Help!

I graduate next May from college and I really want to go on vacay. I've never been outside of Texas and I really want to go to Puerto Rico. Here's the problem, for safety reasons my mom doesn't want me to go by myself which is understandable but my friends often patronize me for wanting to go to different places. My question is would it be right just to leave them out of the equation or tell one of my friends? I really want to experience Puerto Rico but I want to also experience it with my friends. However I also don't want someone to bring down something that I've busted my butt for.