6. Solo Travel, Fear, Freedom & Finding Yourself

What happens when you stop waiting for the “right” travel partner… and just go?

In this episode, Amber is joined by Becky and Kristen for an honest, energizing conversation about solo travel.. what it looks like, why it matters, and how it can completely change the way you experience the world (and yourself).

From backpacking across Australia to fiber art retreats in Morocco to navigating foreign countries alone, this episode breaks down the myths, fears, and unexpected joys of traveling solo as a woman.

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or someone who’s been saying “maybe someday,” this conversation might just be the push you need.

Key Takeaways:

• You don’t need to wait for someone else to start exploring the world
• Solo travel doesn’t have to mean being alone
• Confidence comes from doing things that initially feel uncomfortable
• Sometimes the best experiences come from getting lost (literally and figuratively)
• Travel isn’t just about seeing places; it’s about discovering yourself

You don’t have to be fearless to travel solo. You just have to be willing to start.

Discover more on our website. 
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Transcript

Amber: [00:00:00] Podcast, where we are bold, fearless, and unapologetically female. I'm your host, Amber Bardon, and on today's episode, we are joined by Becky and Kristen, and I'm gonna let them do an introduction in a moment here, but I wanted to talk about our topic today First. So for those of you who follow me on LinkedIn, you know that one of my passions is solo traveling.

I have posted about it several times and I wanted to bring on some other women who also solo travel just so we could have a conversation about. What kinds of solo travel can you do? What are some of the fears that you might have? What are some of the benefits? And, uh, just have a, conversation about one of my very favorite topics of all time.

So, welcome to the show, Becky and Kristen. So Becky, I know you through, um, someone else that I work with. Uh, so we've met in an event [00:01:00] that you attended and, um, you know, just have gotten to know you a little bit and, uh, just every time, you know, I talk to your husband, he is always talk, talking about you, and you know that connection is, it always kind of puts a smile on my face when he tells me that you're asking about me and what's going on, and everything like that.

So really excited. You were able to also then bring Kristen into this podcast so we could talk about this. So first of all, why don't, Becky, why don't you tell everybody a little bit about you. 

Becky: Sure. I live in Columbus, Ohio, uh, with my husband and I have two kids and two cats and a dog. I'm a fiber artist and so I sew clothing and purses and sell them, um, in stores and at art festivals, and I have.

Loved traveling. My parents took us on trips when we were in school. We did a lot of driving and a lot of camping. And so my trips with my kids are a little bit different. Um, and I love just going to new places, different places, trying foods and seeing different cultures. And [00:02:00] so I think this podcast is right at my alley.

Amber: Awesome. Thank you. And Kristen, how about you? 

Kristen: I live in Seattle with my husband, and we are at a point where we have very few responsibilities. We're both mostly retired and so we've been traveling together and traveling. I've been traveling on my own as well. Um, like Becky, I'm very interested in the fiber arts, so a lot of my travel is organized around learning and doing different fiber arts.

I traveled a lot like Becky said with my parents when I was growing up, sort of off the beaten path type stuff. And then when I was younger, I traveled in Australia for two months on my own and, uh, around Europe on my own. And I think one of the things we're gonna talk about today. Kinda the evolution to where now I really enjoy traveling with small groups of like-minded women as a way of being both alone and in community and letting someone else do the project management of the whole thing.

Amber: Yeah. That's amazing. I love that we're [00:03:00] all coming from like a little bit of a different place. So you guys are both married, but you yet, yet you still go and solo travel without your partner, which is pretty cool. Um, I've been single, I'm actually in a relationship right now, so I'm gonna be traveling with my partner for the first time this summer.

We're gonna go to Scotland, but you know, I was traveling as a single woman for the last five years, which has been really fun. So one of the questions I wanna start off with is where did your love of travel come from? And I know you guys just kind of mentioned it a little bit, so let me tell you my story and then if you wanna add anything on to yours as well.

So very similar to you guys. I also traveled a lot when I was a kid. Becky, what you said is exactly what my family did. We did a lot of road trips, camping, we a little popup camper. Um, and that was obviously all within the us. I grew up in Michigan, so you know, we would every summer, uh, go somewhere. Um, so that's kind of when I started traveling.

But when I started world traveling I did a semester at Sea in college. Mm-hmm. I don't know if you guys have heard of that. Yeah. So, um, it's through University of Pittsburgh and it is a study abroad program. So you are on a ship [00:04:00] with about. I don't know, maybe 200 students. I'm not sure the exact number.

