Why More Women Are Traveling Alone in Their 50s and Beyond
A quiet shift is taking place in travel. Women over age 50 are intentionally choosing to travel solo.
According to a recent study, solo travel represents over 60 percent of trips taken by women over 50. Diving a little deeper, 41% prefer to travel alone, while 27% prefer to be solo within a group experience, such as an Evolve wellness retreat.
This shift isn’t due to circumstance; it’s a shift in mindset. Women aren’t settling for solo travel; they’re choosing and embracing the solo female travel trend.
Seize the Day
In the past, women who didn’t have a travel companion often gave up traveling. Today, women are unwilling to forgo the joy of travel simply because they don’t have a travel partner.
Whether divorced, widowed, retired, or ready to flap her wings out of her newly empty nest, women are fully embracing the “if not now, when” mentality, and solo travel for women over 50 is booming.
Traveling alone in your 50s is also fueled by women’s increased financial independence, and the fact that women are living longer and leading active lives regardless of their age. Solo travel also means no compromising on a destination, daily activities, or budget. Middle-aged women travelers view solo travel as an empowering lifestyle choice.
Contrary to stereotypes, solo female travelers aren’t looking for a robe, massage, and some “me” time. She’s looking for the adventure, culture, and connection she never had time for before. Picture snorkeling a coral reef teeming with marine life off the coast of Belize, exploring the ruins of Tulum and listening to the whispers of ancestral wisdom in the wind, or just sipping wine in the Valle de Guadalupe with new gal pals. These experiences are exactly what women travelers are seeking.
The Many Sides of Solo Travel
Just because a woman in her 50s decides to travel solo doesn’t mean she needs to be alone. Women-only group travel is surging, evidenced by large operators like Intrepid Travel, which saw women’s expedition bookings increase 32% in 2025.
There are so many women-only group travel offers that it’s easy for a woman to find a vacation that matches her interests, budget, and expectations. Popular options include small groups focused on immersive cultural experiences, soft adventure, learning, and transformation.
Women’s group travel itineraries give solo female travelers in their 50s the freedom and flexibility of traveling alone but with the connection, security, and fun of sharing new experiences with like-minded women.
This is exactly what women find at Evolve Retreats. Not a solo vacation where you’re on your own for every meal and every decision, and not a group tour where your itinerary is set for you, but something in between. A retreat where you can wake up on your own schedule, then walk into a room full of women who get it.
50 used to be an age when women quietly faded into the background, but today it’s an empowering age where women are no longer waiting for an invitation, permission, or others to live their dreams. She’s not settling for staying at home because no one else wanted to go; she’s packing her bags, living her life, and finding her people on the road.
