Women Travel - stories and news for women travellers, solo travelers, lesbian travelers » Solo Travellers

101:How to Travel Safely

Rosemary — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:10:20 +0000

Who wouldn’t want to travel the world over? Admit it, you’ve wanted to travel to far flung places, but maybe there’s something that’s holding you back. Perhaps it’s the expense, or getting time off from your job, or not knowing how to find the best places to go, or simply being afraid of getting in trouble. Traveling can be exciting, fun and educational, and you only need to use common sense to make sure you stay safe. If you’re thinking about planning a trip sometime soon, we have some expert advice to help you navigate your way.

26-year-old Kristina Wegscheider is an avid traveler and the founder of travel website for young women, Do It While You’re Young, which strives to break down the barrier stopping most young women from traveling abroad. She spoke to website Crushable about her own experiences — having traveled to nearly 50 countries and trying to blend in as a 6-foot tall blonde — and gave them some ideas for tips and tricks to use along the way.

Headings include:

Do your research
Arrange for transportation from the airport when you get there
Keep your passport on you at all times
Bring cash
Research local customs and dress conservatively
Lose the jewelry
Arrange taxis through your hotel
When in doubt, take a tour
Just make smart decisions

Full article here at Crushable

Making Connections and Breaking Bread around the world

Rosemary — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:11:15 +0000

Servas – My Favorite Organization Ever

Excerpt Reprinted with permission from “Female Nomad and Friends” by Rita Golden Gelman. Copyright © 2010. Published by Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. BUY IT HERE

Being a part of Servas is like having family all over the world. It’s actually better than family. People join Servas because they want you to visit them when you are in their country. Not always the case with family.

interview. Servas charges a small annual membership fee, and travelers pay a deposit for host lists in the countries they want to visit. During the visits, however, no money changes hands.

My first Servas visit was with Gabi and Batsheva in Tel Aviv in 1988. Before the trip, I saw their names in the Israel host book; I wrote asking if I could stay with them when I visited.

They welcomed me as they would an old friend. They fed me, toured me, guided me, and shared their stories as I shared mine. I helped with the cooking and clean- up and bought a meal or a snack here and there.

After only one day we felt so close that we decided their single son, then living in the Dominican Republic, and my single daughter, then living in New York, should marry! Never happened, but we did have fun planning the meeting and discussing the wedding. It was wonderful getting to know them.

Their love for each other made being with them a pleasure. Gabi and Batsheva met in an orphanage. Their parents were killed by the Nazis. During and after the war, the surviving kids were taken from Europe to an orphanage in Palestine.

The two found themselves among the oldest children there and ended up working on the same projects and caring for the younger kids together. They fell in love. Batsheva had a sister, Tova, who was also in the orphanage. I never met Tova, but Gabi and the two sisters shared a special closeness as the only survivors of both families. The sisters meant everything to each other.

As we shared our stories, Gabi, Batsheva, and I developed a special bond. Servas is like that. A level of intimacy is quickly established, and you always leave feeling as though you have made a new friend— or extended your family.

Several years later I returned to Israel for my cousin’s wedding. I called Gabi and Batsheva. Gabi answered the phone. He was excited to hear from me, but he explained that Tova had recently died and Batsheva was devastated. He didn’t think she felt ready for guests. The two women had been incredibly close, he reminded me. I suggested that maybe this time I could take care of Batsheva. They talked it over and decided it was a good idea.

Rita Gelman

I didn’t exactly take care of her, but I did some cooking and a little cleaning; and Batsheva was able to share her happy Tova stories, as well as her pain.

On the second day of my visit, Batsheva received a letter from a Servas friend in Brazil. Claudia had heard about Tova’s death and written a sympathy note. She had included her e- mail address. I offered to write to Claudia on my computer.

In the e- mail I introduced myself to Claudia, and then Batsheva dictated her response while I typed. I left the next day, sad, but pleased that I had been able to help.

Four years later in Argentina, I once again connected with people through Servas. I was staying in my friend Gera’s home in San Miguel, outside of Buenos Aires, so I didn’t need a place to stay, but I wanted to meet people in Buenos Aires. I took out my host list and called a few people. The response was fantastic. Servas members invited me to share meals, parties, and excursions.