It's like a kind of a big cruise ship and it's a floating university, so you take classes on the ship and you go to 10 different countries and it depends on which semester you do. So I did spring, so it was more of a southern route. I think there's a a fall one. Which is, uh, more through Europe. So on that trip I went to Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan.

And so, that was pretty amazing and that kind of got my appetite for traveling. And, uh, on that trip I met a. Professor, 'cause my undergrad degree is in anthropology, so he was an anthropology professor and he was doing an archeological dig in Mongolia that summer. And so I convinced him to take me on that dig.

And so I went to Mongolia, uh, twice. And that was amazing. And then after college, I actually lived in China for two years. And then ever since then, you know, I just, I did continue to travel. And, uh, I'll get more into like why I started solo traveling, [00:05:00] but that is like a little bit about my love of travel and where it came from.

So, Becky, is there anything else you wanna share about your love of travel and where it came from that you talked about earlier? 

Becky: Um, yeah, so we would, again, we would, uh, travel just the United States. I don't think I had a passport until like Mike and I got married. So, but then once we had kids and us wanting to share.

Different cultures with, with them and just, you know, getting outside of Ohio and then even the us. 'cause even the US is so big, it's still, the cultures are still not as vastly different as, you know, Iceland or Costa Rica or Morocco. And so to be able to take them and, and really see, see things through their eyes.

Just like the wonder and the wait, what they eat fish heads here. It just I don't know. It was just, as a parent, it was very cool to be able to see that. 

Amber: Yeah. How, how old were your kids when you started traveling with [00:06:00] them? 

Becky: Probably not, it wasn't very young. I wanna say like maybe eight and 10. Uh, 'cause we wanted, we did do a cross country trip to Yosemite.

We took them when they were. Yeah, I think it was eight and 10. We drove, we took two weeks and we drove to Yosemite and then back. And then since they handled it well, I was like, okay, yeah, it's time to get on a plane and go do something really cool. 

Amber: Yeah, I didn't start traveling with my kids. My kids are, um, 12 and 14 right now.

I didn't start traveling with them till like a couple years ago. 'cause like I know people do it with younger kids, like this is not worth this. Yeah, 

Becky: it's a lot. 

Amber: Yeah, I took my son to Norway with me last year. My oldest son for the f was his first international trip and um, that was pretty amazing. But anyways.

Kristen, tell me more about your, your love of travel. 

Kristen: I think you know, I grew up in a small town. Both my parents grew up in small towns and they my dad said his dream as a boy had always been to go to the South Pacific and to go to Africa. And so those are, once he retired, um, those are the first two [00:07:00] things he did and he found, you know, sort of ways to make that work.

And I was able to go to Africa with him on that trip when we were younger. We went to, he, he got involved in the sort of house trading program and so we spent some time in England doing that. And then somehow we ended up on a canal boat in France. And I, I was the one person in the family and who had had one year of high school French.

And so suddenly I was trying to help us navigate these, you know, small French towns and shopping for groceries and, you know, buying fuel for the boat. So that was kind of my first. Thrown in feet first to a situation where I had to figure out what was happening and sort of make my way through a foreign country, um, even though I was with my family.

And I think from there it just, you know, I saw my parents traveling together and traveling separately as a way to explore their own interests. And then, um, I just sort of followed along with that. I really enjoy spending time on my own. Um, and so travel's is. [00:08:00] A good way to do that as well as to meet up with other people who have similar interests and, and pursue some of my hobbies and passions.

Amber: And you said you lived in Australia? Is that, is that, that's what you said earlier. 

Kristen: I was an exchange student there in high school and then I went back a couple years after I finished college and just traveled around for a couple months on my own. So I didn't live there, but I spent a couple of good chunks of time with a backpack.

They didn't really have. An extensive train system there. So it was all on cross country buses. 

Amber: Oh 

Kristen: my God. 

Amber: Cool. Cool. 

Kristen: Yeah. 

Amber: That's amazing. So, that sounds like that's, was that your first solo trip then? 

Kristen: It must have been. Other than my sister and I flying to Montana together to see my grandmother. But yeah, my first really on my own extended far away trip.

Amber: Yeah. So what, what did your, uh, what did you have, like your family, have any fears about you doing that? Or did you have any fears yourself when you, [00:09:00] when you went out all the way to Australia by yourself? 

Kristen: I didn't, because the first time I went, like I said, I was an exchange student and that had some structure around it.

And so I knew a few people and I kind of knew, you know, sort of what I was getting into. And, yeah, it was pretty, pretty manageable in terms of logistics and you know, meeting fellow travelers, stayed in hostels and met people that way. 

