No Travel Companion? You're in Good Company.

For many of us, there comes a moment when we no longer have a travel companion. A partner who has passed away. A close friend whose health has changed. Women you've always travelled with who now have different priorities, different budgets, or simply different ideas of what a good holiday looks like.

And with that comes uncertainty. Not about whether you want to travel — you do. But about whether you can do it alone. Whether it would feel lonely. Whether it would even be enjoyable.

If that's where you are right now, this is for you.

Why you might not have a travel companion — and why that's okay

It's rarely a single reason. Maybe you've been waiting for someone to say yes, and the years have passed. Maybe the friends you'd normally travel with are no longer able to. Maybe your circumstances have simply changed. Whatever brought you here, you're in good company. On most of our tours, at least half the group is travelling alone. Some are doing it for the first time. Others have been coming back solo for years. The difference between travelling alone and feeling alone is real — and it's exactly what a small, guided women's group is designed for. What happens when you arrive

The first contact usually happens before you've even reached the trailhead. You're sitting next to someone in the vehicle on the way there. You start talking, sometimes because you're curious, sometimes just because it feels natural.

By the time you stop for lunch, you already know a little about each other. On a mixed group tour, it can feel different. You might wonder whether you fit in, whether others have their own pairs and groups already, whether you'll feel like the fifth wheel. Those are real and understandable concerns — for a mixed group.

In a group of women travelling together, it tends to work differently. Most women arrive on their own, and even those who come with a friend quickly become part of the wider group.

Everyone is just herself — and that changes the dynamic from the first hour.

By the end of day two, you'd be hard pressed to remember who arrived knowing whom.

Something you might not expect

One of the things that surprises women most — and it comes up again and again — is how much more quickly and deeply you get to know people when you're travelling on your own.

When you're part of a couple, you're often seen as part of a unit. Others approach you differently. You gravitate back to your familiar person. The conversations stay shallower for longer.

When you arrive alone, others see you as an individual. You're more open, more present, more curious. And so are they. Friendships that might take months in normal life can feel surprisingly real after just a few days on the road together.

It's not something we promise — but it's something we see, consistently, on almost every tour.

You're still you — just somewhere new

When you're not with your usual friends or partner, you don't have to perform your usual role. Nobody here knows that you're always the organised one, or the one who gets nervous on hills, or the one who always defers to someone else's preference.

You can try being different. Walk at your own pace. Choose the window seat. Join a conversation you'd normally stay out of.

There's something else that comes up quietly, but often. Some women worry about being seen by people who know them — who remember how fit they were, how fast they used to walk, what they could do five years ago. On a Sidetracks tour, nobody knows you from before. You're just yourself, right now, finding your pace. Some women discover they're stronger than they expected. Others are simply glad to be out there. Both are perfectly fine.

It's a small thing - but for a lot of women, it turns out to be the point.

The practical bit that nobody talks about

Travelling alone does cost more. That is simply how most accommodation is priced: hotels and lodges charge per room, not per person. If you're on your own, you pay the same as two people sharing. Over a week, that adds up to a significant difference.

On a Sidetracks tour, sharing a room is the default — and it costs nothing extra. You'll share with one other woman. If you'd prefer a room to yourself, that option is available too. And for those who want the middle ground, some of our accommodation offers private rooms with a shared bathroom — you save considerably, and in practice you're in that bathroom for maybe 15 to 20 minutes a day.

We'll be writing more about the shared room experience in a separate post — including what women actually think of it once they've tried it.

What you actually get

A small group, usually between six and ten women.

Everything organised: transport, accommodation, meals, guiding. You don't need to plan a single thing.

Home-cooked meals, eaten together around a shared table. Not restaurant service — real food, made with care, eaten with people you're starting to know.

A pace that suits the group. Nobody is left behind. If you're slower on a climb, someone walks with you. If you need a rest, you rest.

And the moments in between — a view that stops everyone in their tracks, a quiet morning before anyone else is up, an evening conversation that goes longer than anyone expected. Those are the things women come back for.

If you're still not sure

That's fine. Most women who join us for the first time weren't completely sure either.

You don't need a travel companion to have a good trip. You just need the right group.

Browse all upcoming tours and check availability.

Want to hear from someone who’s been there? Read what Koren wrote after her first Sidetracks tour: No one to travel with?