Active Solo Adventures: Exploring the Backroads of Global Travel with Avery Hale-Smith

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.backroads.com

https://www.instagram.com/backroadstravel/

Chapters

• 0:00 Meeting Avery Hale-Smith of Backroads
• 9:41 Early Travel Memories and Formative Experiences
• 15:38 The Rise of Women's Adventure Travel
• 19:17 Active Adventures Around the World
• 26:28 Solo Travel Tips and Group Tour Benefits
• 31:10 Connecting Through Travel and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Well, have you ever considered going on a group tour? Well, today I have the Chief Experience Officer at Backroads, Avery Hale-Smith. She brings a lifelong passion for travel, cultural connection and guest experience. She's raised in the Bay Area and, deeply influenced by her family's global adventures, she returned to Backroads in 2021 after building a career in strategy, marketing and customer experience. Avery played a key role in launching Backroads Women's Adventures and the new 30s and 40s trips, and continues to help shape the future of active travel. Her passion for creating meaningful impact began early. At age 12, she founded a nonprofit focused on social advocacy, a commitment that was later recognized by the United Nations. She holds a degree in communications and psychology from Wake Forest University and now works alongside her father, who is the founder and CEO, Tom Hale, to lead innovation, quality and growth in active travel. Well, welcome, Avery. I'm so glad you're here. What a bio. Thank you so much, Cheryl.

Speaker 2: 1:15

Thank you for that very kind introduction. It's great to be here with you. I'm looking forward to our conversation. Yes.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Well, you have obviously large history you're going to get your family history of being involved in travel. So I'm sure you have lots of stories to share about kind of how it all started and you know obviously you have that passion because you have continued kind of exploring in this travel industry. Is there any story early on story that stands out to you, is kind of like you kind of got the idea. You know obviously your father already had the passion right and maybe you caught that at some point. Can you share a story about that?

Speaker 2: 1:56

yeah, just to make sure I'm understanding your question, cheryl. Um point in time where I um got the bug to join.

Speaker 1: 2:02

Backroads or just travel in general. I say travel in general, let's say travel in general, yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:09

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, growing up I was able to participate in a lot of different travel experiences. Many of them were back roads trips, and I think I've had several sort of I guess you know eye-opening moments. But one that sticks out in my mind probably was a family trip that we took to Ecuador and the Galapagos, and through that trip it was a multi-adventure trip, so we were doing a combination of biking and hiking and water activities. And you know I could spend a whole bunch of time talking about our family trips in particular and why they're so special.

Speaker 2: 2:57

But for me as a kid, I was not particularly I wasn't super comfortable going outside of my comfort zone, or I wasn't super comfortable going outside of my comfort zone or I wasn't super eager to do that.

Speaker 2: 3:07

And so some of these trips really pushed me and I think that trip did so in a way that was really powerful and sort of formed, I think, the way that I think about travel and kind of sparked that interest in me and, in particular, one of the experiences on that trip is we visited a village, a local community, and I got to, you know, be really up close and personal and immersed in this community.

Speaker 2: 3:35

That was very different from what I had grown up with, got to speak and have conversations with a lot of the villagers, and that was something that I think I definitely felt outside of my comfort zone. It was a new experience that I had never. I had never done something like that before and I really, I think, was surprised by how much I enjoyed that and seeing new cultures and something that I knew is something I wanted to do a lot more of moving forward. And I, ever since, have always felt energized in those types of experiences and, as you mentioned, I had started a nonprofit where we were donating shoes to local villages and communities, and so, in particular, there was that connection with that Ecuador trip, with that Ecuador trip, and so I think because of that, I felt especially sort of connected and motivated to do more to help these communities.

Speaker 1: 4:31

Wow. So that really shaped it feels like it shaped your idea of what travel should also incorporate, you know, encompass, so it's not just going and being a tourist, but you had a very cultural experience in that trip and it sounds like you've had others, because that seems to be at the heart of kind of why you choose to travel right and it's part of maybe a lot of your trips you've had. Aside from that experience have you had I'm sure you have lots of stories because I know you've been a lot of places, were there other trips that were also impactful to you?

Speaker 2: 5:10

Yeah, so many. I think one trip or sort of adventure that was very impactful to me as a young person. This wasn't actually a backroads trip, but is the experiences that I had during a study abroad program in India. It is a place that's near and dear to my heart and this was over the summer.

Speaker 2: 5:31

I in college had the opportunity to go to India with a professor of mine.

