The numbers from a recent Road Scholar/Talker Research survey make a compelling case for solo travel. But numbers don't pack a bag and board a plane. People do.

Smart Senior Daily asked four women — ranging in age from 59 to 76 — who've traveled solo with Road Scholar to tell us what solo travel is actually like. Their answers cut straight through the hesitation.

Getting off the couch (and onto the plane)

For Susan, 59, a retired auditor from Sacramento, the mental shift happened long before any particular trip.

"Probably in my 40s," she says, "after I stopped trying to live up to others' expectations of what my life should be."

Her first real solo tour — a Kenya safari in 1999 — set the tone for everything that followed. These days, she simply sees a tour she wants and books it.

Mary Jo, 75, a retired elementary school teacher from North Dakota, took a slightly different path. Her first two trips were with a friend — enough to discover she'd found her people.

"(People who) are interested in learning and stepping outside their comfort zone," she says. Her first solo outing? White-water rafting through the Grand Canyon.

On the question of safety

The survey found that safety concerns are the number-one reason women haven't tried solo travel. It's not an irrational fear — but the women we spoke to offer a more honest picture than either "it's perfectly safe" or "stay home."

Dorothy, 64, a retired insurance claims professional from Central Florida, had a genuine scare on a Seattle city bus — an agitated dog and two women she didn't feel good about. A stranger on the bus quietly noticed, got off at the same stop, and walked with Dorothy until she reached her destination safely.

"That day I learned a lot," Dorothy says, "and made sure to double-check my future routes and do more research."

Things can happen. You handle them. You learn.

Jacqueline, 76, a retired nuclear medicine technologist from New York City, takes the longer view.

"I was never afraid traveling alone, but may have been a little uncomfortable a few times. In those cases, I bucked myself up and carried on."

For Jackie — 33 countries and counting — a little risk isn't a deterrent. It's part of the point.

She put that philosophy to its ultimate test this year on a Road Scholar trip to Cuba. The U.S. had just imposed an oil embargo. There were protests outside the American embassy. Fuel, food, and medicine were in short supply. Garbage was piling up. Blackouts were rolling through the island.

"I also didn't know if our own administration might order an invasion while we were there." She called her sister. Her sister said: "I think Road Scholar will keep you safe."

Jackie went. It became one of the best trips of her life. Road Scholar discontinued their Cuba program not long after — while Jackie was still on the island, with countries around the world dispatching empty planes to evacuate their citizens.

Jackie's group knew they'd make it home — their flight to Miami would fuel up in Miami, just 90 miles away.

"Since our flight home would fuel up in Miami, we knew that we would get home safely."

That's a story for the grandchildren.

What Grandparents Really Talk About With Their Grandkids — And Why It Matters

A new study suggests everyday conversations between grandparents and grandchildren may play a bigger role than we realize.

Smart Senior DailySmart Senior Daily Staff

What you bring home

Ask any of these four women what solo travel gave them and the answers converge on the same word: confidence.

"I realize nothing is impossible," says Susan.

"If I want a new patio, I figure out how to get a contractor. If I want a wall painted, I go buy the paint. I just do it. Some of my girlfriends are in awe. Maybe there is a self-assurance that just comes with traveling solo — and then it permeates into everything else."

Dorothy, who took her first Road Scholar trip in 2016 while working full-time, raising her son, and navigating her husband's terminal illness, says the transformation has run deep.

"I have a lot more confidence. I find I am more patient, tolerant, humble, forgiving."

She's also built lasting friendships — including a group of women she met on a New Mexico Road Scholar trip who have held monthly Zoom calls since 2020.

For Jackie, the effect radiates outward.

"My friends have relied on me to travel to places like India and Korea. Since I'm not afraid to travel to these countries, even alone, it gives them the courage they need."

The unexpected bonus

None of these women set out to make lifelong friends. But that's what happened. Dorothy still meets monthly on Zoom with a group of women she met on a New Mexico trip in 2020. Jackie's fearlessness has become contagious — friends who once wouldn't have considered India or Korea now call her for a reality check before booking their own trips.

"Since I'm not afraid to travel to these countries, even alone, it gives them the courage they need," Jackie told Smart Senior Daily. Thirty-three countries. Still counting.

Mary Jo said it plainly after her Grand Canyon trip:

"The people on RS trips were my kind of people."

For anyone still on the fence, that may be the most useful thing anyone can say.

Learn more about Road Scholar's solos-only programs at roadscholar.org/collections/solo-only

Gary P Guthrie

Gary Guthrie's career as a Broadcaster & Journalist spans 50+ years and includes creating Radio's successful "Classic Hits" format, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" for Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond, and nearly 4,000 articles for ConsumerAffairs.