How to pick the best travel tour for you

Women buy most of the travel in the US, women do 60-65% of all adventure travel and women under 40 and over 60 are the two fastest growing groups of solo travelers. Women are a hotel’s most profitable client- so say hoteliers! So with all this attention, why is it still so hard for a woman to choose a tour?

There has always been confusion about how to choose travel, but with the onset of the internet, many women are too overloaded with choices and dilemmas. Travel companies of differing quality appear the same. Ease of website navigation can influence the choice of trip. Deal mentality, fueled by frequent flyer mileage mania, has us looking at the deal instead of the destination. FAQ sections on websites do not tell women what we need to know. Finally when solo women click on an affordable dream trip: a huge single supplement surcharge ruins it.  

So how are we to choose a tour appropriate for us as women?

Here are tips from one tour operator who happens to be a woman and who takes solo tours for her own personal vacations.

Look at the people in the tour company’s photos. If they are older, younger, fitter, or fancier than you, don’t go! Women feel more comfortable if the group is less than 20. We like to make friends not be part of a moving mob. If a brochure shows a large group standing in front of the bus, rethink your choice. If it sports a couple dancing on the terrace, re-think again!  An all woman trip is one answer to going it alone.

Check what is included in the trip.  Optional time means you will be on your own! Free time on days out can mean you get stranded. Example: you have completed the morning tour of Venice and the guide says , ”Now is your optional lunch and free time until we leave at 5 p.m.” To a woman this means lunch on her own in a lovely but unfamiliar city and an afternoon where she cannot even retreat to her hotel.

Safety is more important to women than for men, due to more than physical strength differences. We wear too much jewelry and carry loaded purses, which in turn make us more vulnerable. We are sometimes too polite when accosted by strangers. The best street stance is a confident walk, for a woman who is dressed down, with NO jewelry and a fanny pack tucked into her belt. Women should walk with valuables away from the street. If a stranger approaches, forget your mother’s coaching, and do not be polite. (CONTINUE...)