Today, we’re sharing the story of a solo female traveler through NomadHer, a global community and app for women who travel the world on their own terms.

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A Solo Female Traveler: Meredith’s Story

Meredith was born in Seattle, Washington, and has since lived across different regions of the United States, including Alaska and California, and now resides in Massachusetts.

From a young age, she developed a deep passion for the oceans, science, aviation, space, and writing. She studied Marine Science and Philosophy, and later earned her Master of Aeronautical Science degree, continuing her exploration of both the natural world and advanced technologies.

Since then, Meredith has worked as a science teacher and cross-country coach at private schools across multiple states. Alongside her career in education, she has pursued her passion for science fiction through writing and podcasting, and published her non-fiction book Faster After Baby.

Last summer, Meredith embarked on a solo journey across two continents traveling to Jeju Island and Zanzibar. She shared that during this trip, she was able to truly hear her inner voice for the first time in decades.
While in Jeju, she also joined the “Haenyeo Camp” program organized by NomadHer, where she experienced the local culture more deeply. Below, we share her own reflections and experiences from Jeju and Zanzibar.

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Solo Female Travel: Rediscovering the Sound of My Inner Voice

The sound of your thoughts when you don't have any distractions filling your head.
Your inner voice.

If you're lucky, you hear it often.
I say "lucky", but that might be an oversimplification.
It often requires discipline and focus to listen to your thoughts.

Mindfulness is certainly a concept that is acknowledged and celebrated far more today than it was during my early globetrotting years.

I listened to my inner voice truly for the first time in decades while on a solo trip last summer that took me to both Jeju Island, South Korea, and Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Yes, decades.

The last time I had heard it  really heard it
I was in my twenties and in South America.

I was travelling with college peers for the trip, but had ventured out on my own for a brief spell,
and there she was:

• this part of my mind that was processing
• feeling
• speaking back

in a way that was otherwise muted by the voices of others.

Since that trip,

• I got married
• Became a mother
• Got divorced
• Sustained my career as a high school science teacher

My mind became decidedly occupied by the needs and wants of others most of the time. This is an experience that women in our mid-lives across all time zones and continents can relate to. It was with tremendous gratitude that I was finally able to go reclaim that voice.

And even though I grew up in a family of pilots (myself included), even though international travel was a part of my upbringing,I had never travelled out of the United States alone until this bi-continental trip. At 43 years old.

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NomadHer Jeju Haenyeo Camp, and the New Version of Myself I Found There

Jeju Island liberated me.

I got to know a version of myself there that I hadn't yet met.
And I really like her!

She’s:

• a power walker
• extremely efficient at chugging tangerine juice
• guided by curiosity, not meal times
• possessed of a mercurial and feral sense of humour

Her inner voice:

• doesn’t always have a clear gender
• changes often

She is out to:

• engage
• explore
• learn

How I wish I had met her sooner!

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The geographical and cultural beauty of Jeju is tremendous, and certainly consumed much of me and my inner voice's attention.

• The beaches
• The breathtaking hexagonal rock formations
• The many crystal turquoise waterfalls

Yet it was the people of Jeju I most enjoyed observing in my solitude.

• The haenyeo, moving between land and sea with their catch
• Locals commuting to and from work
• Tourists finding their own way from all over the world

I noticed that I was not the only solo traveller; there were occasional others whom I passed at tourist hot spots and cafes.

It was fairly easy to be a "party of one", from activities to dining.

Because I don't speak Korean, and didn't encounter other English speakers for most of my time on Jeju,

I had a lot of time with this "inner me".

I also became far more adept at:

• interpreting body language
• reading tone

And I wished to spend many more than my one week there
so that I could fully immerse and truly learn Hangul.

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The Journey to Zanzibar, and a Different Experience of Solitude

But my itinerary moved on,and across the Indian Ocean I flew to the "spice island" of Zanzibar.
On this tiny slice of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean,my inner voice and I encountered many more English speakers, which changed the experience of solitude considerably.

In some ways:

• it was good to be communicating in my native language again
• I tried to learn some Swahili along the way

On the other hand, I was reluctant to lose this connection with myself that I had forged on Jeju.That, itself, was a fascinating experience.
As one might expect,being a solo female traveller in East Africais a very different experience from what I had on Jeju.

A predominantly Muslim culture, Zanzibar has:

• dress codes regarding body covering in certain spaces
• many tourist activities booked in pairs or family sizes

not for individuals

Patrolling the touristy areas of beaches, young Maasai men:

• sell handmade wares
• offer their security services

especially to unaccompanied women.

They were friendly and always responded graciously to my polite declines. In any case,the cultural status quo suggested travel as a team activity.

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This predominant travel culture in no way was a deterrent for me.

Up and down the pristine beaches of Zanzibar,
my inner voice and I:

• spent time alone
• connected with knowledgeable locals
• met other travellers from all over the world
• encountered brightly-colored marine life while SCUBA diving

That inner voice is definitely waterproof!

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