BLACK WOMEN GETTING AWAY, A WAY OF LIFE

More women are seeking getaways with a purpose. The traditional girls’ trip to Vegas to drink, party, and return home to relax is no more. There is a travel group to fit many types of travelers, the partier, wine taster, explorer, voluntour, ancestor seeker, fitness, spiritual or singles retreat or a combination of all the above.
Great news, the growing trend to travel with like-minded strangers is especially exciting to African American women. They are connecting with others outside their network and making annual plans to ‘getaway’ from home and travel. Many excursions target those who seek an adventurous group with a theme that matches their interest.
“Come alone or with a friend,” is the message Connie Portis uses in her outreach to black women seeking a safe getaway experience and want to travel with her annual Sisters and Friends Getaway. In addition, her message is inclusive inviting women at “all stages and all ages” to join in. The Sisters and Friends Getaway, tagline “sisters and friends make life more fun,” promotes the proven stress-relieving, rejuvenating impact on mental health when women share the highs and lows of life with each other.
Now in its 15th year, the October 2020 Sisters and Friends Getaway is a five-day all-inclusive jaunt to Barbados. The followers have grown to an expected 150 women this year from the US and the Caribbean. About one-third have attended a previous Sisters and Friends Getaway. From eight “sisterfriends” in Palm Desert to 13 the first year in Martha’s Vineyard to 150 in 2018, and 105 in Negril Tree House in 2019. This eclectic group from California to Texas, to Massachusetts, and Alaska started as a snowball is now an avalanche!
Whether women are traveling solo or with a group, making the right plans can be beneficial and lead to an annual ritual to leave the home-front and explore places and spaces to re-charge their lives.
Connect with Sisters & Friends for the Barbados Getaway.
By Connie Portis is the founder and host of Sisters & Friends Getaway.
www.sistersandfriends.com