From Giggling Through Cairo to Leading 30+ Solo Travel Retreats

Most women have a definition of solo travel in their head, and it's usually the thing keeping them from taking the trip they dream of. If solo means handling every unknown by yourself with no one to call on, of course you're not booking the trip. 

Gina Cambridge built her business as a travel coach on the gap between that definition and what solo travel can actually look like.

In this episode of Freedom Looks Like this, we talk about solo travel retreats within a group tour and how that still counts. Gina has led over 30 retreats and tours across destinations like New Zealand, Bali, and Cuba. We also get into safety abroad and the difference between what the news tells you about a place and what living there actually feels like.

In this episode:

• Group tours that still count as solo
• Snoring, single rooms, and matchmaking
• The bunk bed that led to Bali
• Lunch with the phone put away
• Cairo, giggling, and going alone
• The family beach day and permission

This episode is for you if:

• you are curious about taking a group trip
• you've considered a group tour but worried about choosing the right one
• you're an introvert who wonders how anyone is supposed to make friends on the road, especially with everyone glued to their phones
• you've taken solo trips before and want to try different approaches

Resources mentioned:

• Gina Cambridge's free guide to Fearless Solo Travel
• Wanderlust Solo Women Tours
• Gina's podcast Wanderlust Solo Women Travel "Unscripted" on YouTube
• Gina on Instagram: @wanderlust_momentum and @wanderlust_travel_coach
• Gina on LinkedIn
• Gina on Facebook

About Freedom Looks Like This:

Freedom Looks Like This is a podcast for women over 40 who want to travel solo, or who already do, and want to go deeper. Host Damianne President explores self-trust, decision-making, and what it actually takes to stop waiting and start moving. New episodes every Wednesday. For solo female travelers, midlife women, and anyone who suspects that the real barrier isn't logistics.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You probably have a definition of solo travel in your head. And I'd be willing to bet that definition is part of what's keeping you from going on that trip. Because if solo means you have to handle every unknown, speak every language, eat every meal in silence without anyone to call on. Spend every moment all by yourself. That's not really a definition that invites you in. Today's guest built her whole business on the gap between that definition and what solo travel can actually look like. Most women think solo travel is about being brave or fearless. But it's really about letting go of the expectations holding you in place. This show is about what changes when you stop waiting and take yourself seriously. Starting with intentional travel. I'm Demi Ann, and this is Freedom Looks Like This. Let's get started. Today I have Gina Cambridge with me. Gina is an ICF certified travel coach, travel experience host, and founder of the Wonderlust Solo Women Tours and Wanderlust Travel Coaching. After her own transformational travel experience later in life, she built a business focused on helping women gain confidence, connection, and independence through purposeful travel. She has led over 30 retreats and tours across destinations, including New Zealand, Bali, and Cuba, supporting hundreds of women in stepping into solo travel in a structured, supported way. Her work centers on using travel as a catalyst for confidence, self-discovery, and meaningful connection. Gina, thank you for joining me on Freedom Looks Like This. I really wanted to chat with you today because I think often when people think about solo travel, they think it's just one thing. And they also think that it means they have to do everything. But I know from chatting with you and from my own travels that it can look lots of different ways and there are lots of different entry points. So could you tell me a little bit about what you do and about your trips?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah, I I love where you're wanting to share how there are different ways travel looks. There's just not one sort, and especially like we were talking about solo travel and how different that can look for different people. For me personally, I do a lot of solo travel, but I quite often join groups, especially when it comes to countries I haven't been to before. So that looks like for me traveling there solo, joining a tour group for say a week or something, so I get familiar with the country and then having free time by myself at the end. And what I do now is facilitate similar things for other women because I found that that was the experience for me. So now I create group trips for women where they can come along as solo travelers. Sometimes they come with friends, but most of them are solo travelers, and it gives them an opportunity to navigate the whole solo travel experience for the first time, but also do it in a supportive community. So yes, you are traveling solo to me. If you hop on a plane by yourself, even if you join a group tour, to me it's still solo travel. You've just got that blanket of a support crew around you when you're traveling in a group.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Yeah, and like the first time I heard about group travel, I think a friend of mine was going on a tour in Europe. And she was going on one of those contique tours where every night they were traveling by bus and in a new country, and I was like, oh my goodness, that sounds way too busy. So I know some people have that impression, but there are lots of different types of groups as well. What attracts you personally to a group trip? And I'm curious, what's your group like?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

