SPECIAL INTEREST: Some women's travel companies offer niche trips focusing on wine-tasting, running or even knitting. Sally Black, founder of StitchAwayTours, has been organizing knitting trips for several years to places like Scotland and London. Knitters visit sheep farms, yarn shops and yarn factories. "Knitting has such a great history to it," said Black. "There's so many different techniques that come to us from all over the world."

LEARNING TRIPS: All of Gutsy Women Travel's trips include something instructional, said Merenda, such as learning to prepare authentic Moroccan cuisine, creating an individual fragrance in Provence or painting handicrafts with local artisans in Costa Rica.

PAMPERING: One of the most popular types of travel among women is a pampering escape, said Oswald, whether it's a spa resort or a cruise. "Spas certainly provide that amazing atmosphere that lends itself to girls being able to share stories, spend time together and get pampered along the way," she said.

ADVENTURE: The average age of women on trips with AdventureWomen, which has been in business for 27 years, is between 50 and 55. "We scuba dive, we snorkel," said Eckert. "We do a horseback trip in Yellowstone. We're bringing back our cattle ranch trip." Softer adventure excursions include sightseeing tours to places like India, China and Greece.

BIG CITIES: Big cities, such as New York, Las Vegas, Boston and San Francisco, are popular girlfriends' getaway destinations, said Oswald. The cities are accessible and there's lots to do — shopping, museums, nightlife.

ECO-TRAVEL: Go Eco Traveler offers "green" trips to destinations like Aspen, Colo., and Montauk, N.Y. The itineraries avoid mega-hotel chains, opting instead for historic inns, solar-paneled farmhouses and smaller, independent hotels. They include activities like yoga, hiking, surfing and cross-country skiing; trip participants carry non-disposable water bottles and buy food from farmers.