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Great Guy Getaways

Hyon Jung Lee,

Camping, hunting, fishing, hiking. Just a handful of excursions guys take together each year. Alone. No women allowed.

The country's lakes, rivers and streams still draw scores of men seeking to bond with friends. But these days, fellas are finding higher-end haunts offering off-road driving, whiskey tasting, drag racing lessons and private poker tournaments.

Sometimes called ‘manscapes,’ they’re an example of a larger trend in leisure travel: gender-specific jaunts.

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Research conducted last year by I’m In!, a Waltham, Mass.-based company whose Web site helps users create gender-specific group trips, in collaboration with Compete, a Boston-based online market research firm, found that an estimated 20 million men currently spend $10 billion to $12 billion a year on guys-only getaways. 

“Social travel is ripe for massive growth,” says Stephen DiMarco, vice president and chief marketing officer at Compete. ”Travel is the largest ecommerce category, and social networking is the fastest growing online category.”

Research conducted last year by I’m In!, a Waltham, Mass.-based company whose Web site helps users create gender-specific group trips, in collaboration with Compete, a Boston-based online market research firm, found that an estimated 20 million men currently spend $10 billion to $12 billion a year on guys-only getaways.

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“Social travel is ripe for massive growth,” says Stephen DiMarco, vice president and chief marketing officer at Compete. ”Travel is the largest ecommerce category, and social networking is the fastest growing online category.”

Do you prefer a dermal peel to a rod-and-reel? Are you unhappy being hairy? Then you’ll want a spa package where you can be “manscaped."

Both the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Conn., and the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, Calif., offer customizable male-specific four-day packages that include hours of treatments such as Shiatsu, Thai massage or an herbal detox wrap. 

“Men's weeks at Mayflower offer a mix of unique high-power individualized programs and male bonding camaraderie amidst blue-chip luxury,” says Lisa Hedley, president and creative director of the Mayflower Spa. 

A note to girlfriends, sisters, wives and moms: It's possible that your man is behaving badly on his mancation. According to Compete, “41% of men would prefer their wives not know about what happened” on a guys-only retreat. 

Of course, if your man opted for the facial rather than wrestle the 1,200-pound marlin, you probably can rest a little easier.