Jet's Places

Girlfriend vacation

This is how it goes and this is how you prepare

My suitcase is ready. Packed three times, threw out some things again and still squeezed in a few extra shoes. So it’s ready. Ready for a week in a house in Portugal with my six dearest girlfriends. This friend group goes way way back, so it can't get much closer. And we all feel: this is for life. That won't change. What has changed, however, is that the bulging toiletry bag filled with makeup has been swapped for a stack of books, that checking in ten thousand bikinis and beach dresses has been exchanged for hand luggage, and that the conversations in the group chat mainly revolve around what we will all be cooking instead of the number of nightclubs at the destination, who is bringing condoms and whether there will even be some nice boys (okay, that last part is still the same).

Well, vacations are different now than they used to be and we sometimes hope that our parents can watch through a little camera because everyone is sitting with a book on their lap instead of with the Story or the Hello!. And oh yes, the lists where you had to put a tally next to your name if you kissed or threw up, are no longer hanging on the wall. I'm talking about ten years ago, okay. Forgive me.

But how do I prepare for an adult girlfriend vacation? Well, like this.

– Divide the reading material. It can easily be rotated among each other and then not everyone has to carry five books that might not all get read.

– Leave all your sunscreen at home and just buy two mega bottles at the destination. Saves on luggage.

– Make a pot. And especially don’t be the one who guards the pot.

– Download nice playlists for the car or there in the house/hotel.

– Bring speakers for loud music.

– Just a note about that pot. Make good agreements. Maybe not everyone has the same spending pattern and that can create awkwardness.

– Don’t skimp on wine. You’ll regret cheap wine. Hello, we may have become a bunch of old ladies, but we will drink!

– Don’t do groceries together. That takes forever.

– Don’t be too enthusiastic about bringing clothes. You can definitely borrow a bit from each other.

– Give each other a little freedom. Doesn’t everyone feel like going to the beach? Then they can just stay home, right? You don’t always have to do everything together.

– Open a vacation app (if you don’t have one yet) for the pre-fun. Weather report, local surf dudes, just to name a few.

– Make sure boyfriends are at Schiphol for the pickup service.