Four Meaningful Journeys for Women Who Crave Connection
Maria and I recently traveled with my sister-in-law to the Disneyland Resort to celebrate Halloween Time. We participated in the Oogie Boogie Bash. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve attended. We’ve gone as characters from Alice in Wonderland, Up, Big Hero 6, Aladdin, and as villains.
My SIL, Ana Lucia, no longer lives in San Diego and is a full-time middle school teacher. My mother, Maria, besides being my business partner and a travel concierge, is also a full-time caregiver to my father.
We are busy with full lives. Yet we make the time to come together and enjoy the Oogie Boogie Bash. It’s near Ana Lucia’s birthday. We use her birthday to celebrate her and as an excuse to come together. We flex our creativity through our costumes. We treat ourselves by staying at the fabulous Disneyland Hotel.
We consecrate the time and resources to coming together. We recommit to each other. Time together exemplifies our love and devotion.
And it’s fun.
There’s something sacred about traveling with women you love. Sharing experiences and times is what makes memories. Women, in particular, thrive in tribes and on vibes. Traveling together removes us from the ordinary and opens us up to more vibrancy, intimacy, and discovery. We learn about ourselves and each other, solidifying bonds and strengthening relationships.
Whether it’s lifelong friends, sisters, mothers, or colleagues-turned-confidantes, women carry stories that ripple through generations. We hold laughter and loss, wisdom and wonder. Sometimes the only way to make space for it all is to step outside of daily life, together.
At Golden Ginkgo Signature Travel, our travel concierges design journeys that honor connection. They’re not rushed or performative. They’re not about checking boxes or posting perfect photos. They’re about what happens between moments. They are about legacy and memory-making. (And fun!)
Each journey has it’s own routines. During our most recent Disney adventure, we had breakfast at the same table every morning. We turned on the headboard lights overnight. We rested poolside. We danced to Mariachi Divas and enjoyed Micheladas at the place my Dad calls “The Oasis”.
Maybe you and your crew will cherish late-night walks and quiet sunrise talks. The sound of laughter will echo back to you in memory.
To help you remember who you are when you aren’t doing and being for everyone else, here are four destinations that invite you to gather, rest, and have fun.
1. Portugal’s Alentejo Coast — For The Golden Circle
There’s a quiet luxury to Alentejo, a rhythm that slows you down until you can hear yourself think again.
This region of Portugal is all rolling vineyards, whitewashed villages, and sun-warmed olive groves. It’s the kind of place where conversations unfold over long lunches, and the days are marked by the sound of the sea instead of the buzz of your phone.
Southwestern Alentejo and Vicentina Coast Natural Park brims with hiking and mountain bike trails.
Discover charming little spots where you can savor fresh fish in quaint villages that overlook the sea, such as Porto Covo. This picturesque fishing village warmly invites you to its lovely square, enclosed by cozy low houses. The beach exudes a friendly, welcoming vibe. It’s small port is adorned with colorful boats. See that beautiful island visible on the horizon? It’s Pessegueiro and it’s just a short distance away.
Almograve, nestled between breathtaking cliffs and vibrant red dunes, offers a true sanctuary for those seeking solace by the sea. This beloved beach, renowned for its exhilarating surfing and bodyboarding, invites you to take a gentle stroll through the picturesque countryside from the town, allowing you to connect with nature as you pass. Marvel at the ancient dunes and magnificent rock formations that have witnessed the passage of time.
Further south, the Sardão Cape offers a wild retreat that captivates. It serves as a breathtaking lookout point over the rugged coastline. Here, is the sole location in the world where the graceful white stork finds its home among the cliffs, a true testament to nature’s wonders.
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For a group of close friends, what we call the Golden Circle, Alentejo is the perfect backdrop. You can stay in a restored farmhouse surrounded by lavender fields, share morning yoga on the terrace, and end the day with a meal prepared by a local chef who cooks like your grandmother, if your grandmother had access to world-class olive oil and Portuguese wine.
Take a pottery class together. Explore the coast on horseback. Swim in hidden coves. Or do nothing at all.
This isn’t a “girls’ trip.” It’s a gathering of women who understand that fun and rest can coexist.
2. The Scottish Highlands — For The Matriarch
The Matriarch carries legacy in her bones. She’s the keeper of family stories and the maker of memories that last for decades.
Scotland offers her something rare: a landscape that’s both ancient and alive, rugged and soft. It’s a place that speaks to lineage and resilience, to the long thread that connects one generation to the next.
The Scottish Highlands is the Scotland of your imagination. For those who find joy in hiking, reveling in rich history, observing wildlife, or savoring the beauty from scenic drives, the Scottish Highlands offer a deeply moving experience, showcasing some of the most breathtaking and dramatic landscapes in the UK.
In 2025, the Iverness Castle buildings and esplanade gardens will undergo a heartfelt renovation, transforming from their previous roles as the home of Inverness’ prison and courts into a warm celebration of the unique beauty and charm of the stunning Highlands of Scotland.
As you explore this reimagined space, a seanchaidh [shen-ah-chee* (*ch as in loch) ~ storyteller] will guide you through captivating stories that honor the spirit of the Highlands, and help you discover the hidden gems in every room.