Amber: Yeah. I remember the days of staying in hostels when I was in my twenties, 

Kristen: right.

Amber: For travel. Um. I, I didn't, um, I did some something similar when I moved to China, which isn't really solo travel, I guess. It kind of, you know, solo travel to the extreme by actually moving to a country. But, um, my family was really pushing back against it and everybody kind of thought I was crazy 'cause I'm gonna, this country where I don't speak the language and, you know, I was just very determined to go and do it anyways.

And um, you know, it ended up being fine, but yeah, it is, it is kind of interesting. People's reaction to you wanting to solo [00:10:00] travel as well? 

Kristen: Mm-hmm. 

Amber: You know, you know, I, I get a lot of people who are just like. Oh, you're so like brave. Do that. I could never do that. And you know, yes you can. You know, and I think that's one of the reasons I wanted to do this podcast is to talk about that.

So, Becky, when did you first, uh, doing do your own, do your solo travel? 

Becky: It was late later in life, so just like a year or two ago. I had. Taken my daughter, she's very artsy but also very introverted like me. We went to something called Craftcation out in California and it's just basically crafty people from all over the country come together and for like a long weekend we do nothing but like paste and glitter and paint and sew and stuff like that.

And that's where I met Anna Joyce and I was following her Instagram. She had done a, like a shibori dying, uh, workshop and just her overall vibe of like mom, artist, [00:11:00] introvert, and then finding that she travels to Morocco with people. And I was like, what? Like what is this about? My son was in college at the time and my daughter was about to graduate from high school, and I just felt like.

I think it is time that mom has her own like vacation. And so I talked to my husband and he was like, you want to go to Africa? Like that's, that's where you're gonna pick to go on your own vacation. And I was like, well, you know, there's gonna be other women. And as a fiber artist and the dying and the weaving and everything that they do out there, it all just sort of.

The puzzle pieces all fell into place. And so that was my first solo trip and it was absolutely amazing to not have to plan for the kids or plan for the husband or plan for the meals. It was all done. And even though I am an incredible introvert, meeting like-minded women, I didn't realize the [00:12:00] comfort that I would find in that community.

So. 

Amber: Yeah, I love that. I, I'm also very introverted and I love spending time alone such gets the sense. Both of you ladies feel the same way, and I think honestly. When you travel with other people, especially if you're with your kids, even if you're, you're with a partner, you're still doing a lot of caretaking.

Yeah. And one of the most amazing things about solo travel is he's just all about you. And you don't have to take care of anybody else. You can do exactly what you want on your own schedule. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, and that I just, I, I find that so empowering. So my like recent iteration of solo travel started after I got divorced.

So. When I was married, um, I didn't really travel that much at all because I had my, I had kids right away. My kids were young, like we talked about. I didn't really wanna travel with my kids. And, um, I got divorced about five years ago, and immediately I wanted to start traveling again. And my first thought is like, oh, I have to meet somebody to travel with.

[00:13:00] And that didn't happen. And then it occurred to me, why don't I just go by myself? And my first solo trip that I had booked was um, I was actually gonna go on my birthday to Sedona, but that was during COVID, so I ended up not doing that. And crazy enough, my first solo trip was to Turkey, which is kind of a crazy place to go solo traveling by yourself.

'cause Turkey's not the most friendly travel place, but caveat is, I did know someone who lived there. So I did have someone there who had Turkish friends who gave me some advice and things like that, so I wasn't totally on my own. So my first like full on tra solo travel was to Moab, where I went fully by myself and I went over like a holiday weekend.

And that's when I just had that realization, like, this is, this is so amazing. And since then I've solo travel to, oh my gosh, how many places? Iceland, I just got back from Patagonia. Canada, like the Rocky Mountains in Canada a couple other places in the us So if when I'm traveling for work, if I can add time on, I'll do that.

Um, to go like, so I went out to [00:14:00] San Francisco you know, uh, Denver area. Um. I know there's other places I've, I've gone that I'm not thinking of. Oh, I went to the, uh, Azore in port Azores, Portugal last year as well. Mm-hmm. Um, oh, and I went to Paris in Amsterdam for my birthday last year. And then I've been to London a couple times.

I do have a really good friend who lives in London, so that's kind of borderline solo travel. So yeah, I just, I love to pick like, the most remote, coldest place I can find. 'cause I like cold weather and, um. It's just, I I, one of the things I love about solo travel too is I love observing other people. I don't know if you guys feel that way as well.

