Ojai, California

Since 1923, the historic Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, has been tranquil retreat. Located just an hour and a half north of Los Angeles and a half-hour south of Santa Barbara, the Inn is now offering an artsy and spiritual women’s getaway. You and your friends can participate in a Personal Mandala session, where drawing a mandala (Sanskrit for center and circle) is used as a creative path to self-discovery and an introspective way to look back and dream forward. An insightful reading is given to reveal a deeper meaning to what lies on the paper.  Nancy Furst, a spiritual counselor and healer, also offers a customized healing and transformation sessions. With her knowledge in Native American spirituality, crystal healing, and lifelong study of metaphysics, she provides clarity, interpretation and spiritual perspective to any life question or concern.

Guests can blend their own essential oil personalized scent to use in their spa treatments or take home. When you return home, you can order additional quantities of your scent infused in a variety of products including soaps, perfumes, lotions, and scrubs.

Carlsbad, California

Park Hyatt Aviara

This spring the Aviara Spa at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort is launching a new program, which offers custom-tailored wellness packages called Bespoke Retreats. Each retreat begins with private consultations with the resort’s spa, fitness and culinary teams, from which a fully personalized itinerary of spa treatments, physical training and health-conscious meals are formed. With no two retreats alike, this offers you and your girlfriend’s boundless activities to do together or separately. Yoga, hiking, circuit training, swimming and tennis are balanced with bespoke spa treatments that provide healing for both the body and mind. The custom-prepared, nutritious meals are tailored to accommodate all diets – whether that is vegan, gluten-free, non-dairy, low-carb, or low-sugar – and carefully crafted from natural, local and sustainable sources.

Big Sur, California

Tassajara, established in 1967 as part of the San Francisco Zen Center,  was the first Zen training monastery ever located outside of Japan. Since that time it has hosted celebrity guests such as Steve Jobs, California governor Jerry Brown, Joan Baez, and more. Widely known for its hot springs, acclaimed vegetarian cuisine, and celebrated artisan bread, this year the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center will open its doors to the general public for the annual guest season from April 26 to September 9, 2013. If you and your girls are in need of meditation, yoga or just some good artisan food this is your escape. The program schedule for 2013 offers disciplinary retreats in six specialty areas: Body Mind, Mindful Living, Spiritual Practice, Practice, Engaging Earth, and Creative Expression.

Santa Barbara, California

For something a little out of the ordinary check out El Capitan Canyon in Santa Barbara, which offers luxury camping, aka glamping. It is perfect for those who want to enjoy the outdoors without having to sacrifice the comforts of home. The Canyon’s safari tents, cedar cabins and yurts are furnished with beds, lights and Western décor, and some have front decks overlooking the creek. You and your girlfriends can ride bikes along the nearby beach, explore 15 miles of hiking trails, try out yoga in the mornings and relax by the heated swimming pool. In the evenings the Canyon offers a barbecue kit delivered to your cabin for you to cook over the campfire. A night hike for stargazing away from city lights is the perfect end to the day.

For more women’s travel ideas, check out:

• The Spa Experience in Pangkor Laut, Malaysia
• Travel Style and Beauty Essentials 
• Girl Friend Getaways: Hiking, Galleries and Natural Spas in Santa Fe 

By Kerri Zane for PeterGreenberg.com. Kerri Zane is a family travel expert and author of It Takes All 5: A Single Mom’s Guide to Finding the REAL One, on sale now. For more advice on health, parenting or Kerri’s exclusive MomEscapes visit her at KerriZane.com.