13 Books for Women Who Want to Travel Solo

Women travel solo, not from yesterday. 13 books that will show you how to travel alone and do it with confidence and well informed. But travelling solo can be quite scary and challenging for a woman who never done it before. That’s why I suggest you read some of these books. You will see what other women have done and most importantly how they’ve done it. You will gain some confidence, will be entertained by the travel stories, and will learn some invaluable tips from the world’s expert on the matter.

Click on the photos to get the books – text is from Amazon Synopsis descriptions

1 – Go Your Own Way: Women Travel the World Solo 

There is nothing quite like hitting the road by yourself to awaken your senses, sharpen your mind, and build your confidence. In twenty-three beautifully crafted essays, women recount the thrills of travelling solo.

Despite threat-assessment levels and airport security hassles, women of all generations are travelling more freely and independently than ever before. In that go-for-it spirit, Go Your Own Way spans the globe: adventure diva Holly Morris finds herself lost in the jungles of Borneo, alone with her thoughts and a cold-blooded companion; Lara Triback’s quest to learn the tango takes her to the late-night dance floors of Buenos Aires; Stephanie Griest finds female friends invaluable in her journey through Uzbekistan; and Amy Balfour recounts a hilarious trek up Yosemite’s Half Dome.

The writers in Go Your Own Way pay tribute to the empowerment of independent adventure and discovery, offering up the perfect antidote for today’s climate of fear and international discord. All the while, they show that alone doesn’t have to mean lonely.

2 – The Solo Traveler’s Handbook 2nd Edition (Traveler’s Handbooks)

The 2nd edition of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook offers more stories and tips on solo travel fun and safety. It’s a how-to manual, a solo travel guidebook, with travel literature and colour photos as well. It will help you venture out with confidence to discover yourself as you discover the world! 

Feeling like you can’t afford a big adventure or don’t know how to plan one? This resource guide will help you feel confident that you can travel the world with ease on any budget.

5 – Travel Junkie: A Badass Guide to Solo Female Travel

Travel Junkie: A Badass Guide to Solo Female Travel taps into the real-life around the world experiences of travel journalist Julia Dimon, a young adventuress who has travelled to over 80 countries, all seven continents. On assignment, hosting a 40-episode television series for National Geographic Adventure and Travel Channel International, her work led her to experience the extreme: from hiking with mountain gorillas in Uganda, to polar kayaking among icebergs in Antarctica, trekking in Chernobyl, to snacking on local delicacies such as deep-fried scorpion, Cobra blood and severed human toe.

In this book you’ll learn:
– How to stretch your money and not skimp on your travel experience
– How to get the best fares online
– How to maximize your miles
– How to pack and navigate an airport like a pro
– How to leverage social media and the shared economy
– How to get off the beaten track and connect with locals
– How to volunteer abroad
– How to stay safe on the road
– How to get malaria (not)
– How to tame fear and live your travel dreams

 6 – A Girls’ Guide to Travelling Alone: Inspiring true tales from solo women travellers

Taking to the road alone is a brave decision. A Girls’ Guide to Travelling Alone is an eye-opening, honest and inspiring on-the-road companion. Richly varied, these witty, inspiring, challenging and sometimes uncomfortable travel stories have been written by women of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds and experiences, each with a compelling tale to tell.

7 – If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It Isn’t Big Enough: A Solo Journey Around the World

In honour of her 40th birthday, Kristine K. Stevens sold her house, quit her job and travelled solo around the world. Carrying a backpack and the naïve belief that the trip was nothing more than a six-month-long vacation, she hit the road. As her journey moved on and off the beaten tourist path, she braved a monsoon in Zanzibar, a safari in Kenya, trekking in Nepal, kayaking in Thailand, caves in Laos, red plaid fish and lava in Hawaii, and grizzly bears in Alaska. Little did Kristine know that she was completing a pilgrimage that would change her life forever. She gained self-confidence with every mile and relearned how to trust her instincts. Told with wonder, humour and suspense, with historical facts woven into the tale, “If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It Isn’t Big Enough” captures the twisted, unpredictable nature of global travel.

8 – Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents

Spanning fifteen years of travel, beginning when she is a sophomore in college, Wanderlust documents Elisabeth Eaves’s insatiable hunger for the rush of the unfamiliar and the experience of encountering new people and cultures. Young and independent, she crisscrosses five continents and chases the exotic, both in culture and in romance. In the jungles of Papua New Guinea, she loses herself—literally—to an Australian tour guide; in Cairo, she reconnects with her high school sweetheart, only to discover the beginning of a pattern that will characterize her life over the long-term: while long-distance relationships work well for her, traditional relationships do not.

Wanderlust, however, is more than a chronological conquest of men and countries: at its core, it’s a journey of self-discovery. In the course of her travels, Eaves finds herself and the sense of home she’s been lacking since childhood—and she sheds light on a growing culture of young women who have the freedom and inclination to define their own, increasingly global, lifestyles, unfettered by traditional roles and conventions of past generations of women.

9 – A Thousand New Beginnings: Tales of Solo Female Travel Through Southeast Asia 

This is the story of a 26-year-old girl who left her old life with a steady job and boyfriend behind in order to travel through Southeast Asia completely on her own.

Over the course of the next year and thousands of miles, hundreds of new beginnings and new friendships, she found that more than travelling the world outside, she travelled the world within. This book is a collection of excerpts from her diary and blog during that time in which she found that travelling alone made all the difference in the world.

10 – Why Travel Solo ?: The 12 Ways Solo Travel Transforms Your Personality and Changes Your Life (Solo Travel Guide)

The twelve ways of travelling solo changes your personality and transforms your life

Do you want to have new experiences, meet new friends, gain confidence? Do it safely, comfortably, uniquely? Then this is the book for you.

11 – What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir

A funny, sexy, and ultimately poignant memoir about mastering the art of the “vacationship.” 
Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses to wear to her friends’ weddings and baby showers. Not ready to settle down and in need of an escape from her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin instead travelled the world, often alone, for several weeks each year. In addition to falling madly in love with the planet, Kristin fell for many attractive locals, men who could provide the emotional connection she wanted without costing her the freedom she desperately needed. 
Kristin introduces readers to the Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests who helped her transform into “Kristin-Adjacent” on the road–a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home. Equal parts laugh-out-loud storytelling, candid reflection, and wanderlust-inspiring travel tales, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding is a compelling debut that will have readers rushing to renew their passports.

12 – Art of Solo Travel: A Girls’ Guide to Long Term Travel

Do you want to feed the pigeons in Rome, hike in the Himalayas, brunch on the Sydney waterfront, party all night in Bangkok and then move on to Buenos Aires? Don’t let being single stop you from exploring the world.

13 – A Female Guide To Solo Travel: Discover Your Eat Pray Love

Is there any greater feeling than the freedom of travelling solo? Being able to go where you want, when you want, and with absolutely anyone that you want. Travelling solo has anonymity to it; you can redesign yourself and be who you want to be with no one judging you. Once you’ve overcome your fear about being alone, you’ll soon realise that travelling solo is simply… the only way to travel.
Whether it is your first time or you have travelled solo before, A Female Guide To Solo Travel will inspire, empower and prepare you for your solo trip.

If you are not sure where to start, what to expect or even when, how… These books can answer the many questions you probably have. Don’t give up on your dream to see the world! Travelling solo as a woman can be challenging but also so rewarding as it builds a better and stronger YOU. 

Do you have favourite books about female travel? Share them in the comments below! 

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