Time For a Girl’s Trip
Let’s Go, Girlfriend
Over Sunday brunch, you and girlfriends crack up over the antics you got up to during your last girls’ trip and then you realize, “Damn! That was two years ago!” It’s time to pack your bags again. Leave the husbands, boyfriends and everyday blues behind for a fabulous girlfriend getaway to a big city near you. We’ve scored some flight and hotel steals for you in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas and New Orleans so you can make it possible…
Las Vegas, Nevada
If there was ever a place in this country that embraces excess, Las Vegas is it. Al the celebs ring in their birthdays there, from Vivica A. Fox to Nicki Minaj. The millions of lights always shine bright. The casinos are humongous. The hotels are larger than life and right now the hotel packages are a steal. A search on Orbitz.com found a five-night-stay at the Gold Spike Hotel for $28-per-night. Yeah, girl. You’re reading that right. Even fancier places are fairly inexpensive with the five-star Wynn Las Vegas offering up five nights for $159 each. It looks like you need to round up the crew for a few fabulous nights of parties on the strip and days filled with luxurious spa appointments and lucky rolls of the dice in sin city…
South Beach, Miami, Florida
Spring’s almost here and your best friend is still suffering from a case of the winter blues. You need to schedule an intervention. Take your bestie to Miami for a few days of sun soaking, man cruising and all-night partying in Miami to warm her spirits. According to Airfairwatchdog.com $166 is all you need to head down south from New York City. If your coming from Baltimore or Atlanta it’s only $168. You may want to splurge on the hotel — especially if its known for throwing popular soirees like the Gansevoort. If not, the only slightly less glamorous Shellborne is going for $148-a-night from March 28 to April 1. Miami, here you come!
New Orleans, Louisiana
It’s March 3rd. Before you know it Summer will be here and the year’s hottest concert event will be upon us. Plan a girls’ trip down to the Big Easy for the ESSENCE Music Festival and experience New Orleans at its best. Aside from watching Mary J Blige, Trey Songz and Kanye West give it all they’ve got at the Superdome, you and your fabulous crew will have the whole mystical city to explore. Wander down the French Quarter’s cobblestone streets. Relax with warm, smooth coffee and fluffy, sweet beignets at the legendary Cafe Du Monde. Pop into one of the city’s jazz clubs and get lost in the arms of some southern stranger. Better book your lodgings now. Some hotels are already sold out for the weekend. You can still find suites in the French Quarter at the St. James Hotel for $126-a-night and in the commercial center at Royal St. Charles for $173 according to Orbitz.com.
New York, New York
Whatever you and your girlfriends want to find, you will find it in New York City. Take a tour of historical Harlem and stop for a bite at Top Chef winner Matthew Samuelsson’s new restaurant The Red Rooster. Feel the energy of the city’s streets. Stroll across the Brooklyn bridge and watch the sunset on the promenade and dance all night at one of the city’s many nightclubs on its notorious West Side. With roundtrip flights to NY from Chicago starting at $176, you don’t have much of an excuse. Tickets from ATL are slightly pricier at $204 and to get their from Baltimore ($124) is cheaper than the gas and toll money you’d spend driving. To the big apple!
San Francisco, California
Life’s worries can make you feel so uptight. Maybe it’s time to head to the free-spirited city of San Francisco. Relax is Delores Park during the day and take a long, peaceful drive across the Golden Gate Bridge at night and just let it all go. Fly across the country from New York to SF for as low as $258 right now. Tickets from ATL are going for $298 and Dallas residents can get there for as low as $218. What you don’t save on flights you’ll make up for in your hotel stay, with the Hotel Majestic and The Opal running for $70 and $77 per night. Even the four-star Stanford Hotel is a steal at $129-a-night. Besides, you can’t put a price of fun with the girls and peace of mind, can you?