Mama. Pull up a chair. Put your feet up. Grab your coffee.
We need to have an honest conversation about the group chat.
You know the one. It’s the six-year-long thread with your best friends where you’ve been “planning” a girls’ trip since roughly 2024. Someone floats the idea. Someone else says “OMG YES let’s DO this.” Then a week goes by. Someone suggests a destination. Then a month goes by. Then someone screenshots a cute Airbnb. Then two months go by. Then someone says “wait what about spring instead?” And suddenly it’s 2027 and nobody’s on a plane.
If you thought this was just a YOU thing? Mama, it is not. There’s data. And it’s brutal.
The Survey That Called Us All Out
A new survey of 2,000 women (split evenly across generations) — conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by Discover Puerto Rico — set out to figure out why so many trips get talked about but never actually happen.
The findings:
- 76% of group trips NEVER make it out of the group chat
- Only 24% actually happen
- Planning takes 83 messages on average
- And 19 hours across 11 days of active planning
- Women spend 2.6 hours researching things to do and 2.5 hours picking a destination
Read those first two lines again. Three out of four girls’ trips die on the phone. Are we going to keep letting this happen?
Who’s Doing All the Planning? (Spoiler: You Are.)
If you already suspected you were carrying the mental load of every trip you’ve ever planned, the survey confirms it:
- 80% of women believe they are the ones who spend the MOST time planning trips
- 4% of women think men do (yes, 4%)
- 62% of women say they make the most travel decisions
- Millennials (70%) and Gen X (69%) are the most likely to take the planning reins
The tasks women most often own:
- Picking the destination (53%)
- Finding lodging (51%)
- Booking flights (41%)
- Some respondents just said “everything” — accurate
Ladies. We are already carrying the family calendar, the emotional labor, the school forms, the meal planning, the medical appointments, the sock inventory. And now we’re ALSO the CEO of every group trip that gets floated in the group chat?
No wonder they never happen. We’re TIRED.
What Women Actually Prioritize in a Trip
Here’s where the survey gets useful for actually MAKING the trip happen. Because when you know what everyone actually wants, the decision gets 10x easier.
Top 5 priorities for a vacation destination:
- Safe environment (31%)
- Good food (31%)
- Fun attractions (31%)
- Warm weather (28%)
- Nice lodging (25%)
And the Top 5 “icks” — the things that immediately kill the vibe:
- Dirty lodging (49%)
- Overcrowded attractions (35%)
- Expensive food (27%)
- Bad cell service (25%)
- Expensive attractions (23%)
Look at that list. What women are actually asking for is deeply reasonable. Somewhere safe, warm, with great food, cute places to stay, and enough cell service to text the sitter back. That’s it. That’s the whole ask.
Safety Is the Foundation for Modern Girls’ Trips
The biggest theme running through the whole survey is safety. For real:
- 89% of women say safety is important on a trip
- 42% prioritize secure lodging
- 37% prioritize good cell service
- 36% prioritize destination reputation
- 47% want a destination that’s easy to get to
- 74% prefer somewhere they DON’T need a passport for
Read that last one again. Seventy-four percent of women prefer travel that doesn’t require a passport.
That’s a huge finding. It’s telling us that we want the escape and the beach and the memories — but we don’t want the visa stress, the language barrier, the “did I bring the right documents” panic. We want cinematic vacation vibes with the ease of a domestic trip.
Why Puerto Rico Keeps Winning This Conversation
This is where I’ll give Discover Puerto Rico a genuine, honest shoutout — because the reason Discover Puerto Rico is behind this survey is because Puerto Rico literally checks every one of the boxes women are asking for:
✅ No passport needed for U.S. travelers
✅ Sun-drenched beaches (beachy/coastal vibes = 58% of what women want)
✅ World-class food scene (good food = 31% top priority)
✅ Warm weather year-round
✅ Vibrant culture and one-of-a-kind experiences
✅ Familiar (U.S. territory) but transportive (feels like the Caribbean because it IS)
Storm Tussey, Chief Marketing Officer for Discover Puerto Rico, said it well in the survey: “Women told us safety, great food and a seamless journey matter most, and we try to deliver on all three. From safety and stunning weather to extraordinary food and one-of-a-kind experiences, Puerto Rico is a destination that checks every box respondents are traveling for.”
