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Gal-only getaways

By Anik Scott

Four suggestions for ladies who want to do more than lunch.

Photo: Collage Photography / Veer

The hottest trend in travel revolves around women. As purveyors present gal-only getaways, daughters and mothers, sisters and girlfriends are getting together for their very own escapades.

Prada princesses
Because women look great in luxury, Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver offers the Diva Wears Prada at the Met package. Your directive: to revel in the city’s style. Shop the day away with your daughter, sister, mother, best friend… Pick up your Prada at Holt Renfrew, roam Robson St. and fill up your bags with the best fashion. Retire to the gorgeous executive-level room with great views, a soaker tub, Frette linens and comfy down duvets. You'll both rest easy knowing you fulfilled the mission.

From $310 per person
Includes a one-night stay in an Executive Room, breakfast for two at Diva at the Met restaurant, $100 gift card from Holt Renfrew.

Set sail
A dedicated trip for the most intrepid women is setting sail next summer. Jump on a ship in Kinngait (Cape Dorset, Nunavut) to sail the Arctic and explore the beauty of the real Canadian North. Visit a community of Inuit printmakers and sculptors, learn about the flora and fauna and, best of all, stop off in Inuksuk Point. This magical place is home to more than 100 inuksuit, the rock structures also known as “silent messengers.” This is a once-in-a-lifetime expedition best shared with your favorite adventurous gals.

July 9 - 17, 2008; $2,999 per person

Winter zen
Round up your female friends and family who need to release real-life tension and bring them along for one of the Yoga & the Zen of Winter retreats. These enchanting offerings, held at the Edge, are set in the beauty of Algonquin Park, Ontario, where the snow carpets the forest in white to create a winter wonderland. You’ll have a chance to warm up your body and mind in the comfort of a peaceful yoga studio, and when it’s time to get outdoors, you can explore the nature reserve with snowshoes, skis and skates. It’s the best of both worlds, brought to you by an eco-conscious nature retreat.

February 7 - 10 and February 21 - 24, 2008; $697 per person

The high life
How amazing will you feel during a Chicks in the Chopper trip? Let’s see. The point is to heli into some of the sweetest terrain in British Columbia (the Selkirk Mountains) and ski the most fabulous lines with your girlfriends. After the adrenaline injection of first tracks, your guides will lead you back to the sumptuous Galena Lodge, where you’ll trade in your skis, snowsuits and mittens for decadent massages, hot tub soaks or leisurely sit-downs by the fire. Finally, over dinner, you’ll toast your good female fortune!

March 31–April 5, 2008; $5,651 per person

Getting here

Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, metropolitan.com
Adventure Canada, adventurecanada.com
Northern Edge Algonquin, northernedgealgonquin.com
Canadian Mountain Holidays, canadianmountainholidays.com
Tourism British Columbia, 1-800-HELLO-BC (1-800-435-5622), hellobc.com
Ontario Tourism, 1-800-ONTARIO (1-800-668-2746), www.ontariotravel.net
Nunavut Tourism, 1-866-NUNAVUT, www.nunavuttourism.com

Anik Scott is a Toronto-based freelance writer.