But what, what do you guys find are the biggest benefits to solo travel for you personally?

Kristen: Yeah, I think, um, like you were saying, the opportunity to. Not be the caretaker and not be the organizer and the planner and the project manager for a couple of weeks. And just to be able to, you know, wander down a street and see something interesting and go in and spend either five minutes or two hours, depending on [00:15:00] whether it catches your eye or not, and have street food for lunch.

And then just, you know, grab something simple for dinner or have a really nice dinner and sit at the bar at a restaurant like it just. Just sort of following whatever happens during the day instead of having to feeling like there needs to be a plan and there needs to be three square meals and that kind of thing.

Amber: That's interesting. 'cause when I travel, I project manage the heck out of it. I do extensive, detailed research and the reason I do that is because I don't wanna get somewhere and then be trying to research things. 

Kristen: Mm-hmm. 

Amber: So I like to have it planned in advance. Not that I follow a strict schedule, but I do have a lot of planning I put into my trip.

'cause I found it makes the, it makes it less stressful for me when I get there. But yeah, I mean it's, uh, I like your approach too. There's just whatever, whatever makes people happy, they should do that. And Becky, how about you? 

Becky: Um, I think that being able [00:16:00] to make a mistake and, and pivot on my own, you know, uh, and Morocco's a great example.

You know, you're gonna get lost when you walk through the Medina. You're just, there's no signs and your phone doesn't work. And, but it's okay to screw up and. Overcome it. And I think when you're traveling with people and you have to manage not only your emotions, but their emotions, when something goes wrong, I don't mind if something goes wrong when I'm traveling by myself, you know, even if I don't understand the language and I'm still just, I need to get from A to B, how can I, how can I do that myself?

And it's, it's less stressful I think, to. To be able to own the fact you screwed up and you solved it in the same sentence. So, 

Amber: So I'm curious, what were your partner's reactions when you told them you wanted to solo travel? 

Kristen: Great. Have fun. 

Amber: Yeah. Did that, did [00:17:00] your partners also solo travel? 

Kristen: Not as much. A, a good system for us is if I go somewhere on my own and sort of check it out and then decide if it's someplace we would enjoy going together.

And that way it's easier to plan. 'cause I already have kinda a sense of how things work and what, you know, what we'd wanna see, where we'd wanna stay. Um, or sometimes I'll say, yeah. Let's not put that place at the top of our list. 

Amber: Interesting. Yeah, that's a good idea. You're the scout. 

Kristen: Yeah. It's a good excuse.

Becky: I think. Um, my husband is used to me saying, Hey, we should. Go to Iceland and he is like, you wanna go where? Um, so I think, you know, when I wanted to go to Morocco, I was able to show him Anna's Instagram and, and to show him that, you know, it is very touristy friendly and whatnot. And so I, I think him seeing the excitement.

In my eyes to learn about, [00:18:00] you know, fiber dying and, and weaving and, and pottery and all of that. I think he was excited for me. So he is like, yeah, okay, good for you. Do it. 

Amber: Awesome. Yeah, that's good. It's, uh, even though I have a partner now, I still plan to solo travel. Like I, my next solo trip I'm gonna do is Bhutan, so I, I was gonna do it the end of this year, but I think I'm gonna push it to next year.

So, you know, I just, I need that sometimes I just crave mm-hmm. That a long time and, and being able to recharge that way. And I wanted to also bring up, you know, we're talking about solo travel, but there's different ways of solo travel. So when I solo travel, I do go usually totally on my own. Uh, you guys are solo traveling in small groups, so can you talk a little bit about, about that experience and, and so, you know, if someone is listening to this and they want to solo travel, but they're little nervous about just totally going alone, tell me about the, the group experience.

Becky: Um, specifically the two, times that I've been to Morocco, they've both been with [00:19:00] Anna. And so I think that. You know, as an introvert again going and meeting six other women and hoping that we get along. Um, but then also having time for myself and then time for myself before and after the trip.

Um, I always make sure that if I have, well, 'cause I'm coming to Columbus, Ohio, so I'm gonna have a layover somewhere. That. Uh, like I stopped in, uh, Lisbon on the way home, and I spent a day or two there to be able to just kind of walk around and decompress, um, and get all the socialness out before I came home.

Um, but the, the small groups I, I think are are great as long as you're getting a. A guide or a leader that understands that it, it's not gonna be 6:00 AM up, 7:00 AM we're eating breakfast and then we're out the door. And then we're, you know, if, if you're going to go with a small group, make sure you look at the schedule and.

