Women who travel alone

The initial inspiration may come from a book you read or a movie you watched, but surely there’s more. When you travel alone, you travel on your terms. You get to do what you want when you want. You can connect with people if you wish or avoid them completely if you want to be alone. If you always have dreamed to explore the world on your own, there is no better time then when you are in your 40s or 50s. You are wiser, curious, more experienced and knowledgeable.

No longer a pastime for retirees, widowers and the divorced, more and more women consider travelling alone the norm, compared to a decade ago. According to a recent exclusive research from WeSwap, the world’s first peer-to-peer currency exchange service, commissioned across a nationally representative sample of more than 2000 UK adults, 15% of all travel trips in 2018 were solo travel trips up from only 6% in 2016. In particular, 34% of women revealed that travel was their number one savings priority compared to 25% of men and 56% of women said holidays were essential to their wellbeing.

Among the most popular and safest travel destinations for solo women: Finland, as one the happiest country in the world, New Zealand, for a little more sun and wild surroundings, Uruguay, which has one of the lowest crime rates in the Americas, even great for food, culture and nature and Japan, with its glorious hiking trails and impressive cities.

Ready to go? Here are some tips for you:

• Remember to pack light and to adapt to your destination.
• Take your time and stay low-key.
• Understand your intent, what’s drawing you to the destination and you’ll have a more enriching travel experience.

You may not make such a colossal discovery during your own global journey, but what awaits you out there is something only you can find: your very own adventure. Who knows, you may just find a best friend, even the love of your life, along the way.