A western ranch vacation with your girlfriends beats your average horseback riding holiday! Mel Rutherford discovers how girls who just wanna have fun can saddle up together this summer...
It’s true, men have their plus points. But as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to taking a vacation the guys should be left at home. After all, a holiday is about taking a break from everyday life - and that means taking a break from finding beer cans down the sofa and yesterday’s pants in the hallway!
Now summer’s nearly here, it’s time to start thinking about that annual vacation with my girlfriends. However, bored of the same old vacation spots we seem to revisit every year, I can’t help but wonder if I can convince them to ‘cowgirl up’ for a couple of weeks...
Plan A? Get them to take a look at Top50’s selection of girls-only ranch vacations. Plan B? Well, with this selection there’ll be no plan B required!
Bar W Guest Ranch will appeal to my hard-to-please friends. While there’s always going to be those unavoidable arguments over wake-up times, daily schedules and the rest, there’s once place that all girls agree on: The Spa. Maybe I’ll mention Bar W’s on-site spa first, then throw in their spectacular food and stunning natural surroundings for good measure.
These all-inclusive women’s adventure retreat weeks, which Bar W are running several times in June and September, are sure to win over my more adventure-seeking friends. With endless acres of trail to explore, plus a special ‘Saddle Up’ horsemanship clinic to get stuck into, this ranch vacation promises to satisfy every woman’s inner cowgirl. Or beauty queen, as the case may be...
Triple Creek Ranch’s Klicks For Chicks week (November 3rd – 7th). We hardcore horsey gals can tackle a 100K (62 mile) ride over the wilds of the Rocky Mountain West – an adventure testing each rider’s endurance while providing the perfect opportunity for some proper girly bonding. Meanwhile the saddle-shy girls can enjoy Triple Creek’s many and varied on-ranch activities and luxurious accommodations, before everyone meets up at the ranch at end of each day for burning log fires, cocktails and gourmet food.
If just a few evenings of girl time doesn’t cut it, a dude ranch vacation is the perfect option to please all parties – like Red Horse Mountain Ranch, one of Idaho’s finest dude ranches. It’s Girlfriends Getaway week from September 25th to October 1st has got everything that both seasoned riders and first-time cowgirls could want: luxury, endless outdoor activities, and a seven-course menu to guarantee plenty of time for gossip over a few glasses of wine.
All considered, I think I got a pretty good case for an adventure vacation for women. Now I’ve worked so hard to find the best girlfriends’ getaways and women's only vacations, I’m going to take a back seat and let my friends do the hardest job – deciding which one to choose!
Whether you head to one of Top50's dude ranch vacations, guest ranch vacations, working ranch vacations we know you'll have a great time. Or book a riding holiday in Argentina or a riding holiday to the Wild West, either way Top50 can help you find that ideal ranch experience.