How to Plan a Solo Vacation? 8 Groups Helping Indian Women Travel The World
Traveling solo doesn’t need to be daunting; you can surround yourself with other women who are also travelling on their own! Within these travel groups, you can meet strangers, camp by rivers, interact with locals, or choose to relax by yourself.
For some, the thought of travelling with a random group of people is exhilarating; for others, it is terrifying. If you belong to the latter category, here’s a list that might help calm those nerves and plan yourself a solo travel, but with a twist.
What you need is a bunch of other like-minded women who make travel fun, simple, and safe — all while respecting your need for space.
We’ve put together a list of eight such women-only travel groups that go to great lengths to ensure your trips are just the adventure escapade you were looking for.
1. Bukit.travel
When cousins Garima Pande and Akshat Sharma would meet, the conversation would almost always veer towards travel. When it comes to the subject of travel for women, the topic of safety inevitably crops up. The cousins were aware of this.
So, they decided to take their love for travel beyond the confines of the living room and start a venture that would make travel accessible for women, while making their safety prime. Today, ‘Bukit.travel’ — a Bengaluru-based travel startup — is empowering solo female travellers and promoting women-owned enterprises.
So far, they have hosted over 250 solo women’s travels from across the country. The company has over 500 local experts to assist the travellers during their stay. Explaining the model, Garima says, “We provide a comprehensive travel itinerary with access to local experts who are certified and trained. The local experts are essentially people who are born and raised in a specific place. They have stories to tell and things to share that no travel guide ever can.”
Places covered: The company promotes both solo and women’s group travels across India and abroad — such as Vietnam, Maldives, Bhutan, Bali, and parts of Europe, including Croatia, Spain, and Ireland.
Contact there here.
2. Jugni
The name borrows from a female firefly which embodies the spirit of life!
Duo Nitesh Chauhan and Rohit Khattar wanted to bring this idea into their startup that encourages women to travel solo. What they want to ensure is that their travellers do not get hassled with technicalities around itineraries, but can focus instead on relaxing and making the most of their time alone.
Through their model, they want to ensure that women reclaim the agency to embark on adventurous voyages without worry. Every trip is helmed by certified outdoor leaders and is crafted with activities that are entirely up to the women to decide if they wish to be a part of.
Places covered: Leh Ladakh, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Turkey, Bhutan, Bali, Kazakhstan and more.
Contact them here.
3. Womaniya on Roadtrips
“Solo travelling, especially for women, is still a taboo in Indian society,” Priti Vishwakarma recounted in a conversation with The Better India.
Diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age, Priti would often find it tough to convince her family to let her go on trips. They were worried about her safety. So, she decided to turn this very roadblock into an opportunity. In 2016, Priti started ‘Womaniya on Roadtrips’, which encourages women to hurtle to all the destinations that have been on their bucket list until now.
Recalling one of the most memorable trips she has led, she says it was the trek to Spiti Valley, where a 70-year-old woman was part of the group. “It was her first solo trip. But amidst the group of nine young girls, she had the time of her life. It was motivational to watch women feeling safe on these trips with me as their leader, knowing that I have epilepsy.”
Places covered: Trips across India, Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Andaman and Bali.
Contact them here.
4. F5Escapes
It is astounding and heartwarming to watch the collective enthusiasm of a group of women travellers who are undertaking their first solo trip. And every time Malini Gowrishankar, an engineer who started F5Escapes, watches this, she feels proud of the ecosystem she has created.
Being an ardent traveller herself, Malini has taken trips both with family and alone. So, at a young age, she realised the power of solo travel. She found freedom in being alone as she traversed through the country.
But, as conversations with other women would reveal, their attitudes towards solo travel were diametrically opposite. They found it unsafe. This was Malini’s cue to start a platform that would challenge this notion and give urban women a taste of off-beat experiences.
Places covered: Bhutan, Nagaland, Sri Lanka, Madurai, Kerala, Arunachal, Wayanad, Varanasi and Indore among other places.
Contact them here.
5. Wovoyage
“Travel should be more than a means of getting from one place to another,” is what this all-women travel community believes. Having created a safe, inclusive space for female travellers to come together and bond over a love for adventure, Wovoyage is opening the doors to new cultural experiences for women who are scared to take that first leap.
Through a model that is centred around women-friendly accommodation, transportation, group departures, and guided tours, this platform makes sure you are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a destination.
Places covered: Kasol, Vietnam, Ladakh, Goa, Indonesia, Japan and more.
Contact them here.
6. WeGoBond
Life is outside of your comfort zone. A solo trip changes you in ways you couldn’t have anticipated. Lunches by the side of rivulets, long drives through roads that bask in the sunshine, countrysides where the greenery gives way to mountains and the taste of crisp fresh air that fills your lungs.
This women-led company is attempting to give women this off-beat nature experience while ensuring that their trips are curated keeping comfort as the focus. The group sizes are limited to 12 people to foster camaraderie among the guests.
Travellers are encouraged to embrace the calm on these trips and come back refreshed!
Places covered: Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Persia, Tibet, New Zealand and cities across India.
Contact them here.
7. Women On Clouds
A dreamer and full-time optimist is how Shireen, the founder of this women-centric travel platform describes herself. Born and brought up in Iran, Shireen studied Economics in a college at Shimla where she was bitten by the travel bug. It was during this time and later that she began to believe in the incredible power of nature and the environment.
Intent on giving other women the experiences and adventures she had had, Shireen started Women On Clouds — a platform where she calls women to rediscover their souls. “It is the perfect place for women who wish to travel solo or with their mothers, sisters, girlfriends, or in the company of other women rather than travelling alone.”
Places covered: Sikkim, Kerala, Bhutan, Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Amritsar, Bali among others.
Contact them here.
8. Wander Womaniya
Describing himself as the “chief gallivanter” at Wander Womaniya, Anuj Jain says it was planning a trip for his sister that led him to come up with the idea of the platform. Today, the venture is creating endless possibilities for women to explore the world.
Anuj and his team believe in motivating women towards self-expression through travel, while also emphasising that travel does not need to be without luxury.
If you are someone who is daunted by the task of travelling alone, or sceptical of planning through a budget for a trip, the experts in their team are here to help while making sure you’re focusing on making friendships that last a lifetime!
Places covered: Ladakh, Bali, Andaman, Philippines, Tawang, Thailand, Turkey, Azerbaijan.
Contact them here.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
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