Wall of Traveler Love

Video transcript: Hi, I'm Sarah Hussain. I'm 42 years old and I live in San Diego, California. Today was awesome. Today was actually our last day on the Sofi tour to Ecuador and we had to wake up at 6am and go to these towers overlooking the Amazon. It was so amazing to see so many different birds and plants and trees and frogs. So we had a three hour trek and we got to kind of be 120ft above and see flowers on top of trees and it was, it was truly breathtaking. I absolutely love to travel. I always try to designate one to two international destinations a year. And when I first found out about Sofi and I started looking at their itineraries, it actually built in a lot of the stuff that I love already. It cultivated enough opportunities to learn about culture, history, the people, the indigenous peoples. It gave the option to step away, to, you know, over engage. It was, it was just a great balance. And so I felt like, you know what, why not try this out? It felt like it was meeting my needs. So for Ecuador, I have to say, we had to take two canoes, a plane, a van to get to our lodge in the Amazon. And the most memorable moment was when we got in the second canoe and we enter this huge lake and you see the lodge where you're going to stay and it just like you just felt this burst of excitement, excitement, like, where am I? This is amazing. And it just feels like the sense of adventure that's about to come, you know. It was really awesome. Traveling with other fellow women travelers. I instantly felt like I gained a community of friends. I also felt very seen and that we were all very similar. A lot of us started our stories with other travel experiences and we would spend our evenings comparing this trip with other trips we've been on, giving each other recommendations and also just talking about where we each are in our lives. And there's something very powerful and collective when women in their 40s come together. And there was a lot of vulnerable and authentic conversations and that really happened the first couple of nights. We just opened up about our lives and our trials and it was just really nice. Definitely made friends very fast on this trip. I feel like I am walking away for new friends.

Video transcript: If there is one tour I've gone on that has exceeded my expectations, it's Mongolia. I think it really hadn't occurred to me that it was a place I could go. I had seen the Eagle Huntress documentary a few years ago and I just was amazed by it and in awe of the Golden Eagle Festival. And it never occurred to me that I could actually go there and see it. And so when that was announced as a new Sophie tour, I literally screamed across the house to my husband, I'm going to Mongolia. Because I couldn't believe that I would actually get to see it. That was the one that I think I had the most anticipation for. Every moment was just awe inspiring. And I loved driving through the countryside. The people that we met are beautiful and welcoming and hardworking. That tour just really blew my mind. And the couple days we had to watch the Golden Eagle Festival was by and far one of the most amazing things I've ever gotten to see. And there were 145 competitors and you didn't get sick of watching it. Therefore it's just that much history happening in front of you. So that was really special.

Video transcript: Hey, my name's ann. I'm a 39 year old kiwi living in Australia. I've been a silent watcher of the Solo Female Traveller Network for quite some time now. First solo travel was going to be to Egypt but my family were a little bit concerned so they said I needed to go with a tour group. So of course I would look at solo female travellers and wow. Absolutely wow. It has just been blown my mind. It's just so amazing. From the girls to the tours to the food. The food is amazing. I'm a vegetarian so everywhere is vegetables, super tasty food. We have been up, down, all around. The sites we have seen are spectacular, absolutely spectacular. I have cried I think two or three times maybe walking up to a site because it is just everything I dreamed about doing and I feel a lot closer to my mother and my grandmother who have passed being here. They loved Egypt. Hot air balloons and coming to those sites just had me in tears. It was just thrilling, absolutely thrilling. Probably the highlight was Abu Simbel. That was absolutely stunning. A four hour bus ride there but it was well, well, well worth the 2 o' clock wake up call. We're at a hotel now for our chill out days and we've spent days at the beach. We've been diving. That was another bucket list item for me was the diving and I don't like water past my waist in the sea and this one, I was swimming freely in the ocean by myself with a snorkel and then to a dive. It was just breathtaking. Absolutely amazing. So if anyone is thinking of coming on this tour, I highly recommend it. Just get in contact with one of us girls. We'd be more than welcome to answer any questions. If you have anything, just do it. You only live once.

Video transcript: I was inspired to go on a Sofie tour for the first time because a friend of mine found Sophie and we went on the Egypt tour. I loved it so much. I checked out all of their other available tours and since then I have now gone on five Sofie tours. I think going on a group tour can be something that makes you nervous, but with every Sofie tour I found they have such a great structure and there's always an amazing guide that they take a lot of that pressure away. I've done multiple experiences now with Sophie where I have known my roommate and also where I haven't known my roommate. And so it's worked out every time and I meet just the most amazing women here. So many stories. You get ideas for more travel locations when you go with them. I make such great connections with the women on the tours. It's been really amazing and I've had a lot of lifelong friendships made through it.

