September 30, 2025 • 34 mins
Wondering if group travel might be your next adventure? Join me as I chat with Avery Hale-Smith, Chief Experience Officer at Backroads, who shares how guided active adventures are transforming the way people experience destinations worldwide.
Avery reveals how her own childhood travels—from immersive village experiences in Ecuador to studying abroad in India—shaped her perspective on what makes travel truly meaningful. These formative journeys ultimately led her back to Backroads, where she now works alongside her father (the founder) to create exceptional active travel experiences focused on cultural connection and personal growth.
We dive deep into the remarkable surge in women's adventure travel, with Backroads seeing triple-digit growth in their women-specific trips. Avery explains this phenomenon: "Women tend to spend much of their lives doing things for others. Now they're waking up and feeling like 'why wait?' The time is now to choose me." This shift has created a boom in journeys with spiritual elements, like the Camino de Santiago, where women find both connection and personal transformation.
The conversation takes unexpected turns when Avery describes their unique active safaris in Africa—where guests actually bike through game reserves alongside giraffes—and their adventures spanning from Antarctica to the Azores. For solo travelers (my specialty!), there's exciting news about upcoming reduced single supplements to make these experiences more accessible.
Perhaps most valuable are Avery's insights for women venturing out alone: "Start small, follow your intuition, and remember you're capable of more than you think." Whether you're considering your first solo journey or looking to join a group adventure, this episode illuminates how stepping beyond your comfort zone—with the right support—can create life's most enriching experiences.
Ready to discover how active travel might transform your next adventure? This conversation will inspire you to explore the world in ways you never imagined possible.
https://www.instagram.com/backroadstravel/
https://www.cherylbeckesch.com
hello@cherylbeckesch.com
Instagram @solotraveladventures50
Facebook community: Solo Travel for Women Over 50
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, have you ever considered going on a group tour
?
Well, today I have the ChiefExperience Officer at Backroads,
Avery Hale-Smith.
She brings a lifelong passionfor travel, cultural connection
and guest experience.
She's raised in the Bay Areaand, deeply influenced by her
(00:20):
family's global adventures, shereturned to Backroads in 2021
after building a career instrategy, marketing and customer
experience.
Avery played a key role inlaunching Backroads Women's
Adventures and the new 30s and40s trips, and continues to help
shape the future of activetravel.
(00:41):
Her passion for creatingmeaningful impact began early.
At age 12, she founded anonprofit focused on social
advocacy, a commitment that waslater recognized by the United
Nations.
She holds a degree incommunications and psychology
from Wake Forest University andnow works alongside her father,
(01:02):
who is the founder and CEO, TomHale, to lead innovation,
quality and growth in activetravel.
Well, welcome, Avery.
I'm so glad you're here.
What a bio.
Thank you so much, Cheryl.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Thank you for that very kind introduction.
It's great to be here with you.
I'm looking forward to ourconversation.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Well, you have obviously large history you're
going to get your family historyof being involved in travel.
So I'm sure you have lots ofstories to share about kind of
how it all started and you knowobviously you have that passion
because you have continued kindof exploring in this travel
industry.
Is there any story early onstory that stands out to you, is
(01:45):
kind of like you kind of gotthe idea.
You know obviously your fatheralready had the passion right
and maybe you caught that atsome point.
Can you share a story aboutthat?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
yeah, just to make sure I'm understanding your
question, cheryl.
Um point in time where I um gotthe bug to join.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Backroads or just travel in general.
I say travel in general, let'ssay travel in general, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, happy to start there, definitely Well.
So, as you mentioned, you know,I've had a love of travel
that's been cultivated over many, many years, especially via the
family connection to Backroads,which I feel very fortunate to
have had.
And I think, you know, growingup I was able to participate in
a lot of different travelexperiences.
Many of them were back roadstrips, and I think I've had
(02:32):
several sort of I guess you knoweye-opening moments.
But one that sticks out in mymind probably was a family trip
that we took to Ecuador and theGalapagos, and through that trip
it was a multi-adventure trip,so we were doing a combination
of biking and hiking and wateractivities.
And you know I could spend awhole bunch of time talking
(02:55):
about our family trips inparticular and why they're so
special.
But for me as a kid, I was notparticularly I wasn't super
comfortable going outside of mycomfort zone, or I wasn't super
comfortable going outside of mycomfort zone or I wasn't super
eager to do that.
And so some of these tripsreally pushed me and I think
that trip did so in a way thatwas really powerful and sort of
(03:15):
formed, I think, the way that Ithink about travel and kind of
sparked that interest in me and,in particular, one of the
experiences on that trip is wevisited a village, a local
community, and I got to, youknow, be really up close and
personal and immersed in thiscommunity.
That was very different fromwhat I had grown up with, got to
(03:38):
speak and have conversationswith a lot of the villagers, and
that was something that I thinkI definitely felt outside of my
comfort zone.
It was a new experience that Ihad never.
I had never done something likethat before and I really, I
think, was surprised by how muchI enjoyed that and seeing new
(03:58):
cultures and something that Iknew is something I wanted to do
a lot more of moving forward.
And I, ever since, have alwaysfelt energized in those types of
experiences and, as youmentioned, I had started a
nonprofit where we were donatingshoes to local villages and
communities, and so, inparticular, there was that
(04:19):
connection with that Ecuadortrip, with that Ecuador trip,
and so I think because of that,I felt especially sort of
connected and motivated to domore to help these communities.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Wow.
So that really shaped it feelslike it shaped your idea of what
travel should also incorporate,you know, encompass, so it's
not just going and being atourist, but you had a very
cultural experience in that tripand it sounds like you've had
others, because that seems to beat the heart of kind of why you
(04:54):
choose to travel right and it'spart of maybe a lot of your
trips you've had.
Aside from that experience haveyou had I'm sure you have lots
of stories because I know you'vebeen a lot of places, were
there other trips that were alsoimpactful to you?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, so many.
I think one trip or sort ofadventure that was very
impactful to me as a youngperson.
This wasn't actually abackroads trip, but is the
experiences that I had during astudy abroad program in India.
It is a place that's near anddear to my heart and this was
(05:30):
over the summer.
I in college had the opportunityto go to India with a professor
of mine.
I was a psychology andcommunications major and this
was one of my communicationsprofessors who was from India
and he was leading this courseon globalization and
sustainability, and so I wentover to India with 13 other
students and we traveled allthroughout India and did a
(05:53):
variety of different courseworkand activities and adventures.
And that was something that youknow, I think if you've ever
traveled, if any of your, ifyou've traveled to India or if
any of your travel, if yourlisteners have traveled to India
, you know it is an incredibleplace that is so different from
what we experience here in theStates and it was the most of
(06:14):
all the places I've traveled.
It was the most different fromwhat I know and what I've known,
and that was very powerful, Ithink, again sparked a further
love of travel and a spirit ofadventure and at times I
definitely felt in over my head.
I mean, there were experienceswhere it was.
