Jeri Clausing
When I first got involved in travel journalism a little more than a decade ago, girls-only trips were all the rage.
Every luxury hotel under the sun, it seemed, was offering special deals with spa treatments, cocktails and pampering for women looking for a break from real life.
Along with the evolution of luxury travel, however, so, too, have girls' trips changed. Many today focus on cultural and adventure tours that raise the bar on experiences and wellness, both physical and spiritual.
A few months back I wrote about an entrepreneur turned female travel empowerment guru Kristina Roth, who just launched her inaugural season of SuperShe Island off the coast of Helsinki.
The trips that accommodate up to eight women on her private destination are designed to bring women together to bond and clear their heads. Activities include yoga, kayaking and meditation, as well as workshops by female psychiatrists, spiritualists and visionaries.
And on a recent trip to Seoul for Korea Luxury Travel Mart I met Alice Fauvau, founder of Focus on Women, which puts together small, luxury, women-only cultural tours that are led by local experts -- be it artists, chefs or women connected to the history of the destination.
For instance, her Al-Andalus, Spain, trip focuses on the women philosophers, poets and historians from the regions past and includes meetings with the leading women from the local Flamenco scene.
She offers a number of gastronomic tours across Europe, as well as an itinerary focused on the feminine side of Spain that includes a private concert at the home of a singer-songwriter and itineraries narrated by female writers.
And with the rise in demand for adventure travel, Wild Women Expeditions next year will be offering women-only canoe expeditions across some of the most epic paddling routes in Canada's Northwest Territories.
A 12-day trip on the Keele river in July will explore nearly 200 miles of the river through the Mackenzie mountains, with the opportunity to spot caribou, moose, grizzlies, Dall's sheep, wolves, wolverine and fox. The trip, for experienced backcountry canoeists with beginner whitewater skills, is led, of course, by female guides.
A second, 15-day trip in August travels the Nahanni River, through the mountains, canyons and waterfalls in some of the most remote parts of the Northwest Territories. The itinerary is for experienced backcountry canoeists with intermediate whitewater canoeing skills.
Still, women have not lost their desire for some old-fashioned spa time. And luxury hotels continue to focus on that audience.
Rosewood, for instance, recently launched the #RosewoodGirlfriends campaign, which includes a girlfriend-getaway destinations guide with special packages across its global portfolio.