And get the vibe of the leader to make sure that [00:20:00] that's the kind of trip that you wanna go on. Um, one of my friends that I made on the first Moroccan trip, she went to Africa with a small group and she said like it was jam packed. She had like, not a moment to think, and that wasn't necessarily her vibe.

And so she would've rather had, um, a different group. So I would, I would suggest if people want to go. With a small group, uh, meet over there. Obviously you're traveling by yourself to the place and then you're meeting the group attendees. Just make sure that you look at the agenda and ask questions beforehand, because if you really want a jam packed schedule, that's great, but if you want sort of a relax, let me learn on my own time and let me relax time, then you know, you need to make sure that you advocate for that.

Kristen: That's a really good point. Because the, the first organized group tour I did well, that's not quite true. My husband and I do a lot of bike [00:21:00] tours in Europe and Canada and sort of all over. Um, and those are very much like, get up, eat breakfast, get on the road. Eat lunch together, get on the road, eat dinner together, go to bed so you can get up early the next morning.

And the first time I did a tour that, that had a little bit more free time, I, I looked at the agenda and I thought, am I really getting my money's worth? Because there's like a free afternoon here and dinner on your own there. And like, I don't know about this. And I was so glad I had, was like, oh, after being in a group and so this was in Japan and, um, just like all the, like absorbing all the new, everything was new and different.

Like that downtime and that alone time and that opportunity to just wander around and, you know, get the famous egg salad sandwich from seven 11 and eat that in my room for dinner. Um, having, yeah, like if you're someone who wants structure all day, look for that. If you're someone who needs some downtime and some alone wandering time, look for that in the agenda as well.

Amber: Yeah, that's good advice. [00:22:00] I, I found that. We talked about non solo travel, if you travel with your kids or with a partner, but I also learned from the mistake of traveling with a friend that I was not travel compatible with and, uh, sort of ruined the trip. And I almost, I'm at the point where if you're gonna travel with someone just to have someone to go with and you're not travel compatible it, it's better to go by yourself because the trip can be ruined.

I went to Ireland and, um. It just, yeah, it, it, uh, it was still an amazing trip, but it was the person I went with that, you know, I feel like it could have been better with somebody I didn't know super well. And, um, I've actually to the point now where I was gonna travel with another friend and we started talking about what we wanted to do when we travel.

And I, I just stopped it. I was like, look, I don't think we're gonna enjoy this trip together because we don't want the same things. And so, and she's like, yeah, actually I agree. 'cause I was like, I don't wanna ruin our friendship by going through this. 

Becky: Yeah, 

Amber: so I wanted to talk a little bit about, you know, fears and misconceptions about solo travel.

And I'll start [00:23:00] off with sharing some of mine. So, I think the big one is eating by yourself. That's probably what a lot of people are worried about, maybe is going to a restaurant and having to sit by yourself. So I am a huge reader, so for me, I just bring my Kindle and I bring my Kindle with me everywhere.

And I also travel for work quite a bit by myself too. So that's, you know, solo travel, but for work. So, you know, I bring my Kindle and I just enjoy my dinner. And, uh, the other, the other, uh, area is, um, I don't typically do tours when I travel, but sometimes I do. So I've noticed if I join like a group tour for something and I'm by myself, especially as a woman, I kind of get special treatment.

So a lot of times, like the guides will let me sit up front and they kinda like. Give me a little bit of special treatment, like when I went, oh, antelope Canyon is another place. I went solo and the guy was showing me exactly how to take the pictures the right way so that they would turn out. And so that, that's kind of cool.

So, you know, I have found there's some solo travel discrimination. I dunno if you guys have run into this. Like, sometimes things that you try to sign up for require a minimum of two people which kind [00:24:00] of sucks. So, you know, I, and I can kind of understand, but like. When you, when you start solo traveling, you realize that a lot of the world is built for couples or for a group, for two, for two people.

Mm-hmm. Um, but for me, like I enjoy that even more. I remember being in Iceland at the Sky Lagoon. And just watching everybody around me and everyone was just like, so like absorbed in what they're doing and their conversations. Everyone's taking selfies and like pictures and, you know, I'm not on social media, so I didn't do any of that.

And it's just like, it gives me really time to reflect and, and think and I just feel so lucky when, when I'm in those situations that I have the opportunity to do this kind of travel. So, I think the other fear. Slash misconception is probably around safety, which I think we should mention as, as women traveling alone.