(06:35):
You know, we were the onlywhite people around, the only
people speaking English, and Ithink being in that type of
environment where you're the oddone out and I think, was really
good for me and I especiallyloved the opportunities we had
there where we were working inschools or visiting schools,
(06:58):
working with children, that feltespecially impactful.
So you know I could go on aboutother travel experiences.
But that is one that I alwayssort of anchor back to,
especially because I was young,I was in college and had never
done anything like that before.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, and I think those trips I've had one of
those too like college age arejust, are really they're
formative in how they impact ourfuture lives.
I think I've heard many storieswhere you know during that
timeframe whether it was a studyabroad, like you mentioned, or
just doing, you know, a gap yearor something after college how
those travels and people thatare still traveling today, I
(07:37):
would say how that trip has youknow, sort of you know gave them
that passion or, you know, gavethem that focus to the types of
travel maybe that aremeaningful to them Absolutely.
Yeah.
So thank you for sharing that.
I love that and I think youknow India, like you said, is
it's a big country and sodifferent than the U?
(07:58):
S, as you mentioned, and I havenot been yet.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So I add it to your list.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, but if I would go, I would definitely, you know
, go with a group, because Idon't feel like I just think
there's a lot going on that goeson in India that I would feel,
like you said, out of my comfortzone.
So to have, you know, a groupsupport, which I know is a lot
of what you know back roads,that's a lot of those group
tours, which is incredible.
I'd like to hear one more ofyour stories.
I just I love travel storiesand maybe share one that it was
(08:33):
unexpected, meaning thingsdidn't go as planned.
You have a trip that maybe kindof oh so many, yeah, when
things don't go as planned.
Well, because you know you'vebeen talking about getting out
of your comfort zone, and Ithink in general, travel is the
whole, that's the whole idea.
But also to kind of expect theunexpected meaning it's.
(08:54):
It's never going to go asplanned usually, but Definitely.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I mean, as I mentioned so manyof those travel experiences, I
think one of the things that Ifeel really fortunate about is
that so many of my travelexperiences have been with back
roads and so oftentimes we makesure that things go according to
plan Even if they don't goaccording to plan.
The guests don't realizethey're not going according to
(09:18):
plan.
So I feel very lucky in thatsense, but lots of adventures
I've had where things don't goaccording to plan in that sense,
but lots of adventures I've hadwhere things don't go according
to plan.
I think one um again that I'msix out in my mind as a young
person too was um just after umhigh school.
It was um that summer.
Between high school and collegeI uh was briefly um in Europe
(09:40):
with, uh, some friends.
It was my first time travelingwithout my family, a lot of
their first times travelingwithout their family, you know,
visiting a lot of new places,staying in you know whatever
hostels we could find, andreally just doing it on our own,
as most people do at that age.
(10:01):
Yeah, and we were again everyday very far outside of our
comfort zone.
And one thing that sticks out inmy mind is not going according
to plan was it was a group ofjust women, it was young women,
it was, I believe it was eightof us at the time and we were in
Barcelona and it was theafternoon one day and we
(10:24):
couldn't find one of our fellowtravelers, one of our friends,
and we of course, were in apanic.
We had seen the movie taken.
We have, you know, we, just youknow, you get these you think
worst case scenario right.
Worst case scenario Absolutely,and couldn't find her Looked all
over, Sent half of the groupout to kind of scope the area
we're calling her Looked allover sent half of the group out
(10:44):
to kind of scope the area.
We're calling her.
We were looking in theapartment and this went on for
over an hour, which doesn't seemlike that much time, but in the
moment you know every minutefeels like an eternity.
So we ended up finding her.
Everything was totally fine.
She was literally just taking anap in a place within the
apartment.
You know, we hadn't beenscreaming for her.
(11:06):
We were in this tiny apartment,um, but it was just one of
those moments where we had to,you know, laugh at ourselves and
take a step back and say, okay,you know, the panic was for
nothing but important to keep aneye on your friends and your
people.
And I think it's um alwayseyeopening to have experiences
like that during travel, tofigure out how you're going to
(11:27):
address it, what you're going todo, what you're going to do
differently, you know, movingforward, but it was all well and
good, but it's something wejoke about to this day.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Oh, yes, always, but I love how you also, because I
like to do that too Like ifsomething goes wrong, what did I
learn from it?
Like, and how could I do itdifferently or avoid that next
time?
Right, that's a great, you know, way to approach those kinds of
situations, especially when itcomes to travel.
Well, my podcast does cater towomen and can you maybe share
(12:00):
because we I've noticed you'venoticed that in the past several
years that there's been sort ofa growth in women's adventure
type travel that is just growing.
What are your thoughts on whyyou think that's happening?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah well, I mean, I've absolutely seen the same
thing as you in regards towomen's travel at Backroads.
We have women's specificadventures that we launched just
a couple of years ago and we'reseeing triple digit growth this
year and continuing to add moreand more trips to try to keep
up with that demand.
And I think you know it's verylayered and multifaceted, I
(12:36):
think, in terms of why women areflocking to these types of
adventures or why women's travelis booming.
But I think at the heart of itis women tend to, I think,
throughout their lives, spend alot of time doing things for
others, thinking about others,whether that is being entrenched
in raising your family, raisingchildren or, you know,
(13:00):
attacking an aggressive careerand working incredibly hard.
And I think that women recently, especially in the past several
years, have been sort of wakingup.
I don't know if it was sparkedby the COVID pandemic, but I
have to imagine that that playeda role of women waking up and
feeling like why wait?
Like the time is now to chooseme, do something for myself, and
(13:23):
I think it's been reallypowerful to see women have so
much enthusiasm for travel or areignited sense of adventure.
So I do think there's thatgrowing sense of why wait,
whether it's a life transitionor a milestone, birthday or, you
know, simply the desire forwomen to connect with the world
and themselves more deeply.
(13:44):
I think that women, a lot oftimes what we're seeing, at
least in our trips and the tripsthat women are flocking to the
most, is there is a sense ofjourney, of connection, and
really it's an opportunity forwomen to kind of reclaim their
space.
And actually a lot of the tripswe're seeing women most excited
(14:07):
about have some sort ofsometimes a spiritual element.
Our Camino de Santiago trip hasbeen incredibly popular and I
think there's that sense ofjourney and spirituality and the
pilgrimage and the historybehind it.
So there's several differentexamples of that, but long story
short.
I think women are just excitedto get out there in an
(14:27):
environment that feels enrichingand supportive and joyous.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I love that, but I would agree with the timing
honestly, because I think we allwere there and we all kind of
have.
I know I got like I got alittle scared, like am I never
gonna be able to travel?
again you know, like you know soI think there was that and like
having to just sit.
I think a lot of people duringthat time did reevaluate their
lives.
We kind of just had to sit anddecide what, what do we want to
(14:55):
do for our futures instead ofyou know, cause it gave us time
to do, to evaluate.
But I do love the fact that younoticed, I think, part of that
spiritual um that you mentioned,like people flocking board of
the Camino, um having thatpilgrimage or trips like that Um
, I would agree, I think, forwomen, I get the sense that also
(15:16):
when they do group travel, andespecially if it's all women,
for them it's about theconnection too, I think.
