Girlfriend Getaways

Portland, Maine: My two roommates and I (ages 24, 27, and 28) have been longing for an adventure abroad. We decided on Croatia and are planning on a 10-day vacation somewhere between June and August of 2009. We'd like to visit several locations in Croatia with plenty of coast time. Can you recommend cheap transportation, lodging, great food, and must-sees? We are considering an apartment or villa to split to keep the cost low.

GG Editors: Congratulations—Croatia is a great choice! It sounds like this will be the first visit for everyone in the group, so you'll probably want to concentrate on the major stops. Dubrovnik is a fascinating city, so you'll want at least three to four days there. To get oriented—and for great views of the coast and the red-roofed city—take the mile-long walk that goes along the walls. You could spend weeks in Dubrovnik's museums and churches. A few don't-miss spots: the Franciscan Monastery, the Dominican Monastery and Museum beloved St. Blaise church, Dubrovnik Cathedral, the Sponza Palace, and Onofrio's fountains. If you like fried fish and mussels, go to the rustic Kamenica (Gunduliceva poljana 8, 385-20/323-682). For something higher-end, Gil's has delicious entrées (Svetog Dominika bb, 385-20/322-222, entrées from $20-50).

If there's room, book a rental with Apartments van Bloemen. The owner, Marc, is terrific, and the rooms have quilts and other art made by his mother, Silvia (Bandureva 1, 385-20/323 433, karmendu.com, from $86).

Set aside a few days for Split, too. Pretty much everything you'll want to see is in Diocletian's Palace, a fortified residence built in the 4th century by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. It's practically a town unto itself, with vendors, a cathedral, a museum, and lots more. For dinner, follow the fishermen to Buffet Fife for fried mullet and grilled meats (Trumbiceva obala 11, 385-21/345-233, buffet-fife.com, entrées from $8).

It would be a shame not to visit at least one of the islands off the coast. The national ferry company, Jadrolinija, runs boats from the Croatian coast to all of the country's inhabited islands (jadrolinija.hr). For transportation on the mainland, you can either take the public buses, which are pretty reliable and inexpensive, or rent a car. Have a great time!

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Long Beach, Calif.: My sister and I want to do something special for our mom's 60th birthday. She raised us alone from the time we were toddlers and we want to show how much we appreciate her. We were thinking of a weekend getaway in Southern California or within a reasonable driving distance. Our mom really enjoys vacations where she can relax, go on walks and take in beautiful scenery. I know there's no shortage of places in Southern California and surrounds, which is why I'm seeking your advice.

GG Editors: Lucky for you, there are a lot of great possibilities in the area. We've written about some of our favorites—either as vacation packages or suggested itineraries for long weekend getaways—in the past few issues, so I'm compiling them here:

Santa Barbara Two nights in a cabin with two double beds at El Capitan Canyon; a BBQ kit including salmon, salad, rice and grilled veggies, s'mores, and a bottle of Happy Camper wine; four wineglasses; and four 55-minute massages. When Sunday-Thursday Sept. 1-Dec. 31 ($1,095 per package, quad). Contact El Capitan Canyon, 866/352-2729, elcapitancanyon.com.

Ojai Zen out in Ojai, 90 minutes north of L.A., where galleries, wine bars, and spas are as plentiful as the orchards growing just outside of town. Take a hike in the mountains and then relax with a title from Bart's Books, an outdoor bookstore located under a gigantic grapefruit tree (bartsbooksojai.com). Artworks from regional artists decorate the dozen mission-style rooms at the Blue Iguana Inn (blueiguanainn.com, from $109).

Palm Springs Lounging by a pool in the desert heat with a cocktail in your hand, it's easy to imagine you're back in the Old Hollywood heyday of Palm Springs—especially at one of the city's newly restored hotels with modernist designs from the '50s. Hotel Zoso is the most recent addition to the retro-chic wave; after a multimillion dollar renovation of the 1984-era Marquis, Zoso now contains rooms with plasma-screen TVs and Herman Miller's Aeron chairs. At the poolside bar, a quartzite fire pit heats up chilly evenings (150 S. Indian Canyon Dr., 760/325-9676, rooms from $139). You don't have to pay the $300 price tag for a room at the Parker Palm Springs to sip a fruit-infused vodka martini by the fireplace in the Jonathan Adler-designed lobby (4200 E. Palm Canyon Dr., 760/770-5000, martini $15). One of Palm Springs's most famous modernists, Albert Frey, designed the Tramway Gas Station at the north end of Palm Springs; it now houses the Palm Springs Visitors Center (2901 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760/778-8418), where you can pick up "A Map of Palm Springs Modern" ($5), listing other midcentury architectural landmarks—or, if you'd rather stare at Liberace's house, a $5 map of 64 celebrity homes. Frey also designed the building that now showcases Trina Turk's swimwear and outerwear lines (891 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760/416-2856). When you get hungry, stop in at Cary Grant's former estate. It's now a restaurant called Copley's on Palm Canyon. On the stone patio, enjoy the charred prawns and scallops with corn puree and shitake mushroom dressing (621 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760/327-9555, $14).

I also recommend checking out our Real Deals online (BudgetTravel.com) and using our online search engine to look up California-related archived articles for more destination inspiration!