Trend Alert! Girlfriend Getaways

Of all the trends that get served under the media spotlight—Eco-tourism, All-inclusives—one that’s been brushed beneath a rug is Girlfriend Getaways. It’s not a way to get your significant other out of the house but, instead, a phenomenon that sees troupes of women banding together to travel the globe, apart from their families.

“Traditionally, women planned family vacations where they were the ones ‘making sure everyone is happy, everyone is safe, everyone is entertained,’” said the Associated Press, “Meanwhile, men went camping, fishing or golfing with the guys, and teenagers started traveling too, with school and youth groups—while their parents footed the bill.”

Only in the past seven years has this trend truly ignited, spiking 230 perfect, and causing travel agents and hoteliers top take notice. According to industry reports, women are gravitating toward Eco-adventure countries, only to contrast the locale with a pampering resort; when they aren’t flying along zip-lines through a Costa Rican jungle, they are at a Cancun All-Inclusive Resort, receiving a hot-stone massage.

When planning a Girlfriend Getaway, there are some tips you should keep in mind:

• Be flexible with travel dates. Traveling at off-peak times will enable you to avoid some of the crowds and find better rates.

• Plan and book early. Generally, the further in advance you can book, the better your chances of finding a good deal.

• It’s never too late! While it’s always advisable to plan ahead and book early, it’s never too late to get away. If you’re still anxious to go but haven’t booked yet, keep your eye out for last-minute specials and you might be surprised by what you find.

• If flying out of a cold weather climate, take the earliest flight possible. Your chances of incurring a delay are much greater late in the day.

• If you can, leave the laptop and PDA behind. It’s much easier to unwind with sand between your toes if you leave your work at home.

Skip College and Head Straight to Vacation

As we age a little further past our prime, college years and shave off all of that unbridled inhibition, it becomes only natural that the idea of frying beneath the sun and soaking in tequila looses its allure. You may even come to find (and this is so unlike you) that you’ll even go to great lengths to avoid these high-traffic locales and Spring Break crowds.

There are some avoidance tactics, luckily, that one can exercise in an effort to keep a distance from all the ruckus.

What is common among the college-age breed is that they tend to populate not the more exotic locations, but those that are easily accessible—financially and in terms of distance. As a result, places like Cabo San Lucas and Panama City, FL become figurative destruction zones; ones you should avoid or attempt with caution. Although the latter reigns as the premier vacation hotspot, generally, any accessible city with a ton of beachfront hotels and bars will attract kids like bugzappers.

Areas a little farther south from Cabo somehow seem to escape such an epidemic. The more chic and minimalist the resort, Gran Melia Cancun for example, the less college kids. Where Cabo is known primarily as a bottomless well of decadence and non-stop partying, Cancun brings things back down a notch by embracing its history and natural surroundings.

Other locations that seem to thwart the Spring break invasion are islands that typically rest only miles from the shore, and the greener, inland spots. If there is not immediate access to it, it’s not worth the effort; or so the mentality of this impatient crowd goes.

Examples of such locations include:

Isla Mujeres—an island off the coast of Cancun, and Little Palm Island, 30 miles off the coast of Key West.

A Step Beyond Cancun to Puerto Vallarta

A small fishing village resides a few miles outside the not-so-small Cancun, Mexico. Though Puerto Vallarta is certainly not without its fair share of gentrification, when compared side-by-side to its overdeveloped neighbor, what it lacks is, in fact, what makes it so unique. Where Cancun is sprawling in nature, with its busy spring break reputation and hotel zone; Puerto Vallarta has a visibly flourishing ecosystem, its famous Puerto Vallarta hotels, and a tourism industry that—although not as thriving—takes you back to the true, authentic Mexico.

What has the tourists that visit Cancun, flocking out from their hotels and to the drowsy little town of Puerto Vallarta? Canopy Tours de los Veranos. Self-described as an “eco-adventure,” the tour is 14 zip lines, great food, indigenous wildlife, and even a smorgasbord of tequila. But what its patronage will tell you makes the experience is not only the lush, surreal jungle terrain, or the feeling of flying along a zip-line, but the guides.

They have been called a “fun and enjoyable team,” in many of the reviews and it goes without saying that a tour is only as good as its guides’ experience and rapport. They move you through each stage as though you were a family member—carefully, never rushed.

The tour is about 4 hours in length and can be experienced by both the not-so adventurous as well as the adventurous. While the latter participates in the thrills of fast paced zip lines and coming face-to-face with exotic animals; something a bit more tamed and relaxing can be had when you stay behind to enjoy waterslides and swimming, shopping at the tienda, eating at Pancho’s Last Resort restaurant, or sampling over 80 brands of tequila at the palapa bar.

There are a few elements to take into consideration, however, when considering Canopy Tours de los Veranos as apart of your vacation’s itinerary.