As an Orlando mom who’s flown out of MCO more times than I can count, let me just say — Puerto Rico is a 3-hour flight from Orlando. For real. You leave in the morning, you’re on a beach by lunch, you don’t need a passport, and you’re back to Florida in time for Monday morning carpool.
That’s a girls’ trip that ACTUALLY happens.
What Women Want to Do (When They Finally Go)
Per the survey, the top vacation vibes:
- Beachy and coastal (58%)
- Cityscapes (32%)
- Adventurous nature excursions (27%)
Puerto Rico gives you ALL THREE in one destination. Beach day in Rincón. City day in Old San Juan. Rainforest adventure in El Yunque. Girls’ trip, but make it a triple threat.
What Each Generation Really Wants Out of Travel
The survey found generational differences in what drives a trip recommendation:
- Millennials (40%): Relaxation
- Gen X (46%): Relaxation
- Baby Boomers (44%): Relaxation
- Gen Z (41%): GREAT FOOD ✨
So if you’re planning a multi-generational girls’ trip? Mix the beach naps for the older crew with the “we HAVE to try that restaurant” energy for the younger ones. Everyone wins.
A Quick Reframe From My IIN Days
When I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2019, one of the concepts that stayed with me is the idea of primary food — the parts of your life that nourish you beyond what’s on your plate. Your friendships. Your rest. Your JOY.
Girls’ trips are primary food, mama. The laughter with friends who’ve known you for decades. The dinner where you close the restaurant down. The sunrise walk where you talk about your marriage, your kids, your mother, your fears, your dreams. Uninterrupted TIME with the women who make you feel like yourself again.
That is deeply, cellularly nourishing.
Which is why it kills me that 76% of these trips never happen. We are LEAVING our primary food on the table.
How to Actually Get the Trip Out of the Group Chat
If you have a group chat right now with a “someday” girls’ trip in it — mama, this is your permission slip to move it forward. Here’s how:
1. Pick a destination FAST. The longer the debate, the more likely the trip dies. Suggest 2–3 options, take a quick vote in the chat, move on. Puerto Rico is a phenomenal default because it eliminates the passport debate.
2. Set a date range and commit. “Sometime this fall” = never happens. “The weekend of October 24” = actually happens.
3. Assign roles. One person books the lodging. One person books the flights. One person plans the restaurants. Nobody carries the whole thing. THIS is the key to breaking the “one woman does everything” trap.
4. Book something non-refundable within 7 days of the chat. Once money is down, the trip is real. Deposits are the ultimate accountability tool.
5. Use a shared doc, not just the group chat. Move logistics OUT of the endless chat scroll into a Google Doc or Notion page. This alone will save your sanity.
6. Prioritize somewhere safe and easy. You are moms. Your bandwidth is precious. Pick the trip that WILL happen, not the trip that sounds most Instagrammable.
7. Say yes to what nourishes you. You are allowed to leave your kids for a long weekend. You are allowed to sleep in and eat mofongo. You are allowed to be a WOMAN and not just a MOM for 72 hours. This is not selfish. This is maintenance.
A Final Word From One Group-Chat Mom to Another
If you are one of the 76% of women whose group trip has been stuck in the “someday” phase — this is your sign, mama. Set the date. Pick the place. Send the deposit. Get on the plane.
You are going to be SO glad you did.
And if Puerto Rico ends up being the destination? Even better. Sun. Beach. Food. Zero passport. Three hours from MCO. Cell service. Safety. Ease.
The trip is out of the group chat now, friends. Let’s actually book it. 🌴
🌴 Start planning at DiscoverPuertoRico.com →
More Travel + Girls’ Trip Reading on Orlando Mom
- ✈️ Our Travel content — for the trips actually happening
- 🌴 Our Vacation guides — for the destination inspo
- 🏖️ Our Ultimate Guide to Summer in Central Florida
- 💕 Our Self-Care Reset content — because time with your friends IS self-care
- 🌞 Sun Protection: What You Need to Know — Puerto Rico sun is no joke
Research methodology: Talker Research surveyed 2,000 U.S. women (split evenly across generations) with internet access; the survey was commissioned by Discover Puerto Rico and conducted online between June 12–18, 2026.
