Girls getaways have gone upscale and extend beyond the traditional weekend escape, reveals a new poll of 246 American Express Travel agents.  The poll, which found an increase in girls getaways according to two-thirds of agents, also found that women traveling together are seeking more active and luxurious vacations. Three in four agents said that girls getaways – vacations with girlfriends or female relatives – are a significant trend.  While spa, beach and shopping vacations still dominate as favorites for girls getaways, agents say women are increasingly taking cruise, culinary, city and active vacations that include golf (36%), skiing (33%), scuba diving and biking (20%).

Two out of three agents polled reported that when traveling together, women are indulging in more luxurious vacations than in years past.   More than half of agents say these getaways are not merely weekend retreats, rather they are between 4-7 days long.  While away, women are splurging on ultra-customized tours and experiences (42%), traveling first or business class (36%), and staying in private villas (20%).  In order by ranking, agents cited the most popular destinations for girl trips as: the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Canada and South America.

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Day spas may be popping up in every retail strip center, but nothing compares to the experience of getting away to a destination spa. Here is Travel & Leisure’s list of Best Destination Spas in the U.S. for 2006:

1. Mii amo, A Destination Spa at Enchantment Resort   (Sedona, Arizona)
2. Wilderness Adventure Spa at Spring Creek Ranch   (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) 
3. Canyon Ranch   (Tucson, Arizona)  
4. Miraval, Life in Balance   (Catalina, Arizona)
5. Westglow Resort & Spa   (Blowing Rock, North Carolina)  
6. Golden Door   (Escondido, California) 
7. Hilton Head Health Institute   (South Carolina)
8. Lake Austin Spa Resort    (Austin, Texas)
9. Cooper Wellness Program   (Dallas, Texas) 
10. Canyon Ranch    (Lenox, Massachusetts)

Most of these spas appear regularly on this list, but I noticed two recent additions:  the Wilderness Adventure Spa in Jackson Hole and the Westglow Resort & Spa in North Carolina. The Wilderness Spa is located in a wildlife sanctuary in Wyoming and is surrounded by the Teton Mountain Range.  The Westglow Spa is housed in a Greek Revival mansion and part of a historic estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I’m planning to go to the Lake Austin Spa Resort in April.  My wonderful husband gave me a birthday gift certificate for the Spa, which I can’t wait to use.  The treatments, spa food and setting at Lake Austin’s Lake House Spa are fabulous!

What’s your favorite destination spa? 

Congratulations to our lucky winner of the first Girlaway Giveaway! Our winner is Kim Allen, who lives on the gulf coast of Florida.  With so many great places to choose from, Kim is still deciding which Fairmont  she’ll visit.  It’s the first time she will have stayed at a Fairmont, so whichever one she selects, she’ll be in for treat. 

Getting feedback on your favorite articles has been great.  The top choices were:

• Best time to purchase tickets
• Chocolate martinis
• You go, girls!
• Ice cream flavor update

Thanks to everyone for participating and for your suggestions on what you’d like to see in future articles.  I’ll definitely keep those suggestions in mind and feel free to send tips and suggestions anytime to tips@girlaway.com.  

Good news for those of us who prefer to carry-on bags when we fly – the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently relaxed its carry-on rules to allow some liquids.  We can even carry on water bottles again!  

According to the new rules, you can carry on travel size (3 oz or less) shampoo, conditioner, lotion and other toiletries so long as they all fit in a clear quart-sized zip-top bag.   I’ll be stopping by Target or Walgreens to stock up on some mini-bottles for my upcoming trip to Los Angeles.  If you can’t find what you want locally, minimus.biz specializes in travel sized products.

From the TSA site:

• Travelers may now carry through security checkpoints travel-size toiletries (3 ounces or less) that fit comfortably in ONE, QUART-SIZE, clear plastic, zip-top bag.
• After clearing security, travelers can bring beverages and other items purchased in the secure boarding area on-board aircraft. 
   

This is the last week to enter the Girlaway Giveway and the chance for one of you lucky girls to win a complimentary stay at a luxurious Fairmont hotel or resort!   

For a description of the prize and to find out how to enter, see the Girlaway Giveaway post.  

Thanks to the generosity of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, one of our readers will win a Girls Getaway at one of the luxurious Fairmont Hotels & Resorts listed below.

All you have to do to enter is comment on this post with a link to your favorite Girlaway article (excluding this one of course).  If some of you have a hard time deciding which is your favorite post, you can provide a creative suggestion for a future article.  Either method counts as one entry.  

Many of the Fairmont hotels are historic treasures located in prime city locations – the Fairmont Boston, Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont Chicago and the Olympic Hotel in Seattle are just a few.  The Fairmont at Banff Springs is a Scottish baronial-style castle and has a spectacular setting in the Rocky Mountains.  The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess has an excellent spa and is a perfect destination if you’re looking for warmth during the cooler months. 

The Girlaway Giveaway prize includes: (more…)

Few desserts are as perfect as ice cream when strolling around on a warm summer evening.  Not only is ice cream portable, it also comes in a dizzying array of flavors – Baskin Robbins has created 1,000 flavors alone!

When choosing, I tend to lean toward any flavor combination that includes chocolate, key lime or pumpkin.  Given the variety of choices for ice cream, what would you guess are the top selling ice cream flavors in the US?

According to the International Dairy Farmer’s Association, who tracks this sort of thing, the top five ice cream flavors are:

1. Vanilla (26%)
2. Chocolate (12.9%)
3. Neapolitan (4.8%)
4. Strawberry (4.3%)
5. Cookies n’ cream (4.0%)

Not sure who’s buying all that vanilla ice cream, but if you like trying new flavors, here are some recent introductions by Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs. 

• Mayan Chocolate (H-D) – Dark chocolate with a hint of cinnamon
• American Pie  (B & J) - Apple Pie ice cream with apples and pie crust Pieces
• Neapolitan Dynamite (B&J) – Cherry Garcia and Fudge Brownie, side by side
• Black & Tan (B&J) – Cream Stout swirled with chocolate
• Vermonty Python (B&J) - Coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl & fudge cows
• Strawberry Kiwi Swirl - Chunky Strawberry sorbet swirled with kiwi sorbet
• Sticky Toffee Pudding (H-D) - rich vanilla ice cream swirled with a sticky toffee sauce and morsels of moist, brown sugar cake 

Having lived in Vermont, I’m partial to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. If you happen to be in northern Vermont, be sure to stop by the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury for a unique tour and sample some freshly made ice cream.  Yum!

Ben & Jerry’s web site  |  Haagen-Dazs web site 

Summer may be half over, but it’s not too late to take advantage of summer specials. Expedia is offering some summer package deals that include airfare and 3 nights of hotel accommodations. 

Here are some of the deals for air + 3 nights stay (prices per person):

Orlando	$238
Orange County	$510
Honolulu	$444
San Francisco	$368
Miami	$333
Las Vegas	$495
Chicago	$495
New York City	$456
San Diego	$508
Boston	$485

For more details on summer packages, see Expedia’s web site.