International Women's Day: How to make the most of the seven ages of the female traveller
At Telegraph Travel, we believe adventure is for celebrating, for everyone and at every stage of their lives. To mark International Women’s Day 2019 we’ve have asked seven very accomplished women – aged from 19 to 77 – to talk about how travel informs their outlook, travelling style and where they’d suggest going on holiday.
Recommendations range from an Italian grand tour for those of university age, to expedition cruising for those in their 70s and beyond. We also have a contribution from a precociously wise seven-year-old about what she’s learnt from her travels so far.
Women are travelling alone more than ever before. According to a trend report on the rise of female business travellers published in 2017 by research firm Skift, women influence 85 per cent of purchasing decisions and account for 58 per cent of online sales. Another study by Mandala Research revealed that women travelling alone take as many leisure holidays as men and a comparable number of business trips.
Many tour operators have reported that the number of female customers is on the rise. For example, 65 per cent of Intrepid’s travellers are female and 70 per cent of Flash Pack’s passengers are women.
Whether driving through Patagonia or dancing in Italy, have the boldness to say yes – to life, to adventure, to the world.
Trisha Andres, commissioning editor, Telegraph Travel
The seven ages of the female traveller
University challenge (19-22)
Thaya Warren: Travelling as a student is as much about failing to prove to yourself that you’re an adult as it is about exploring the world. It’s about Instagram-worthy shots, carton wine, sketches in museums, flirting in as many languages as possible, endless walking, odd friendships in bars, and tourist traps. I’ve learnt that you’ve got to eat everything that comes before you, whether bug or chicken foot, and let things go wrong, get lost and explore every corner of wherever you end up.
Turkish delight
Where East and West meet. Here you can go from momentous mosque to Roman ruins, go down the Bosporus and eat endless kebabs, drink coffee and smoke shisha in trendy Karakoy. Take a three-day trip out to Cappadocia, stay in a cave hotel, fly over the valleys full of rock formations on a hot-air balloon and explore the underground cities and cave churches of Goreme on a moped.
A four-hour Istanbul Uncovered walking tour from Urban Adventures (urbanadventures.com; info@urbanadventures.com) costs from $36.29 (£27.40) and explores the city’s backstreets and hidden corners.
The Italian grand tour
After finishing my first year at Cambridge, a romantic Italian grand tour was practically obligatory. Armed with a student interrail pass, we train-hopped from Turin to Bologna, Florence, Siena and Rome, finishing off in Naples. In every city, there is a unique blend of culture, art, food and nightlife. Whether it is drinking aperitivi in a square in Florence, pushing through crowds in the Vatican or meditating away from the heat in a church in Bologna, Italy will always remain a timeless romantic escape.
An Interrail (interrail.eu) pass that can be used on eight days of your choice during a set period of one month costs from €198 (£170) for a youth (12-27) ticket.
The art of visiting Vienna
Going off to university makes you finally realise your parents make for great friends, and a weekend in Vienna with my mum only reinforced this. For us this was an art pilgrimage. We revelled in the Christmas humdrum of the city and drank coffees in between running around museums. Klimt, Schiele, Brueghel, Hundertwasser, and never-ending exhibitions make this a melting-pot of art and culture. As a student of art history, I can comfortably say I’ve never absorbed so much art in one weekend.
A three-night Vienna trip from Super Break (01904 717362; superbreak.com) costs from £292 and includes three-star accommodation and flights from London.
Roaring 20s
Jade Conroy: My travel changed most drastically in my 20s, beginning with crumbling hostels in far-flung destinations, where I’d have to clamber up the frame of a bunk bed with no ladder, in a room with no working light. I once experienced a drunken male wander into my all-female dorm and leave his belongings behind. On the same trip, at Rio carnival, I lost my voice for a week from all the F-U-N.
Things have changed: my decade will end with a honeymoon this summer. But what happened in between? Many trips with special people, be it new loves, best friends or family. And many more mishaps (a screaming match outside a car rental in Ibiza because someone booked the wrong dates; hiking up a volcano without enough water to make it to the top). Ultimately, through it all, you find out how to take care of yourself.
Festival fun
Every summer, BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Gilles Peterson hosts a week-long festival in the French coastal town of Sète. Forget camping and warm cans. Attendees book villas months in advance, and the culinary offering includes freshly caught oysters and rosé on tap. The venues are spectacular, including a beach stage and an old amphitheatre facing the sea. Great for groups – and for twinning with a jaunt around Provence or Languedoc afterwards.
Tickets for a week at Worldwide (June 28 to July 6, 2019; worldwidefestival.com) start from €260. See Airbnb (airbnb.co.uk) for a selection of self-catered villas, starting from £50 a night. Ryanair (0843 837 0597; ryanair.com) flies direct to Nîmes from London from £66 return.
Backpacking plus
A backpacking trip around Colombia offers natural beauty, vibrant culture and affordable places to stay – and can be fitted into a two-week or two-month period. Many people tick off Bogota, Cali, the coffee region, Medellín and end at the coast, including the beautiful walled city of Cartagena and Tayrona National Park.