Speaker 2: 5:37

I was a psychology and communications major and this was one of my communications professors who was from India and he was leading this course on globalization and sustainability, and so I went over to India with 13 other students and we traveled all throughout India and did a variety of different coursework and activities and adventures.

Speaker 2: 5:56

And that was something that you know, I think if you've ever traveled, if any of your, if you've traveled to India or if any of your travel, if your listeners have traveled to India, you know it is an incredible place that is so different from what we experience here in the States and it was the most of all the places I've traveled. It was the most different from what I know and what I've known, and that was very powerful, I think, again sparked a further love of travel and a spirit of adventure and at times I definitely felt in over my head. I mean, there were experiences where it was. You know, we were the only white people around, the only people speaking English, and I think being in that type of environment where you're the odd one out and I think, was really good for me and I especially loved the opportunities we had there where we were working in schools or visiting schools, working with children, that felt especially impactful. So you know I could go on about other travel experiences.

Speaker 2: 7:07

But that is one that I always sort of anchor back to, especially because I was young, I was in college and had never done anything like that before.

Speaker 1: 7:15

Well, and I think those trips I've had one of those too like college age are just, are really they're formative in how they impact our future lives. I think I've heard many stories where you know during that timeframe whether it was a study abroad, like you mentioned, or just doing, you know, a gap year or something after college how those travels and people that are still traveling today, I would say how that trip has you know, sort of you know gave them that passion or, you know, gave them that focus to the types of travel maybe that are meaningful to them Absolutely. Yeah. So thank you for sharing that. I love that and I think you know India, like you said, is it's a big country and so different than the U? S, as you mentioned, and I have not been yet.

Speaker 2: 8:00

So I add it to your list.

Speaker 1: 8:07

Yeah, but if I would go, I would definitely, you know, go with a group, because I don't feel like I just think there's a lot going on that goes on in India that I would feel, like you said, out of my comfort zone. So to have, you know, a group support, 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 of your stories. I just I love travel stories and maybe share one that it was unexpected, meaning things didn't go as planned. You have a trip that maybe kind of oh so many, yeah, when things don't go as planned.

Speaker 1: 8:42

Well, because you know you've been talking about getting out of your comfort zone, and I think in general, travel is the whole, that's the whole idea. But also to kind of expect the unexpected meaning it's. It's never going to go as planned usually, but Definitely.

Speaker 2: 8:58

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, as I mentioned so many of those travel experiences, I think one of the things that I feel really fortunate about is that so many of my travel experiences have been with back roads and so oftentimes we make sure that things go according to plan Even if they don't go according to plan. The guests don't realize they're not going according to plan.

Speaker 2: 9:18

So I feel very lucky in that sense, but lots of adventures I've had where things don't go according to plan in that sense, but lots of adventures I've had where things don't go according to plan. I think one um again that I'm six out in my mind as a young person too was um just after um high school. It was um that summer. Between high school and college I uh was briefly um in Europe with, uh, some friends. It was my first time traveling without my family, a lot of their first times traveling without their family, you know, visiting a lot of new places, staying in you know whatever hostels we could find, and really just doing it on our own, as most people do at that age. Yeah, and we were again every day very far outside of our comfort zone.

Speaker 2: 10:06

And one thing that sticks out in my mind is not going according to plan was it was a group of just women, it was young women, it was, I believe it was eight of us at the time and we were in Barcelona and it was the afternoon one day and we couldn't find one of our fellow travelers, one of our friends, and we of course, were in a panic. We had seen the movie taken. We have, you know, we, just you know, you get these you think worst case scenario right.

Speaker 2: 10:38

Worst case scenario Absolutely, and couldn't find her Looked all over, Sent half of the group out to kind of scope the area we're calling her Looked all over sent half of the group out to kind of scope the area. We're calling her. We were looking in the apartment and this went on for over an hour, which doesn't seem like that much time, but in the moment you know every minute feels like an eternity.

Speaker 2: 10:56

So we ended up finding her. Everything was totally fine. She was literally just taking a nap in a place within the apartment. You know, we hadn't been screaming for her. 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 an eye on your friends and your people. And I think it's um always eyeopening to have experiences like that during travel, to figure out how you're going to address it, what you're going to do, what you're going to do differently, you know, moving forward, but it was all well and good, but it's something we joke 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 if something goes wrong, what did I learn from it? Like, and how could I do it differently or avoid that next time? Right, that's a great, you know, way to approach those kinds of situations, especially when it comes to travel. Well, my podcast does cater to women and can you maybe share because we I've noticed you've noticed that in the past several years that there's been sort of a growth in women's adventure type travel that is just growing. What are your thoughts on why you think that's happening?