• You will see a number of unique animal and plant species.
• 79 USD for adults.
58 USD for children 6-12.
20-25 USD for non-participants.
• You should consider: a t-shirt and shorts, a camera, bug repellent, and a swimsuit and towel.
• The Canopy Tours’ first priority is the safety of their guests and equipment.

It is worth nothing that if you are entertaining the idea of adding the tour to your next vacation, you could benefit greatly from booking online to save 15 percent. If there is one thing that “you must do” on your visit to Cancun or Puerto Vallarta, make sure it’s the Canopy Tour; the only way to satisfy that hunger without bursting your budget.

The Only Worthwhile Tip for Cancun

It was only as I was sitting on a red and teal bench in the park, getting pummeled by one of the worst rain storms Cancun had experienced in over three years, did I start to formulate a list of need-to-know tips that I wish someone would have shared with me.

I had arrived to Cancun with a supple fold of pesos and two glossy credit cards—one Visa, the other, MasterCard—stiff, and virgins to any card swiping. A man in a stiff, straw hat hurried to my side, snatched my bags, and quickly shoveled them into the trunk of a cab. “Gran Melia Cancun,” I said, and away the old Crown Vic sputtered, to one of the more chic and extravagant hotels I have stayed at during my many trips to Mexico.

The concierge at the hotel ordered my luggage up to my room and by his suggestion, saw me off to the Roots Jazz Club; a swanky little juke joint with acoustics that would reflect the percussion, remarkably, at any and every spot in the house. I visited on a night when there was no cover charge and the kitchen was still open at the early hours of the morning.

As soon as I was able to fall into a trance of thick bass riffs, I recognized a dreadfully familiar face that would force me out of my cush, bed-like booth and back out to the streets.

I was beginning to walk my buzz off and needed to nurse it back to health. A minute down the road, I located what appeared to be a margarita bar, La Habichuela. I slipped through the entrance and nestled into an empty seat at the bar. Four drinks later and only a few pesos left in my pocket saw me skulking from the bar to hail a cab.

We were only about two miles into the ride back to Gran Melia Cancun when panic fluttered down my chest and into my stomach.

I hope this guy takes plastic, I thought to myself.

” ¿Tomas tarjeta de credito?”

The cab ceased, abruptly, rain began to pour, and I was envisioning myself outside, standing in a muddy ditch that was slowly filling on the other side of the glass.

“No,” the cabbie replied. My biggest fear was confirmed.

And there I was, retracing every event that had led me to that bench, where I soaked in the chilled pour of an otherwise pleasant Cancun night.

Visiting the Other Cancun at Selvatica

It was my first time at Selvatica, and because it had me sweating, I felt as though I was experiencing Cancun rather than manning the driver’s seat and playing the role of Spectator.

Selvatica Canopy Adventure is 11 zip-lines, a biking trail, and a swimming cenote. On paper, it sounds a bit campy, but when you finally step out and onto the soft forest floor, you get a sense that where you are is a Cancun severed completely from the one you find in brochures and travel magazines.

The tour was 70 U.S. Dollars a person; equivalent to filling up an SUV, or 3 blu-ray DVDs; so at such a low-ball number, what you get in return is substantial and reminiscent of such vintage bargains as 1.70-a-gallon gas, cheap movie tickets, and 75-cent 20 ounce sodas.

Zip-Lines

There were 11 zip lines strung between 22 platforms, 30 feet off the ground. To hook into them, however, you must jump into the air and leverage yourself up to a platform every time (about 6-18 inches). And when combined with the 30 ft. spiral staircase you have to climb to get to the first zip-line, I recommend that people in at least moderate physical health and aren’t too afraid to get dirty attempt this.

Something worth mentioning; if you have an extra 10 dollars to spare, you can have your picture taken while zipping through the trees, and with a parrot perched on your hand.

Bike Riding

On the website, the trail looked like something you would expect a nature trail to look like in an overdeveloped suburban housing development; a laughable dirt road to ride a 10-speed huffy along. This is not the scenario at Selvatica. A 4-to-5-foot wide path guides you into the jungle, spastically turning and climbing and dipping along roots and large rocks.

Swimming in the Cenote

The bike trail leads you to the Selvatica cenote, featuring a climbing rope to the lip of a 25-foot platform. The only way down—to swing out into the air and let go, or jump; both resulting in a plummet back down to cool waters.

The last time I visited Cancun I did not rent a car; it was fortunate, then, that a Selvatica van was able to pick me up from Paradisus Riviera Cancun Resort and return me when they were done with me. It’s something I recommend almost as much as bringing bottled water, sunblock, and a change of clothes.

Cancun has made a name for itself as a loose and cerveza-fueled vacation-Mecca, but the way I see it, places like Selvatica are irrefutable testaments to Cancun’s diversity and sort of counterbalance its reputation.