Solo Travel: 'Women Only' Holidays

Elizabeth Gilbert has done more for Hinduism, spirituality and travel in India than Jack Kerouac or William Dalrymple. Her year-long journey to three destinations, Italy, Indonesia and India, resulted in a book called ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, a wildly successful travelogue-slash-memoir that found takers the world over. “Pray”, the second part of the story highlights India’s spirituality, compassion and serenity, which has brought a tidal wave of women tourists to India in the last couple of years. One woman’s journey from a lacklustre life where every convenience was within reach but happiness seemed a world away, to a life of connecting with oneself, introspection and “spiritual travel” that India is famous for won the hearts of women the world over, with thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, seeking to replicate Gilbert’s experience, with a hope for spiritual nirvana.

Where it struck a chord the most was she was a single woman, on a (mostly) fearless journey through foreign lands.

Not only has this contributed to tremendous interest in India as a spiritual haven, but also as a travel destination beyond the popular advertisements and slogans of “Atithi Devo Bhava” for women travellers. But even as more and more foreign women are making their way to our country to get an intimate sense of our rich culture and heritage, Indian women struck by wanderlust are also finding a reason to rejoice.

Gone are the days of women venturing out of their thresholds to new destinations accompanied by families or husbands. Enterprising women have realised the need for women-only tours, offering all the excitement and delight that travel brings minus the trappings of safety concerns and similar concerns that every single woman traveller has to address before deciding to put on her travelling shoes.

Many independent women as well as serious travel enthusiasts now offer custom-made travel plans to women travellers interested in solo travel or small groups of women, travelling with friends or without, with all the details and minutiae planned out at the very outset, so as to avoid pitfalls during the journey.

Most such women-only tour packages usually accommodate not more than 15-20 women in one group, so an elaborate amount of planning goes into each, months before the actual trip. While this may, on the surface, seem to be fairly constricting to the woman traveller (after all, isn’t travel more fun when it’s spur of the moment?) to commit to a tour months in advance with a non-refundable deposit, the pluses far outweigh this little niggling concern.

For one, the traveller can go through a slew of options before deciding on the one that suits her best. She can coordinate with her friend/s who might be willing to go along with her. She can connect with her fellow travellers much before the trip to break the ice. She can do research on the various destination/itinerary options, talk to the trip coordinators and take her time to decide. She can start off with a short trip to get better acquainted with the coordinating team and then choose to opt for longer trips. Since women usually have apprehensions on many of these points, the time between committing to a trip and embarking on the journey actually work in favour of the traveller.

And since many of these outfits or teams usually run a boutique service of interacting with the traveller and designing or recommending a tour that suits her preferences and needs, it’s usually a win-win situation for all involved.

Depending on the region, travellers are usually asked to arrive at a common point, usually a metropolis or big city, where all women on that particular trip converge and head out. Tour fares usually include transport (minus to and fro to the converging point), accommodation, all meals (beverages and indulgences extra) and travel insurance, if from outside India. What the fares don’t include are your shopping and personal expenses (but of course!) and some meals, based on the accommodation venues.

These trips offer the single woman traveller a chance to explore unknown worlds without fear or restraint, coupled with the cosiness of travelling with a small, specialized group of similar-minded women (at least from the single woman traveller angle, if nothing else) in a fun and stress-free environment. And it’s not all sightseeing and souvenir shopping – there are various adventure trips like hiking trips, nature sports like mountaineering and trekking, wildlife photography, etc., for the adventurous spirit; getaways to soothing lands with rippling waters and picturesque relaxation spots for the overworked urbanite; sandy beaches, ocean sports and golden sunsets for the sea lover; spiritual trips to some of India’s most famous temples and centuries-old historically significant sites for the knowledge-hungry tourist, just to name a few.

Travel in India is such a big thing now that there are many foreign-born women entrepreneurs running their own small little business of conducting fortnight-long expeditions in North and South India for their countrywomen. With the trend of women-only holidays catching up fast in India, looks like India has arrived on the world travel map for global women tourists.