I can remember doing a thing it was called Bus About through Europe, but it followed the Contie route. So we were the groups behind the contickie. And yeah, they were crazy party people. That wasn't us. So I'd write a list of what you want out of your travel experience. Your likes and your dislikes. I look for companies that have really small group sizes, so like under 16 people, because I think once you get into those huge groups, you just become a blur. Smaller groups allow for spontaneity and flexibility. I try to look for tour companies too that have a good ethos around sustainability, local communities, and being ethical. Budget does come into it. I often recommend paying that little bit extra for a private room. Look for tour companies that have no single supplements because that just gives you a bit of privacy and space. The trips I supply, I get to meet virtually and connect with every single guest. If you're in a twin share room, I make sure I match people up. I do a little bit of a matchmaking process with the solo travelers. So you're not a booking, you're actually a real person. I really get to know you and understand your fears and your apprehensions. It's a real touchy subject, but I bring up snoring because it's better just to have it out in the open. And it's better to say, if you're a snorer, let me know. Because then maybe I suggest you have a private room. Yeah. Or maybe I put earplugs on everybody's pillows.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

One time I was in Vietnam and I had booked this store on Habaito Long Bay, and there was a single supplement. I noticed that actually the price for one person ended up being not that much different from the price for two people. But at that point, I was like, I have challenged myself enough on this trip. I went to my own room and I was very happy that I did that. And then there's been other trips. Like sometimes when I go to conferences, I will share a room with somebody and I may not have met them. But it just depends, like you said, on knowing what we are here for? Are we both like-minded? And so if you're in certain communities, you can get to know about people, even though you haven't met them face to face. And then, like you said, if there's somebody like you who's really careful about the trip, they can help you find somebody that is a good match. So it's good to know that people have all those different options available to them.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

And I think for women who are listening who might be thinking of taking a solo trip or a solo plus group trip for the first time, what does it take to be ready? Because that often comes up when women think, oh, I'm not ready.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Yeah. So I always say travel with no expectations, because then you're never disappointed. So do your research, be logical about what you're looking for, but don't go down the rabbit holes because then that can induce anxieties for some people. I think it's really important to know that you are capable of doing it. I think that's first and foremost, if you've never solo traveled, yes you can do it. You manage so many things, especially as women, in your day-to-day life, and all those skills are transferable into having a solo trip. And I know safety comes up a lot, also that people worry about their safety abroad. The most common thing you can use, and it doesn't cost anything, is your common sense and intuition. Trust it. But don't be fearful. There's a lot of fears that are induced by media and other things on social media that other places are dangerous. As long as you use your common sense, you don't do silly things that you wouldn't do at home. I wouldn't put that fear in front of anything and making it stop you go anywhere. I mean, I've been to places, especially in the Middle East, and I've felt safer there than I do in my own backyard. So be aware of those things, but put a lot of them aside and just look at the end goal, the amazing experience you're gonna have and the things you're gonna learn and the growth you're gonna have and the experiences and the people that you're gonna meet and focus on that.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

I also recommend talking to people who have recently been there or people who are there if you have that opportunity, because often what we see, that single story that we see, is not the full experience. So, even for example, I wouldn't go now, but I lived in Sudan from 2005 to 2009. And at that time it was during the Darfur War. But I lived in Khartoum and I didn't see any signs of this in my day-to-day. And part of why I took a job in Sudan was because people told me that the people are nice in Khartoum. And that was exactly what I found. And so it's very interesting sometimes that there is a difference between government and the people, and even between people as a group, versus the experience you'll have one-on-one.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah, quite often in social media chat groups or Facebook or something, you'll see someone ask a question and then there's a thread of answers. Those answers are from that particular person's perspective and experience. That doesn't mean it's gonna be yours. So I think what you said about asking someone who lives there or has been there recently is so important because just because someone had a bad experience doesn't mean you're gonna have a bad experience.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

