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Girlfriend Getaway
Recharge, Relax and Renew
By Tracy McGinnis
Women Travel ClubsPhyllis Stoller became president of the Women's Travel Club after she realized that she wanted to use all of her allotted five weeks vacation – while her husband only took two weeks.
"He knew I missed travel and encouraged me," Stoller says. "I wasn't a good solo traveler and wanted to find friends to go along with."
Stoller found those friends and has been helping other women form friendships through travel since 1991. At the time, she says, "Everyone thought it was weird that a married woman with two children would want to vacation with friends. Everyone assumed we were getting divorced."
Stoller learned through research that women missed the company of other women. "I found traveling with other women opened up floodgates of conversation about health, concerns, job mobility, dealing with parents and kids," she says. "Women who were virtual strangers could talk to one another about quite intimate subjects and receive friendly support."
Stoller says the best way to start planning a trip is to figure out your budget, energy level, how far you want to travel and whether you would like an active or sedentary vacation. Ask yourself: How filled with activities do you want each day to be? How good are you in new situations? How much work do you want to do (organized group tours)? Land or sea travel?
"Assess your current physical level as well," Stoller says. "This year you might be extra tired or extra fit."
