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Girlfriend getaways have become a significant trend in the travel industry. Increasing in popularity over the last few years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, women of all ages are traveling more. They are looking to escape their daily routines, bond with girlfriends, or experience new destinations together. A growing focus on self-care, empowerment, and wellness has also contributed to the rise in girlfriend trips. A segment of this group has been dubbed “Queenagers,” a term used to describe women who are in their 50s and 60s, are independent, active, and adventurous, and who are embracing their stage of life with a focus on travel and experiences. They typically have more disposable income and greater freedom because their children are grown or nearly grown. The term blends “queen,” which suggests maturity and authority with “teenager,” which shows energy, youth, and a sense of curiosity.
“Queenager” is a term that came from the phenomenon of older women taking trips with their girlfriends, said Jennifer Jirak-Brungardt. “I see women doing long weekends to Sedona for a spa four-day weekend and then the following year, they may do a big trip that is 10 to 14 days to Europe,” she said. Jirak-Brungardt is the owner of Cruise Planners in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
While the “Queenager” may be older, it does not necessarily mean that she is affluent — she has just prioritized travel over other purchases with discretionary income. People place different values on different things. “When you talk about the money, it is a splurge for them,” Jirak-Brungardt said. “I’ve gone to Arbor Day Lodge, staying together in a nice hotel, having a meal, that is a splurge. It’s not reflective of income, it’s a reflection of women making a choice to spend time with other women and setting aside the time. Prioritizing ourselves can be a hurdle and a luxury. Women can really struggle to put themselves first."
Dr. Andrea Barnes can relate to what her friend Jirak-Brungardt is talking about. Co-owning a small, well-established local dentistry practice brings fulfillment and challenges of managing the business, the staff and caring for patients.
“Sometimes it is good to just get away and take a break. It is mentally encompassing. We are taking care of people. Multiple people every day and every hour with multiple issues. It is nice to take a week off! We also own the business so it is not just dentistry, we have a great staff and they take care of it, but we still have to manage the business,” Barnes said. “The emotional and mental strain of the business is the cause for getting away.”
Barnes, who has co-owned the practice for 29 years, has enjoyed traveling since her college days, when she spent time in London and Florence, Italy. She and her spouse raised three children and made it a point to take family trips once or twice a year throughout the United States. Many of their family trips were to at least 20 national parks, and another 40 state parks. Her favorite park is Yellowstone National Park. She said the trips often included bike rides and hiking in the parks and continue to this day, when it may just be she and her spouse on a trip. When their kids were younger, they drove to many destinations because there were five in the family. Traveling by car was often easier and more economical.
Barnes said that she and her husband also enjoy traveling to professional conferences about once a year for his work and he is the one to find the places to visit during their business travel. While her kids were growing up, she and her husband often asked their children to put together a family travel presentation that included where they wanted to go, where they should stay and what activities should be planned. They encouraged experiences that would create a lifetime of unique memories and discovering new places together.
Taking a trip by car or plane and traveling a short or long distance typically requires some planning. Planning can take time and the choices for some people can be overwhelming. The desire to travel, the money to pay for it, and the time to take the trip all have to be in sync. Enter the “no-excuses girls trip.”
In October of 2024, Jirak-Brungardt invited Barnes on such a trip. Nineteen women made up of friends and connections that Jirak-Brungardt assembled met in France and cruised the Seine River, traveling from Normandy to Paris over the course of a week.
“It sounded like a good adventure,” Barnes said when asked why she would go on a trip where she knew only a handful of the 19 participating. “All the details that go into taking a trip (were) taken care of. We were picked up at the airport, they took us to the port. It didn’t take a whole lot of thought from me, all the excursions were planned out. We just deserve to be taken care of, and Jennifer made sure that all of those things happened.”
Barnes added that her sister went with her. “It was a chance for us to be together. We are about the same age and there were women on the trip who had kids younger than ours, grown children, grandchildren, women who were retired. All in a place where there is no competition, it was relaxed and so friendly! There were people who were really relatable, we could sit and talk or read a book or watch the scenery go by,” she said. Barnes kept a Google photo drive of her AMA Waterways trip and loaded photos daily from her phone so that her family and friends could keep track of where she had been each day. They saw the beaches of Normandy and the surrounding areas, visited Monet’s garden, shopped in Rulon, saw the Eiffel Tower lit at night, and spent a day in Paris. “Sometimes we would be traveling during the morning or afternoon. We went to a cider tasting at a farm and then got back on the ship and continued to cruise the river,” Barnes said.
Jirak-Brungardt said that the group trips start with what she wants to experience. “I invite people I know and say, ‘hey, come with me!’ I invited some of my friends, clients, and they invited their friends, and that’s how we had 19 women in France together. A lot of them did not know each other at all. I love that because I’ve made some of my best friends through this type of travel!” she said. “For women, we spend a lot of the years of life that we give to our spouses, our kids, our work, and if you are a Gen-X’er, you’re taking care of your parents. Traveling with girlfriends fills that bucket back up so you can continue to give. It can feel selfish, but in the long run, it is not.”
Barnes and Jirak-Brungardt are looking forward to more travel soon. Barnes is planning a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, which is nicknamed the “Garden Isle” and famous for its mountain ridge hiking destinations. Jirak-Brungardt is always in research mode for her clients and herself. She plans to get back to her favorite place, Italy. “The food, the wine, the light. There is something about the light in Italy. It’s a different color!” she said, adding that the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre have the most beautiful beaches in the world.
This article originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
