Thinking about your first solo trip but not quite ready to do it completely alone? Here is why a small group of women can be a gentler way to start, at any age.
2026-07-31
The nerves are normal Almost every woman who joins one of our tours for the first time tells us some version of the same thing: they nearly did not book. Travelling alone, even to join a group once you arrive, can feel like a bigger decision than it should. That hesitation is completely normal, and it usually disappears within the first day. Why a small group works so well for first-time solo travellers You do not need to know anyone before you arrive. Everyone in the group has made the same decision to travel alone and meet the rest of the group there, so nobody is the odd one out. The group itself stays small, usually 8 to 10 women, which means conversations happen naturally rather than being forced. There is always someone to sit with at dinner, and always someone happy to hang back if you would rather walk slowly and take photos. Safe, well-paced travel for women in their sixties and beyond A lot of the women who travel with us are well past the backpacker stage of life and are not looking for one. What they want is genuinely safe group travel that still moves at a pace that suits them: shorter driving blocks, comfortable accommodation, and a host who has actually done the trip before and knows where the good coffee and the clean bathrooms are. Age is never a barrier here. If anything, our groups skew toward women who have finally got the time to do the trip they have been putting off for years. What changes once you arrive Most first-timers say the same thing by day two: the trip stopped feeling like something they did alone the moment they walked in. That is by design. Our Maleny retreat in particular is a gentle starting point if you want a shorter, closer-to-home first trip before committing to a longer tour interstate. Ready to take the leap? Have a look at our small group tours for women , or get in touch if you would rather talk it through first. Plenty of women who are now regulars started with exactly that email.