Manzanita, Oregon- The Relaxing Girls Trip You Didn't Know You Needed to Plan

My girlfriend Anissa and I go on a girls trip every year. She is in Minnesota and I am in Idaho so we try to find locations that are easy and quick for both of us to get to so we can maximize our time together during this busy season of our lives where it is tough to get away from our families, jobs and daily obligations.

The last few years we have gone on some pretty incredible, but pretty itinerary heavy trips (San Francisco, Austin, Vegas, etc.). When the planning came up for 2026 we were talking about how we kind of missed our trips to Phoenix where we spent a majority of our time together not being tourists, but instead drinking seemingly unlimited spicy margaritas in the pool and just talking. Not looking at Google maps on our phone, but instead into each others eyes as our conversations went deeper than our usual daily Marco Polo updates. We longed for that again, and while sunshine is definitely a lovely escape from Minnesota and Idaho this time of year, we wanted to do something a little different.

We settled on the Oregon coast. Anissa had never been and I had only been enough to know I absolutely wanted more of it in my life. We started daydreaming about a sleepy, quiet girls weekend together. One filled with slow coffees, cozy wine chats, unwinding with serene beach views, coastal charm and slowing down everything. We're both in that stage of life where our hair is lit on fire from the moment we wake up, until we hit the pillow again at night. Being cozy and quiet and calm together sounded like the absolute best way to recharge and reconnect.

Living in Idaho I have a lot of friends who have spent a significant amount of time in Oregon and even some who have lived there. I started quizzing them about where we could find this slower vibe we were going for this girls trip and Manzanita came up time and time again. I'm not sure if it was the cool name, or the gorgeous photos we came across online, but this seemed like exactly what we were looking for. Flights were purchased (bonus, Portland is an easy, direct flight for both of us), a VRBO was booked and the daydream started to become a reality to enter into the slower, restorative pace of Manzanita in winter.

Day 1:

We both flew into Portland and after we got our rental car food was our #1 priority. We received a no-brainer recommendation from a friend who is from Portland and we drove straight there. She didn't hesitate for a minute when I asked where to stop for lunch and now I understand why.

Por Que No? Taqueria.

We went to their Mississippi location which was just 20 minutes from the airport and right on the drive to Manzanita. The neighborhood was adorable and would've been fun to stroll through, but we flew in later in the afternoon and didn't want to drive in the dark to the coast, so we hit the road directly after eating. It's about a 2 hour drive from Portland to Manzanita.

We had the most delicious mocktails (again...driving), and they were out of this world! We split the guacamole, salsa and housemade chips and each had their famous Bryan's Bowl. I cannot describe how delicious it all was. If you're in Portland- go there.

We decided on the slightly longer route through the Tillamook State Forest. It was a beautiful drive and we stopped in the town of Tillamook itself for a quick self-guided tour of the Tillamook Creamery where we stocked up on some cheese and other snacks, and after a quick stop at the grocery store we were set with the girls' week essentials- Oregon wine, cheese, crackers and other charcuterie items, sparkling water and a few other breakfast items and treats. After we settled in at our VRBO, we had a literal "girls dinner" and got caught up until it was time to put ourselves to bed.

Day 2:

We had a slow morning that included some work obligations and a very delicious marionberry toast. (Oregon is known for marionberry so we picked some up jam in Tillamook and enjoyed it every morning and with our charcuterie.)

Here is where we stayed in Manzanita- it was a great location. We walked right out our door and straight to the beach for a very short stroll to the main street in Manzanita, Laneda Avenue. First stop was brunch...

Yolk:

This is an incredible breakfast and brunch location. Inventive menu, hearty dishes, perfected classics. We did not partake, but we sat at the bar and watched cocktail after cocktail being made that looked top notch- from the bloody marys to boozy coffee drinks to the n/a Italian sodas, we wanted each one of whatever they were mixing. We did have the Classic Eggs Benedict and the Ultimate Veggie Hash and would each order the same thing again if given the chance.

