The Real Reason You Haven’t Booked the Trip
You tell yourself it’s money. Or the calendar. Or that you’re waiting on a friend to say yes. But talk to enough women who’ve been putting a trip off for years, and the obstacle is rarely any of those. It’s waiting: for the right season, the right companion, the right version of yourself.
I know, because I did it too. I wanted to go snowboarding. Nobody I knew could come, and I didn’t feel comfortable making the drive to Vermont on my own. The easy answer was to stay home and wait for a better setup. Instead, I booked a seat on a bus for a day trip, by myself. I didn’t want to sit at home.
Not me snowboarding on a blue bird powder day
That was the whole reason. I wasn’t being brave. I just stopped letting a missing companion decide whether I went.
You’re in good company. Women now make up the majority of solo travelers, according to Virtuoso’s 2025 travel trends report.
If you’re waiting for someone to say yes first, you don’t have to. A solo trip isn’t a smaller version of the trip. It’s yours: your pace, your plan, your call on when to head in and when to take one more run. And if the logistics are what’s stopping you, the drive, the planning, the not knowing where to start, those can be solved. Start smaller than you think. A day trip counts.
You don’t need permission, a travel buddy, or the version of yourself that feels ready. You need a seat.