Speaker 2: 12:14

Yeah well, I mean, I've absolutely seen the same thing as you in regards to women's travel at Backroads. We have women's specific adventures that we launched just a couple of years ago and we're seeing triple digit growth this year and continuing to add more and more trips to try to keep up with that demand.

Speaker 2: 12:32

And I think you know it's very layered and multifaceted, I think, in terms of why women are flocking to these types of adventures or why women's travel is booming.

Speaker 2: 12:41

But I think at the heart of it is women tend to, I think, throughout their lives, spend a lot of time doing things for others, thinking about others, whether that is being entrenched in raising your family, raising children or, you know, attacking an aggressive career and working incredibly hard. And I think that women recently, especially in the past several years, have been sort of waking up. I don't know if it was sparked by the COVID pandemic, but I have to imagine that that played a role of women waking up and feeling like why wait? Like the time is now to choose me, do something for myself, and I think it's been really powerful to see women have so much enthusiasm for travel or a reignited sense of adventure. So I do think there's that growing sense of why wait, whether it's a life transition or a milestone, birthday or, you know, simply the desire for women to connect with the world and themselves more deeply.

Speaker 2: 13:44

I think that women, a lot of times what we're seeing, at least in our trips and the trips that women are flocking to the most, is there is a sense of journey, of connection, and really it's an opportunity for women to kind of reclaim their space. And actually a lot of the trips we're seeing women most excited about have some sort of sometimes a spiritual element. Our Camino de Santiago trip has been incredibly popular and I think there's that sense of journey and spirituality and the pilgrimage and the history behind it.

Speaker 2: 14:19

So there's several different examples of that, but long story short. I think women are just excited to get out there in an environment that feels enriching and supportive and joyous.

Speaker 1: 14:32

I love that, but I would agree with the timing honestly, because I think we all were there and we all kind of have. I know I got like I got a little scared, like am I never gonna be able to travel?

Speaker 1: 14:43

again you know, like you know so I think there was that and like having to just sit. I think a lot of people during that time did reevaluate their lives. We kind of just had to sit and decide what, what do we want to do for our futures instead of you know, cause it gave us time to do, to evaluate. But I do love the fact that you noticed, I think, part of that spiritual um that you mentioned, like people flocking board of the Camino, um having that pilgrimage or trips like that Um, I would agree, I think, for women, I get the sense that also when they do group travel, and especially if it's all women, for them it's about the connection too, I think. And just finding, you know, like-minded people make new friends. You know, because I have to admit, you know, I'm in my fs and as you get older it gets harder to make friends.

Speaker 1: 15:35

And so being on, you find yourself maybe in a group trip and you maybe click with somebody. How exciting that is. You've made a new friend in the process of this adventure, so I love the fact that your company is seeming to offer that sort of opportunity and platform for women travelers.

Speaker 2: 15:53

I couldn't agree more, and I think it's. One of the exciting things to see on these trips is the variety of different women that do join them, and you know we have lots of solo travelers and then we also have multi-generational dynamics going on with a mother and a daughter. We have old friends from college who never get the chance to see each other.

Speaker 2: 16:14

This is their opportunity and that, no matter who you are and what your background is, whether you are solo or not, there are these friendships and connections formed that I think is really only possible in an environment like this, where it's all women together, it's inclusive, it's an energizing space, it's safe. I think safety is another component to these trips that you know, we see women really excited to go to these far flung places like Bhutan or Nepal, where, or Morocco, for instance, where they might not feel as comfortable traveling on their own, and so this gives them that vessel 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 a shared experience that also kind of connects them in a way. Well, what type of activities can someone do on a back? Because Backroads does group tours, 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 one of 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 we refer to as multi-adventure, which is usually a combination of hiking, biking and maybe some other activities that are specific to the region, whether that's zip lining or kayaking or rafting.

Speaker 2: 17:51

So they're all active by nature, but lots of different activity levels that we accommodate. We have trips that we refer to as Dolce Tempo, which essentially translates to sweet time.