Um, so I always research the countries I go to beforehand just to Google like, how safe is it for female solo travelers? Um, you know, try, I try to reach out to people that I might know in the country and, and like [00:25:00] get, you know, get some information intel. But, um, you know, I think that's just, you gotta do your research and just be aware of your surroundings and make sure that you.

Being safe with your travel. So what about for you guys? What were some of the fears and or misconceptions you, you have with before you started solo traveling? 

Becky: Um, I, I think that really language barrier was something that I was really worried about. And then once I got to different places, I was like, oh yeah, I can.

Pretty much you, you can hand gesture, you can, a lot of times though, like bits of English will work. Um, and so I, I think that yeah, language was a language barrier was one of my biggest fears.

Kristen: Like, I think it just seemed normal to me to, to do solo travel and I don't. I mean, it was different when I first started 'cause we, you know, no, no internet, no cell phones. So there were some, not really [00:26:00] fears, but concerns about just like, I was supposed to meet up with a friend in France and, um, the only way for us to communicate was by fax.

And the place that received the faxes was closed on weekends. So we had this whole like, uh, sort of disconnect there. But I mean, the lesson there is everything worked out. We just sort of figured it out as we went. You were talking about dining and I think I mentioned eating at a bar. You know, eating at the bar of a restaurant as opposed to a table I think is really nice.

Um, you get a little bit of interaction. If there's someone next to you, you can interact with the bartender. I feel like, you know, the bartender's sort of keeping an eye on me. 

Amber: Yeah, I do that too. Yeah. 

Kristen: Yeah. 

Amber: Especially if you show up and you don't have a reservation and it's just you. Yeah. 

Kristen: Yeah. 

Amber: To a, so, yeah.

Kristen: Yeah. Um, and then another thing I enjoy is eating my main meal at lunchtime 'cause everybody's sort of out and about. Oftentimes it's lower cost and you can have a really nice meal at lunch. And then, um, if you don't feel like going out at night or if you just wanna wander around and get a little bit of street food that's a nice way [00:27:00] to spend an evening sitting in the square watching people without having to feel like you're eating a formal dinner on your own.

Amber: Yeah, those are, those are good, good tips. So if you were to give advice to someone who wants to start solo traveling, what would you tell them? 

Becky: Do it 

Kristen: right. Just jump in. 

Amber: Do 

Becky: it. 

Amber: Yeah. I think, I think that the, that's perfect. 

Kristen: And I think I would look for a balance between researching and over researching.

Like, I think with, there's so much information on the internet. You can sort of go down a rabbit hole and either work yourself up into like worrying about all kinds of things or just have such an agenda that you don't leave time for serendipity. So I think. Finding maybe a basic structure and some basic tips about wherever you're going, but then just letting it unfold once you get there.

Maybe like you were saying, sign up for a day trip or like, I love to do a a walking food tour in a new city as a way [00:28:00] to see the sites and get to know some different places and sort of get an inside scoop. 

Amber: I do that too. I love the walking tours. I do that in, in most cities I go to. 'Cause you, yeah, you just get that to that local feel and, um, usually I end up becoming friends with the tour guide, so Yeah, it's, I love that.

Yeah. 

Kristen: I feel like I missed out on a lot in my earlier years because I was so focused on being independent and I'm not gonna take a tour and I'm not gonna do the hop on hop off bus. 'cause I'm like too cool for that. Um, and now, uh, looking back, I, I think take advantage of all those things. Like I did the hop on, hop off in Edinburgh, sorry, Glasgow when I was there with a friend this summer.

If it was me, I would've just walked everywhere. But, um, my friend wasn't as mobile, so, and it was great. They give you a little narration, you see a bunch of stuff you wouldn't have seen otherwise. You know, you get the lay of the land really quickly. Like I, I, it was a reminder to like, not poo poo the, the touristy stuff as a way to introduce yourself to a [00:29:00] place.

Amber: Yeah. I think, I think my advice would be similar to what you said, Becky. You know, just there's no perfect time, there's no perfect person, there's no perfect scenario. So if there's somewhere you wanna go, don't, don't hold back. Life is short. Go out there and experience and live it because you're gonna gain so much from doing that.

And I would suggest if someone. Wants to solo travel for the first time. They either do a group like you guys have been doing, or I would do like a, a domestic trip in the US mm-hmm. And just go somewhere for a weekend. So like, my first one was a weekend in Moab. And that can kind of give you a taste of it.

And if you don't like it, then you'll know it's only what, three days or so that you're, you know, try attempting it. Um, and then if you feel comfortable, then you'll start to branch out and, and, uh, go to other countries and, you know, start to become more comfortable with it. 