I'll give an example for listeners. So maybe you're looking on Google and you find a restaurant or you find a place to stay. And there can be anything between one star to five stars, right? For the same place. And I love to read the three-star ones, or even sometimes the one-star ones, because they'll be like, oh, I expected there's to be 10 hooks and there were only five, and I'm like, I don't care about hooks. So to me, that's a non-issue. I actually do happen to care about hooks, but anyway, it's not the point. The point is that really when you look into the details, so it's not just, oh, this was an awful place. It's oh, this was an awful place because they sat me in the back of the restaurant and I couldn't really see the singer or the pianist that I came for. So really dig into the details of why people are giving those uh broad ratings, and then you'll know, oh, is that something that matters to me or not? Because it might not. So, what might people be surprised to learn about a group trip? Maybe I'm putting you on the spot there, but is there anything that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Yeah, 100%. For me personally, it's the friendships you'll make. So my best friends have been my roommates when I've picked a twin share room. One of them, Andrea, I met her in Turkey. I was doing a group tour in Turkey. She actually wasn't my roommate, she had her own room. But we end up besties. That was ten years ago now. And we're still in contact. We try and meet up all over the world. Another girl I met, and we were actually in dorm room together in a hostel, and she was the bunk above me. We became the best friends, and she's actually the reason I ended up going to Bali in the first place because she was traveling around Southeast Asia. Um, I had the funniest roommate in Cuba when I went on the tour that I was with there. So be really open-minded because you never know who you will meet. And these people quite often, if in my day-to-day life, I probably wouldn't have built friendships with them because our paths wouldn't have crossed. To me, yeah, it's those friendships that you could make. And then that opens the world up to you because then if you're, say, traveling to England and one of those people was from England, they go, Come and stay with me for a while, or you might have met someone from Germany or New Zealand or anywhere, and then you get the opportunity to go and stay with these people, and that's just uh icing on the cape.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Yeah. And I'm sure some people who are listening are introverts, like I am, and they're like, How do you even make that happen? Because I have had that question lots of times, and I've traveled a lot, and I have suddenly met people, but I don't make friends very easily. For example, in my case, a couple of years ago I went to Strasbourg in France, and I met this woman on the plane. I kind of felt bad for the guy sitting in the middle because we were talking over him for the whole flight. And then we got to Strasbourg and we were like, okay, let's meet for dinner. So we met for dinner, we had a lovely conversation. She left the next day, I carried on with my travels. We exchanged contacts. And I actually think if we lived in the same city, we would hang out and we would maybe build a friendship. But I think that might be the difference between just meeting on a one-off versus spending a kind of more sustained amount of time with somebody. And I also think that those casual experiences are great because what happened from meeting her was we ended up going to this local restaurant that she knew of. She's French, so she had certain standards of the restaurants she would choose. And then she was very comfortable asking a couple who had space at their table, can we sit with them? Yeah. And we sat and met this lovely couple. One was actually a space scientist, which, like a rocket scientist, and the other one, I don't remember what his job was, but it was so interesting. And that wouldn't have happened if I was all by myself. I wouldn't have felt so comfortable. So I do think that even those casual experiences where you talk to somebody, you take that moment of connection really can enrich the trip.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

100%. And you're not always going to make deep, meaningful relationships with people you encounter while you travel. If it happens, that's amazing. But again, that's that no expectations thing. I am a little bit of an introvert too, so I totally get it. It's not something I suppose you could say that came naturally for me. But the people I've met, I think like calls to like. And when, like you said, you spend a longer bit of time together, you have that time to build those friendships. But in saying that, I think those chance encounters, like you had, and I've had a few, it might have only been for an afternoon or an hour, but they're super special, and I still remember them.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

It's interesting because I've been traveling for a long time, but I don't think I was always open to those interactions as much as I've been in recent years, because they've been happening more and more. And I'm sure it was always available, but I didn't notice, so I didn't pick up on it because I was maybe reading my book or a little bit more insular. So it really depends what kind of trip you want. And sometimes you want to tune in completely and read your book or just be in your own world. And that's definitely one type of travel. There's another type of travel where you want to be open to whatever happens. And I have friends like that who are always looking around, like, what's the opportunity here? Or do you want to go in a group and have some solo time and some group time? There are so many different variations, which is really what I want people to take away from hearing our conversation today.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Someone put a post in a group about she was an older woman, stayed in hostels for many years, and this is my experience, found them a great place to connect with people, make friends, and go on outings. But this last trip she did to Europe, she found this experience totally different. And she wondered if it's because everybody's on their devices. And I have noticed this where back in the day, I don't want to use the word force, but you are encouraged to converse. You could be sitting in a lobby and everybody's on their phone. So you're not even catching each other's eye. So it is harder to start that conversation. So I'd really encourage people to put their phones down for a while and you'd be surprised the opportunities that might be open to you.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Think about it. Even when you're out with somebody and you've put your phone away, once they take out their phone, you feel it's a license for you to take out your phone too. Like it's just a downhill spiral from there. I really think that's a very good point because you create some of the conditions too by making what is normal or not in a situation. For women who go on trips with you, what do you think they find surprising or what do you notice happens over the course of a trip for different types of women?