And just finding, you know,like-minded people make new
friends.
You know, because I have toadmit, you know, I'm in my fs
and as you get older it getsharder to make friends.
And so being on, you findyourself maybe in a group trip
(15:40):
and you maybe click withsomebody.
How exciting that is.
You've made a new friend in theprocess of this adventure, so I
love the fact that your companyis seeming to offer that sort
of opportunity and platform forwomen travelers.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
I couldn't agree more , and I think it's.
One of the exciting things tosee on these trips is the
variety of different women thatdo join them, and you know we
have lots of solo travelers andthen we also have
multi-generational dynamicsgoing on with a mother and a
daughter.
We have old friends fromcollege who never get the chance
(16:14):
to see each other.
This is their opportunity andthat, no matter who you are and
what your background is, whetheryou are solo or not, there are
these friendships andconnections formed that I think
is really only possible in anenvironment like this, where
it's all women together, it'sinclusive, it's an energizing
space, it's safe.
I think safety is anothercomponent to these trips that
(16:38):
you know, we see women reallyexcited to go to these far flung
places like Bhutan or Nepal,where, or Morocco, for instance,
where they might not feel ascomfortable traveling on their
own, and so this gives them thatvessel to do that in a really,
really exciting, safe way.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yes, I love that and that you have that.
Like you said, they have ashared experience that also kind
of connects them in a way.
Well, what type of activitiescan someone do on a back?
Because Backroads does grouptours, but they are activity
adventure driven.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So give us some examples of what are some things
that we someone could do on oneof your tour groups focus on
walking and hiking, but overall,for all of our travelers it's a
variety of walking and hiking,biking, and we have trips that
(17:37):
we refer to as multi-adventure,which is usually a combination
of hiking, biking and maybe someother activities that are
specific to the region, whetherthat's zip lining or kayaking or
rafting.
So they're all active by nature,but lots of different activity
levels that we accommodate.
(17:57):
We have trips that we refer toas Dolce Tempo, which
essentially translates to sweettime.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
But what the?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
trips really entail are they're still active but
there's slower pace.
So for those travelers who justthey want a trip that's active
in nature but there's slowerpace, so for those travelers who
just, um, they want a tripthat's active in nature but they
don't want the super fast pace,they don't want the really
rigorous activity levels, Um,we're really working hard to
accommodate all different typesof travelers, um, while still
(18:27):
staying true to that and kind ofanchoring back to that active
pillar to that and kind ofanchoring back to that active
pillar.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yes, so where are some places that your group
takes people?
Just name it.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I know you go all over the place, but some places
that have been really, I think,popular lately is Croatia.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I was going to say Croatia.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, I mean always.
You know Italy and France havealways been incredibly popular,
in particular the Dolomites,tuscany, the Alpine regions, the
French and Italian Alps, theSwiss Alps, the Bavarian Alps.
People are really flocking tothose areas.
We run safaris in Africa.
(19:09):
We have in all different partsof Africa, we and they're active
safaris.
We do um biking trips acrossVietnam and um Thailand, and we
have a huge presence in NorthAmerica as well, um throughout
Canada, the States and LatinAmerica, um and uh, really
(19:31):
everywhere we go to Antarctica.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Oh, wow, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
We are constantly looking at how we can not only
grow our offering in terms ofthe places that we're visiting,
but how can we also expandcapacity in the places that are
most popular, and it's reallyexciting to see when we add a
new region.
Just to give you an example,we've gone to Portugal for quite
some time and it's always beenan incredibly popular region.
(19:58):
But recently I believe it wastwo years ago now we added a
trip to the Azores, and that hasabsolutely taken off in a huge
way, and, of course, we thoughtthere would be demand for it.
We wouldn't have launched itotherwise, but I think we were
blown away by the response thatwe saw, and so when we see
something like that and we seemomentum in a certain area, then
(20:18):
we quickly work to add morecapacity.
So that's a long way ofanswering your question about
where we go, but lots of reallyexciting spots.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Wasn't aware of Antarctica because I know only a
few groups go there, right.
And then you mentioned Africansafaris, but you said they're
active.
So I'm curious how are theyactive?
Because when I think of asafari I'm like, oh you, just
you know, you ride in the Jeep,you go see the animals.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right, totally, and that is the classic safari model
so.
I will say I you know, as youwere asking me about travel
experiences that have shaped me,I was thinking about my.
My favorite trip I've ever donewas our backroads active safari
to South Africa and Botswanaand the.
It's an incredibly uniqueexperience because we're really
(21:10):
the only luxury safari providerout there that does these active
safaris, where we enable ourguests to actually bike on the
game reserves and you're seeinggiraffes in the distance in
addition to the classic safariexperiences where you're going
out on the game drives early inthe morning and seeing all of
this beautiful wildlife.
(21:31):
But that trip in particular,it's sort of a journey from
South Africa to Botswana andyou're, you know, you see, you
experience the winelands upoutside of Cape Town all the way
to the safari, the safariexperiences in Botswana, and
then back to South Africa to domore safari, and so it's a real
(21:51):
sense of journey from all ofthese different places, from
Cape town into the safariregions and the deserts, but
it's a wonderful experience.
And biking through the actualgame reserves, oh my gosh, that
would be incredible.
Yeah, incredibly unique and oneof my favorite experiences I've
ever had.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, I mean you don't hear that.
That's because, like you said,the traditional model is.
You know, you get in a Jeep andthey drive you out you see some
animals, or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah, totally, which, don't get me wrong, is
incredibly special too, and so Iloved that part of the trip
Definitely, but I lovedcomplimenting it with the biking
and with some of the hikingoutside of Cape town and, um,
just having that really thosediverse experiences in addition
to the classic safari was quitespecial, awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Now, how many of these do you get to go on?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Oh gosh, um like how often do you go every year on,
at least one or something.
Yeah, I try to.
Um, I now have a little one athome, Teddy.
He's one and a half, so thatmakes it a little bit more
challenging, but I, you know,historically have done one to
two a year every year, which Ifeel incredibly fortunate about
(23:04):
we are able to go.
We're going, my husband and Iwith some of our friends, on our
French and Italian Alps hikingtrip next month, which we feel
so grateful to do, and Teddywill get some time with his
grandparents, so we're verylucky about that too, but yeah,
it's harder.
It's harder to make these thingshappen with a little one at
(23:24):
home, but still get to get outthere every now and then.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Speaking of group tours, you had well.
Speaking of group tours, youhad well, you had mentioned off
air, that Backroads is going to,you know, as solo travelers,
which is my audience.
One thing that is a somewhat ofa complaint, whether it's your
cruising or you're doing a grouptour, is we often get charged
(23:51):
what's called that singlesupplement, and or we get
charged more in some way.
