'I'm 48 and have never been on a girls' trip. It's not because I don't want to.'

The all-elusive girls' trip. We've either been on one or dreamed of it.

A long weekend winery-hopping with your nearest and dearest. A few nights curled up by the campfire, gazing at the stars and sharing secrets. A week at a tropical resort, cocktails in hand by the pool.

Most of us know just how hard it can be to get that holiday out of the group chat. It's what makes the trips all the more special when they actually happen.

Personally, the best holiday I've ever had was a trip to Europe with my little sister and our two best friends. We channelled our Ratatouille Remy in an Italian cooking class, danced the night away in an overpriced nightclub inside a cave, ate our bodyweight in gelato, and spent our days beach hopping.

Somehow (thankfully), we managed to strike the perfect balance of travel styles — busy for most of the day, some non-verbal time to zone out in the afternoon, and then back out for the evening. We all came home raving about our wholesome, girly adventures.

That's what the essence of girls' trips is all about: making lasting memories together. Or "nourishment for the soul", as one of our readers so eloquently put it.

But are girls' trips really all they're cracked up to be? Or do they always just end in drama? And, are you alone if you've never been on one? We went to our trusted brains to find out. (Hint: That's our lovely readers).

My girls' trip to Europe is easily my favourite holiday to look back on.

Orla knows the chaos of planning a girls' trip all too well.

"I hate all the organising — trying to get a date that suits everyone, so it is essentially about who do you feel like you can do without?! And if it's you, it feels so bad, like 'Come on ladies, I know you're all free except me that weekend next month but let's pick a date in 18 months that we're all free together instead'," she told Mamamia.

On her trips, there's always the organiser who sorts the shopping and books restaurants (regardless of whether you might actually want to eat there), the friend who promises they're coming but then pulls out last minute (again), the one who always wants to stay up drinking as long as possible, and at least one childless friend who has to "sit there and suffer while the mums get increasingly inebriated and talk up their kids".

Oh, and don't get her started on the birth stories during the all-mum weekends.

"Cindy, I don't need to see the video again, thanks. It's on your IG highlights," Orla joked.

At the end of it all, "we all stumble home feeling like we need a holiday to get over the 6 months of socialising we just packed into a weekend". But honestly, she wouldn't change a thing — chaos and all.

"Our cups are full from a weekend of feminine energy and some serious banter."

Listen to the big secret to female friendship on Mamamia's No Filter. Post continues below.

But what if you're one of the ones on the outside looking in, longing to one day experience the quintessential girls' trip.

Melissa is 48 and has never been on a girls' trip. Don't get her wrong, it's not because she doesn't want to (although plenty of women say they simply have no desire to). The chance just hasn't come up.

"I don't have a group of girls to go with. I mean, I have friends, but I don't have a group of friends that know each other and hang out together," she told Mamamia.

Despite all the chaos Orla described, Melissa still dreams of experiencing a girls' trip firsthand.

It can be disheartening to want to experience the magic that is girlhood so badly, but instead feel like you're watching on from the sidelines.

"I grew up in a small town and never really clicked with anyone there. I've never had a best friend," Melissa said.

"I do feel as though I am missing out on something with girls' trips and even girls' nights out. And even group chats. The only group chats I have are for my kids' sporting teams."

It takes a lot to get the girls' trip out of the group chat. Image: HBO.

Melissa's not alone.

Evie organises and hosts women's trips across Asia. She told Mamamia: "I find that a lot of women are lonely and don't have friends to travel with, or their marriage has ended and their friends are still in couples and holiday together, or their husband no longer wants to travel."

"Some of us just haven't made the kind of friends we can ask to travel with on a holiday," she said.

And that shouldn't stop anyone from having the dream holiday they so desperately want. But Evie had some simple advice for anyone longing for that quintessential girls' trip experience: go it alone.

I'll be the first to admit that sounds incredibly daunting, but the payoff would be so worth it.

"I've had more than 150 women holiday with me now and they've made friends (and take trips together) lots of laughs and built their confidence," Evie said. "Some come with friends or their mum or daughter, but regardless of whether they're alone or not, they always leave with more friends and that special feeling that comes from sharing a trip with women."

So, sounds like it's time to get planning then!

Feature image: Getty.