SPEAKER_00 17:05

A transformation, a positive one. There's a lot of stuff going on in people's lives. There's trauma and loss and hard work with multiple jobs and families and kids, and there's a lot going on. And I think when they come away and have that space and time to breathe, they really get a chance to reconnect with themselves, like their true self. And I know that definitely happens for me. I become I say a different person when I travel, but I actually think it's who I actually am, if that makes sense. So a lot of women who come on my experiences, they have a massive release. They start to view their lives a little bit differently back home and how they can transform their lives, maybe start doing art again or reading or cycling or something for themselves because they've been so concentrating on other people. I think one of the huge transformations is also confidence building. They've gone on to their own solo adventures by themselves. And I feel like a proud mama bird when they push their babies out of the nest when that happens. That's actually my favorite thing. My Bailey trips right at the end. So I've nurtured them along all the way, and then on the last day it's a free day, and they're all making their own plans to go and do things. And that's a really proud moment for me because they're obviously confident now to go and do that stuff themselves. And that's the end goal for me. I find that really rewarding.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Do you have people who do repeat trips with you?

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Yeah. I'm heading off to Bali on the 22nd of May this month. And it's really interesting because other than one of them, they've all traveled on a retreat before. So these are ladies that have come together as strangers, have formed friendships, and this is for some of them their third trip together. Which I think is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

I think that's great, especially because I have friends that I have traveled with in the past, and I have friends that I continue to travel with. Of course, people will have different things going on in their lives, but my dream is to have three or four friends where there's a stand-in yearly trip and we'll opt in and opt out, but you can always be to come if you can, kind of a thing. I think that would be awesome. Yeah, travel drop-ins. Exactly. I also love it when my friends are friends with each other. Can you think about your first solo trip? Do you remember what that was like?

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Yes. My very first solo trip, so I was in my late 30s. So I had traveled a lot as a child, but this is as an adult, this is my big first proper solo adventure. And I did go and join a group trip. So I'm from New Zealand, from a very small town. And my first solo adventure was to Egypt. I can remember arriving in Cairo. We've got five and a half million people in all of New Zealand. And then when you arrive into Cairo, and I think there's what 20 million? I can't, it's something ridiculous. And when I get nervous, I get the giggles. And this is when they had the black and white taxis, and they're all beat up. I can't remember what sort they are. And just navigating the streets to get to my hotel. And I was so nervous I just couldn't stop giggling. Again, that was my first group tour. And that would have been 17 years ago. Trying to do quick math in my head. Anyway, I'm still in contact with some of those people. It truly was a trip that changed my life in the way I viewed the world, viewed people. It gave me so much. It was a whirlwind, crazy experience. It was really interesting about being closed off to certain things because I can remember one incident. Do you have a lot of people trying to sell you stuff and they're hassling you quite a bit? And I got quite over it. And we were going into a temple and this man was trying to get my attention. And I said in Arabic, no, go away, because I'd learnt how to say bat. And the girls that was on the tour with me, they said, he's just asking for your ticket. I had shut myself off a bit, I was just so overwhelmed.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Well, that is one way to do it, right? Because, like my first big overseas trip, I moved to India. And then I was like, after this, I can do just about anything. Oh my God, yeah. I mean, I know other people where sometimes a big trip like that has really been too overwhelming and too much for the nervous system, and the opposite thing happens where it's a bit of a shutdown. So it really is important to think what are you ready for? What do you actually want on the trip? So, for the woman who is listening and she's thinking about her first solo trip, what are a couple of places that you think are a good introduction? And I know that's not really a fair question because it really depends on lots of things. But just tell me how you think about that.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