Um, how is back roads umaddressing that?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I think you mentioned that you are, you know, working
on something right now um tohelp us solo travelers we are
yes, so, um, we're reallyexcited about this and just as
some background on Backroads andour trips, you know we have
welcomed solo travelers sincethe beginning of time and have
always been really enthusiasticabout our solo traveler kind of
(24:23):
branch of guests them andaccommodate them, and one of the
things that we're doing, comingup, is really presenting a
collection of some of ourgreatest trips where we'll have
a reduced single supplement, sojust making it a little bit more
accessible for our solo gueststo join a backroads experience
(24:44):
in a more affordable way.
So that's something that we'relaunching next month, in August,
I believe.
By the time that this airs,that will already be live on
backroadscom.
But I'm really hoping that thatnot only makes the trips more
accessible to solo travelers,but that then there might be an
even larger contingent of solotravelers on those trips
(25:05):
specifically.
So if you're a solo traveler,it's always nice to have other
solo guests along and not be theonly one, and so that's a great
way for us to kind of directguests to trips in particular
that might be best suited forthem, that they'll have the best
experience on.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
No, I appreciate that , because that you know it's
discouraging At least it was forme when I was.
I'll take the cruise you know,cruise thing, for example you
know because I wouldn't mindgoing along, but it was.
I'll take the cruise, you know,cruise thing, for example.
You know because I wouldn'tmind going along, but it was
just like almost twice the price, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
So it's cost prohibitive for sure, exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
So I'm like okay, I'm not going to cruise until I can
find somebody to go with yeahright?
Speaker 2 (25:45):
No, totally.
And you know we have a large,large contingent of solo
travelers and we want to, youknow, cultivate that and
continue growing it.
So we're excited about it.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Very good, I love that.
And on a more personal level,speaking of solo travelers,
would you have some, sinceyou've traveled so much and you
have had so many layers ofexperiences?
I'll just say that, right, yougot some good and bad, probably.
What would be a piece of adviceyou would give a woman solo
(26:21):
traveler who maybe is going forher first trip?
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, great question.
I guess a few pieces of advice.
I mean, my first would beprobably to start small actually
.
So if you've never traveledsolo and you're a solo female
traveler, maybe just start witha small weekend trip, you know,
see how that suits you, get yourbearings, figure out what you
like, what drives you, what doyou appreciate about that trip,
(26:50):
and then you can replicate it ona bigger scale, moving forward.
Sometimes those smaller tripsfeel a little bit less
intimidating and moreapproachable and more feasible
to pull off.
Even so, I think starting smallis a great one.
I think, following yourintuition the entire time, I
mean letting your intuitionguide you, that you don't
(27:11):
necessarily have to seeeverything, but really leaning
into what feels right and whatsparks joy for you and I think
you know that goes for any solotraveler, but women in
particular and I think leaninginto those things that you enjoy
the most.
So just letting your intuitionguide you.
(27:32):
And then I guess, finally, Iwould say you know, to just kind
of remember that you arecapable of probably more than
you think.
So I think every solo journeybegins with just even taking
that first step.
I think that it's kind ofcourageous in and of itself, and
I think that all solo travelers, women especially will be so, I
(27:55):
think, proud of and impressedby themselves and what they can
do and what they experience whenthey get out there.
I think it's a reallyempowering thing to do.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, totally agree, it so is.
And for those that have neverexperienced a solo trip I mean
it's people that have can it'shard to put in words, you know,
because everybody's experienceis different, but there is
definitely this.
Like you said that word, yousaid empowerment that happens
when you get out of your comfortzone, as we've been talking
(28:25):
about right.
But, I also loved how you saidto honor your intuition, and I
think a lot of people when theygo places, they get caught up in
.
I got to see this, I got to seethat, and I think a lot of
people when they go places, theyget caught up and I got to see
this, I got to see that and it'sthis rushed feeling as opposed
to really finding, like you said, find what gives you joy, like
(28:46):
what would make you happy inthis trip, and not necessarily,
you know, maybe you don't likecrowds, so you know, pull back a
little.
Right, I love that.
So, yeah, great advice.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
I agree.
I mean I take it even a stepfurther, like I'm just thinking
about that, letting yourintuition guide you, and I think
one of the most powerful thingsin my mind about solo travel is
the opportunities it opens upfor connection when you're by
yourself.
I think there are moreopportunities to be had to.
You know, take a moment andspeak to the person next to you
(29:21):
who might be traveling solo bythemselves and other solo
travelers looking for thatconnection.
And I think if you're toowrapped up in you know, planning
out your day, every second ofit, and getting from one place
to the other, and looking atyour phone to guide you, you
miss out on so many of thoseopportunities for connection,
especially when you're travelingsolo.
(29:42):
So if you can let go of that alittle, bit let your intuition,
guide you and be open to thosearound you and the experiences
around you and the people aroundyou.
I think that that will only beeven more enriching for the
overall experience.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yes, absolutely you are.
You hit the nail on the nose,right.
So thank you for sharing that.
So I love the idea of startingsmall, but I also I think, once
they've done that, maybe apotential next step, if they're
not quite ready to like jump outand do a whole solo trip by
(30:18):
themselves, wouldn't you agree?
Like a group tour might begreat, right?
So yeah, I'm biased.
I think it's a great place forpeople also to start, because
they may be, they might evenjust have this fear factor and
of being alone, just being alonein general, and so I love that.
(30:41):
Backroads does accept andwelcome solo travelers, and you
have so many trips to choosefrom, so tell us where can we
find out where all those tripsare?
Obviously, you've got a website.
Is there some social media thatyou can share as well?
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Sure absolutely Yep.
So backroadscom is our websiteand you can find us at Backroads
Travel on Instagram and allsocial channels Facebook,
linkedin, etc.
And I think you know, cheryl,you just touched on it, but that
you know, as a solo traveler,if you're open to not just
(31:17):
traveling by yourself buttraveling with others, I do
think a group tour is the way tomake people feel the most
connected and safe and takencare of and to let somebody else
handle all of the planning andall of the details and all of
the.
You know.
you know schlepping your bag andstuff that isn't as glamorous
or fun about travel.
(31:37):
It's really nice to be able tolet go of some of that and hand
it over to experts who are thereto support you, so I do think
that's a really freeing thing asa solo traveler.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Absolutely.
I love that.
That you don't have to worry.
I wish I had done that on mycommute Right.
Yeah, totally yeah.
I slept my bag the whole time.
I should I had done that on mycommute Right.
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Yeah, I slept my bag the whole time.
I should have had ittransported, and that's a great
way to do it too.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
It's a harder way to do it, I'll tell you it's true,
it's true.
But yeah, to have someone else.
I love that, to have someoneelse do all the planning,
because I think that tooprevents a lot of people from,
you know, jumping into doing awhole week of travel, like all
that planning can beoverwhelming.
And to have someone else I knowright take care of it.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I mean, that's a whole lot, then you can truly
enjoy the experience.
I think honestly for people whohave you know so much going on
in that mental load, that somany of us carry around all the
time to be able to alleviatesome of that is, you know, true
vacation.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Yes, yes, I love it.
Well, any last minute, likenuggets of truth or anything
else you want to share.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
You know I don't know about last minute nuggets of
truth.