Becky: Mm-hmm. 

Amber: So, yeah, I think, uh, you know, and also when I plan my trips, I, what I typically do is I go into Google and I just search like 10 day, 10 day itinerary for [00:30:00] wherever.

And then I read like six or seven, 10 articles and then I kind of start to gather the information to gather on kind of what I wanna see, what I wanna do, and map it out. But I just found out chat g PT will do that for you. So, which is much more efficient. So chat GPT has actually planned my next two trips for me and I kind of ran it by people locally I knew lived in those places and they were like, yeah, this is great.

So, uh, that will save you some time. 'cause it does the same thing, it just reads all the articles for you and then compiles the suggestion. So, nice.

Do you have a favorite memory of a trip that you wanna share? What's your, what's your favorite solo travel memory?

Becky: I think, when, when I went to Morocco, we went to Marrakesh and to Asra, which is out on the coast in Morocco.

And standing there realizing that that was the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I don't know why it struck me. So like I was just dumbfounded. I was like, wow, I am. [00:31:00] Over here in Africa, and that's the Atlantic Ocean. I, I don't know. That was one of my big, just like eye-opening moments, just standing by myself on the beach in Africa.

Kristen: It's hard. There's so many. I would say it's, it's kind of a collage in my mind of different women I've met who are doing traditional dying in fiber arts. Like some, some women in Japan who, you know, had been passing down generation after generation of indigo dying and really intricate types of fiber arts.

And then seeing those connections in other countries where women were doing. You know, doing a modern twist on the traditional crafts or just a sort of connecting connecting theme across totally different cultures. So it's not so much one memory as just the, the, um, connections that, that become visible as, as you open yourself up to some of these [00:32:00] experiences.

Amber: Yeah. I love that you said that, because for me, when I think about solo travel. I think about the feeling I have when I'm out there doing it and just, you know, that the whole vibe of just like, mm-hmm. Oh my gosh, I'm out doing this. Like this is happening. And that's like kind of my favorite part, but I'll, I'll share two, two of my favorite memories.

So I went to Rocky Mountains in Canada, I think two years ago. And I got up really early to hike up this mountain in Jasper, and I do a lot of hiking trips, but I'm not good at hiking. So I live in Illinois, it's very flat. I sit at a desk all day and then I go climb mountains. It's kind of ridiculous. But I got up really early and, uh, you know, there's bears in Canada and I was the only person on this mountain, and I got three quarters of the way up and the whole rest of it was snow.

And I was there at the end of May. So I did not expect snow. I didn't have my extracts or anything like that. And I had this can of bear spray in my hand the whole time. And I was like singing so I could like scare away the bears. Mm-hmm. And at one point I was like, can I do this? Like can I really do this?

And I did it and I got to the top of that mountain and I [00:33:00] just like felt amazing and I didn't see anybody till I was almost back down. The people were starting up. So that was really cool. And then my last trip in Patagonia, so I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September and I had that trip planned over Thanksgiving in November.

And the first thing I said is, can I still go on this trip to Patagonia? It was a month after I had surgery. And so, um, the doctor's like, yeah, you can go. So I went to Patagonia. I wasn't in like the best shape or anything. Um, so I didn't do like, you know, I didn't do as many probably adventurous things as I would have.

But my last day I went to horseback riding in, um, KTE. And we started off, it was in the ccia. It was only six people. It was amazing. And there's like this field of wild flowers in front of you. Mm-hmm. There's a glacier in the background. There's baby animals. Playing everywhere. And I was like, am I in a Disney movie?

Like, this is so amazing. And, uh, it was just, it was just really cool to like have that experience sort of in the midst of going through something kind of terrible. And then I came back from that trip and started radiation [00:34:00] treatment the next, next week. And so it was kind of cool to fit that in around, around my treatment.

So those were kind of some special memories. 

Becky: Mm-hmm. 

Amber: And then I'm curious, do you guys have any like horror stories as well? Any, anything bad happened to you? 

Kristen: One of the things I've noticed about a lot of the trips I've taken is something will happen during the trip that seems not great.

Like getting soaking wet and like I. Squeeze my socks and I swear a half a cup of water came out of them. Which at the time was just miserable. But now, you know, I barely remember it. It's kind of a funny story. Um, I think. Oh, selective memory or like the, all the great things on the trip outweigh whatever little things go wrong because Yeah, I've had flights canceled or hotels that were gross and we had to move unexpectedly, or Yeah.

