by Natasha Lair
Last updated: 5:10 PM ET, Thu September 3, 2026
Kathy Buckworth remembers her first truly solo trip for all the reasons you might expect — Switzerland, Gstaad, St. Moritz — but perhaps more importantly, she remembers the freedom.
She had visited Switzerland as a child, and when an opportunity through her travel writing work allowed her to return on her own, she didn't hesitate.
“The opportunity to explore where I wanted, how I wanted, and to set my own schedule,” Buckworth told TravelPulse Canada (TPC). “It still remains one of my favourite trips.”
The veteran travel writer and TPC freelance contributor has spent years travelling the world on her own. At 63, she has reached a fairly straightforward conclusion: waiting for someone else to be available, interested or ready is a good way to never get to the places you want to see.
But Buckworth also knows that making the leap from wanting to travel alone to actually booking that first solo trip can be enormous.
She saw it firsthand in conversations with women around her.
“I have many contemporaries who have big travel dreams, but wouldn't even think about going out for dinner by themselves, let alone get on a plane and travel to a new country. That seems wrong to me.”
Kathy Buckworth (Photo Credit: Supplied)For Buckworth, travelling alone wasn't a dramatic act of independence.
“I'm a pretty independent person, so it came naturally to me. I've always gone to movies by myself, to the theatre alone, and eat out solo regularly. I enjoy people watching, meeting new people, and just being on my own with a book or a view.”
What changed as she got older wasn't her comfort with being alone. It was her willingness to wait.
“I knew I was tired of waiting for others to travel with me, or to get invited on a press trip to that particular place. I started pursuing more and more opportunities.”
That determination recently took her to Monaco, a destination at the top of her wish list.
The Barrier Isn't Necessarily Money
It's a deceptively simple question at the heart of Buckworth's new ebook, How Women Can Get Started in Solo Travel.
For women who have spent decades building careers, raising children, caring for parents and putting other people's needs into the daily calculus of their lives, deciding to go somewhere alone isn't necessarily as simple as booking a flight.
“Prioritizing yourself, over anyone else, and what you want to do. That can be really hard for a woman to do, particularly if she has children, grandchildren, or aging parents that are counting on her,” she said.
Buckworth initially assumed cost would be the biggest obstacle for women considering solo travel.
Writing the book changed her mind.
How Women Can Get Started in Solo Travel (Photo Credit: Kathy Buckworth)“I had thought that budget would be the biggest consideration, and of course it's really important, but confidence is just a big hurdle, I think.”
A client who hesitates over a solo trip may not need to be sold a cheaper package. She may need reassurance that the destination is appropriate, that she'll feel comfortable there, that someone has thought through the details and that she'll have someone to call if something goes wrong.
And she may simply need someone to tell her that travelling alone is something she can do.
Where Advisors Can Make the Difference
Buckworth strongly recommends that first-time solo female travellers work with a travel advisor.
“The value of a travel advisor addresses many of the concerns of the solo female traveller. Confidence that they are booking an appropriate trip for themselves. The built-in safety of having someone to go to if the trip isn't going as planned. The logistics are meticulously taken care of, the budget is set, and the itinerary is solid.”
But serving this client well requires more than eliminating the dreaded single supplement.
Buckworth says advisors should consider details such as whether a hotel's neighbourhood is comfortable for a woman walking alone, local customs and traditions affecting women, transportation that could leave a client travelling alone late at night, and operators designed for solo travellers who may want to connect with other women.
Sometimes, seemingly insignificant details matter, too.
“Logistically, and simply, this demographic might not want the first floor of a hotel, having to take a bus or train late at night to get to their accommodation, or making sure that the hotel staff don't loudly ask ‘Just for yourself?’ when checking in.”
Buckworth believes the broader travel industry still has work to do.
Buckworth in Dubai (Photo Credit: Supplied)“I ask about the marketing and operational plans of destinations and travel partners often. It appears that most don't have a separate strategy for this very lucrative group, and I know they are missing out.”
There's another mistake to avoid: assuming “women over 50 travelling solo” represents one type of client.
“There's two different challenges here; the fact that they are travelling alone as a woman, and the fact that they are over 50. There is a huge range of comfort and ability between these two groups.”
Start With Dinner, Not Africa
Buckworth doesn't suggest that a woman who has never eaten dinner alone should make her first independent adventure a three-week journey across Africa.
Start with dinner. Then perhaps somewhere close to home. Build from there.
“I'm trying to inspire women to take that first step (dinner, for instance), or a closer location for a short period of time. It's intimidating to think about doing an African safari solo, so we don't need to aim that high at the beginning.”
Buckworth herself is doing considerably less waiting.
“I'm 63, and I'm in good shape. I work out regularly, and I'm strong. I can do things on my own, but I'm not sure what the next 20 years will bring health-wise, so I'm just getting out there and doing it.”
For the advisor sitting across from a woman tentatively saying, “I think I want to travel by myself,” that's perhaps the bigger lesson behind Buckworth's book.
Don't assume she wants to figure it all out herself simply because she's travelling alone.
She may need the advisor more than ever.
Buckworth hopes advisors who read the book come away understanding “that it can be done.”
“That a professional travel advisor can get them to the right destination, with the right agenda, and that the traveller can check all the boxes in this book to do the best they can to guarantee a successful and satisfying trip. Hopefully they're booking their second solo trip while they're still on their first.”
Buckworth certainly isn't finished.
Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Croatia, Poland and Finland remain on her list.
“Anyone out there want to come with me? Oh, never mind, I'm going on my own!”
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