After I had met a number of hosts, they told me that a group of them planned on taking a boat across the river the next Sunday to meet Uruguayan hosts. Would I like to come?

Of course. Our two groups got together in the charming Uruguayan town of Colonia and wandered for a few hours before lunch. Everyone wanted to talk a little to everyone else, so two of us would walk and talk for a while, and then we’d switch. The fi rst two Uruguayans I met insisted that I come back as their Servas guest (which I did). I was able to converse with them in Spanish, although they both spoke better English than I did Spanish.

The third person I met asked me not to speak Spanish. “My Spanish is not very good,” she said. “My English is better.”

“But aren’t you from Uruguay?” I asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m from over the border in Brazil.”

It was at that point that we introduced ourselves. “My name is Rita. I’m from the United States.”

“Oh, my God,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I’m Claudia.”

Yes, she was that Claudia! We hugged like old friends. And cried. And a month later I was a Servas guest in Claudia’s house in Brazil.

If you’re a traveler and a connector, check it out. It’s an amazing organization: www.servas.org or www.usservas.org.

We invite you to join us on the Female Nomad and Friends virtual tour. The full schedule can be seen at. You can learn much more about Rita Golden Gelman and her work on her website.

Beyond Cancer – travel to recovery

Rosemary — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:04:17 +0000

For those who living with and beyond cancer, it is sometimes a struggle to hope again, to regain confidence and self love. A new travel company Travel Toward Wellness based in Seattle has been set up to focus on the needs of these women. Their current programmes include a weekend in the San Juan Islands, shopping in Tuscany and spa retreat in Sausalito, California – and more are planned.There are not many of us who have not been touched by cancer – my partner of 17 years died of breast cancer, recently another friend died, and today there was news that a well known NZ musician had died. Most of us are familiar with the idea of ‘The Bucket List” – well here is a company focusing on giving some opportunities to those have been touched by cancer.

Travel Toward Wellness is a women-owned travel company specializing in health and wellness travel programs for women living with, working through, and surviving a cancer diagnosis.

Lusting after Wandering

ceridwyn — Sat, 15 May 2010 04:09:15 +0000

If I was feeling the wanderlust and didn’t know where to start,
this book would surely answer more than a few questions:
Wanderlust and Lipstick:
The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo

Beth Whitman enthuses about the joys of independent travel for women, of being open to new people and places and of finding yourself along the way. Her book is laced with enticing stories of women who have taken off into great adventures , experiencing ‘the sheer joy of these heightened experiences’.Travel is marvellous and energising, as well as sometimes scary and confusing. For the novice traveller, Beth Whitman offers everything from packing lists, to itinerary suggestions and handy healthy tips.Even for an experienced traveller there are some ideas, like uploading your photos to flickr as you go, creating and managing a blog to save those endless individual emails home and pre-printing a list of address labels to send home beautiful postcards.I enjoyed the section on love, romance and sex while travelling. Recently we hosted a German woman who was having a glorious holiday romance with a local – great for both of them! However Beth gives sage advice about letting coffee be the drink of seduction rather than alcohol.

One of her comments about New Zealand was inaccurate- she asserts that you can just pitch your tent on someone’s farmland- not a good idea at all. So maybe follow her other advice with caution.

A great book to read, to make you start giving up café lunches and luxury goods, to open that travel account, then begin reading other more country-specific books. Bon Voyage.

Ceridwyn Parr

Wanderlust and Lipstick:
The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo

published by Dispatch Travels www.dispatchtravels.com Dispatch Travels is devoted to publishing travel books for women with the express purpose of encouraging them to stretch their travel boundaries and to pursue their dream journeys.

Women – 60 years and still cycling

Rosemary — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:33:44 +0000

I have in the past few months come across several older women who have decided to take to the road on their cycles. Life is too short – they have dreamed of travel and cycling and were putting things in place to do it. I say Go for it… Karen

Karen Cooper’s Blog – Karen is 60 years and still riding

This Feb I will be 60 years old. I wanted to celebrate it with an unforgettable experience. As MJ would say “This is it” After 30 years of considering a long cycling trip, I signed up for a 2 month tour starting Mar 4 in San Diego and arriving in St Augustine, Florida on April 30.

