Solo travel has reshaped how we are able to see the world as intrepid women. These unique, women-only group travel experiences aim to link solo travellers across geographies and generations.
As solo female travellers, we value our independence to go where we want, when and how we want – yet we long for connection. A recent Citizen Femme and Globetrotter trend report highlights that 40 per cent of female travellers crave not just a dreamy destination, but also the meaningful relationships made along the way. Women-only small group travel solves the issue of solitude among solo jetsetters, connecting both fellow travellers and locals.
From a women-led safari in Tanzania to a spiritual pilgrimage in France, these journeys bring together women who share a common interest, despite differing in age, culture, or background. Whether aged 28 or 88, these spaces allow for carefree girlhood and supportive sisterhood.
Wild Terrains See the world through other women's eyes
A day on a Wild Terrains trip could range from making jewellery with a local designer in the morning to prepping tacos with a chef in her home kitchen in the evening in Mexico City. In Japan, the itinerary features a local artist’s tour of the underrated artsy haven, Naoshima Island, while travellers in Paris try their hand at gin making at a woman-owned distillery.
Founded by Lauren Bates in 2018, Wild Terrains connects travellers with women-owned businesses across the globe. On their 10-day experience of Argentina’s matriarchal culture, for example, guests meet Mendoza’s women winemakers, ride gaucho style with horsewomen in the Andes, and share a fireside dinner prepared by an acclaimed female chef in Patagonia.
The goal is to support women through sustainable, regenerative travel. Highly curated experiences, like exploring the New Orleans bayou with a homegrown chef, are repeated with the same local women partners, forming long-term relationships across borders. To amplify the impact beyond the group trips, workshops and short tours can also be experienced on a personal journey through a place, like stepping into a secret garden ceramics studio in Lisbon with female ceramicists or taking a feminist tour of the Louvre.
Sacred Paris Walk in the steps of the divine feminine
It’s easy to fall in love with the romantic side of Paris, like the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and a stroll through the fragrant Luxembourg Gardens. But for some travellers, it’s the city’s hidden layer of sanctity and mysticism that draws their attention. Sacred Paris leads groups of women to explore the spiritual side of France, both in holy sites in the City of Lights and tracing Mary Magdalene’s ancient footprints across Provence.
Itineraries are based on founder Patricia Russo’s own path to the city and beyond, a journey that began two decades ago. Tours, which span from half-day experiences in Paris to a cross-country itinerary, blend cultural and historical immersion with sacred devotion. In Paris, women can relax in a hammam at the Grand Mosque, practise silent meditation in artistic spaces, or stay overnight in Sacré-Cœur, where prayer has been unbroken for 140 years. The “Beyond Paris” pilgrimage through the South of France unravels the story of Mary Magdalene through sacred caves, baptismal waters, and historic abbeys.
An upcoming series of week-long retreats rooted in Paris is designed for women seeking creativity and reflection by connecting with the divine feminine in cathedrals, crypts, and holy waters.
Thread Caravan Discover destinations through textiles and crafts
Travelling with Thread Caravan is a sensory immersion into a place through its textures and cultural expressions – knowledge and skills traditionally passed down by women. The highlighted craft on each trip is true to its destination, from weaving with Ladakhi yak fibre in the Himalayas to trekking in Bolivia alongside the trailblazing Cholitas, or learning traditional Mola embroidery from Indigenous Guna women in Panama.
Caitlin Garcia-Ahern founded Thread Caravan in 2014 to offer fair-trade cultural exchanges between curious travellers and Indigenous and local women artisans. The trips foster long-term relationships with the women, who teach travellers their craft year after year. Thread Caravan also selects remote, less-trodden locations to more equitably spread tourism revenue and limit negative impact on over-touristed hotspots.
Pack Light Experience global travel as a woman of colour
Pack Light brings together midlife women of colour for life-changing travels with plenty of rest and self-care built in. Micro groups, of often just a handful of women, check off big bucket list trips – like traversing Egypt along the Nile or joining colourful celebrations of Holi in India – in the presence of warm community and the comfort of luxury accommodation.
Since its first departure in 2018, Pack Light has curated intimate tours anchored in culture and sisterhood, focusing especially on a community of Black women travellers. The founder, Dawn Booker, handpicks four trips per year based on her own travels and global network. Past trips have taken small groups of midlife women to Costa Rica, Senegal, Thailand, and more.
Ladies Who Lit Join a globetrotting book club
Ladies Who Lit is the quintessential “when the girls trip leaves the group chat”. What began as a simple WhatsApp book club among friends evolved into international reading retreats, where women explore new places while dissecting a great read. Retreats range from a weekend in an 18th-century manor in Cornwall to eight days sailing through Greek islands. Other locales for relaxing reading include a historic home nestled among olive groves in Andalusia and a traditional riad on the northwest coast of Morocco.