I think I just reallyappreciate this opportunity to
connect with you, Cheryl, and Ireally enjoyed this conversation
and I think you know it is suchan exciting time to be in the
travel space and supporting alldifferent types of travelers out
there, but specifically womenand solo travelers who are
(33:13):
looking for a deeper sense ofjourney and connection and
adventure, and that there's somuch enthusiasm and passion and
desire out there to experiencethat is something that really
energizes me and excites me, andI so applaud you for creating
this space for solo womentravelers to learn a little bit
(33:33):
more, and it's really, reallygreat to see.
So thank you for allowing me totake the time with you.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Absolutely.
I love connecting withcompanies like yours that you
know really support the solotraveler in some way or
encourage them, invite them inand, you know, provide a great
service to you.
So guys, go to the website,check out some of their trips
backroadscom and I will alsoleave the other social media
links in the show notes for youfolks to check out so you can
(34:03):
follow them right and see wherethey're going.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Thank you again, avery.
Yes, loved it, take care.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
You too.
Well, have you ever considered going on a group tour
?
Well, today I have the ChiefExperience Officer at Backroads,
Avery Hale-Smith.
She brings a lifelong passionfor travel, cultural connection
and guest experience.
She's raised in the Bay Areaand, deeply influenced by her
(00:20):
family's global adventures, shereturned to Backroads in 2021
after building a career instrategy, marketing and customer
experience.
Avery played a key role inlaunching Backroads Women's
Adventures and the new 30s and40s trips, and continues to help
shape the future of activetravel.
(00:41):
Her passion for creatingmeaningful impact began early.
At age 12, she founded anonprofit focused on social
advocacy, a commitment that waslater recognized by the United
Nations.
She holds a degree incommunications and psychology
from Wake Forest University andnow works alongside her father,
(01:02):
who is the founder and CEO, TomHale, to lead innovation,
quality and growth in activetravel.
Well, welcome, Avery.
I'm so glad you're here.
What a bio.
Thank you so much, Cheryl.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Thank you for that very kind introduction.
It's great to be here with you.
I'm looking forward to ourconversation.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Well, you have obviously large history you're
going to get your family historyof being involved in travel.
So I'm sure you have lots ofstories to share about kind of
how it all started and you knowobviously you have that passion
because you have continued kindof exploring in this travel
industry.
Is there any story early onstory that stands out to you, is
(01:45):
kind of like you kind of gotthe idea.
You know obviously your fatheralready had the passion right
and maybe you caught that atsome point.
Can you share a story aboutthat?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
yeah, just to make sure I'm understanding your
question, cheryl.
Um point in time where I um gotthe bug to join.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Backroads or just travel in general.
I say travel in general, let'ssay travel in general, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, happy to start there, definitely Well.
So, as you mentioned, you know,I've had a love of travel
that's been cultivated over many, many years, especially via the
family connection to Backroads,which I feel very fortunate to
have had.
And I think, you know, growingup I was able to participate in
a lot of different travelexperiences.
Many of them were back roadstrips, and I think I've had
(02:32):
several sort of I guess you knoweye-opening moments.
But one that sticks out in mymind probably was a family trip
that we took to Ecuador and theGalapagos, and through that trip
it was a multi-adventure trip,so we were doing a combination
of biking and hiking and wateractivities.
And you know I could spend awhole bunch of time talking
(02:55):
about our family trips inparticular and why they're so
special.
But for me as a kid, I was notparticularly I wasn't super
comfortable going outside of mycomfort zone, or I wasn't super
comfortable going outside of mycomfort zone or I wasn't super
eager to do that.
And so some of these tripsreally pushed me and I think
that trip did so in a way thatwas really powerful and sort of
(03:15):
formed, I think, the way that Ithink about travel and kind of
sparked that interest in me and,in particular, one of the
experiences on that trip is wevisited a village, a local
community, and I got to, youknow, be really up close and
personal and immersed in thiscommunity.
That was very different fromwhat I had grown up with, got to
(03:38):
speak and have conversationswith a lot of the villagers, and
that was something that I thinkI definitely felt outside of my
comfort zone.
It was a new experience that Ihad never.
I had never done something likethat before and I really, I
think, was surprised by how muchI enjoyed that and seeing new
(03:58):
cultures and something that Iknew is something I wanted to do
a lot more of moving forward.
And I, ever since, have alwaysfelt energized in those types of
experiences and, as youmentioned, I had started a
nonprofit where we were donatingshoes to local villages and
communities, and so, inparticular, there was that
(04:19):
connection with that Ecuadortrip, with that Ecuador trip,
and so I think because of that,I felt especially sort of
connected and motivated to domore to help these communities.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Wow.
So that really shaped it feelslike it shaped your idea of what
travel should also incorporate,you know, encompass, so it's
not just going and being atourist, but you had a very
cultural experience in that tripand it sounds like you've had
others, because that seems to beat the heart of kind of why you
(04:54):
choose to travel right and it'spart of maybe a lot of your
trips you've had.
Aside from that experience haveyou had I'm sure you have lots
of stories because I know you'vebeen a lot of places, were
there other trips that were alsoimpactful to you?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, so many.
I think one trip or sort ofadventure that was very
impactful to me as a youngperson.
This wasn't actually abackroads trip, but is the
experiences that I had during astudy abroad program in India.
It is a place that's near anddear to my heart and this was
(05:30):
over the summer.
I in college had the opportunityto go to India with a professor
of mine.
I was a psychology andcommunications major and this
was one of my communicationsprofessors who was from India
and he was leading this courseon globalization and
sustainability, and so I wentover to India with 13 other
students and we traveled allthroughout India and did a
(05:53):
variety of different courseworkand activities and adventures.
And that was something that youknow, I think if you've ever
traveled, if any of your, ifyou've traveled to India or if
any of your travel, if yourlisteners have traveled to India
, you know it is an incredibleplace that is so different from
what we experience here in theStates and it was the most of
(06:14):
all the places I've traveled.
It was the most different fromwhat I know and what I've known,
and that was very powerful, Ithink, again sparked a further
love of travel and a spirit ofadventure and at times I
definitely felt in over my head.
I mean, there were experienceswhere it was.
(06:35):
You know, we were the onlywhite people around, the only
people speaking English, and Ithink being in that type of
environment where you're the oddone out and I think, was really
good for me and I especiallyloved the opportunities we had
there where we were working inschools or visiting schools,
(06:58):
working with children, that feltespecially impactful.
So you know I could go on aboutother travel experiences.
But that is one that I alwayssort of anchor back to,
especially because I was young,I was in college and had never
done anything like that before.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, and I think those trips I've had one of
those too like college age arejust, are really they're
formative in how they impact ourfuture lives.
I think I've heard many storieswhere you know during that
timeframe whether it was a studyabroad, like you mentioned, or
just doing, you know, a gap yearor something after college how
those travels and people thatare still traveling today, I
(07:37):
would say how that trip has youknow, sort of you know gave them
that passion or, you know, gavethem that focus to the types of
travel maybe that aremeaningful to them Absolutely.
Yeah.
So thank you for sharing that.
I love that and I think youknow India, like you said, is
it's a big country and sodifferent than the U?