This is a women’s tour with most of us being 50-60 years old. I will go as a Sag Driver and be able to ride 3 days and drive 1 day…..so I have a built in rest schedule. We ride 60 miles a day 6 days a week with 1 day off each week. It looks like I will have an extra day not riding each week and that is just fine with me, plus I received a 40% discount by working part time.
Read more of Karen’s adventures

I love Bali

Rosemary — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:47:41 +0000

Marie-Pierre writes:

Usually I far prefer to travel solo, but as this was my first trip to Asia I decided it would be nice to have a guide to familiarize myself with Bali. I hoped to lessen the culture shock. I contacted Jennifer at Bahagia travel and discovered that travelling with a knowledgeable guide and a group could be a lot of fun after all.

Jennifer speaks Indonesian which made our travels that much more pleasant. While it is true that most locals spoke some English, it made such a difference in their response to the use of their own language. I can highly recommend Jennifer who guided us through Bali, answered our questions, explained customs, and showed us through markets and temples.

Most enjoyable for me was that I got to meet local people and got a glimpse of their personal lives. Thanks to Jennifer, I was all confidence by the time they all headed back to Honolulu and I stayed behind to enjoy Bali on my own for the rest of the month.

If you’d like to know more about Jennifer’s Bahagia travel tours go to www.bahagiatravel.com

See her current tours on offer here

Trips in Spain for women

Rosemary — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:39:33 +0000

So many to choose from – that is the only problem…

Accommodation Options:

Women Travel the World websites lists 6 options in the South of Spain – from the fabulous women only Diva Espana (I have stayed there, and would gladly have stayed longer) to a new listing near Almeria that offers horse riding as part of the package. Search

Tour Options

The Women Travel the World website Tour Calendar lists tours for women – most of them are women only and cater especially for women travellers. There are walking, writing courses, painting, horse riding, and riding and writing courses

Women Tour Companies

What are we waiting for….

Go with Tiger and explore India

Rosemary — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:02:45 +0000

Moments in Time

Lyn Baker the founder of Tiger Travel spent many years travelling extensively throughout India as a professional photographer – she has an eye for the country, for its people and its culture.

The idea of sharing India with small groups of women travellers seemed a great way of adding to her relationship with India. So Tiger Travel was born.

“The empthasis during our women’s holidays is on sharing our taste for adventure with you as a traveller and not as a tourist! In addition by keeping our travel groups small a personal touch is maintained in order to enhance the feeling of independent travel. It also enables us to take you to the more remote areas in an eco-friendly and sympathetic manner.” Lyn Baker

CHECK OUT Lyn’s LATEST BOOK MOMENTS IN TIME
(available from www.blurb.com)

Women and India – so many choices

Rosemary — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:30:57 +0000

I have just added a whole lot more tours for women to India onto the Women Travel the World Tour Calendar. There is so much choice from some wonderful companies, you can do a tour, and add some extra stays to explore by yourself once you have gained some confidence. As a woman travelling on my own, I find this a great way to travel. Join a small tour where I can get the feel of a country and then branch out confidently to explore on my own. There is now a choice of 17 tours in India on the Tour Calendar on Women Travel.

Some choices include:

You can get Dianne Sharmer Winter to meet you at Delhi Airport and help you find your feet in India, you can explore with a great choice of companies, one of them or their dates are sure to suit you. Check them out Now.

Search all the Tours in India here

Women and hostels – a survey to improve things….

Rosemary — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:40:42 +0000

Are you a female backpacker or solo traveler? Have you or are you planning to hit the road alone in the near future? Then we want to hear from you!

The HostelBookers Blog offer the insiders route to budget travel – they know traveling as a woman alone can be trying at certain times – from worrying about safety to hostels without hairdryers, and we’re on a mission to find out more about what women travelers want. So they have set up a survey – asking women to “telling us about yourselves – share you travel stories, plans of jetting around the world, or top places to visit, in our biggest ever survey of female travelers!”