Bachelorette parties, such as this group of 10 women from Maryland, are one reason women are vacationing more with their girlfriends, say local event representatives. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky. New Jersey natives Michelle Silva, Daisy Abrantes and Lisa Littleford celebrate a girls' night out at the Chippendales show in the Rio. Photo by Isaac Brekken. When women get together for a bachelorette party, they can get wild, says Steven Mason, spokesman for a local events company. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky. The Chippendales show at the Rio is a major attraction for girlfriends who are on vacation in Las Vegas. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

When Lisa Littleford's boyfriend of five years broke her heart a couple of months ago, she didn't sit around her New Jersey home crying.

Instead, Littleford, 24, rallied with two of her best friends, Daisy Abrantes, 23, and Michelle Silva, 22, also reeling from the end of a relationship, and headed to Las Vegas.

The three women were, unknowingly, taking part in the latest travel trend: women friends going places together, sans boyfriend or husband, and letting their hair down while engaging in some serious girl-bonding.

Here, specifically at the Chippendales Theater in the Rio on a recent Thursday night, the three girlfriends hated men together, danced together, drank together and healed together while screaming at half-naked men together. Nothing will mend a broken heart faster than a night out with the girlfriends and a stage full of hunky men, Littleford said.

"Paris Hilton was right, the most important accessory you can have is your girlfriend," Littleford said while dancing around the Chippendales bar before the show.

The number of women traveling together -- whether they're celebrating an impending marriage, the end of a relationship, a birthday or just looking for a change of scenery -- has been increasing during the past few years, say industry experts.

"It seems to be a growing phenomenon actually," said Steven Mason, chief operating officer of Club Viva Las Vegas, an events company that specializes in group outings. The number of women customers has increased more than 100 percent since he started doing business in Las Vegas nearly three years ago.

"Here in the beginning it was 20 percent ladies, 80 percent men. Now it's almost 50-50," he said. "Now we have dedicated packages just for women."

On average, Club Viva hosts about 1,000 people a month, nearly half women, Mason said. His packages for women include nightclub stops and VIP treatment at the door, shopping excursions during the day, and tickets to male revues such as Chippendales or the Men of Olympus at Olympic Gardens.

Many of the groups say they vacationed together "just for the hell of it, honestly," Mason said. "Most are bachelorette parties, but a lot are just the girls' weekend away."

Travel agents have seen an increase in the number of women booking trips together and Las Vegas is one of their top destinations. That's no surprise, as there are so many things for women to do here, said Susan Black, vice president of marketing for Liberty Travel.

"We're getting a much greater demand for this. It's a rather large trend that we're seeing," Black said. "Women friends are vacationing together. On top of their regular family vacation, they're adding an additional trip in the year to get together with friends and nurture their friendships."

Women of all ages are booking trips, if not to enrich a friendship, to reconnect with female relatives, Black said.

Instead of gambling, women are bonding over spa visits, sitting by the pool, checking out the nightclubs or seeing shows together. And they get a chance to talk about topics they wouldn't if men were around.

"We can pal around, do our own thing, go to clubs and get silly" without the boyfriends and husbands, said Maryland resident Amanda Sprehn, 27. She left her husband at home and came to Las Vegas with nine friends last week to celebrate an upcoming marriage. They planned to shop, sit by the pool and go on a nightclub tour with Club Viva during their stay. "We all love them but it's just nice to get away and have some girl talk."