The Ultimate Girl’s Trip to Palm Springs for My Birthday

A girl’s trip was so needed to start 2021 travel off! It has been too long, and celebrating my 34th birthday was the perfect way to do it. I also announced my pregnancy with baby number three on this trip, which was fun. Baby Miller is coming late August/early September, so I’m making sure to enjoy my Spring/Summer while I can.

This was hands down the best girl’s trip I have ever been apart of. The planning went so smoothly, and the vibes were just right. It was a total of seven of us, and anyone who has been on a girl’s trip can tell you, seven can feel like a lot when everyone has an opinion. But I am going to share how you can execute an awesome girl’s trip minus the fuss.

Invite the Right People

Choosing the right people is the most important part. Even if nothing goes as planned, when you have the right people you can make the best out of any situation. For me, I like to travel with like minded individuals that are always down for a good time, no matter what. I also think of the group as a collective whole, and choosing people that will mesh well together is important to me.

• Discuss early on the expected cost of the trip so they can decide if its something they would like to invest in
• Create a travel group chat once you have your group set, that way you all can easily communicate, and if there is anyone new, they can get to know each other

Choose the Right Location

Choosing the right location is so important, right after choosing the right people. For our travel destination, due to COVID, I wanted to keep it domestic, but fun of course. Palm Springs just screams girl’s trip to me, with all of the pool houses and exploring to be done. We stayed here and it was perfect.

• Booking in advance is the key to get the best house and best price locked in. For this trip we booked 4 months in advance through Airbnb. I had to secure the vibes, okay!
• With a large group, the accommodations have to be all about comfort. Enough beds and space for everyone to hangout.
• Once I know the city I would like to go to, I do my research to figure out where all of the happenings take place, and make sure that we are situated in a good location to access them.

Designate One Person to Handle Finances

Prior to everyone confirming, I created an estimated expense breakdown to make sure we were all on the same page. For my group, I was the one that organized everything and collected all the payments for accomodations. Everyone purchased their flights individually. For flights, we were coming from different locations, but we organized arrival times.

Making reservations in advance is the most efficient way to do things.

• For transportation, we used TURO, which is like the Airbnb for cars. They were very accommodating meeting us at the airport for pickup and drop off of the van.
• We also had a chef that we organized through Airbnb prior to arrival
• If you can book any activity or excursion in advance, do that as well. We booked our Airtram ride in advance.

Make an Itinerary

For a short trip with a large group, I think having a loose itinerary is helpful. It gives people an idea what to expect, and it allows you to pack and be on the same page when preparing for the trip. Hop in the group chat and get everyone’s opinion on the itinerary, and be sure to do your research prior to committing to anything. Our itinerary looked something like this:

• Friday: We landed on Friday, but we were not wasting any time. 1. Go grocery shopping for the whole weekend: liquor and food. 2. Have a BBQ pool party! 3. relax and hang out
• Saturday: 1. Go to town and have brunch in Palm Springs. 2. Ride the Ariel Tram and go for a hike. 3. Relax at the pool and hang out. 4. Explore nightlife in Palm Springs
• Sunday: 1. My birthday brunch 2. Visit Moorten Botanical Garden 3. Dinner prepared by Chef Kim

Brunch Options in Palm Springs

• We ate at Grand Central Palm Springs. Their food was great and they had a lot of drink options
• Cheeky’s is a local favorite, and breakfast is served all day. The wait time was too long for us so we decided on something else.
• Farm is a new restaurant, but has great reviews with a rustic-chic ambiance and known for delicious coffee and blood orange mimosas.
• Normas at The Parker is another local favorite at the famed Parker hotel. Awesome decor and great food selections

Have a Plan for Food

We planned to do our own cooking half of the trip, the other half would be eating in Palm Springs, and lastly have dinner provided by a chef on the last night. As soon as we landed, our first stop was the grocery store to buy everything that we would need for the weekend. For a large group I prefer buying food, and preparing it on our own. It is so nice for bonding, cost efficiency, and being able to eat and relax by the pool to enjoy the house.

The MVP for our meal preparation was definitely my friend Felicia, from VeganTastesGoodATL. We touched down and sis was already on the grill starting up the BBQ! The best.

• Create a menu for the meals you will cooking beforehand. Make sure to have enough snacks and liquor.
• Create a budget and have everyone split the costs

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Have a Fun Theme

By now, you know I love a good party theme. We had a cute pajama night, and a themed dinner. For my birthday dinner I had a chef prepare an Asian inspired meal for us. I asked all of the ladies to wear something blush as well. And I had a cake to match too!

Be Sure to Enjoy Exploring

So much to do in Palm Springs, so little time. We visited a few spots, and next time hope to visit more.

• We took the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway to hike Mount San Jacinto. The Ariel Tramway is the world’s largest rotating tram car that travels just about 3 miles along the cliffs of Chino Canyon. The views were spectacular, it was an experience within itself, definitely try it out.
• We visited Moorten Botanical Garden. It’s a privately-owned arboretum which houses beauty and extraordinary varieties of desert plants
• Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive from Palm Springs and next time I would love to visit.
• There are also so many vintage shops to explore

Pretty in PiNK

I ended the trip with a lovely dinner by Chef Kim. I found him through an Airbnb service called ‘Take A Chef’, and I definitely recommend.

Definitely one for the books! Like, when is our next trip, ladies?!

Hope you were able to grab a tip or more for your next trip! xo

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