(07:58):
S, as you mentioned, and I havenot been yet.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
So I add it to your list.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, but if I would go, I would definitely, you know
, go with a group, because Idon't feel like I just think
there's a lot going on that goeson in India that I would feel,
like you said, out of my comfortzone.
So to have, you know, a groupsupport, which I know is a lot
of what you know back roads,that's a lot of those group
tours, which is incredible.
I'd like to hear one more ofyour stories.
I just I love travel storiesand maybe share one that it was
(08:33):
unexpected, meaning thingsdidn't go as planned.
You have a trip that maybe kindof oh so many, yeah, when
things don't go as planned.
Well, because you know you'vebeen talking about getting out
of your comfort zone, and Ithink in general, travel is the
whole, that's the whole idea.
But also to kind of expect theunexpected meaning it's.
(08:54):
It's never going to go asplanned usually, but Definitely.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I mean, as I mentioned so manyof those travel experiences, I
think one of the things that Ifeel really fortunate about is
that so many of my travelexperiences have been with back
roads and so oftentimes we makesure that things go according to
plan Even if they don't goaccording to plan.
The guests don't realizethey're not going according to
(09:18):
plan.
So I feel very lucky in thatsense, but lots of adventures
I've had where things don't goaccording to plan in that sense,
but lots of adventures I've hadwhere things don't go according
to plan.
I think one um again that I'msix out in my mind as a young
person too was um just after umhigh school.
It was um that summer.
Between high school and collegeI uh was briefly um in Europe
(09:40):
with, uh, some friends.
It was my first time travelingwithout my family, a lot of
their first times travelingwithout their family, you know,
visiting a lot of new places,staying in you know whatever
hostels we could find, andreally just doing it on our own,
as most people do at that age.
(10:01):
Yeah, and we were again everyday very far outside of our
comfort zone.
And one thing that sticks out inmy mind is not going according
to plan was it was a group ofjust women, it was young women,
it was, I believe it was eightof us at the time and we were in
Barcelona and it was theafternoon one day and we
(10:24):
couldn't find one of our fellowtravelers, one of our friends,
and we of course, were in apanic.
We had seen the movie taken.
We have, you know, we, just youknow, you get these you think
worst case scenario right.
Worst case scenario Absolutely,and couldn't find her Looked all
over, Sent half of the groupout to kind of scope the area
we're calling her Looked allover sent half of the group out
(10:44):
to kind of scope the area.
We're calling her.
We were looking in theapartment and this went on for
over an hour, which doesn't seemlike that much time, but in the
moment you know every minutefeels like an eternity.
So we ended up finding her.
Everything was totally fine.
She was literally just taking anap in a place within the
apartment.
You know, we hadn't beenscreaming for her.
(11:06):
We were in this tiny apartment,um, but it was just one of
those moments where we had to,you know, laugh at ourselves and
take a step back and say, okay,you know, the panic was for
nothing but important to keep aneye on your friends and your
people.
And I think it's um alwayseyeopening to have experiences
like that during travel, tofigure out how you're going to
(11:27):
address it, what you're going todo, what you're going to do
differently, you know, movingforward, but it was all well and
good, but it's something wejoke about to this day.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Oh, yes, always, but I love how you also, because I
like to do that too Like ifsomething goes wrong, what did I
learn from it?
Like, and how could I do itdifferently or avoid that next
time?
Right, that's a great, you know, way to approach those kinds of
situations, especially when itcomes to travel.
Well, my podcast does cater towomen and can you maybe share
(12:00):
because we I've noticed you'venoticed that in the past several
years that there's been sort ofa growth in women's adventure
type travel that is just growing.
What are your thoughts on whyyou think that's happening?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah well, I mean, I've absolutely seen the same
thing as you in regards towomen's travel at Backroads.
We have women's specificadventures that we launched just
a couple of years ago and we'reseeing triple digit growth this
year and continuing to add moreand more trips to try to keep
up with that demand.
And I think you know it's verylayered and multifaceted, I
(12:36):
think, in terms of why women areflocking to these types of
adventures or why women's travelis booming.
But I think at the heart of itis women tend to, I think,
throughout their lives, spend alot of time doing things for
others, thinking about others,whether that is being entrenched
in raising your family, raisingchildren or, you know,
(13:00):
attacking an aggressive careerand working incredibly hard.
And I think that women recently, especially in the past several
years, have been sort of wakingup.
I don't know if it was sparkedby the COVID pandemic, but I
have to imagine that that playeda role of women waking up and
feeling like why wait?
Like the time is now to chooseme, do something for myself, and
(13:23):
I think it's been reallypowerful to see women have so
much enthusiasm for travel or areignited sense of adventure.
So I do think there's thatgrowing sense of why wait,
whether it's a life transitionor a milestone, birthday or, you
know, simply the desire forwomen to connect with the world
and themselves more deeply.
(13:44):
I think that women, a lot oftimes what we're seeing, at
least in our trips and the tripsthat women are flocking to the
most, is there is a sense ofjourney, of connection, and
really it's an opportunity forwomen to kind of reclaim their
space.
And actually a lot of the tripswe're seeing women most excited
(14:07):
about have some sort ofsometimes a spiritual element.
Our Camino de Santiago trip hasbeen incredibly popular and I
think there's that sense ofjourney and spirituality and the
pilgrimage and the historybehind it.
So there's several differentexamples of that, but long story
short.
I think women are just excitedto get out there in an
(14:27):
environment that feels enrichingand supportive and joyous.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I love that, but I would agree with the timing
honestly, because I think we allwere there and we all kind of
have.
I know I got like I got alittle scared, like am I never
gonna be able to travel?
again you know, like you know soI think there was that and like
having to just sit.
I think a lot of people duringthat time did reevaluate their
lives.
We kind of just had to sit anddecide what, what do we want to
(14:55):
do for our futures instead ofyou know, cause it gave us time
to do, to evaluate.
But I do love the fact that younoticed, I think, part of that
spiritual um that you mentioned,like people flocking board of
the Camino, um having thatpilgrimage or trips like that Um
, I would agree, I think, forwomen, I get the sense that also
(15:16):
when they do group travel, andespecially if it's all women,
for them it's about theconnection too, I think.
And just finding, you know,like-minded people make new
friends.
You know, because I have toadmit, you know, I'm in my fs
and as you get older it getsharder to make friends.
And so being on, you findyourself maybe in a group trip
(15:40):
and you maybe click withsomebody.
How exciting that is.
You've made a new friend in theprocess of this adventure, so I
love the fact that your companyis seeming to offer that sort
of opportunity and platform forwomen travelers.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
I couldn't agree more , and I think it's.
One of the exciting things tosee on these trips is the
variety of different women thatdo join them, and you know we
have lots of solo travelers andthen we also have
multi-generational dynamicsgoing on with a mother and a
daughter.
We have old friends fromcollege who never get the chance
(16:14):
to see each other.
This is their opportunity andthat, no matter who you are and
what your background is, whetheryou are solo or not, there are
these friendships andconnections formed that I think
is really only possible in anenvironment like this, where
it's all women together, it'sinclusive, it's an energizing
space, it's safe.