We spent a glorious, slow afternoon browsing the shops that were open on Laneda. This street is quintessential cute. The exact street you would love spending a day in its delights. Highlights included:

Cloud & Leaf Bookstore- it is just a classic, delightful bookstore- fun to browse and pick your next adventure.

We found treasures at the Moxie Fair Trade and Wisteria Chic. Those type of super fun, unique vacation finds. We took a shopping break at The Winery at Manzanita for a flight of their Pinots (white, rose and red) and then swung by the surprisingly delightful and well stocked The Little Apple- Manzanita Grocery & Deli- where they had literally everything you could need and then some. Their food looked really great too- perfect for a grab-n-go to the beach!

It was then time to gear up for our first of two major trip highlights we were treating ourselves to- our private chef dining experience.

Culinary Concierge

One of the major highlights of our trip was indulging in something we've never done before which is hiring a private chef. We knew that we didn't want to cook. We had heard that this town was quiet during winter months so we again started daydreaming about having someone come cook at our rental while we could continue to soak up our ocean view and hopefully enjoy some Pacific Northwest fare. I originally talked to a different private chef who was male and honestly started to feel uncomfortable thinking about a strange man being alone with us in our house all night. Thankfully I found Destiny, the owner of Culinary Concierge, online and loved the work that she did so it worked out perfectly to hire her for our night.

Right from the start Destiny was great to work with. She started by sending us over a quiz so she could get to know the kind of experience we were hoping for, the vibe and of course our food tastes and if we had allergies, etc. From there she sent over a recommended menu that we could tweak to fit our exact hopes for the night. We were already ohhhing and ahhhing over the menu alone!

It was a four course culinary experience. Each paired with a wine inspired flavor enhancing match. We loved that there was no pressure. We wore sweats, we could be who we are without worrying about what the people next us would overhear in a restaurant. We weren't strapped to the menu- instead we designed the entire memorable night. What a rare treat!

First Course:

Appetizer: Dungeness Crab Cake with Old Bay Aioli and Lemon served with Domaine Moltes Cremant d'Alsace Sparkling Wine.

Second Course:

Salad: Assorted Heirloom Radicchio and Arugula with Blood Orange and Sumo Orange Segments, Parmesan Ribbons, Chopped Filberts (Hazelnut) and Herbed Vinaigrette served with 2014 Dominio IV Chardonnay.

Third Course:

Main: Salmon, Polenta and a Tarragon Mustard Sauce served with 2016 Cristom Louise Vineyard.

Fourth Course:

Dessert: Dark Chocolate and Grand Marnier pot de Crème with Orange Whipped Cream and Candied Orange and Ginger served with a Quinta do Infantado Tawny Port.

Overall it was a unique, memorable experience that we will absolutely be dreaming of and talking about for years to come. We woke up and talked about our dinner for about an hour the next morning and of course our husbands and moms wanted all of the details too! Highly recommend getting a private chef for an upcoming special occasion and lucky you if you are in the Manzanita area and can hire Destiny and Culinary Concierge for yourself! She serves the North Oregon Coast from Astoria to Oceanside and can create something as simple or elaborate as you would like. She does wedding and event planning specializes in featuring the bounty of the Oregon coast. A sommelier and previous restaurant owner with influences from many different types of cuisine. I'd love to know if you work with her- believe me, it's a night to cherish! You can follow her here on Instagram.

Day 3:

We woke up to no alarms and grabbed a great coffee at Manzanita News & Espresso before we headed north up the coast. Just 20 minutes away is Cannon Beach and the famous "Goonie Rock" which is actually named Haystack Rock. It was the perfect easy stroll down the moody beach to see the famous and really freaking cool landmark. You could easily spend more time in Cannon Beach- again so many cute shops, restaurants and just beautiful scenery to take in. Oregon really is just so cool.