Founded by Megan Christopher in 2024, Ladies Who Lit gained overnight fame when it went viral on TikTok. Women of all ages resonated with the modern conception of the dying social art of women’s book clubs. Reading the same novel on the trip naturally unites travellers who share a love for travel and literature.
Gutsy Girls Try a new sport or fine-tune your skills
Gutsy Girls founder Natalie Bannister started her company in 2017 to recreate the adventurous, supportive community of women she’d found while working at a surf camp in Portugal. What began with women-only surfing trips has grown into multi-sport adventures across the UK and beyond, welcoming solo-travelling women to paddle, hike, ski, or ride horses without needing prior experience.
Many of the trips take you into Norway’s idyllic countryside, from winter cross-country skiing, husky sledding, and sleigh rides, to summer horseback treks through the meadows of Rondane National Park. But Gutsy Girls’ most underrated trip is an adventure to Slovenia’s Julian Alps. The hut-to-hut hiking adventure traverses wildflower meadows, emerald lakes, and the ridgelines of Triglav National Park.
More than sports, community is the whole point of Gutsy Girls experiences: over 95 per cent of guests arrive solo and leave with a WhatsApp group of new friends. Those short on time are welcome at day events, like nature walks in London and paddling in Sussex, and long-weekend escapes, like a paddleboarding retreat along Sardinia’s secret beaches, paired with wine tasting, pasta making, and Via Ferrata hiking.
Solo Female Travelers Tours Venture to unexpected places
Whether eating your way through Georgia’s farm-to-table cuisine and exploring its UNESCO-listed monasteries, or embarking on a two-week Antarctica expedition filled with polar plunges and penguin photo ops, Solo Female Travelers Tours specialises in expeditions for brave travellers looking for memorable experiences, whether that be in vibrant urban centres like Havana or untamed landscapes such as Madagascar’s Andasibe rainforest.
The aptly named travel company was founded in 2017, ten years after founders Meg Jerrard and Mar Pages had been successful travel bloggers. Former journalist and attorney Meg, and ex-Googler Mar, were among the initial wave of solo female travellers, having founded the first global Facebook group for women interested in independent journeys. Today, Meg and Mar run 38 tours in 25 destinations, and all are personally scouted by one of the two founders.
Awe-inspiring local female guides show the way through these unique destinations, introducing guests to entrepreneurial and activist women, from lifesavers in Australia to female activists in Morocco. Solo Female Travelers Tours partners with and trains local female guides in the places they visit, like the women-only safari in Tanzania led by Gloria Thobias Salema. She was one of the first female guides on Mount Kilimanjaro and has dedicated her life to training girls from local schools to become mountaineers.
Stellavision See Southern Italy through a progressive lens
There’s no shortage of luxury travel programmes in Italy. But what Stellavision founder Zoe Shapiro quickly realised upon moving to the country was the lack of an accessible way to see Italy. Beyond hotspots like Rome and Florence, Italy can be difficult to navigate. Stellavision unlocks less-trodden corners of the country to women, especially solo travellers, seeking a deeper experience.
The original Secret Southern Italy itinerary – a one-week tour from Rome to Puglia – was born in 2021. Stellavision trips now range from a culinary tour of Tuscany to a sailing voyage through the volcanic Aeolian Islands, private chef on board. Luxe perks are juxtaposed with unfiltered insights into Italy. For example, you can expect to snack on street food during the day and taste Michelin-star fare at night.
More than anything, Stellavision is recognised for its inclusivity. Every trip is open to all self-identifying women, and specific size-inclusive and queer-inclusive tours provide a different view of Italy. Those trips are made extra special with fun co-hosts, like American plus-size model and make-up artist Tess Holliday.
Girls' Guide To The World Investigate women’s history in style
Girls’ Guide To The World brings women’s history to life, with niche themes like the “Nordic Queens” exploration of Finland and “Mythical Crete”, a deep dive into the Greek island’s priestesses and goddesses. Eye-opening stories, often left out of mainstream historical narratives, come alive on these unique tours curated by Doni Belau, who transformed her blog about Paris into an offering of 70 women-only tours across 40 countries.
Curated workshops and meet-and-greets reveal what life is really like for women in each place, like learning how to cook Cretan recipes in an 18th-century olive oil mill, arranging a bouquet of flowers in a workshop led by a local florist, and meeting with trailblazing women writing modern history. An adventurous yet refined ethos shines through the trips, which feature authentic experiences without compromising on stylish accommodation.
Lead image credit: Wild Terrains, Argentina – photo by Lucia Monti
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