All kinds of things go wrong. And then part of the, part of the resiliency and part of the sort of muscle building of travel is to figure out how to fix it. Mm-hmm.

Amber: [00:35:00] Yeah, 

Kristen: and then it, then later, it's a funny story. Yeah. 

Becky: Yeah. 

Amber: No, that's true. That it does make a good story later for sure. I think my worst solo trip was actually to Iceland.

I cried like that whole trip. 

Becky: I'm so upset. You didn't like Iceland. We loved Iceland. 

Amber: Yeah, I think, I think it's my fault because of the time of year I went, so originally I was supposed to go to Jordan and I had this like incredible trip planned, and then the war started because I'd planned the trip before the war.

And I was really back and forth if I should go or not. And then I was still gonna go and then they canceled my flight. And so I was like, okay, this is like a sign. So I ended up going to Iceland in March and I just, the weather was horrible. Mm-hmm. Like it wasn't even, it was raining the whole time. Yeah.

Like I got, like, when I was on the glacier, tribes got down poured. Oh. Um, I tried to go to, I can't pronounce. At all, any Icelandic names, but there was a peninsula I was trying to go to. I had an Airbnb there and I got caught in like a horrible white out snowstorm. I had to turn around and go back like it was really bad.

Yeah. Like it was dangerous. I got stuck on a snowbank and I had to cold to [00:36:00] truck. 

Becky: Oh no.

Amber: When if you go to Iceland, you probably saw the Specky, the rental cars. I'll have like on the dashboard, like how to call the tow trucks.

Yeah, it was also pre Mercury retrograde, so I don't know what was going on, but, um, yeah, and I just, I felt like it was so over touristy too. I didn't really like that. Everywhere I went were just like busloads and bust loads of tourists, so yeah. But I'm so glad I went. 

Becky: Mm-hmm. 

Amber: I don't think I've had anything really horrible happen.

I think Turkey was difficult too because, um, that's one of the, that, that in India that I've been to where they will actively sort of try to rip you off. So several times I got in a cab and they started taking me the wrong place and luckily I had a Turkish friend who would call and yell at them because they were trying to rack up the meter.

Yeah. By driving me around. So, so, yeah, it's always good to have local friends where if you're going somewhere. Okay. So to wrap [00:37:00] up, I have two questions for you guys. So, if you, if you know it, what is your, what is your country count, how many countries slash states have you been to, and where is your next travel destination?

Kristen: I have no idea. That'd be a fun exercise. 

Becky: Yeah. I don't know. My country count. Next place I wanna go. Kristen has me wanting to go to Japan. And I also wanna do Azores, so 

Amber: Oh yeah. Hit me up before you go. 'cause I have detailed notes about my trip there.

Becky: Nice.

Kristen: I signed up to go back to Morocco in the fall. 

Becky: Yay. 

Kristen: Because I loved it so much and I have a friend who like, loved my pictures and loved hearing about it, so she's gonna go with me. And small groups are a great way to travel with friends too, because then nobody has to be in charge. What else am I working on?

Uh, we're going to the big island in a couple months for two weeks. 

Amber: Cool. Amazing. You're, are you going with your husband? 

Kristen: I am, yeah. I've, um, been doing a lot of solo trips, so it's time to [00:38:00] 

Amber: let him come 

Kristen: do a little shared trip. Yep. 

Amber: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I'm uh, I'm doing a little weekend mini trip to Oregon 'cause I have to go for work.

So my partner's gonna come with me. We're doing a little coast trip and then Scotland plant. We're gonna stop in London 'cause one of my best friends lives there. So I wanna see her and he's never been. And then, like I said, I think my next solo trip will be Bhutan. So I'll see when that happens, which has been on my list forever.

And I'm like, it's finally time to just go. 

Kristen: Yeah. 

Amber: Um, and by time you can't just go by yourself, you have to go with a tour group, so. Okay. Or with a tour company, I should say. 

Kristen: The Oregon coast is one of my favorite places in the world. 

Amber: Yeah. I'm excited. I, I've been out to Oregon a couple times, but I've never done the coast, so that'll be a little weekend getaway, which will be fun.

Becky: Nice. 

Amber: Well, thank you so much for joining me. I loved hearing your stories and meeting you, and I'm hoping that what we talked about will inspire women listening to this to go out in there and just, just do it, like you said, Becky. 

Kristen: Yeah. Mm-hmm. All right. Nice to [00:39:00] meet you. Good to see you, Becky. 

Becky: Thanks having us.

Good to see you too, Kristen.