I think safety is anothercomponent to these trips that
(16:38):
you know, we see women reallyexcited to go to these far flung
places like Bhutan or Nepal,where, or Morocco, for instance,
where they might not feel ascomfortable traveling on their
own, and so this gives them thatvessel to do that in a really,
really exciting, safe way.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yes, I love that and that you have that.
Like you said, they have ashared experience that also kind
of connects them in a way.
Well, what type of activitiescan someone do on a back?
Because Backroads does grouptours, but they are activity
adventure driven.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So give us some examples of what are some things
that we someone could do on oneof your tour groups focus on
walking and hiking, but overall,for all of our travelers it's a
variety of walking and hiking,biking, and we have trips that
(17:37):
we refer to as multi-adventure,which is usually a combination
of hiking, biking and maybe someother activities that are
specific to the region, whetherthat's zip lining or kayaking or
rafting.
So they're all active by nature,but lots of different activity
levels that we accommodate.
(17:57):
We have trips that we refer toas Dolce Tempo, which
essentially translates to sweettime.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
But what the?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
trips really entail are they're still active but
there's slower pace.
So for those travelers who justthey want a trip that's active
in nature but there's slowerpace, so for those travelers who
just, um, they want a tripthat's active in nature but they
don't want the super fast pace,they don't want the really
rigorous activity levels, Um,we're really working hard to
accommodate all different typesof travelers, um, while still
(18:27):
staying true to that and kind ofanchoring back to that active
pillar to that and kind ofanchoring back to that active
pillar.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yes, so where are some places that your group
takes people?
Just name it.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I know you go all over the place, but some places
that have been really, I think,popular lately is Croatia.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I was going to say Croatia.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, I mean always.
You know Italy and France havealways been incredibly popular,
in particular the Dolomites,tuscany, the Alpine regions, the
French and Italian Alps, theSwiss Alps, the Bavarian Alps.
People are really flocking tothose areas.
We run safaris in Africa.
(19:09):
We have in all different partsof Africa, we and they're active
safaris.
We do um biking trips acrossVietnam and um Thailand, and we
have a huge presence in NorthAmerica as well, um throughout
Canada, the States and LatinAmerica, um and uh, really
(19:31):
everywhere we go to Antarctica.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Oh, wow, that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
We are constantly looking at how we can not only
grow our offering in terms ofthe places that we're visiting,
but how can we also expandcapacity in the places that are
most popular, and it's reallyexciting to see when we add a
new region.
Just to give you an example,we've gone to Portugal for quite
some time and it's always beenan incredibly popular region.
(19:58):
But recently I believe it wastwo years ago now we added a
trip to the Azores, and that hasabsolutely taken off in a huge
way, and, of course, we thoughtthere would be demand for it.
We wouldn't have launched itotherwise, but I think we were
blown away by the response thatwe saw, and so when we see
something like that and we seemomentum in a certain area, then
(20:18):
we quickly work to add morecapacity.
So that's a long way ofanswering your question about
where we go, but lots of reallyexciting spots.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Wasn't aware of Antarctica because I know only a
few groups go there, right.
And then you mentioned Africansafaris, but you said they're
active.
So I'm curious how are theyactive?
Because when I think of asafari I'm like, oh you, just
you know, you ride in the Jeep,you go see the animals.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right, totally, and that is the classic safari model
so.
I will say I you know, as youwere asking me about travel
experiences that have shaped me,I was thinking about my.
My favorite trip I've ever donewas our backroads active safari
to South Africa and Botswanaand the.
It's an incredibly uniqueexperience because we're really
(21:10):
the only luxury safari providerout there that does these active
safaris, where we enable ourguests to actually bike on the
game reserves and you're seeinggiraffes in the distance in
addition to the classic safariexperiences where you're going
out on the game drives early inthe morning and seeing all of
this beautiful wildlife.
(21:31):
But that trip in particular,it's sort of a journey from
South Africa to Botswana andyou're, you know, you see, you
experience the winelands upoutside of Cape Town all the way
to the safari, the safariexperiences in Botswana, and
then back to South Africa to domore safari, and so it's a real
(21:51):
sense of journey from all ofthese different places, from
Cape town into the safariregions and the deserts, but
it's a wonderful experience.
And biking through the actualgame reserves, oh my gosh, that
would be incredible.
Yeah, incredibly unique and oneof my favorite experiences I've
ever had.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, I mean you don't hear that.
That's because, like you said,the traditional model is.
You know, you get in a Jeep andthey drive you out you see some
animals, or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah, totally, which, don't get me wrong, is
incredibly special too, and so Iloved that part of the trip
Definitely, but I lovedcomplimenting it with the biking
and with some of the hikingoutside of Cape town and, um,
just having that really thosediverse experiences in addition
to the classic safari was quitespecial, awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Now, how many of these do you get to go on?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Oh gosh, um like how often do you go every year on,
at least one or something.
Yeah, I try to.
Um, I now have a little one athome, Teddy.
He's one and a half, so thatmakes it a little bit more
challenging, but I, you know,historically have done one to
two a year every year, which Ifeel incredibly fortunate about
(23:04):
we are able to go.
We're going, my husband and Iwith some of our friends, on our
French and Italian Alps hikingtrip next month, which we feel
so grateful to do, and Teddywill get some time with his
grandparents, so we're verylucky about that too, but yeah,
it's harder.
It's harder to make these thingshappen with a little one at
(23:24):
home, but still get to get outthere every now and then.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Speaking of group tours, you had well.
Speaking of group tours, youhad well, you had mentioned off
air, that Backroads is going to,you know, as solo travelers,
which is my audience.
One thing that is a somewhat ofa complaint, whether it's your
cruising or you're doing a grouptour, is we often get charged
(23:51):
what's called that singlesupplement, and or we get
charged more in some way.
Um, how is back roads umaddressing that?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I think you mentioned that you are, you know, working
on something right now um tohelp us solo travelers we are
yes, so, um, we're reallyexcited about this and just as
some background on Backroads andour trips, you know we have
welcomed solo travelers sincethe beginning of time and have
always been really enthusiasticabout our solo traveler kind of
(24:23):
branch of guests them andaccommodate them, and one of the
things that we're doing, comingup, is really presenting a
collection of some of ourgreatest trips where we'll have
a reduced single supplement, sojust making it a little bit more
accessible for our solo gueststo join a backroads experience
(24:44):
in a more affordable way.
So that's something that we'relaunching next month, in August,
I believe.
By the time that this airs,that will already be live on
backroadscom.
But I'm really hoping that thatnot only makes the trips more
accessible to solo travelers,but that then there might be an
even larger contingent of solotravelers on those trips
(25:05):
specifically.
So if you're a solo traveler,it's always nice to have other
solo guests along and not be theonly one, and so that's a great
way for us to kind of directguests to trips in particular
that might be best suited forthem, that they'll have the best
experience on.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
No, I appreciate that , because that you know it's
discouraging At least it was forme when I was.
