Do women get something more out of traveling without the boys? The girls over at Chickable think so. They argue that women traveling together naturally produce an atmosphere (and even, individually, stress-fighting hormones) that reduce stress and provide a healing environment.

I can sense you all jumping all over this proposition. I hear you. I’ve worked at fashion magazines where the staff was all women and the bitchiness and cat-fighting was monumental.

But Chickable isn’t claiming any and all women are good to travel with, just that traveling with a group of great girlfriends is a fulfilling travel experience all women should have, which is why they’ve set up a network and travel resource site for women. I should point out that the site isn’t just for chick groups, but is set up as a resource for women traveling without their significant others (I’m assuming this just means male spouses and partners), which in our extroverted world often means women traveling in a group together.

For me, I’d need a bit more convincing. I’m a loner, an introvert — my phalanx of ‘girlfriends’ involves three or four people, all of whom live in different countries. And I hate the beach. On the other hand, I have been in groups of women where what’s loosely termed ‘energy’ was gentle and lovely, the best that women can bring out of themselves. Does having a man around change this? Often. So if I were the sort of chick who was desperate to hang out with other like-minded chicks, away from my husband and son, I might be tempted to join a chick travel network.

I might. It’s hard to imagine oneself as a different person, in this case one who’s desperate to hang out with a group of people. Somehow I sense there’s a lot of introverts in our readers, too. What do you think?

As for traveling by myself, I do that enough anyway. And my husband has learned by now that, when we’re traveling together, my dumping him for a couple hours so I can tramp around on my own doesn’t mean I don’t love him.