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Every other autumn over the past six years, Ann Reagan of North Attleboro has packed up and left town - husband, pet and care-free - to have fun in warmer climes with "the girls."

Most recently, Reagan and the girls - 15 other women ranging in age from 28 to 65 and originating from Lake Placid, N.Y., Memphis, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and Clinton, Massachusetts, as well as the Attleboro area - converged for the biennial trip, this time at a resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The women, married, single, divorced "and everything in between," said Reagan, are relatives and friends. They even have a name, this group of women which started with four friends and a three-day cruise in 2000 from Miami to the Bahamas: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

"It's ladies only," said Reagan, 46, the originator of the name which is based on Cyndi Lauper's song. "It's about us and only us - no husbands, boyfriends, children, work or responsibilities for a week."

And they are among a growing group of gals who just want to have fun, according to travel agencies and a host of Web sites of tour operators and hotels that now tout "girls' getaways." "We are seeing it as a trend," said Shelly Arena, director of travel agency operations for AAA of Southern New England. "There's more women traveling with women."

Changing scene

Where it largely used to be older widows traveling on escorted tours, now there's a seemingly growing contingent of younger women, professionals and moms, who are taking to the road and the air to take time for themselves, said Arena. She said there is also an increase in the number of women traveling solo on escorted tours.

Arena speculates that it's a change in mindset that reflects a changing society "that maybe now they (women) feel they have permission" to be able to devote some time to themselves.

She noted the relatively recent creation of operators like Gutsy Women Travel, which caters only to women travelers. The Web site for Gutsy Women advertises both domestic and international travel programs; from cruises to the European Riviera, to mind, body, spirit journeys to England or Sedona and the Grand Canyon, to spa programs in Maui, Arizona and Greece.

"Gutsy Women Travelers come from every walk of life," according to the description of the Pennsylvania-based travel agency co-founded by April Merenda in 2001. "They are homemakers, caregivers, educators and businesswomen. They are mothers, daughters, sisters and best friends."

"They have been both well-traveled individuals curious to interface with their counterparts in another culture and women who have never found the opportunity to explore the world outside their community - until now," the description continues. "They have been women who have overcome life-changing events and want to celebrate life."

Another site, www.gatheringofgodesses.com, advertises its specialty in exclusive spa vacations for women.

Reagan, a senior programming analyst for ABEAM, said "part of the premise (for GJWHF) is that women don't usually put themselves first, they don't think about themselves. It's a break we tend not to give ourselves."

"So this is for us." The group traveled to the Mayan Riviera and stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso in November 2002 and revisited the region again in fall of 2004.

Georgette Payne, 41, who works in the graphics department of The Sun Chronicle and is one of the original gal pal four, said the most recent gathering in the Dominican Republic included a snorkel trip on a katamaran with 13 of the 16 women, which because there were so many of them, had the whole boat to themselves. "And we had a blast!"

There were also salsa, merangue and bachata dance lessons on the beach, along with shopping, eating at the buffets and restaurants and basking in the sun alongside the Caribbean, she said.

A couple of the ladies participated in kayak races, with one of them taking second, Payne added.

The first night there, the group's participants received visors emblazoned with GJWHF and pins that signified how many years they had been with the group, courtesy of Hollister Travel which arranged the bookings. Kathy Hollister of Hollister Travel out of Colorado, a friend of Reagan's, is who she taps to help organize the group's destinations, especially since the membership has grown and they are coming from different states.

She said the tone is casual; tours aren't mandated although those who want to go will see who else wants to join them.

"It's a pick and choose type of thing."

Reagan said the trips also present the women with opportunities to do things, like parasailing, that they may not have had the chance to do before. "They do things they wouldn't normally do, either because they had been busy watching the kids or the other person with them did not want to do it."

Planning starts about 9 to 10 months ahead of time, she said, noting the core members weigh in with where they'd like to visit and what they'd like to do.

She said members pass along what they've heard from other travelers about certain destinations and conduct research. Then they narrow it down to a handful and Reagan sends the choices off to Hollister who proposes certain packages.

Reagan said the group chooses all-inclusive packages so that members don't have to worry about additional expenses and fees once they're at their resort destination. The goal is to cap the cost at $1,500 per person, including air fare. "To this point, we've kept it a $1,300 or less," she added.

It was agreed early on to make it a biennial event in order to allow the ladies to spend vacation time with their own families and save up for the gal trips.

They always go in the fall, before the bustle of the holidays starts. "Then we're all refreshed to deal with it when we get back," Reagan said.

Another plus to the trips is that the women meet other women who want to join them in activities as a group. And they've been able to meet people from other countries, said Reagan and Payne.

Asked if there was ever a trip that did not turn out well, Reagan said: "I can't say that there was."

And despite what you might think, there's not a lot of gossip that goes on, she said. "There's a lot a catch-up between friends who haven't seen each other in awhile," but mostly the women are too busy having fun, Reagan said.

She believes GJWHF may be able to lay claim as pioneers of the women's group travel movement since they started six years ago. In addition, while many hotels and operators may offer weekend getaways, "we go for a week," she said.

Payne said that she is already thinking ahead to the next trip. Possibly the Mayan Riviera again, she said.

Indeed, in the last days of this year's vacation, she was not alone in thinking of the possibilities, said Reagan.

"GJWHF started as a small group to get away and spend time with like-minded women," which has now expanded to include woman from across the United States, she said. "The locations have been exciting and varied."

"The group will expand again to include more friends, mothers and daughters and returning women who have made this trip a tradition," Reagan wrote in a missive describing the group trips. "The destination is up in the air, but everyone wants to be included."

"This is one tradition that will continue long into their retirements!"

Susan LaHoud can be reached at 508-236-0398 or slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.