The solo women travellers taking on the world
Tour companies are going above and beyond to cater to solo holidaymakers. And it’s women who are driving the trend.
When Viva Vayspap reflects on memorable trips abroad, they have one thing in common: they were all solo. A yoga retreat in Mumbai, a hiking trek in Lugano and myriad visits to New York rank among her favourite forays where she opted to travel alone. Inspired by the memoirs of author and playwright Patrice Chaplin, Vayspap alighted at Girona, the storied city in northern Catalonia, a few years ago. “The one downside was that you could only order paella for two,” says the Sydney-based art therapist. “No restaurant would do a half serving for me.”
Increasingly, though, solo travellers can have their single-serve paella and eat it too. Self-possessed types have been exploring the world independently for generations. What’s new is an upswing in solo-oriented tours, flexible rates for single occupancy, and offerings tailored expressly for numero uno. And it’s women who are driving the trend. Chalk it up to the pandemic: the desire for life-changing, carefully curated trips has surged. If you can’t convince your partner, friend or family member to join you, that’s no longer a deterrent.
“My husband doesn’t like to fly,” says Vayspap. “So I travel without him.”
Exploring solo means your schedule is entirely your own. Earlier this year, she flitted to Riga for a week-long visit. In the Latvian capital, she stopped at a Mark Rothko exhibition, sauntered around Vermane Garden with its stone lions and lush plantings, and relished the long, luminous days when the sun set at 9pm. “I also loved the markets in Riga,” she adds. “On these trips I can go at my own pace.”
‘We’ve seen a 20 per cent lift in solo inquiries in the past year’
According to Google Trends, searches regarding solo travel are spiking, with the “best places to travel solo” and “solo travel tour” search terms growing by more than 5000 per cent of late. Whether it’s enlisting in a cooking class in Tuscany, a cycling tour of the Italian Dolomites, or gorilla spotting in Tanzania, the stigma around going it alone has thankfully faded.
Travelling solo doesn’t necessarily mean signing up for a silent retreat. A cruise can be a middle ground between introspection and socialising with other guests during shore excursions and onboard meals. Many leading cruise companies, including Seabourn, Ponant and Hurtigruten, are waiving or reducing the single supplement on double-occupancy fares to entice individuals. Oceania Cruises recently added purpose-built solo cabins to its new ship, Vista.
Australian operator Coral Expeditions, whose small-ship voyages include the Kimberley, Indonesia and Japan, has long engaged solo explorers by offering more inventory, making twin rooms shareable, and facilitating meaningful connections among guests. Its “solo standby” program allows guests to book a single-occupancy cabin with no supplement fare if there is availability within 30 days of a departure.
“We’ve seen a 20 per cent lift in solo inquiries in the past year for some of our more exotic international destinations,” says Jeff Gillies, Coral Expeditions’ commercial director, adding that 80 per cent of the line’s solo passengers are female.
Australian Air Safaris, which operates small-group tours by plane around the country, has seen a rise in solo female guests on its trips. The company estimates about 35 per cent are travelling alone and most of them are women.
Known for its lavish private-jet journeys to bucket-list locations including Egypt, India and South America, Melbourne-based tour operator Captain’s Choice has long attracted solo wayfarers who appreciate a group dynamic. Bas Bosschieter, the company’s chief executive, says almost a third of its guests are travelling on their own.
“We have enough staff, including tour operators and on-board doctors, to ensure our solo travellers are never alone,” he says. “We have singles, widowed travellers but also people whose partner has no interest in doing, say, a walking tour of the Camino de Santiago.” By chartering its own planes and trains, the company can keep single supplements to a minimum.
Younger travellers have traditionally embarked on solo trips, and, for them, Japan ranks highly according to Naoki Kitazawa, Australian executive director of the Japan National Tourism Organisation.
“The growing fascination with Japan and its unique subculture is luring younger travellers who are looking for something different,” he says.
He admits that a country where English is not widely spoken is not an obvious choice. “However, Japan feels crafted for solo travellers. Many aspects of daily life are designed to be enjoyed alone. Restaurants and convenience stores are geared toward individual customers and our cultural and spiritual traditions encourage introspective thought.”
This desire for personal development and self-growth is a recurring factor for those who choose to fly solo. “If there’s a trip you want to take and the only thing holding you back is that no one wants to go with you, book that ticket,” says writer and photographer Edwina Hart, whose first unaccompanied excursion was a visit to Vietnam at the age of 18. Since then she regularly elects to go it alone. “I see it as an enriching way to travel, and, ultimately, your dream trip isn’t always someone else’s,” she adds.