To really start off, if you've never done anything like this by yourself, start local. You don't need to travel thousands of miles. Start taking yourself out for dinner by yourself, for lunch by yourself. Join a day tour in your local region. Just to get to that sense of being comfortable in your own skin around people and being alone, especially eating. A lot of people really fear dining out alone. Then there's a lot of considerations, I think. Your time, so how much time you can have away, your budget obviously is extremely important. And your location, you're in the northern hemisphere, I'm in the southern. So it's what you feel comfortable, maybe something that's only four hours away. So worst case scenario, you just jump on a plane home. And start small in a country where English, if you're an English speaker, is a really popular second language, so you're not going to a country also that's totally foreign in that sense. And just start small. And do things like free walking tours. Whenever I go to a new city, I always do a free walking tour. And they're a great way to navigate a new town and meet people.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

In recent years, I've done a few free walking tours, and one of the things I really like about those two is the local who's doing the tour tends to be very passionate about some elements of their city. Sometimes the architecture, sometimes the food. And so it's really a great way to get an insider's perspective of a city too, in addition to the connections you may make on the tour. So I definitely second that suggestion. I do want to go back to the whole idea of confidence and self-trust because I think those are big parts of being able to take a solo trip. So one thing I'm curious about is how does a woman do this? Or how do you see that done by women when they're on a group tour?

SPEAKER_00 24:18

When I took my first real big trip where I went away backpacking for eight months, I didn't have any confidence. So I left quite nervous and had lots of anxiety. I wasn't very confident. Again, like you said earlier, it's not for everybody, but I think for me, throwing myself in the deep end, it's a sink or swim situation. And it definitely built my confidence. So it's just like anything, like any muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets. And that's the saying when it comes to solo, the more you do it, the more confident you will get. And then everything else comes from that. I think trusting your intuition is really important and listening. In life in general, I think we need to really lean into listening to our own instincts because women have amazing instincts and really trusting them. If something doesn't feel right, if you don't feel safe, remove yourself and trust what your body is trying to tell you.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Yeah, and I think along with that comes permission. How do you give yourself permission for certain things? I think I've talked about it before that my family is planning a group trip. And it's the first time I'm traveling with them as a family. They've all traveled together before. And so I'm thinking, how am I gonna navigate it when everybody else wants to do something and I don't? I know, for example, everybody will want to go spend a day at the beach. That is not one of the things that I find relaxing or rejuvenating. I do not like sand, even though I'm from the Caribbean. And so what I would like is to go to the beach for maybe an hour or two and then read my book. And it's okay if I read my book near the beach, away from the sun and the sand, and enjoy a coconut. I think there'll be coconuts where we're going. So how do I have the conversations with the people I'm with in a way that honors them and honors me, and that all of us gets what we want from the trip. I'm curious what's your experience of this?

SPEAKER_00 26:25

Whether you're traveling with a family or if you're just traveling with a friend, you don't have to do everything together. But being really mindful, I always say to my groups, especially a bunch of strangers coming together, we're here together for a week, be really mindful of the things you talk about. So politics and religion, I usually say they're a no-go zone. And just be mindful, kind, empathetic, supportive to those people that are with you for that week. And if everybody does that, usually things are pretty good. Sometimes it's easier said than done. And I think, like you said, having those times where you can take yourself off and be by yourself if you need that is really important. If you're traveling with a good friend, have that conversation before you go. You might not have all exactly the same interests, and that's okay. Have that talk about I might want to go to a museum today. I know you want to go do the adventure park. Maybe we'd on that one day you go and do that, and I'll go and do this, and we'll do something together the next day. Have those conversations before you go because you don't want to fall out while you're away on holiday. And I do hear friends falling out when they're away on holiday. And it could be someone you've known for a very long time. And it doesn't mean they're not your friend anymore. It just means maybe you're not good travel companions. That's all.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

I do think you can become a better travel companion, whether you're traveling with somebody you know or you go on a solo trip and you meet people. There are so many different factors. And for me, what I've found is one of the most important factors is clarifying with my friend. And so when we have fought, it's because I have a certain expectation of how she will behave, and she has one about how I will behave, but neither of us bothered telling the other one what that expectation was, or agreeing to that expectation either. So I think that's so important when you like put things on the table. I shared a room with a woman and she said, I'm an introvert. Sometimes I'm going to need some quiet, like I'm not a big talker, and so I'm happy to have a chat, but you might see sometimes that I'm getting tired or something and don't take it personally. That was really useful. And for me, I don't want a lot of noise in the morning. So if we're sharing a room and you wake up and you want me to have a full-blown conversation as soon as I wake up, I'm not gonna be very happy. And so, really, just already starting with that information right off the bat and letting people know what's your operator's manual is what we call it at work. But really, how do you like to be treated and how do you like to treat others and finding a place where everybody can be happy with that? I think that's so important.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