Avianca (0800 031 4206; avianca.com) flies direct to Bogota from London from £600 return. Avianca also offers multi-trip flights. Private rooms at the pretty Media Luna Hostel in Cartagena start from £26.
The suits-all city break
The city break is a diverse and permanent fixture of this decade, especially with the advent of Airbnb. They can be done on a budget, offer up romantic possibilities or provide the location for a big celebration like a hen do. My top pick would be New York, for the ever-changing opportunities it provides when it comes to things to do, neighbourhoods to stay in and trendsetting bars and restaurants. You could go back every year and have a different experience.
British Airways (0344 493 0787; britishairways.com) flies direct to New York from London from £380 return. Rooms at the recently opened The Hoxton Williamsburg, complete with stylish rooftop bar, start from £115 a night.
Freedom in your 30s
Sophia Money-Coutts: Better hotels. That’s the best thing about travelling in your 30s. Sure, life may be more complicated by other halves, babies and 43 pieces of luggage, but you may also have more cash than you did a decade ago. This means mattresses without bed bugs, softer towels and a more lavish breakfast buffet in the morning. And if, like me, you don’t have children yet, why not splurge on a big trip? A couple of break-ups in recent years mean I’ve often travelled solo on long-distance adventures. I’ve never gone full Eat Pray Love and muttered meditations in an ashram, but being on my own has certainly made me braver. I’ve seen what I want and picked the restaurants I wanted.
Curry, curry, curry
Head to Galle, about two hours’ drive south of Colombo Airport, for a trip that combines culture (the 16th-century fort is a Unesco site) and palmy beaches. Stay at Kikili House, a psychedelic B&B perched on a hill overlooking the Portuguese fortifications, run by a British lady who knows everyone and will gleefully point you towards the best sunbathing spots, the best shops and the best restaurants. You can also eat curry three times a day because Sri Lankans have it for breakfast.
A four-night stay in a double room at Kikili House (kikilihouse.com) costs from £28 a night.
Off the beaten track
Utah is remote America, where you’re almost more likely to see an eagle than a person. I had a wholesome, outdoorsy adventure of biking, hiking and canoeing. I also succumbed to a yoga session on a large boulder as the sun came up. Chatting to the instructor afterwards, she told me she and every member of her family carried a gun. This was less relaxing.
For more information on travelling to Utah from the UK, visit visitutah.com/uk
Having a jelly full
I suffered the worst hangover of my life after my first night in Hong Kong, having swallowed several vodka jellies in the bars of Lan Kwai Fong. A day on a junk (an old wooden sailboat) cured me and I was back in the bars the following evening. If you want nightlife and a flit to the mainland for knock-off handbags, this is the place.
British Airways (ba.com) offers flights and five nights in a four-star hotel from £545 per person.
Fabulous 40s
Michelle Jana Chan: This is the can-do age. We’re (hopefully) fit and strong; (usually) more flush; smarter, surer and wiser travellers, or at the very least more experienced. What we’re often short on is time, but that doesn’t have to make us short on spontaneity. You can still wing it. Or plan a big physical challenge – while you’re still capable. This is the time to be game for anything, knowing you can bail yourself out, as well as handle yourself and the world better than at any other time of your life.
The length of Vietnam
Buy a plane ticket into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City about 10 days later. This is a grounding and uplifting trip, travelling from the capital southbound by bus and train via Halong Bay, Hue and Hoi An. Go with the flow.
A round-trip airfare from London to Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City back to London from £577 with Vietnam Airlines subject to availability. DialAFlight (020 7369 1885; dialaflight.com). Budget on about £60 a day if using simple guesthouses and public transport.
Reaching your peak
This is the ideal time to consider exploring mountain ranges. Choose Ladakh for its beautiful remote landscapes; the comfortable option is Shakti Himalaya, elegant converted farmhouses in the Indus Valley.
A 10-night trip for two people costs from £6,860 per person, including flights from Delhi to Leh, accommodation, meals, transfers and guide. International flights, visas and climbing Gulap Kangri are additional. cazenove+loyd (020 7384 2332; cazloyd.com).
Multigen trip
This is the moment to whisk away the whole family. Avoid the predictable option of renting a villa in Corfu. Choose to split the trip between a riad in Marrakech before heading to the wilds of the Ourika Valley.
A 10-night trip costs from £2,334 including flights, transfers and accommodation with breakfast. Red Savannah (01242 787800, redsavannah.com).
50 is the new 40
Sara Wheeler: Someone once likened the post-50 years to the retreat from Moscow. I get it – but travel at least offers the promise of something positive. I find I enjoy the open road more than ever, perhaps because I feel free to do whatever I want to do without setting challenges for the sake of it.
The teardrop of india
A great, safe place for valetudinarian ladies. I spent contented hours watching the pale wings of a dhow rising from the water like fins. Monsoon winds have wafted traders to Sri Lanka for millennia, and ancient ports retain the easeful elements of the Orient; you can still drink coffee under blowsy tamarind trees heavy with pods.
