?
Is it the company that matters most?

These questions are vitally important as they determine what the scope and minimum requirement of your trip is and what, if any game changers you would be willing to consider.
Once you establish your reason, you can determine who or what is calling the shots.

For example – for my 30th, the date and location were set and non-negotiable.
Either people opted in or out of those and I was willing and, as an introvert, very happy to take the risk to just do a solo trip if no one opted in.

As to what we did when we got there, I was less fussed about although I knew that I would be including Trevi Fountain, the Vatican and the Colosseum into my sightseeing stops at some point – it was a bonus that everyone else was happy to join in on those too.
Most of the planning we did when we got there which gave everyone opportunity to contribute suggestions and feel less like they are being dragged around by a tripzilla.

Tip 3: Ru(i)n the world (Girls)

Your company can either ramp up or ruin the party – so choose your travel buddies veeeeeery wisely. You know deep down that is the truth, either because you’ve personally experienced it or someone you know has.
Just because you are friends does not mean you can travel with certain people!
There’s something about being cooped up with people in a different place to home that makes everything they do seem that much more annoying.

I still laugh at how I got to see annoying, I mean “interesting” sides to some friends in the lead up to / during the trip – from indecisiveness to control issues and everything in between.
But the reason I can laugh is because in the end, I chose the right girls/the right girls chose me and we had the most amazing time 🙂

Before identifying who to travel with in a larger group, I would advise to examine your core group, e.g. if all else say no, who would you want to be left with?
As mentioned, as an introvert, I would have been happy to go it solo; but as a passionate includer I initially invited 16+ ladies on the trip.

However, because I knew I could rely on my core, I didn’t have nightmares of ending up with a really odd mix of ladies from my diverse friendship circles that could either weird each other out or worst case war each other.
In the end, we were 6 which in hindsight was perfect and based on the mix of personalities, we got on really, really well – I think we were all surprised at how much fun we had!

Tip 4: Money, money , money

They say nothing spoils friendships and families as quickly as money issues.
We wish it weren’t so, but it often is.
So, to avoid money being what ruins your trip, or worse your friendships:

1. Agree on and stick to your maximum budget for the trip essentials incl. flights, accommodation, food and any special item that everyone is happy to sign up to – that way everyone can decide for themselves whether they can afford the trip and how much more travel money they want to bring along if any

2. Agree on and stick to how everyone makes their contributions so it does not affect the overall price for others – ideally, the more independent people can be in their bookings the better – trust me, trying to coordinate payments through one person is stressful :/

    

3. Be transparent with the type of accommodation standard you want and propose options that are within the budget

Tip 5: Girls just wanna have fun!

Finally, no matter what the trip, if you have been able to get people you love together in one place at one time, try and have some fun.

Life is too short to be planning out every single detail of the trip  – with people, let alone diverse women in the mix, the plans might need adjusting anyway due to periods, pains or general peeved off-ness.
It’s okay – most often, the fellowship is more important than the location, so give yourself some time to just enjoy each other’s presence between all the sightseeing or party stops.

 I leave you with some of my favourite pics of the trip: 

In front of the Colloseum

Me in one of my favourite dress colours  – emerald green – feeling like royalty.