Women-only Tours and Experiences

This International Women’s Day I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some holiday experiences for women only or with solo female travellers in mind. Some people might wonder why this is even a thing? Here’s why: 1) Safety – of course for a lot of women there is safety and security in travelling with other like-minded women – maybe they are on their own, maybe their other half isn’t interested in travel (what’s wrong with them??) or maybe they just value the freedom and camaraderie of spending time with other women. 2) In many cases the trips have been created to level the playing field, giving local women in traditionally conservative countries the opportunity to tell their story without a male presence, so that women can explore and learn from each other’s traditions and customs. 3) The tours also give local women employment as guides and supports local female-run enterprises through experiences and visits to projects. Intrepid leads the way and their women-only tours go from strength to strength, including some in challenging countries and regions such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. This one to India looks fabulous; explore rural villages in the desert and camp out overnight, make and eat food with local ladies, enjoy a women-only dance performance and experience a totally different perspective going into and beyond the classic Golden Triangle: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/india/india-womens-expedition-160591 Insight Vacations women-only tours focus more on the closer-to-home and familiar group tours such as Italy, Portugal and North America, providing the opportunity to see all of these wonderful places with a female-only group and tour leader. Their Northern Capitals appeals to me as the logistics for a trip like this can be daunting, so having that taken care of is a huge bonus – plus the tour includes the option to explore markets in Helsinki, eat at a sustainable restaurant in Copenhagen and even meet a top female athlete in Oslo: https://www.insightvacations.com/en-gb/tours/northern-capitals-a-women-only-tour?optionId=1668 G Adventures may not offer women-only experiences but their latest ‘Solo-ish’ trips are led by female guides. With this latest trip style they’ve factored in things they know independent ladies are looking for – discounted rates on your own room, a ‘me-time’ day with nothing planned and built-in safety and security, such as a transfer on arrival to get you straight to your hotel. They’ve hit the ground running with 33 tours to choose from – for me the Japan tour offers a great safety net for solo travellers to this fascinating country and is a perfectly-paced 11-day highlight tour with some great quirks such as a temple stay, visiting a town known for centuries of knife-making and staying in a ryokan (inn) with its own onsen (hot baths): https://www.gadventures.com/trips/solo-ish-japan/10225/