The question of why women travel alone more than men comes up again and again.
For many women, solo travel may be less about the destination and more about them. It’s a way to enjoy independence, navigate life transitions, build confidence, and experience the world on their own terms.
And the statistics seem to bear it out.
- Whether you look at the demographics of our Solo Travel Society on Facebook, the people who respond to our annual reader survey, or what Google tells us in terms of who visits Solo Traveler, women outnumber men almost two to one.
- Searches for “women solo travel” hit a 15-year high this year, according to data published by Google in April, while searches for “solo travel” reached an all-time high overall.
- Roughly 70% of Gen Z and 65% of millennials are booking flights for one, according to United Airlines, and women make up 71% of all solo travelers.
So, why do women travel alone more than men?
I have a few thoughts on the matter.
But they are just thoughts. In this post I'm tying together a bit of research, a few trends, and my own observations to suggest what might be encouraging women to travel solo. But I'm absolutely not suggesting a causal connection between any of them.
If you'd like, you can skip the analysis and jump right to our Solo Female Travel section.
Individualism – A Greater Force for Women to Travel Solo?
Individualism has its roots in the 18th century. For more than a century and a half, it was something for the elites to enjoy, especially artists and intellectuals. However, around the end of the 1960s, it became part of youth culture “that spread around the world to produce expressive individualism, … the need to ‘discover your true self’ and ‘do your own thing’.” In fact, the boomers who were the youth of that movement became known as the “Me Generation” in the 1980s.
Individualism has stuck around since then. There are even discussions of hyper-individualism. There are currently more single than married people in North America and the “proportions of single-person households (e.g. 29% percent in the US, 28% in Canada, 31% in the UK) are wholly unprecedented historically.
Perhaps
Given the traditional role for women in the past many centuries, right up to the 50s when the stay-at-home mom was the expectation, perhaps women had a greater hunger for individualism than men, a greater need to ‘do your own thing', and this has contributed to their desire to travel solo.
Second Wave Feminism – Boomers & Millennials Travel the Dream
Millennials are the number 1 demographic who read Solo Traveler. Boomers are close behind. So, what's the connection between these two generations and women traveling solo?
Second wave feminism began in the United States in the early 1960s and soon spread across the western world. It lasted about two decades. These were the years when boomers were coming of age. At 14 I had a subscription to Ms. Magazine. Feminism had an impact on me and all my female friends in terms of how we lived at the time. Confidence and self-sufficiency were core values. Boomers are the women who then raised millennial daughters.
Perhaps
Women who came of age during second wave feminism, boomers with the confidence that feminism helped deliver, are now in a position of less responsibility and the freedom to travel solo. Perhaps boomer moms have raised daughters with this same confidence and desire for freedom so that they, too, travel solo.
A Reinforcing Loop: More Women Traveling Solo Causes More Women to Travel Solo
I was on a train in India in 2012 and, in one row, there were four women from the UK, Canada, and the United States, all traveling solo. One was reflecting on a career change and another recovering from a breakup. Women often travel solo to help handle life's major transitions, or to cope with grief or loss, as it is seen and represented as transformative in hundreds, if not thousands, of articles.
I don't remember meeting a man traveling solo on that trip. In fact, I have rarely met men traveling solo.
Perhaps
Perhaps women travel solo more than men simply because they see other women traveling solo on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and in publications like ours. They see it not as odd (which, in 2009 when Solo Traveler started, was common) but safe, possible, and an important aspect of personal development.
Solo Traveler Is for Everyone
The questions of why women travel solo more than men aside, we have resources for anyone who wants to explore the world on their own. Here are some articles you may find helpful:
- How to Plan a Solo Trip 2026: Trends, Checklist & Budget Spreadsheet
- Why Solo Travelers Love Tracey’s List (and Keep Coming Back for More)
- Men Traveling Alone: How to Make Friends Around the World
- Why It’s Important for Women to Travel Alone
- Unexpected Benefits of Traveling Alone: Some May Surprise You
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