I'll take the cruise you know,cruise thing, for example you
know because I wouldn't mindgoing along, but it was.
I'll take the cruise, you know,cruise thing, for example.
You know because I wouldn'tmind going along, but it was
just like almost twice the price, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
So it's cost prohibitive for sure, exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
So I'm like okay, I'm not going to cruise until I can
find somebody to go with yeahright?
Speaker 2 (25:45):
No, totally.
And you know we have a large,large contingent of solo
travelers and we want to, youknow, cultivate that and
continue growing it.
So we're excited about it.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Very good, I love that.
And on a more personal level,speaking of solo travelers,
would you have some, sinceyou've traveled so much and you
have had so many layers ofexperiences?
I'll just say that, right, yougot some good and bad, probably.
What would be a piece of adviceyou would give a woman solo
(26:21):
traveler who maybe is going forher first trip?
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, great question.
I guess a few pieces of advice.
I mean, my first would beprobably to start small actually
.
So if you've never traveledsolo and you're a solo female
traveler, maybe just start witha small weekend trip, you know,
see how that suits you, get yourbearings, figure out what you
like, what drives you, what doyou appreciate about that trip,
(26:50):
and then you can replicate it ona bigger scale, moving forward.
Sometimes those smaller tripsfeel a little bit less
intimidating and moreapproachable and more feasible
to pull off.
Even so, I think starting smallis a great one.
I think, following yourintuition the entire time, I
mean letting your intuitionguide you, that you don't
(27:11):
necessarily have to seeeverything, but really leaning
into what feels right and whatsparks joy for you and I think
you know that goes for any solotraveler, but women in
particular and I think leaninginto those things that you enjoy
the most.
So just letting your intuitionguide you.
(27:32):
And then I guess, finally, Iwould say you know, to just kind
of remember that you arecapable of probably more than
you think.
So I think every solo journeybegins with just even taking
that first step.
I think that it's kind ofcourageous in and of itself, and
I think that all solo travelers, women especially will be so, I
(27:55):
think, proud of and impressedby themselves and what they can
do and what they experience whenthey get out there.
I think it's a reallyempowering thing to do.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, totally agree, it so is.
And for those that have neverexperienced a solo trip I mean
it's people that have can it'shard to put in words, you know,
because everybody's experienceis different, but there is
definitely this.
Like you said that word, yousaid empowerment that happens
when you get out of your comfortzone, as we've been talking
(28:25):
about right.
But, I also loved how you saidto honor your intuition, and I
think a lot of people when theygo places, they get caught up in
.
I got to see this, I got to seethat, and I think a lot of
people when they go places, theyget caught up and I got to see
this, I got to see that and it'sthis rushed feeling as opposed
to really finding, like you said, find what gives you joy, like
(28:46):
what would make you happy inthis trip, and not necessarily,
you know, maybe you don't likecrowds, so you know, pull back a
little.
Right, I love that.
So, yeah, great advice.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
I agree.
I mean I take it even a stepfurther, like I'm just thinking
about that, letting yourintuition guide you, and I think
one of the most powerful thingsin my mind about solo travel is
the opportunities it opens upfor connection when you're by
yourself.
I think there are moreopportunities to be had to.
You know, take a moment andspeak to the person next to you
(29:21):
who might be traveling solo bythemselves and other solo
travelers looking for thatconnection.
And I think if you're toowrapped up in you know, planning
out your day, every second ofit, and getting from one place
to the other, and looking atyour phone to guide you, you
miss out on so many of thoseopportunities for connection,
especially when you're travelingsolo.
(29:42):
So if you can let go of that alittle, bit let your intuition,
guide you and be open to thosearound you and the experiences
around you and the people aroundyou.
I think that that will only beeven more enriching for the
overall experience.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yes, absolutely you are.
You hit the nail on the nose,right.
So thank you for sharing that.
So I love the idea of startingsmall, but I also I think, once
they've done that, maybe apotential next step, if they're
not quite ready to like jump outand do a whole solo trip by
(30:18):
themselves, wouldn't you agree?
Like a group tour might begreat, right?
So yeah, I'm biased.
I think it's a great place forpeople also to start, because
they may be, they might evenjust have this fear factor and
of being alone, just being alonein general, and so I love that.
(30:41):
Backroads does accept andwelcome solo travelers, and you
have so many trips to choosefrom, so tell us where can we
find out where all those tripsare?
Obviously, you've got a website.
Is there some social media thatyou can share as well?
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Sure absolutely Yep.
So backroadscom is our websiteand you can find us at Backroads
Travel on Instagram and allsocial channels Facebook,
linkedin, etc.
And I think you know, cheryl,you just touched on it, but that
you know, as a solo traveler,if you're open to not just
(31:17):
traveling by yourself buttraveling with others, I do
think a group tour is the way tomake people feel the most
connected and safe and takencare of and to let somebody else
handle all of the planning andall of the details and all of
the.
You know.
you know schlepping your bag andstuff that isn't as glamorous
or fun about travel.
(31:37):
It's really nice to be able tolet go of some of that and hand
it over to experts who are thereto support you, so I do think
that's a really freeing thing asa solo traveler.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Absolutely.
I love that.
That you don't have to worry.
I wish I had done that on mycommute Right.
Yeah, totally yeah.
I slept my bag the whole time.
I should I had done that on mycommute Right.
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Yeah, I slept my bag the whole time.
I should have had ittransported, and that's a great
way to do it too.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
It's a harder way to do it, I'll tell you it's true,
it's true.
But yeah, to have someone else.
I love that, to have someoneelse do all the planning,
because I think that tooprevents a lot of people from,
you know, jumping into doing awhole week of travel, like all
that planning can beoverwhelming.
And to have someone else I knowright take care of it.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I mean, that's a whole lot, then you can truly
enjoy the experience.
I think honestly for people whohave you know so much going on
in that mental load, that somany of us carry around all the
time to be able to alleviatesome of that is, you know, true
vacation.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Yes, yes, I love it.
Well, any last minute, likenuggets of truth or anything
else you want to share.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
You know I don't know about last minute nuggets of
truth.
I think I just reallyappreciate this opportunity to
connect with you, Cheryl, and Ireally enjoyed this conversation
and I think you know it is suchan exciting time to be in the
travel space and supporting alldifferent types of travelers out
there, but specifically womenand solo travelers who are
(33:13):
looking for a deeper sense ofjourney and connection and
adventure, and that there's somuch enthusiasm and passion and
desire out there to experiencethat is something that really
energizes me and excites me, andI so applaud you for creating
this space for solo womentravelers to learn a little bit
(33:33):
more, and it's really, reallygreat to see.
So thank you for allowing me totake the time with you.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Absolutely.
I love connecting withcompanies like yours that you
know really support the solotraveler in some way or
encourage them, invite them inand, you know, provide a great
service to you.
So guys, go to the website,check out some of their trips
backroadscom and I will alsoleave the other social media
links in the show notes for youfolks to check out so you can
(34:03):
follow them right and see wherethey're going.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Thank you again, avery.
Yes, loved it, take care.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
You too.
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