When it comes to travel, women are the jet-setters. We are no longer waiting for the trip to leave the group chat. We are packing our bags, booking our flights and are embracing travel on our own terms and style. Whether that is through an ultimate girl’s getaway, wellness retreats, adventure travel, or once-in-a-lifetime experiences, women are making moves in the travelling space. It’s just getting bigger and it’s so beautiful to see. However, not all women love to solo travel. Some want to have a solo trip experience with a group of like-minded women. That is where group travel trips come into play.
The truth about group travel trips for Black women solo travellers is that it eliminates the stress of planning and the frustration of friends flaking last minute. It provides a built-in community of like-minded people who share the excitement of new destinations with you. In addition, it helps you build your confidence of hopping onto a plane, flying across the world to spend a week with strangers. That may be the confidence that you might need to slowly build up courage to travel solo in the future. Or to get into the habit of enjoying travel in a group setting.
Disclaimer: This post does include some affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and tours that I have personally vetted.
Why Choose A Group Travel Experience?
As an avid solo traveller with a Type A personality that thrives off routine and planning, I decided to spend a week with strangers in Cape Town. One of my goals for my 30s is to visit as many African countries as possible. The continent is so diverse in cultural richness, shifting landscapes, unique wildlife and vibrant histories. However, I was tired of planning and doing all the logistics for a trip. I just wanted to go on a trip where everything had been planned for me. All I had to do was book a flight, pack my bags and get there. I did exactly that with TinTrips.
TinTrips is a boutique travel group and agency that creates a safe, upscale and empowering peer community tailored towards Black women solo travellers. There are so many Black travel groups out there to choose from. At the time of choosing back in 2024, I only knew of four of them. I narrowed them down based on my personal criteria, destinations, and pricing. The reason that I chose them above anyone else was the intimacy factor. They don’t travel with big groups of people. You travel with a close-knit group that actually wants to explore, learn more about the culture and be there. In addition, you get to share those memories with other people while fostering connections.
When I was in Seychelles, I remember thinking to myself that it would be good to share this experience with someone. I was in awe that I was even there and achieved a dream of travelling to another African country. Yes, I have it documented in a blog post, with pictures, videos and on social media but I still had that thought.
Logistics and Planning
Travelling is never as simple as it looks online. We are just seeing the end result. Even as a solo traveller, there is so much logistics and planning to get the trip to what you envisioned it to be. Imagine that and multiply it by a ten-fold for group travel.
The beauty of group travel is that you don’t have to plan anything. All you have to do is make sure that you pay your installments on time, get the necessary vaccinations for your desired destination and book your flights. In addition, get travel insurance, apply for your visa (if applicable) and ensure that you have six months left on your passport. For my Cape Town trip, I knew the overall cost and the breakdown of the installments before I signed up for the trip. I was able to plan my finances for the upcoming year in advance.
For Black group travel trips, people are coming from all over the Diaspora. Having a dedicated team that is coordinating arrival and departure times, as well as itineraries and keeping communication transparent is key. Outside of the United States, everyone uses WhatsApp. I liked that we also used that platform for communication a month before the trip and throughout its duration. If there is one thing that women travellers are concerned about is safety and what that looks like abroad. I felt safe the entire time because it was built in at the inception and I could reach the organiser, the team and the other travellers with ease.
Group Travel Means Meeting Like Minded People
There is this saying that you cannot travel with everyone regardless if they are your friends or family. There is a lot of truth in that. Do you remember a time when you travelled with a friend with whom you get along, but travelling with them became stressful? I think it happens to many of us when we want to deepen the bond with shared memories abroad, and realise our travelling styles are not compatible. That is completely normal and okay! Travelling with friends tests your compatibility in so many different ways i.e. pacing, independency, sightseeing or relaxing, budgeting, flexibility.
With group travel, things are much different. Everyone that is signing up for the trip are going with the intention that it is a group trip with other Black women solo travellers. They saw the itinerary in advance and decided that this is the trip for them. Additionally, they agreed with the pacing and informed you that they are here to sightsee, enjoy life and whatever the theme of the trip is. You already know that you are travelling with like-minded people who are compatible with your style of travelling. How amazing is that?
What I enjoyed about my group travel trip is that some of us came solo and others came as a built-in group. Those of us who came solo were more open to engage with other people. Although we were in different age groups, we were able to foster instant connections. Moreover, a community because of our shared interests within travel and other outside hobbies. As someone who loves boutique hotels, having a boutique-like travel experience along with sisterhood and luxury enhanced my experience.