We ended up driving further north up to Astoria, maybe another 30 minutes. The drive took us through Seaside (yet another cute coastal town) and then into Astoria where guess what?! The Goonies House is! And guess what? We not only visited...I truffle shuffled!! It was actually really cool to see the house and that they have kept it in its fully Goonies form. We listened to Cyndi Lauper and other Goonies soundtrack and Twilight music the entire drive and it really added to our nostalgia and I would highly recommend.

For lunch we headed to Mo's Seafood & Chowder and now I will never stop dreaming about this lunch. The moody ocean views and what might quite possibly be the best clam chowder I've had in my life (and I consider myself quite the connoisseur) and ridiculously delicious halibut and chips with an ice cold beer. This meal just hit.

We left there and went to the Oregon Film Museum which is housed in the jail (again from the opening scene in Goonies) and it was the weirdest, but kinda fun little museum. It had memoribilla and information from movies that had been filmed in the area including others like Twilight, Kindergarten Cop and Free Willy. For $6 you get to see this odd collection and you get to film various famous movie scenes and then they email them to you. Was it awesome? No. Was it weird enough that it was worth $6 to go experience? Yes.

We came back to our VRBO for some puzzling, a surpisingly delcious frozen pizza (quite the change up from the night before), wine and rom coms on Netflix. This is a girls trip after all and this day was the thing of girls trip dreams.

Day 4:

We had a nice, slow breakfast at Wanda's Cafe + Bakery and it was absolutely delicious. Anissa had the Huevous Rancheros and they were uniquely delicious, more of a mole almost. I had the Beachcomber Breakfast which was breakfast potatoes, sausage gravy and scrambled eggs with a fruit bowl that was so perfect it almost looked fake. Even though we were completely stuffed we couldn't stay away from the sourdough with marionberry jam.

Then it was onto the second major highlight of our trip that we had been looking forward to. The perfect way to spend the last day of any girls trip to go home refreshed and restored.

Spa Manzanita

I connected with Maggie, the owner of Spa Manzanita, prior to our trip to set-up appointments. She fully understood what we were hoping to achieve with our time at the spa, and also overall with our trip. She helped us curate a time while we visited the spa so that we could both be pampered, while also spending quality time together for our last day, as well as shared great recommendations for the rest of our time in Manzanita, many of them listed above. I cannot express how much we felt cared for from every interaction we had with Maggie- she really is someone special and treats you the same way.

From the moment we entered Spa Manzanita we felt an overall sense of calm and both Anissa and I felt that the people that we had for our different services were not only very qualified and talented, but that they truly cared for us as guests and about our health and goals while we were in their care. We found all of our treatments to be personalized as they really listened to our tastes and primary focus, relaxing and performed for long lasting, healing effects.

We both enjoyed massages (Beach Break Swedish-style for Anissa and Deep Sea deep tissue massage for me), and the Moisture Drench replenishing and hydrating facial (Anissa) and Sea of Life restorative facial using OSEA Malibu skin care line (me) and we both added on the Indulgence for Hands and Feet where infused coconut oil is massaged into your skin and then wrapped in warm towels. In between treatments we enjoyed an aromatherapy foot soak while we toasted a mimosa in the Zen Room as a quiet place to relax and spend time together. We ended our spa treatments quietly recapping our day at the spa and trip to Manzanita in the Infrared Sauna where it warms the body from within creating a variety of help benefits from detoxification, to anti-aging to muscle recovery.

It was the perfect bookend to our slow, quiet, restorative winter trip. We left feeling completely content and restored and slept wonderfully before heading home the next day. Follow Spa Manzanita here on Instagram.

We ended our night and our trip with one last dinner at the Offshore Grill and Coffee House. We opted again for the clam chowder, but in hindsight would've tried another one of their specialty dishes. I will say their caesar salad was out of this world! We had their coffee the next morning on our way out of town to enjoy on our drive back to Portland.

Overall I cannot recommend Manzanita, the Oregon Coast and a slowed down, restorative, sleepy girls trip for your next getaway. It felt so good to come back recharged with our cups full again from rest and connection and conversation over good food, wine and coffee and some self care.

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