I have a travel of profile, I get all my guests to fill out. I can't ask certain questions because obviously that's your privacy, but I leave a area there to let the guests say if there's anything they want to share with me. And I find this really, really important. I know it's a bit hard, but not a lot of tour groups do it because if you've got ADHD or you're neurodivergent, it really helps me to create a better trip for you. Because then I know to maybe give you a little bit more time or to explain things more clearly. So I really encourage those out there not to be worried about these things, but to actually articulate them because if people know that, then they know, like you said, maybe not to engage with you too much in the morning or to give you a bit of space when you need it.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Yeah, I remember sitting beside somebody at an event once at dinner, and it was very noisy. It was a big hall. Everybody else was talking at the table, and he was sitting alone, and I thought, oh, like we're ignoring him. And so I said, Oh, hi, how are you? Like, how are you feeling today? or something like that. And then he said, Oh, I'm really overstimulated right now because I'm neurodivergent and there is way too much noise. And I was like, Okay, would you just prefer to sit here quietly? He said, Yes. And I knew, okay, he's not feeling left out. Because sometimes we do act in ways because we care about others, right? And so it is of course important when you're part of a group to be considerate to other people and also to respect their preferences. We talk a lot about what happens on the trip and even what happens before the trip. What happens after the trip? Is there anything people should consider?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

I really encourage people to try and bring that feeling that they've had while they're away back home. Or really look at why they felt like they did while they're away and why they don't feel like that at home. I always ask my coaching clients, why are you wanting this trip? What's the feeling you want to have? Now that feeling, why aren't you getting that in your current situations? Maybe it's just taking more time for yourself. Like you said, giving yourself permission, I think that's really relevant. And not analyzing yourself, but just taking notice of yourself when you come back home. If you change and you may be more stressed again, what's going on that's making those things happen? Having that trip away gives you that perspective to see those two sides of things.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

Gina, it's been so great to talking with you. Where can people learn more about your work? Tell us where to find you.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

You can find me on the website WonderlessSoloWomenTours.com, and Wonderless starts with everything. So Wonderless Solo Women Travel Unscripted Podcast, which I can't wait to have your interview on soon. Wonderless Momentum and Wonderlust Travel Coaching on Instagram and Facebook. I've got a free guide to fearless solo travel. I've got a lot of tips and perspectives on those first steps to take to make you have a fearless solo adventure.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

And that link will also be in the show notes. Now, in every episode, I like to give people something concrete, some action they can take. Do you have an invitation for listeners or something that they can do, whether they're just starting their first solo trip or their next solo trip?

SPEAKER_00 33:10

There's two things actually. For those that have never taken a solo trip, I'd like you to take yourself out for lunch by yourself and not pick up your phone. And those that go traveling a bit, I would like you to take yourself out for lunch at a cafe and also put your phone down and see what opportunities come your way.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

That's a good one. That's good for me too. I think the next level for me is to leave my phone at home, but just even doing that more often where I don't pick up the phone at lunch or when I'm alone. That would be a great challenge. So thank you. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

What has travel done for you in your life? We touched earlier on it building my confidence. I came out of a relationship breakdown, and that's when I went on my first big solo adventure. So it rebuilt my self-confidence and self-esteem, and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. There's no way I'd be on this podcast with you without travel. So I've been able to connect. I've been able to grow. I'm 55 this month. The things I've learned, and I'm continually learning. Every new destination, just like you, I'm sure, it teaches you something new. So every travel experience is an opportunity for growth.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Yeah. And sometimes you have to learn those things over and over again. Some of us do. Well, thank you so much, Gina. Happy early birthday. And then you have a ballet trip coming up. So hope you have a great trip. Thank you so much. I'm really excited. The women Gina mentioned, you know, the ones on that third trip together, they didn't come back because the retreat was good. I'm sure the retreat was good, but they came back because they found something that satisfied them. Maybe they learned something about themselves on the first trip that they wanted more of. And you don't find that out by waiting until you feel ready. You find it out by going on the trip. Thanks for spending time with me today. If something in this episode resonated, choose one small action and try it in whatever way feels doable for you. And if you want the simplest place to start, come and join us in My School Community. That's a place where you can build momentum and get support for your first or your next solo travel adventure.