From Mid-May to Mid-September 2026, immerse yourself in the warmth of Scotland’s Highland games. Feel the excitement of traditional Highland sports like the caber toss, tug o’ war, and the hammer throw, while enjoying the vibrant Highland dancing and music. Bring your family along for a joyful time filled with delightful food, craft stalls, and engaging games, creating cherished memories together. Some games include livestock events, parades and even DJs spinning tunes into the night. Each Games has it’s own distinct personality and is often held in a stunningly beautiful locale.
Fancy staying somewhere fancy? Scotland offers unusual places as varied as converted churches and castles, or brochs and blackhouses.
Imagine gathering your family for a week in a stone manor overlooking the moors. Days spent exploring castles and lochs, evenings by the fire with a dram of whiskey, laughter echoing through old hallways. The Highlands invite the kind of storytelling that deepens as the coals glow.
This trip isn’t just about where you go, but what you carry forward. It’s about giving your children and grandchildren a memory they’ll someday tell their own children about.
For families ready to reconnect without distractions, Scotland is an inheritance you can experience in real time.
3. Santa Fe, New Mexico — For The Sandwich Generation Executive
You’re the one who holds it all together – career, children, aging parents, home, and heart. But even the strongest women need somewhere to set it all down.
Santa Fe offers that.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Santa Fe. My husband spent several years of his childhood living there. His memories from this place are strong and viceral. Hiking among the arroyos, he remembers finding arrowheads and horny toads and pocketing them both. He recalls eating steaming sopapillas until his belly hurt and the sight of ristras of red chiles hung outside of adobe dwellings. We’ve gone back to visit. I’ve loved staying at La Fonda on The Plaza and traversing the Native American Artisans Portal.
Arists who are selected to vend at the Native American Artisans Portal must show technical mastery of their craft. Only handmade items are allowed and the prices reflect the time, traditional techniques and materials, and skill required to create these one-of-a-kind objects.
It’s a city that hums with feminine energy: sensuous, artistic, colorful, deep. Here, time stretches differently. You might start your day with a hike through red rock canyons, spend the afternoon in the mineral pools of Ojo Caliente, and end the evening at a local gallery before dinner under desert stars.
One of my favorite things is to visit the Georgia O’Keefe museum. Or visit O’Keeffe’s Home & Studio, Located 52 miles north of Santa Fe.
For a small group of women who live in constant motion, Santa Fe is a reminder of stillness. A place where you can exhale. Where you can remember that you are not your schedule. You can escape, like Georgia did, and take the time to look. You are a soul in need of beauty, warmth, and rest.
Gather your friends who understand the same kind of pressure and the same kind of grace. Let Santa Fe remind you that you don’t have to earn your rest. You just have to allow it.
4. Sicily, Italy — For The Go-Go Third Act Woman
She’s entering her third act and she’s just getting started.
The Go-Go Third Act Woman has raised her children, built her career, and is now rewriting what freedom looks like. For her, Sicily is perfect: soulful, flavorful, unapologetically alive.
Journeys of faith, gastronomic delights, timeless ruins, and contemporary art museums await you. Breathtaking scenery envelops you at every turn. Sicily pulses with life and invites you to explore its wonders. From one side of the island to the other, you’ll discover countless options for itineraries that can enrich your experience, whether you have just a few hours, days, or even weeks to savor.
It’s a destination that rewards curiosity. Sicily boasts seven UNESCO sites and has also received a DEUV (Declaration of Exceptional Universal Value). From the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento to the Baroque buildings of Val de Noto, Siciliy is truly an exception destination.
You can walk the ancient streets of Ortigia, taste wine grown on volcanic soil, learn to make pasta from women who measure by instinct, not recipe. Each day invites discovery without rush because you know the best moments aren’t scheduled; they’re stumbled upon.
Gather your closest friends for this one. Share a villa overlooking the Mediterranean. Watch the sunset turn everything gold. Talk about the lives you’ve lived, and the ones you’re still creating.
Sicily holds space for all of it: wisdom, humor, pleasure, and power.
Travel As Ceremony
These four journeys share something essential. They are about the ceremony of connection.
You don’t need an excuse to go, though we often find ourselves making plenty of excuses to not go. I’m too busy. There is too much work. It’s too hard to organize. I can’t pin down my crew.
We’ve heard them all. We’ve even made a few of those excuses ourselves.
But if we approach this as one less thing to do, and something to enjoy. If we approach it with the intention to connect, those excuses can melt away.
You need the intention and the desire. Whether you’re celebrating a milestone, navigating transition, or simply craving presence, these places hold room for what matters most: being together.
Group travel for women isn’t about matching outfits or itineraries packed to the brim. It’s about meaning, rest, and shared joy. It’s about remembering the past and creating the future through presence in the present.
At Golden Ginkgo Signature Travel, we design those kinds of journeys. Ones that feel good to plan, better to take, and impossible to forget.
So gather your people. Let’s create something golden.
Travel Well.
Travel Together.
Travel Golden.
Ready to plan your group journey? Let’s begin here.
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