Call it The Eat, Pray, Love effect: Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir about her travels in Europe and Asia inspired a wave of female travellers.
“It’s liberating and life-changing,” Hart says. “It forces you out of your comfort zone and opens you up to different experiences and to meeting new people.”
Hart credits a number of life-long friendships to her time spent on the road. “I’ve made so many incredible friends because I’ve been sitting alone on a flight, dined out by myself or simply asked someone for directions. If all else fails you can always bring a book.”
A number of forward-thinking hotels are focusing on single travellers, too. At its buzzy lodges in Morocco, Mexico and upstate New York, Habitas fosters a communal spirit where “strangers become friends and friends become family”. “Luxury for us is not marble bathrooms,” says co-founder and chief executive Oliver Ripley. “It’s connecting with like-minded people and sharing new experiences together.” At Caravan AlUla in Saudi Arabia, guests stay in airstream trailers, watch movies in the desert, and mingle in Bedouin-style tents with cushioned seating.
Easy access to rental homes and apartments is encouraging lone jaunts, too. “Last year, we saw an increase of 33 per cent interest from solo guests – especially from women,” says Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb’s Australia and New Zealand manager. “Travelling solo provides a sense of freedom and independence, so it’s no wonder a quarter of nights booked on Airbnb worldwide were by people travelling on their own.”
No one wants to feel a gullible tourist, so Airbnb has updated its site with safety features catering to individuals. “When a solo guest books a room, this specialised in-app experience is activated and provides access to three key features: expert tips to help stay safe when travelling, an easy way to share their itinerary with anyone they choose, and prompts suggesting important questions to ask the host about their listing and neighbourhood,” says Wheeldon.
Visiting safe destinations where the welcome will be warm is paramount. According to the travel and luggage experts at Bounce, which recently analysed countries on their safety index scores, the safest nations for solo travellers are Japan, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia and Iceland. The Nordic country, revered for its otherworldly landscapes, geothermal pools and peaceful locals, is a magnet for those inclined to travel on their own terms. If that’s not inspiring enough, consider that the peak viewing season for seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland stretches from September to March. It could be you, the aurora borealis and dancing waves of light.
MORE TO THE STORY
See the world in style on these women-only outings
Antarctica
Tick off the sixth continent with like-minded adventurers on an escorted fly-cruise expedition to Antarctica in March 2024 aboard Aurora Expeditions with Journeys for Women. This collection of tours is curated by the Classic Safari Company expressly for the female market.
Paris & Champagne, France
Jane Thomson OAM, founder of The Fabulous Ladies Wine Society, leads this festival of tipples, five-star dining and fashion – including a Dior experience in Paris – in October 2023. The tour is part of Travelling Divas’ The Fabulous Ladies Wine Series of women-only tours.
Kenya
Single supplements are waived on Bench Africa’s escorted, female-led Ladies Safari departing in June 2024. Highlights are tracking the red elephants of Tsavo and learning to bead with Masai women in the fabled Masai Mara.
Sri Lanka and Maldives
A journey through Sri Lanka’s tea plantations, national parks and heritage sites is bookended with a sojourn in paradise – The Maldives – on Luxury Women’s Tours Sri Lanka and Maldives Women’s Group Tour in March 2024.
Japan
Cherry blossoms are ephemeral, but history – embodied in temples, culture and art – lasts forever, as guests on Mai Journey’s Cherry Blossoms Women Only Hosted tour, departing March 2024, will discover.
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Not exclusively for men, but these tours will likely appeal to the adventure-loving bloke
Europe
Ian Fleming fans will relish a James Bond-inspired itinerary curated by Black Tomato. Activities include training with a stunt co-ordinator in London, boarding a private yacht on the Cote d’Azur and water-skiing on Italy’s Lake Como.
Peru
Dip into the Amazonian rainforest, explore the Andes on a sleeper train and trek along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu – Peru ticks off lots of boxes.
Italy
If ascending to the highest peaks in the Dolomites appeals, Exodus Travels hosts trips to the Italian mountain ranges that feature exceptional trails, lush valleys and charming villages.
Botswana
With enormous salt pans, inland delta and herds of elephants, Botswana is a wildlife lover’s dream. Intrepid has a range of tours that focus on immersive activities from game drives to canoe excursions.
Canada
Set in remote wilderness on Vancouver Island, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge offers guests exhilarating experiences such as canyoning, fly-fishing and horse-riding with a dose of luxury.
GEORGE EPAMINONDAS
