Best-Selling Travel Writer Patricia Schultz On Why More Women Should Travel Solo
“My father, a man who never traveled, used to tell me, ‘Follow your heart but always bring your brain with you,’” says Patricia Schultz, world traveler and New York Times best-selling author of the 2003 tome 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.
At a Trafalgar Tours event on International Women’s Day this past March, Schultz told the all-female crowd a story of being held overnight at Abu Dhabi's airport: While traveling alone in her 20s, officials told her she had to wait until her male friend landed so he could escort her outside. Today, it’s easier for women to travel solo, but just ten percent prefer it, according to a recent study by Trafalgar. So in an effort to encourage more women to explore, the 70-year-old tour company decided to research the motivations and patterns of women who travel by surveying 1,000 U.S. women ages 18-100. And, unsurprisingly, the findings were positive: In fact, 73 percent say traveling has made them stronger. Schultz, who is now Trafalgar’s global ambassador, couldn’t agree more.
We caught up with her on the phone during a recent Nor’easter to chat about what she’s learned from over 30 years of exploring the world—largely as a solo traveler.
After half a lifetime of travel, do you remember what your first trip was like?
My first real trip, my first passport, my first stamp, was when I was 15. I traveled alone from upstate New York to visit a friend who lived in the Dominican Republic and that flung open the door to the world and kept it permanently open.
Can you tell me about one of the most inspiring moments you’ve had as a female traveler?
A lot of the really exotic trips that I did by myself in my 20s, like going to the Middle East alone. There are a thousand experiences, but I think each gave me more empowerment, more confidence, more strength and more acknowledgment that the world is great. If I sat around waiting for my roommate or my girlfriend, I would not have seen but a fraction of what I ultimately did.
Trafalgar’s recent study revealed that 35 percent of women feel on top of the world after traveling. Do you have a particular place that left you feeling that way?
One of my earliest trips traveling independently was to Thailand and Southeast Asia. I was in my 20s and it was the first of dozens of trips to that area because I love it there. I had misconceptions because you listen to people [...] but there’s a great quote by Aldous Huxley that goes, "To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries." So I went with great trepidation and stayed for three weeks instead of one. Those three weeks in Thailand and all subsequent trips to Southeast Asia was like a lifetime back at school. I learned so much.
The U.S. Travel Association reported more than 32 million women traveled last year. Why do you think there is a rise in the number of female travelers, especially solo female travelers?
I think there’s a growing independence of women, not immediately significant or widely visible, but evident in terms of statistics and surveys. This is not surprising to me. Women feel they no longer need approval or encouragement from their friends or their significant others to travel. You can’t find someone to come along? OK, send them a postcard!
What is one piece of advice you have for women who want to travel independently but may be nervous?
[Laughs] Well, I have a few! The reasons why women don’t travel are pages and pages long because they’re convinced they need to travel in the company of someone else. Forget them! But, if you’re really paralyzed with fear, then consider guided group vacations with Trafalgar. They have literally hundreds of itineraries to choose from.
The second is that if you are to travel on your own—and I can’t encourage women to consider it enough, by the way—do your research. Buy a few guidebooks, spend time online, and have a working idea of what you want to see so that you don’t miss out on the good stuff.
Where are your favorite destinations for female travelers and why?
I think anywhere in the world, but for a first timer or a third timer, the U.K. I love England. Everything’s in English, the train system is easy-peasy and it’s contained so you can get from London to Edinburgh by train in four hours. You can do crazy great day trips to Chester, Bath, and Windsor Castle.
Have you ever thought about writing a travel book for women?
No, only because while I recognize there’s an audience for them, there are a myriad of good titles already out there already. And to be honest, I’m a little busy... Traveling.
