Top 10 reasons you should book a group trip.

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that when I started this blog one of my newly defined life goals was to take more trips on my own. In my twenties, I traveled a lot by myself and with friends both for work and fun but in my thirties, as I became a mom and started to grow my family, solo trips became a thing of the past and slowly but surely, I started to lose my independent, fearless side that I so treasured.

As my kids were getting older and I was prioritizing my health and well-being, I knew that I had to bring independent travel back to my life but if I’m being 100% honest I felt a bit timid about it. Over the years I felt like I lost my edge a little but the desire to travel alone was pretty fierce.

Not ready to take the full leap into a total solo trip, I discovered group trips and quickly realized it was answer I was looking for.

Group trip are truly the best of both worlds….you get to take a trip of your own and enjoy the companionship of other women doing the same. Group trips provide the perfect balance of independence and community, choice and structure. Below I’m sharing my top ten reasons why every woman should consider booking a group trip.

Here are my top 10 reasons to take a women’s group trip

You get to take a trip that focuses on your wants and needs but you don’t have to be alone the entire time.
You meet like-minded women that are like you but also different so you can learn from others, open your mind to new experiences and see quickly that you really are not alone.
All of the planning is done for you.
You are reminded of the power of play, friendship and dreams.
You will walk away with so many new friends and will be gifted the best feeling of community. Finding friendship as an adult is really challenging for some, traveling together can truly create new bonds that you might not find in the circles you belong to now.
You don’t have to worry about keeping spouses happy or children entertained. These trips are all about you. Heck, you don’t even have to worry about cooking dinner or finding a place to eat. All of that is taken care of for you! It’s a true vacation!
You will laugh harder than you have in years and you will quickly realize how much you’ve missed it.
You will start to uncover a side of you that you thought was lost and by doing so, you will vow never to lose her again (warning: this is where you quickly sign up for another trip because the first was so fun!)
Through a women’s trip, you will acquire new curiosities, strengths and connections and uncover secret talents and new obsessions.
You will push past fears, let go of limiting beliefs and find your voice.

I know you are thinking this is a lot to ask of one women’s trip but I can promise you they are all true. Ask anyone who has been on one. I can also guarantee that if you ask someone who has taken a women’s trip, they plan to or have already signed up for another.

A solo trip one day is still a part of the future plans but for now, women’s trips give me everything I need. At this stage of my life, community, friendship, adventure and laughter are my top priorities and I’m not sure I’d find that being by myself. I plan to add at least one retreat to my travel plans each year, I can’t imagine going any longer without one!

If you convinced to try one but you don’t know where to start…

Here is my list of hosts of women’s trips that I would highly recommend!

For Adventure and fun…

We have to start with Christina with Macs Explore. My first two trips have been with Christina and she has set the bar so high. Her energy, sense of adventure and incredible planning skills have created epic trips that I will never forget. She offered women and couples retreats and two are open now! Two words: Bali and Fiji. I’m sad I can’t make either but if you can, sign up….I promise they will be amazing. If you are interested, you can read more about them but be warned they are filling up fast!

For cultural immersion…

If you want to immerse yourself in local culture, discover organizations that are on the ground doing good and learn more about the history of a destination, then check out Travel on Purpose. Guatemala, Africa & Costa Rica are a few of Dianne’s rotating locations and she offers different length trips which are great for busy schedules. I am determined to go to Guatemala with Dianne soon.

For exploration around the world…

If you are all about laughter, adventure and photography, Wendy with Into The Wild Photo Camp offers group trips all over the world-from Italy to New Zealand, Hawaii to Maine. Getting outside and having fun are Wendy's top priorities and a love of photography is not required to join in! I have so many friends that have been on a retreat with Wendy and they LOVE them. So much so that I think they have all done more than one!

For weekend adventures in the US…

If staying in the states is more your style and you prefer to focus on the outdoors and hiking, then my friend Jessica (who I met on my first women’s trip) hosts weekend trips around the mid-Atlantic area with Women’s Wilderness Weekends. So if hiking in the US is more your style, then check out their list of upcoming trips.

For traveling with a community…

Within community, you often find women to travel with, whether it’s small groups, community events or organized trips. Wanderful, a travel community, truly offers so many options. They are doing a meet-up in Mexico City in November, hosting a get-together in March in New Orleans, are even doing a group in January to Antartica and have a meet-up in Scotland planned for Fall of 2023. As a member of Wanderful, I can attest that this is an incredible community of travel-loving women. With this link, you can check out the community free for two weeks and if you like what you see, use the code ATLANTA for 50% off your membership for life.

If you’d like a little more insight into my journey into women’s retreats, check out a few of my IG posts that share a bit more about my personal thoughts and experiences.

Tell me, what’s holding you back from booking a trip for yourself?

If I can help encourage you in any way, please reach out! I think we all know life is short and can change on a dime, let go of excuses like time, money or guilt. There is no time like the present, these trips are truly an economical way to travel (hello group discounts!) Not to mention, we all need to stop with the mother guilt—the kids will be fine without us for a few days, it’s good for them to practice the skills you’ve been teaching them all these years and truthfully being gone for a bit will make everyone appreciate you a little more!

So share below, which trip would you consider going on first?

Celebrate your sense of adventure, Explore the idea of a women’s group trip