Building Your Confidence
Confidence is a muscle. To grow any muscle, you have to continuously work at it and give it the right nutrients. It changes form as you get older. To build your confidence in travel is believing in your own ability to handle situations, meet life’s challenges and succeed at something. Travel puts you in new situations all the time. You are in an unfamiliar environment where there might be cultural differences and language barriers. These situations may be difficult to navigate and will stretch you to a point where you may feel uncomfortable. Growth happens when you are pushed out of your comfort zone. Once you are able to handle the difficult situations, you will feel that increased confidence inside of yourself because you succeeded at the hard thing and you believed in yourself.
You know what your limits are and what is just enough for you. Think about your past travel experiences, whether that is travelling to a new city, or a new country domestically. With what were you comfortable? With what weren’t you comfortable? As someone that has travelled extensively in Europe, I am very comfortable navigating those countries. I made the leap to do more international solo trips in the last three years. My trip to Vietnam and Thailand stretched me in ways that I hadn’t experienced before. Firstly, I had planned two separate countries in one trip, where they spoke two different languages and I was hopping between multiple cities. As I was confident in my travelling abilities, I knew I was going to be okay.
Tips To Build Your Confidence For Solo and Group Travel
Here are some things that you might do regardless if it is a solo trip or a group travel trip that will help you stretch yourself a little as you build up your confidence:
- Have a map or the address of your hotel on your phone.
- Get an eSIM to stay connected wherever you are around the world. I use Airalo (You can use my referral code FOLAKE6280 to get USD $3.00 off your first eSIM).
- Learn some phrases in the local language to help you get by and immerse yourself in the culture.
- Read some blog posts from other travellers who have been to destinations that you are interested in, so you know what to expect and are prepared in advance.
- Share your location and itinerary with a trusted friend or family member. I always share my location every eight hours in our family group chat.
Putting yourself in new situations and stretching yourself a little bit at a time helps you build the necessary confidence to travel solo. You are travelling solo to meet up for your group trip so navigating the airport and anything that comes with it, will push you to believe in your ability to handle these situations. You can do it!
Enjoying Solo Travel Experience In A Group Setting
Before I went on this trip with TinTrips, I didn’t believe in the notion that you could have a solo travel experience in a group setting. I had always viewed solo travel as doing everything independently. As the days grew closer to the trip, I came to a realisation that solo travel is expansive and you can define what constitutes as that style of travelling for yourself. It’s not a clear black and white answer.
Enjoying the solo travel experience in group travel is going to look a little different. For the majority, you will be spending time with your group. However, if you want to have some dedicated time alone, look in the itinerary to see if there is a free day or afternoon where you can take time to yourself. When I was in Cape Town, I wanted to do a cooking class but the window was too short. In the end, one of my Wishlist Nigerian brands, Kilentar, was having a pop-up event close to where we were. I took some time to browse their collection and bought myself an early birthday present.
Moreover, you need to view solo travel as something that is expansive. I would say that solo travel in a group setting is personal freedom of going independently, but you are sharing the memory with other solo travellers who are travelling with you. For example, I met three other solo travellers once when I was Lisbon, another in Porto and one in Cologne. Although, we were travelling independently, there were times where we ended up doing activities or having meals together. I think that is the beauty of travelling. Regardless if you are solo or in a group, you are more open to meeting new people and sharing memories with strangers.
Final Thoughts
The truth about group travel for Black women solo travellers is that it is a beautiful experience to do at least once in your lifetime. I believe that it is a discovery trip, where you learn more about yourself and your travelling style. Whilst I did enjoy the overall experience, I know that I truly value my own time. I would have loved to have more free time to do other activities that weren’t on the itinerary. In addition, we did share rooms and I do understand that it is cost-saving. However, I feel like it doesn’t give you space to breathe and re-energise alone. This is definitely important for introverts and people that generally need alone time to build up their social battery. These are things to take into consideration if you want to do a group travel trip.
Would I most likely do another group travel experience in the future? Most likely, but it won’t be a frequent thing. Thank you for reading! Save this post and share it with a friend who may interested in group travel. To see all my other travel guides, please check the Travel tag. Drop any questions or comments that you have down below. If you enjoy travel content, make sure to subscribe to the blog, so you don’t miss any future posts. Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for more powerlifting and wellness content.
Until next time,
Folakemi
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