Several years ago, seven girlfriends and I caught a cheap flight to the beach for a three day mini-vacation.
Let me explain the science of why we fly versus drive, so as for you to not just consider us spoiled brats. Nashville to 30A, the panhandle strip of Florida where we like to go, is about a seven hour drive directly south (which we have done, multiple times). With seven girls total, and all our junk, that would have been two cars worth of gas driving seven hours. So we leave Nashville at 8am, we’re there by 4pm.
The flight? Leaves Nashville at 8am and lands at 9:15am.
So for close to the same cost, you are at the beach by 10am . . . instead of the driving option which, at 10am, has you passing through Huntsville, AL, home of Space Camp and astronaut ice cream, but no ocean view.
You get it. We flew.
We were all single career women in our late 20s/early 30s at the time, and while we had a lot of fun in our Nashville lives, we were also busy and stressed and hard working.
We needed a break. To read. To nap. To tan. To bike. To just be.
For single gals, it can be hard to prioritize vacation in your budget or calendar. Sure, your job may give you days off, but you want to visit family or reorganize your house or stay in town because none of your friends may have the same vacation days and vacationing alone isn’t necessarily the most fun. (Though I’m sure it can be a good time, I’m 100% extrovert, so being alone is rarely the choice I make.)
But since Valentine’s Day that year, when this same crew of girls cooked a delicious dinner together, we’d been planning to celebrate Lyndsay’s 30th birthday at the beach.
And we had the absolute best time.
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6 Vacation Tips for the Single Ladies
I learned a lot about what makes for a successful vacay with the gals that weekend, so I thought I’d share those thoughts with you, as vacation season is fully upon us once again:
- This is not a go-big-or-stay-home situation. If you want to keep your budget tight, hop on VRBO.com and find some cute place to stay in a nearby town or even in your own town!
- Plan WAY in advance. If your friend group is anything like mine, we get full calendars quickly. So by putting a May vacation on the calendar in February, it was blocked off early and nobody double-booked or had to back out.
- Serve each other. One of the sweetest parts of our trip was that everybody chipped in to help clean, cook, drive, etc. It certainly made for low stress and high appreciation of our friend group.
- Don’t pressure. Everyone does not have to snorkel and don’t judge a gal if she naps every day. Unless y’all are doing a vacation bus tour across Italy (I’m jealous), then everyone should be allowed, at some degree, to move at their own pace.
- Prepare your budget. You know who you don’t want to be? The girl who stays home from dinner because you don’t want to spend that kind of money. Your group needs to discuss ahead of time what kind of budget you plan to spend and you need to set aside that moola.
- Unplug. Don’t live your vacation on Instagram or Facebook. Live it over hot chocolate around a bonfire or on a pack of bicycles or eating ice cream by the pool. LIVE it. Be present for your friends.
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Don’t let being single hold you back from vacation. Make some calls and some reservations and some plans and get outta town this summer!
What other tips do you have for vacationing as a single gal?
By the way, Emily Freeman shared some of her favorite vacation tips for families on this blog post. Check it out!
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Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Annie,
Great advice!! I especially like the idea of set the budget and monetary plans ahead of time so that no one has to feel badly about sitting something out. No matter who you are vacationing with…be present, unplug, you’ll never get that experience back again so be there for it.
Blessings,
Bev
Michele Morin says
This is such good advice, because one of the biggest challenges I remember from my single days was coordinating the wonderful experiences with the wonderful companions.
By the way, yesterday I had the fun of passing your new book along to the young woman who loves my second son. Thanks for writing that-kind-of-book . . .
Joanna @ Modern Ruth Project says
As we get older and our lives have begun to spread out, I have been making an effort to go on mini road trips with my two closest friends. With my good friend Abby, we made a decision to go to every state park with a lodge for mini-retreats – that was two years ago and we’re almost finished! It’s economical, it’s relaxing, and because there are two of us, we can really dig into each other’s lives. Love it!
Missy Robinson says
Fabulous tips for all of us ladies who can use some self-care. My besties from college (ahem, twenty plus years ago) are spread from coast to coast across the country, but we manage to squeeze a long weekend together once per year. It’s a priceless time!
Raquel says
Stay at a hostel! I’ve always travelled solo, but I never fail to meet new people and make friends while sharing a hostel room. You have someone to enjoy the city with, if you don’t want to be alone. You’ll at least have someone to have dinner and share stories with at the end of the night 🙂 Companionship, with a solid amount of privacy, is the perfect combo for me.
Beth Williams says
Annie,
Wise words of wisdom. I totally agree that no one should be pressured to do anything they don’t like. Everyone should go at their own pace without judgement. I always set a budget for everything.
Blessings:)
Celeste says
I so appreciate this! I only go on vacation as a youth chaperone and needed a fresh perspective. Thank you, Celeste