Anne Cohen Writes

After high school and college, most friend groups disperse as BFFs take jobs in new cities, follow significant others across the country, and settle down in family-friendly suburbs. And yet, friendship is a key component to an individual’s overall happiness, health, and even life span. In other words, protecting your friendships is not only fun but important! Regularly catching up over the phone and reminiscing on the good old days is great, but there’s nothing that keeps a friendship alive and well like creating new memories together.

Memory Making Trips to Take With Your BFFs

If you’re looking to get your gang back together, or just to carve out some quality bonding time with your ride-or-die BFF, these are the trips you need to book now.

1. Alaskan Cruise

An Alaskan cruise is just the right balance of nature-filled adventure and luxury to satisfy everyone in the group — no planning, compromising, or stressing required. Whether you’ve got hikers, spa-lovers, or pool-side loungers in your crew, there will be something for everyone as you sail through the unparalleled beauty of the Pacific North West.

An extra perk of cruising with a group is that there’s no messiness in splitting costs. Nobody has to keep receipts or foot the bills while everyone else pays them back later. All costs are upfront, making them neatly divisible by the number of cruisers. There’s really nothing better than a drama-free vacation with your gang, and the simplicity of cruising makes it easy.

2. Nashville is for Music Lovers

The unofficial destination for bachelorette weekends doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t) be reserved for potentially once-in-a-lifetime gang getaways. With nearly 20 neighborhoods to explore, each with its own distinct personality and variety of attractions to experience, this city has something new to offer for everyone. There’s always more of Nashville to explore. At the same time, the expansive city feels like a small town. People are nice, buildings are historic and quaint, and there’s that touch of Southern charm that makes everything a little homier.

With such fun and unique things to do—from attending an intimate show at the venue where icons such as Taylor Swift and Keith Urban were discovered to tasting donuts in the most Instagrammable bakery you’ve ever visited—the city might as well have been designed for friends’ reunions. An extensive bar scene, music on every corner, historical sites, and exciting food all come together in this very approachable and exciting city.

3. Wine Taste Your Way Up the PCH

Is there anything more iconic than a girls’ trip to wine country? Besides the temperate year-round weather, famous beaches, and claim on the Hollywood Hills, if California is known for anything, it’s wine. But California is a big state, with unique cultures up and down its vast coastline.

For a real taste of the state nearly 40 million people call home, plan a road trip with your besties up the convenient (and famous) Pacific Coast Highway. Starting in SoCal and ending in NorCal, with big cities, small towns, and consistently gorgeous ocean views over its 600+ mile stretch, your trip up the coast with all your BFFs packed in one car is guaranteed to be a wild time, as well as incredibly aesthetic. Just be sure to get an Uber on wine tasting days!

Tips for a Perfect Friends’ Getaway

No matter what kind of group you’re traveling with or where you decide to rendezvous, remember that a friends’ vacation is about reconnecting with the real ones, whether they live far away or close by. To make the most of your getaway, incorporate little things that pay tribute to your shared history. Whether you curate a playlist filled with songs you all danced together to at college parties or bring along a collection of scrapbooks filled with old pictures and blank pages to add to, be sure to use this opportunity to celebrate your friendship because isn’t friendship really what life is all about?