Just for the Girls: The Resort Trip

Husbands are with the kids, boyfriends have hit the golf course and dogs are at the neighbours. After weeks of careful planning and enough negotiating to orchestrate an armistice, other halves (and little quarters) are otherwise occupied. It’s time for a girls’ weekend – and watch out, because when the ladies get together, they know they’re going to have fun By Lisa Perkovic & Margaret Pincus

This is another time-honoured girls’ weekend favourite. Mojitos, wide-brimmed sunhats and plunge pools; the resort retreat is the perfect excuse to do absolutely nothing. Whip out the cruise wear you’ve been saving in the back of the closet and head to the coast. Whether you live east or west, heading north during the colder months is good for the mind, body and soul.

In popular destinations like Byron Bay and Noosa there are plenty of yoga retreats and health spas but save the carrot juice and celery sticks for another time. The Sebel Reef House and Spa in Palm Cove has a beachfront restaurant with a three-course lunch, fashion parade and spa voucher offer that’s a tasty treat (www.reefhouse.com.au). Lounge by the freshwater, saltwater and waterfall pools in scenes straight from a Desperate Housewives swimsuit shoot or cross the lawn to Palm Cove’s white sands. Pure bliss.

Lounge by the freshwater, saltwater and waterfall pools in scenes straight from a Desperate Housewives swimsuit shoot.

For something a fraction cosier but no less decadent, try Escape4girls, based on the Sunshine Coast and at Byron Bay. CEO Melissa Moyles believes the perfect girls’ getaway is where all the work is done and everyone can just relax and enjoy the love and laughter of female friendships – so she set out to create a package in which every detail is taken care of and everyone can just concentrate on having fun. Accommodation is luxurious yet designed for socialising, with four-bedroom houses sleeping up to eight people the most popular.

The mobile Day Spa indulges each guest so you don’t ever have to leave the house. And at night, to the delight of women everywhere, a catering team and top chef arrives to create a three-course fine dining experience under the stars. Surfing and yoga weekends are also available from $180 per person per night (www.escape4girls.com.au/escape4girls.html).

• Swanning around Sydney

• Mixing it up in Melbourne

• The Wine Trip

• Getting a little more adventurous

• Other Great Girls’ Weekend ideas