Video transcript: I'm Aiea, I'm from New York and I'm 47. I've been to Egypt twice, I've been to Morocco, I've been to Bali, I've been to Turkey. So this is my sixth meet up tour. I love Sophie. Evidently I love Sophie. I love that it's just a mix of culture, mix of women, that we're all like minded, we all love to travel. Different experiences. I learned so much from each trip I go on.

Video transcript: What was your favorite part of this turkey trip? Seeing the ruins in the water and getting to swim in the sea. That was awesome. That was a life experience. The hot air balloons. Always wanted to do that for the longest and I was in it, doing it. I wasn't sure if it was going to be kind of all hype and what you see on Instagram is not as cool but it was honestly better. It was so beautiful. You could see the entire valley, the whole city. It was gorgeous. Yeah, Surreal. It's like am I really here? The mushrooms. The mushrooms, the olives, everything. The lamb and we even got to learn how to cook some of it. Yeah, that was my favorite place to stay at the cottage. It was so beautiful. The views was really beautiful. Thing has been so tasty, so delicious. It doesn't matter of the region. It's been really great.

Video transcript: I was inspired to join a Sophie trip by my now friend and then acquaintance, Jess. I would see Jess post these amazing adventures, going to Lebanon and Mongolia and Egypt, and I just thought, like, how is she doing this? He's so inspired and curious and a little bit, a lot, bit jealous. And then I learned the secret was Sophie. I'd never traveled so solo internationally before. I never really would have in a million years identified as a solo traveler. I was not in a space where I was thinking, oh, yeah, I can tackle India on my own. Coming out of the pandemic and really recognizing my anxiety and really recognizing some of the things that I wanted to do and some of the ways I wanted to grow, traveling with Sophie was a really wonderful way to challenge myself. Before I pressed the button on the Sophie website, I knew I wanted to go on this trip. I knew it had been a dream. I knew the dates would work. Are you sure this is worth it? I mean, you could use some gutter guards. By taking time to seize an opportunity now that I might not have later is really a way to celebrate myself. If I didn't say yes now, I might never give myself permission to say yes. Of course, I was worried about the group dynamic, but I was really excited that Sophie took that into consideration and had a roommate quiz. You know, there are just so many things you need to do before traveling internationally, and Sophie did a great job of keeping us in the loop of what we needed to have done before we left. Pepper is being a monster. I love her, but she is terrible on set. We were very spoiled. Having all our transportation, meals, lodging tips, all of those pieces, we didn't have to worry about a thing. I think Jaipur was one of my favorite places. We had all of these different artisans homes we were visiting. Gosh, we probably had five, six stops that day. Gosh, was that the most Minnesotan I've ever been. Okay. We were really able to appreciate the goods that were made. The pottery, the rugs, the embroidery. That was a day. We started with a block printing workshop. And just seeing the amount of effort it takes to make a scarf and then having the opportunity to support those makers was really wonderful. That was my very favorite part of traveling with Sophie. Just the ability to support women in other countries made this trip so wonderful. Knowing I can picture the face of the people who made the rug that's in my living room is just so such a cool thing, so action packed, and yet it never felt like it was too much or that we'd overextended. This is a Place that's not in any sort of travel guide. This is a truly special place. You know, it's the sort of thing that if I had been responsible on my own to book a bunch of excursions and the like, I don't know that I would have seen those places. She's so cute and a monster. I have terrible trip fomo. I want to make sure if I'm in a place, we are doing all of the things. One thing that was so wonderful about traveling with Sophie was that they handled all of those logistics. And I knew everything we were doing was intentional and was well researched. And it was something that was truly going to be a worthwhile experience. Let's talk about accommodations. So I did not realize the places we would be staying were going to be fancy. I didn't realize we would stay at like a literal palace. And there was a lake and there were horses you could ride and there were monkeys and peacocks wandering the grounds. It was amazing. Oh gosh. And never in a million years would have been a place I would have found on my own. The day we went to the Taj Mahal. That is a wonder of the world. Really present in the moment. Not stressing about where's the best camera angle, what time do we have to be there, what can I bring in my bag? All of those anxieties that I normally would have had when visiting a hugely popular tourist destination. I wasn't worried about one thing that occurred to me while we were traveling. I realized I didn't know what pretty much anyone did for work, but I knew who'd been to Antarctica and who'd been to Egypt. And I loved that. That was my first point of contact for building relationships with these women is over. That shared interest of travel. Investing in a Sophie trip was really an investment in myself. This trip was really a once in a lifetime experience for me, which is what I knew when I booked it. I knew that if I was ever going to make my dream of going to India come true, this was going to be the way to do it. And I am so incredibly proud of myself and grateful. I think it was such a thoughtful and beautiful experience. And I was just so inspired by the women in our group. I left with some really great relationships with some really amazing women. And it's just so wonderful to have have women who've been on the same trip who are able to just continue to bring so much joy into my everyday this trip. Oh. And looking ahead to what they have in store for the next group, I'm kind of jealous. I would go again if I could.

