Women Only Travel

Old Sep 6th, 2008, 05:20 AM
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Syl
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Women Only Travel

I am in the process of planning a travel company for women only.Have you experienced such a trip & what were the pros & cons? For those who haven't, what type of trip would entice you?
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 07:17 AM
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As long as my husband is alive, no type of trip would entice me to travel without him. Travel is one of the things we love to do together.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 08:29 AM
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I'm female and travel solo. I'm not interested in joining a group myself. Nothing would entice me ;-)

but you can look at www.gutsywomentravel.com as a successful example of a company like you are thinking of starting up.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 09:47 AM
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I'm female (single, early 40s) and often travel solo. I have thought about group travel, but I have not really found anything that meets my needs. I would consider a travel group like you are planning if it met most of the following conditions:

1) Included trips to foreign countries with fairly complex itineraries (i.e., traveling between several cities or countries)

2) Offered good value, due to the benefits of group discounts, on hotels and other travel arrangements.

3) Provided mid-range (at least) accommodations and provided single occupancy rooms (or an option) without charging a big single supplement charge (there are hotels that have single rooms that are less expensive than doubles)

4) Allowed flexibility for participants to choose to participate in planned activities, excursions, etc. on an a la carte basis (or at least offered different options for activities)

5) Provided a website with the capability for individuals planning a trip could interact with each other.

I probably have different perspectives than a lot of women who would consider participating in a travel group because I am pretty independent and comfortable doing things on my own. As suggested by points above, I have avoided tours because I don't want to be stuck with strangers 24/7 that I may not have much in common with and/or feel like my entire trip is structured and that I am paying for a lot of activities, meals, etc. that I am not interested in doing.

Therefore, the primary things I want from a travel group are to 1)deal with logistics, and 2) provide options for socializing with a group and participating in group activities, but still allowing me a lot of flexibility to do things on my own.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 12:41 PM
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I agree with some of beachdreams' posts with the exception that I do
not want a bunch of cities in one visit; rather more in-depth, one or two at most. 7-10 days in length due to vacation time. No Europe in summer.

Do not want a 4-star or better hotel. Don't want to pay the freight not do I want to pay
for a SINGLE SUPPLEMENT which is
the WORST offender of all travel.
If I had someone to travel w/ I
wouldn't need the group to begin w/!!

If you are including any meals, wisely think of your audience. One
trip had no salads or vegetables for an all-female group. Pretty stupid planning there.

Groups should be small; 20 or under
so that one can hear speaker.

No membership fee to join unless you are giving an incentive down
the road to repeat travelers.

You have alot of competition already.
Gutsy Women is one of about 20 that I know of already so peruse their
web pages to see what to and NOT to do.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 01:07 PM
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I'm female and mostly travel solo. When I use a group tour these days it's because I'm feeling lazy, or I need a break on a long trip, plus I think that the public transport options are thin. For example, I just signed up for this tour: www.intrepidtravel.com.au/trips/xkp because I didn't feel like organizing transport for the desert and gorges. However, I really don't have any interest in women-only groups - I like the possibility of meeting people of different nationalities and interests and sexes. But I do prefer small groups.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 05:03 PM
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I would think aiming at some of the specific interests of individuals. Like photography trips, yoga retreats, adrenaline/adventure, etc. Group travel really doesn't appeal to me either, but those are my thoughs.
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 06:43 PM
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Goshes....Syl...dont get discouraged1!

I travel single w/ tours all the time and there are tons of single women traveling w/: Insight, Globus, Cosmos, Pacific Delight, Maupintour, Uniworld, etc.

My pet peeve: Everything is too rushed! I dont want to see a country in 12 days. Im soon off on a tour of Morocco and we will be there 3 weeks: sites, arts stuff, cultural events, home visits, museums etc.

I have never traveled w/ a woman's only tour although on my trip into the Stans...we had only 1 man and 6 women!!!! He was a really wonderful guy and enjoyed it all Im sure.

Gutsy Women is a good source.

It would be nice to not pay a single supplement...but Im a realist! And to me its always worth it to come home after an exhausting day and have the joy of my own space and peace and quiet!

Anyway ...Good luck!
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Old Sep 6th, 2008, 08:11 PM
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I'm on a tight budget when I travel and I have always been able to plan my own trip for much less than the tour packages. It seems like they should be cheaper because of group discounts. If I could find a tour company with economical options, I'd definitely try one out.
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Old Sep 7th, 2008, 08:10 AM
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Good point raised by thursdaysd above.

If I DID want to use an organized tour it would be for a destination I felt was more complitcated than I wanted to tackle planning on my own... AND I would want a mixed group. Traveling in a women-only group of strangers simply has zero appeal to me.
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Old Sep 7th, 2008, 10:40 AM
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I would definitely consider a woman's only group trip if it was centered around activity, i.e., hiking, rafting, horseback, etc., or very in depth tours rather than skimming from one city to another. Economy would certainly play a large role.
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Old Sep 8th, 2008, 12:43 AM
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Trip for women's only will be cool. I happened to experience such trips when I was in girls college. But never heard about travel companies for women.





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Old Sep 8th, 2008, 02:12 AM
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emilyjhon:

there are 28 groups listed here:


http://www.wavejourney.com/tourswomen.html
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Old Sep 8th, 2008, 05:22 AM
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I'd only be interested if it were an activity type thing where the chaps might otherwise tend to take over/dominate (oh you know what I mean). So if I were going mountain biking or survival training or something, sure, I'd consider a femal only group. Otherwise, for general travel, I'd prefer a mixed group.
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Old Sep 8th, 2008, 09:07 AM
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What a good point nona1, I would like to do some kind of wilderness outing with other women.

I know a friend of mine went on one a few years ago, it was called something like Amazon Women or some strong kind of women title. She said it was amazing how they bonded with each other and learned to help and trust other women.

I could tell the difference in her personality, for a while anyway.

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Old Sep 9th, 2008, 10:17 AM
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Check the competition :

www.wanderlustandlipstick.com
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Old Sep 9th, 2008, 11:18 AM
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Here's another one that's already a successful business:

www.journeywoman.com
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Old Sep 9th, 2008, 01:24 PM
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I work in a male-dominated field, so the idea of a women-only trip sounds fun. I hang out with the boys all day long and it would be fun to spend time with some girls for once None of my female friends can take off to go on trips - about the time we hit our 30s, there was a baby explosion so most of my friends have small children and no much money. Makes it hard.

I would be interested in a slower paced trip - no it's-Tuesday-so-this-must-be-Paris type of trips - with a focus on something like wine, beer, a segment of history, architecture, etc. A trip that is relaxed enough to have fun and meaty enough that I would come away more knowledgeable than when I started. And not a lot of time on a bus!!!
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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 07:22 AM
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I was reading an article about women's surf camps that sounded very different, challenging, fun. Learning to surf, horseback riding, women 20 to 40-somethings. It's in the fall/winter 2008 issue of "girlfriend getaways' (the imo unfortunate name of a new quarterly publication from the folks at Arthur Frommers Budget Travel magazine).
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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 05:17 PM
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Syl,

There's also Adventurous Wench and Woman's World Travel.

I wouldn't choose an all-women's travel group but many, many women do. A lot of them are married to men who don't like to travel. Some are gay and prefer the company of women of either proclivity. Some prefer to avoid the whole flirting/competition thing of mixed trips.

I started a women-only category at my Website. (boldlygosolo.com). I need to write more about that.
Good luck.
Ellen
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