Women’s Only Trips Are Booming. I Joined a Traveling Sisterhood of Older Women and Now Totally Get It

In 2025, women are increasingly planning leisure trips just for themselves. Those over 50, dubbed Wander Women, aren’t just living for travel but are traveling to truly live.  Many are done working, child-rearing, or caring for ill loved ones and in one of life’s sweet spots. And they aren’t staying put. Prioritizing their own desires and bucket lists, they’re exploring the beauty of the world, and responsible for 80% of luxury travel spending.

For women returning to traveling or embarking on large adventures for the first time, a group trip is often their first step in solo travel. The demand for women’s trips is growing, and companies are stepping up to meet it.

I joined the award-winning Sisterhood Travels, an exclusively women-only travel group, to see why traveling this way has become so popular.

Here’s What I Learned On My First One

In December, my girlfriend and I joined one of Newsweek’s Readers’ Choice Awards’ Best Women’s Travel Clubs to see first-hand why ladies are repeatedly vacationing this way. 

Here’s what a tour from a company for women over 45 looks like and seven surprising things I learned.

It’s a Variety of Women

If you haven’t been on a trip like this before, you may think it is only for social butterflies or single women. During my week-long experience, I met many different women across life stages, ages, and personal situations. 

I met a former C-suite executive looking to celebrate her first year of retirement by traveling. She was quieter but happy to chat, sharing that she has more than five Sisterhood Travels trips booked for 2025. I met widowed and divorced women, pairs of friends, mother-daughter duos, and groups of sisters and cousins. Surprisingly, many women were married or had a significant other, but their partners weren’t as interested in travel as they were.

No matter who they were, they weren’t holding back from traveling.

It’s Not Cliquey Like High School

Yes, some people already knew each other or had traveled on a trip before, but it never felt cliquey. It was heartwarming that even with a larger group, we felt an instant warm welcome, friendliness, and a genuine desire to get to know each other. We received friendly invites to join groups at meals, a fun nickname (The Jersey Girls), shared lots of laughter, and even rocked the dance floor with our new friends.

It totally lived up to its name. It was our Sisterhood.

They Are Special Experiences

Sisterhood Travels invited me to join them on a trip that was two years in the making –  A European Christmas Markets tour on a chartered, private Avalon Waterways River Cruise ship, recently named the best river cruise line in the world by USA Today’s 10Best.

So, while you could book a cabin for you and a friend on any Christmas Markets river cruise, you’d miss out on all the fun that made the trip so special.  This private experience added to the jovial and friendly environment and overall vibe. It also meant that all the on-board entertainment was customized to our group. From an all-female rock band to a Christmas Pajamas evening dance party, there was never a need to feel embarrassed joining, as it was just our group of women.

These Trips Are Custom, Not Off The Shelf Bookings

Even with 3,500 people, Sisterhood Travels Founder and CEO Stacey Ray still creates each itinerary herself. “These women want to bring home experiences, not souvenirs. Things that are so meaningful that they live in their hearts. So, I am very focused on what is unique about the place,” Ray shares. “I want to make it special for our sisters because they deserve it.”

For example, The upcoming “Treasures of the Emirates” trip mixes five-star luxury properties in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Oman with curated once-in-a-lifetime experiences. This tour meets with Emirati entrepreneurs, artists, chefs, and homemakers. One evening, they will enjoy dinner with one of the region’s most influential women’s rights advocates.

Or the 7-day tour “In Support of the Cuban People,” fully licensed by the U.S. and Cuban governments, one of the few trips allowed in Cuba.

It Is Travel That Feeds The Soul

Many widowed/divorced women or new empty nesters share that these trips help them see the good things in their lives again. “They tell us you’ve changed my life,” shares Ray. “But really, we give them a way to change their own life. They helped me heal from my own grief, and I’m just paying it forward.” 

Exploring a new place with other women who are kind, compassionate, interested & interesting and a whole lot of fun makes you a better person.

Travel Really Is a Way to Make New Friends

“These women have a longing to make new besties,” Ray adds. “Travel is the vehicle for new friendships. That’s why we have a no mean girls policy. There is no place for that in my vision. Our group leaders get training to prevent toxic negativity and cliques from forming a grey cloud over the trip.” 

While 85% of Sisterhood’s travelers book a tour knowing no one else, it doesn’t stay that way for long. They connect in the private Facebook group and trip-specific WhatsApp chat. Post-tour, they often plan reunion vacations or decide to book a future tour together.

They Provide a Needed Extra Layer of Security and Support

Winning companies in this space understand that these women will have pre-travel anxiety, travel-day jitters and need a little more hand-holding while away from home. And they are willing to pay more for this extra assistance and an extra layer of staff. With Tour managers and group leaders on every trip, women on a Sisterhood trip aren’t ever alone – unless they want to be!

“I can’s say enought about how wonderful it is to travel with this group of women. After being widowed I wasn’t sure how I would be able to travel again. I found this group on Facebook and realized that there were a lot of women out there who were just as nervous as I was, but still wanted to venture out. The security of the group leaders, tour guides and the women in the groups makes it so easy to travel. They organize everything and also leave some free time to explore on your own if that is what you want to do,” shared Cheryl a repeat guest with Sisterhood Travels.

Tips for Picking a Trip That’s Right For You

After talking to many ladies over the week and asking them how they chose which tour to join, they shared some of the ways they decided. Consider asking yourself:

• Do I want to be in a small group or a larger one?
• Do I mind unpacking/packing most nights or would I prefer to stay in one hotel/on a cruise most of the trip?
• Do I want a relaxing vacation or an adventure? Review the activity level rating for each tour to get a clear picture.
• Would it be worth the extra money to have a room/cabin all to myself?

However, if you’re asking yourself, “What am I waiting for?” Don’t wait! You won’t regret it.

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