On The Go Tours (020 7371 1113; onthegotours.com) have an eight-day group tour from £845 including accommodation, guides, airport transfers, all other relevant transportation, all breakfasts and one lunch.
A trip of nostalgia
Next month I’m on a walking-tour package to the Greek island of Evia – the subject of my first book 30 years ago. I am increasingly drawn to the “return” theme: the past is all you have if you’re a writer like me.
Exodus Travels Mountains & Villages of Evia (020 3733 6626; exodus.co.uk) can create an eight-day trip from £1,029, including flights, accommodation, guides, transport and all breakfast, four picnic lunches and five dinners.
Sweet solitude
I recently took a road trip in Chilean Patagonia. Cadmium steppe and purple mountains with hardly a tourist in sight. Easy to organise.
Abercrombie & Kent (01242 547701; abercrombiekent.co.uk) can create an 11-night trip from £3,740, including flights, accommodation, car hire and guides.
Serene 60s
Janet Ellis: It was the date that did it. The booking information said June. Not half term, not school holidays. That was when the penny dropped – we’re free! Pleasurable as all those family holidays were, it’s wonderful to feel liberated and – yes – a little bit selfish. You can do all the uncool museum and gallery visits you like without a chorus of “do we have to?” echoing in your ears, and you can wear comfortable shoes without a visit from the fashion police.
Lost in Japan
Refreshingly different, utterly unique, Japan never disappoints me. On our fourth holiday there two years ago, we walked in the Kiso Valley between Kyoto and Tokyo, on a tour organised by Oku Japan. We stayed in ryokan, giving in to the early bedtimes and reveilles, happily tired from long days exploring. Our marriage survived the occasional getting lost (our fault, not theirs) and our spirits were lifted by this tiny brush with the real country.
A 14-night Best of Japan trip from Inside Japan (0117 244 3380; insidejapantours.com) costs from £1,900pp, B&B, including one evening meal, excursions, activities and transfers. International flights not included.
A slice of Sicily
“You go there a lot, don’t you?” friends used to say. Why wouldn’t you? This little island has been visited (mostly invaded) by nearly everyone else over the centuries and the potpourri of influences is heady. From beguiling ruins to delicious food, there’s a colourful simplicity to the place that is both delightful and seductive. Last year we bought a tiny place in Modica, in the south. Yes, we go there a lot.
A seven-day private Highlights of Sicily tour from Kuoni (0800 540 4249; kuoni.co.uk) starts from £2,249pp, including full-board accommodation and flights.
Cornwall
Somehow, you can always find solitude in the West Country. The coastal path between Fowey and Polkerris dips and climbs beside a dazzling sea and in and out of wild fields and woods. It doesn’t have to be a sunny day to make me feel good about everything when I walk there. In the winter, I warm up in the Rashleigh Arms, feeling as if I could catch sight of Daphne du Maurier and in the summer it’s Roskilly’s ice cream on a beach I can’t bear to leave.
A standard room at Rashleigh Arms (01726 73635; rashleigharms.co.uk) costs from £44.50 per night.
Golden girls: 70s and beyond
Hilary Bradt: Last week, I emailed my most adventurous friends with the subject “Holiday in Yemen?” We oldies know that, if you’re fortunate enough to reach your mid-70s in good health, there’s no time to waste: that dream holiday needs to become a reality. So Socotra it is. Your eighth decade is for indulgence, for that once-in-a-lifetime trip, for learning more about other cultures, and absolutely not for relaxation. There is also a devil-may-care attitude. As one octogenarian told me when she signed up for a trip to Iraq “I don’t see it as risky, and anyway, at my age, what the hell!”
Off the beaten track in Northern Peru
By this time, keen travellers will have been to Machu Picchu and the well-known Inca sites and be curious about the rest of this fascinating country. Cue the multi-award-winning local tour operator Aracari, which is running a unique Founder’s Trip in August, led by Marisol Mosquera. Marisol’s network of local friends and experts is unmatched, and the company is known for its culinary tours.
This 11-day tour, which includes Kuelap, the “Machu Picchu of the north” costs $5,552; visit aracari.com.
Wildlife in comfort in Namibia
Not many African countries are suitable for self-drive, but Namibia is the exception: it’s the best way to see the country. Etosha Pan in the dry season is, in my experience, the tops in Africa for watching wildlife in uncrowded comfort, with the added delight of the beauty of the desert and excellent lodges.
Expert Africa has been organising trips to Namibia for many years and will create tailor-made itineraries to suit the abilities and interests of their clients. See expertafrica.com.
Expedition cruising: All at sea
When I’ve worked on expedition cruise ships, I’ve often been told “I never thought I’d go on a cruise – but this is different”. Indeed it is, combining the thrill of accessing remote coastlines and islands with learning about them from an expert team of lecturers. Zodiacs transport passengers to the shore and the team pride themselves on getting even the most creaky oldies into and out of these lightweight but stable inflatable boats.
Noble Caledonia runs a fleet of small ships to virtually every destination you can think of. Visit noble-caledonia.co.uk.