Video transcript: How did you feel when you booked the tour before you had met everybody versus when you became part of this group? First time solo traveler out of the country. I can tell you I was very nervous about the whole experience. Very uneasy. Felt nervous when I was coming in. But I'm coming in with an open mind. I didn't come in not knowing anybody. You just know you gotta meet new people and you're a people person even if you're an introvert. As soon as I got to my room and had the opportunity to meet my roommate, her bright smile. And then when I got to meet, like all of the other ladies on the trip, everybody was so welcoming. Nobody would believe it. But I am introverted. You can be extroverted. You need your downtime. It's just okay for you to be who you are. You don't always have to be on. So I'm ready to make new friends and I'm just here for the experience and have fun and you never know, you might have a lifetime friend. I feel like everybody's been super kind, super helpful, just giving tips and tricks, really kind of helping you along the way at any part when you're not feeling comfortable right there to kind of guide and support, which has been really nice. Great positive energy. And Amanda did a great job of making sure that we all understood this is a positive, confident and independent group of women. We need to keep those good vibes. And everyone has. It's exceeded my expectations. I got a bunch of photographers, so even if you go by yourself, you're with a group of people who these women been very accommodating. We take each other pictures, we tell each other how to pose. It's great. So I wouldn't be afraid to go on a stage. A solo tour, especially with Sophie, I think is amazing and I think it's a really well thought out trip and I like every single thing about it. Figured I would be lucky if I found like one friend that I continue on. But I seriously think I will talk to everybody on this trip. Everyone has been amazing.

Video transcript: How has the accommodation been on this trip? All of the places we've been have been incredibly unique places. Probably not something you could find online easily. I had my own room. It was. It was great. Even with a roommate. Never felt crowded. Rooms are very big and spacious. I didn't feel like I was always in my roommate's space. The cottage was beautiful because of the views. The one that we stayed in, Ka, that was so modern and beautiful and it was gorgeous. I think it's been pretty amazing in that way. It's very off the beaten path. Very nice accommodations.

Video transcript: Hey, my name's ann. I'm a 39 year old kiwi living in Australia. I've been a silent watcher of the Solo Female Traveller Network for quite some time now. First solo travel was going to be to Egypt but my family were a little bit concerned so they said I needed to go with a tour group. So of course I would look at solo female travellers and wow. Absolutely wow. It has just been, it's blown my mind. It's just so amazing. From the girls to the tours to the food. The food is amazing. I'm a vegetarian so everywhere is vegetables, super tasty food. We have been up, down, all around. The sites we have seen are spectacular, absolutely spectacular. I have cried I think two or three times maybe walking up to a site because it is just everything I dreamed about doing and I feel a lot closer to my mother and my grandmother who have passed being here. They loved Egypt. Hot air balloons and coming, coming to those sites just had me in tears. It was just thrilling, absolutely thrilling. Probably the highlight was Abu Simbel. That was absolutely stunning. A four hour bus ride there but it was well, well, well worth the 2:00 Wake up call. We're at a hotel now for our chill out days and we've spent days at the beach. We've been diving. That was another bucket list item for me was the diving and I don't like water past my waist in the sea and this one, I was swimming freely in the ocean by myself with a snorkel and then went under dive. It was just breathtaking. Absolutely amazing. So if anyone is thinking of coming on this tour, I highly recommend it. Just get in contact with one of us girls. We'd be more than welcome to answer any questions. If you have anything, just do it. You only live once.