The ladies over 50 embracing solo journey

Alone however not lonely

Californian Alison Antone, 51, misplaced her husband in January 2025. “I knew I didn’t want to live in the house I shared with my husband, because it would be too hard financially, emotionally, mentally…” says Antone. So, she determined to go travelling. In December 2025, she flew to Thailand with a pal, who stayed along with her for 2 months, then Antone continued alone. So far, her journey has taken her by means of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. 

As a first-time solo traveller, Antone started with a reasonably structured plan, reserving all her lodging months upfront. “Now I feel better about being a little more flexible and spontaneous,” she says.

She depends on AI and fellow travellers to assist her discover native companies or points of interest, resembling a tailor in Hoi An who may make her a customized outfit on her birthday, or a day membership in Panglao the place she may swim within the ocean. 

For Antone, one of many greatest myths about travelling solo is that you simply’ll be lonely. “I think a lot of women think they ’re going to be lonely or sad, but you get to choose how you want the story to unfold,” she says. “If you’re too afraid to talk to people then maybe you’re going to be lonely, but if you decide to ask [someone] a question, then who knows where that conversation could lead.”

Gaining a brand new perspective

Economist Vix Munro, 62 from New Zealand, has travelled solo since she was in her 20s. Her most difficult expertise? A New Year’s Eve vacation to Malaysia that was initially deliberate along with her companion, which become a solo journey when the pair separated simply earlier than the journey. She says, nevertheless, that the expertise proved to be “incredibly cathartic”. “It made me feel quite invincible,” says Munro. 

She recollects a bit of recommendation given to her by a fellow feminine traveller: “She said that when you travel on your own, you have 360-degree vision, because everything is around you.”