A Survivor’s Guide to the Girlie Holiday

Going on your first, second, tenth, girlie holiday can be a real test of friendship. I’ve been to Newquay, Kavos, Kos, Madrid, Malta, NYC and LA with just my girl friends, all with, errr, let’s say ‘differing’ results.

After 10 years of holidays with the girls I’ve learned a few things, a few nuggets of advice I’d like to pass on to the next generation of girlie holidaymakers.

At 17 I went to the Greek island of Kos with five more and at 18 it was Kavos in Corfu with the girls I worked with.

I’m not going to discuss the details of these girlie holidays – no one wants to hear about that – except to say they were a lot of fun at the time, and still trigger feverish laughter when we reminisce. The non stop clubbing, drinking, sunbathing and stupid antics are not something I’d want to do again though, well, not on such a ridiculous scale.

1. Only go with friends you really like

Tried and tested friends are the best bet. I’ve been on some great holidays with certain friends, but never would I ever go with them again.

Holidays are a real test of friendship.

Late nights, hot days and friend time overkill all post threats to your friendship circle. If you’re just a little bit hesitant about going on holiday with a certain ‘someone’ I wouldn’t bother.

2. Agree on a budget at the start

If you’re all earning different amounts it can be tough for the cheapos to keep up with the high flyers, and this can cause arguments. Make sure you’re all on the same page from the start and try to save money on your holiday so you can spend more while you’re there.

Go for a cheaper destination and then everyone in the group will be happier before you’ve even left and you can splash the cash when you get there.

READ MORE: 18 Travel Hacks to Make Travel Cheaper

3. Chat about what’s cool beforehand

Is it ok that your roommate bring the barman back for the night?

Do you mind Babs stealing your dress, or Courtney wearing your shoes out?

If you set a few subtle ground rules on the plane over there you’re more likely to enjoy your holiday.

This goes back to point one. If you’re already bezzie mates then it won’t come into question, but if you don’t know each other that well, then it can help to know the ground rules.

4. Laugh it out

Again, as long as you obeyed my number one rule you should be on holiday with your best mates that means you should be able to laugh to overcome any problems. I can almost guarantee they’ll be some conflict especially if you’re in a group, you need to learn to laugh things off.

If you can just let things go and laugh it off you’ll have a better holiday.

5. Communicate

If Tracy has annoyed you by using all your suncream or Sally’s upset you by not getting you an ice cream – tell them. Make a joke out of it and move on.

I’m a terrible one for just letting things go and then allowing things to build up in my head. I’m learning to just say when I’m hurt or annoyed and then I can move on.

6. Stick together

Stay safe. You do a lot of stupid things on holiday you wouldn’t normally dream of, I know, I’ve done them. Just stick with your friends and make sure you come home in at least twos at the end of the night and you can avoid a whole lot of problems that I don’t even want to think about.

7. Be flexible

You can’t be set in your ways on a girlie holiday – you need to be able to adapt to your surroundings and if the group say differently to you, just go along with it.

I remember one particular holiday I went on where my friend refused to eat a big dinner in the evening like the rest of us, and made us all go to restaurants for lunch when we wanted to just eat a sandwich on the beach. By day 5 it was doing my head in.

On girlie holidays the majority should always rule.

8. Be the patient force

There’s bound to be someone that’s not so calm so if you try and position yourself as the calming person in the group at least you’ll know there’s one. Having you around when emotions are running high and the shots are flowing will have a positive effect on the group.

9. Don’t get too drunk

Not only because it’s dangerous to get so drunk in an area you don’t know, but also because after a few too many toxic fishbowls any issues you have with your ‘friends’ can come to the surface. I remember when I went to Kavos with four school friends at 18 and boy oh boy did we have some drunken bust ups.

One of my friends ended up sleeping on a sun lounger one night – don’t recommend it.

10. Friends come first

Don’t let any temporary fling you might have on holiday come in between you and your friends. No girlie holiday romance is worth risking this for.

Sisters before misters yeah?!

11. Book into an airport lounge

Book into a lounge and you can sit and relax with an all you can eat salad buffet and they weren’t shy with the wine at the bar either. The No1 Traveller lounges are the perfect way to start a holiday in style. At Stansted the ticket also gets you fast track entrance through security – very useful for holidaying in style.

12. Arrive in style

Luckily when I booked my trip to Rhodes eagle eye over here spotted they were going to charge us £30 each for transfers. A quick Google search later and I noticed we were just a few minutes from the airport, so I cancelled it.

When we arrived at Rhodes Airport our bags were two of the first to come off, we sailed out of passport control and straight into a taxi. Ten minutes later and we were checked in. After a freshen up and look around the hotel we went to explore the neighbourhood and saw the coach that we would’ve been on come plodding past the bar where we were sipping on our first Greek G+Ts of the week. Smug was not the word.