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 just they want a trip that's active in nature but there's slower pace, so for those travelers who just, um, they want a trip that'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 types of travelers, um, while still staying true to that and kind of anchoring back to that active pillar to that and kind of anchoring 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 have always been incredibly popular, in particular the Dolomites, tuscany, the Alpine regions, the French and Italian Alps, the Swiss Alps, the Bavarian Alps. People are really flocking to those areas. We run safaris in Africa. We have in all different parts of Africa, we and they're active safaris. We do um biking trips across Vietnam and um Thailand, and we have a huge presence in North America as well, um throughout Canada, the States and Latin America, um and uh, really 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 of the places that we're visiting, but how can we also expand capacity in the places that are most popular, and it's really exciting 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 been an incredibly popular region. But recently I believe it was two years ago now we added a trip to the Azores, and that has absolutely taken off in a huge way, and, of course, we thought there would be demand for it. We wouldn't have launched it otherwise, but I think we were blown away by the response that we saw, and so when we see something like that and we see momentum in a certain area, then we quickly work to add more capacity. So that's a long way of answering your question about where we go, but lots of really exciting spots.

Speaker 1: 20:27

Wasn't aware of Antarctica because I know only a few groups go there, right. And then you mentioned African safaris, but you said they're active. So I'm curious how are they active? Because when I think of a safari 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 you were asking me about travel experiences that have shaped me, I was thinking about my. My favorite trip I've ever done was our backroads active safari to South Africa and Botswana and the. It's an incredibly unique experience because we're really the only luxury safari provider out there that does these active safaris, where we enable our guests to actually bike on the game reserves and you're seeing giraffes in the distance in addition to the classic safari experiences where you're going out on the game drives early in the morning and seeing all of this beautiful wildlife.

Speaker 2: 21:31

But that trip in particular, it's sort of a journey from South Africa to Botswana and you're, you know, you see, you experience the winelands up outside of Cape Town all the way to the safari, the safari experiences in Botswana, and then back to South Africa to do more safari, and so it's a real sense of journey from all of these different places, from Cape town into the safari regions and the deserts, but it's a wonderful experience. And biking through the actual game reserves, oh my gosh, that would be incredible.

Speaker 2: 22:07

Yeah, incredibly unique and one of 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 and they 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 I loved that part of the trip Definitely, but I loved complimenting it with the biking and with some of the hiking outside of Cape town and, um, just having that really those diverse experiences in addition to the classic safari was quite special, 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 at home, Teddy.

Speaker 2: 22:50

He's one and a half, so that makes it a little bit more challenging, but I, you know, historically have done one to two a year every year, which I feel incredibly fortunate about we are able to go. We're going, my husband and I with some of our friends, on our French and Italian Alps hiking trip next month, which we feel so grateful to do, and Teddy will get some time with his grandparents, so we're very lucky about that too, but yeah, it's harder.

Speaker 2: 23:21

It's harder to make these things happen with a little one at home, but still get to get out there every now and then.

Speaker 1: 23:28

Speaking of group tours, you had well. Speaking of group tours, you had 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 of a complaint, whether it's your cruising or you're doing a group tour, is we often get charged what's called that single supplement, and or we get charged more in some way. Um, how is back roads um addressing that?

Speaker 2: 24:01

I think you mentioned that you are, you know, working on something right now um to help us solo travelers we are yes, so, um, we're really excited about this and just as some background on Backroads and our trips, you know we have welcomed solo travelers since the beginning of time and have always been really enthusiastic about our solo traveler kind of branch of guests them and accommodate them, and one of the things that we're doing, coming up, is really presenting a collection of some of our greatest trips where we'll have a reduced single supplement, so just making it a little bit more accessible for our solo guests to join a backroads experience in a more affordable way. So that's something that we're launching 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 that not only makes the trips more accessible to solo travelers, but that then there might be an even larger contingent of solo travelers on those trips specifically.

Speaker 2: 25:06

So if you're a solo traveler, it's always nice to have other solo guests along and not be the only one, and so that's a great way for us to kind of direct guests to trips in particular that might be best suited for them, 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 for me when I was. I'll take the cruise you know, cruise thing, for example you know because I wouldn't mind going along, but it was. I'll take the cruise, you know, cruise thing, for example. You know because I wouldn't mind 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 yeah right?

Speaker 2: 25:45

No, totally. And you know we have a large, large contingent of solo travelers and we want to, you know, 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, since you've traveled so much and you have had so many layers of experiences? I'll just say that, right, you got some good and bad, probably. What would be a piece of advice you would give a woman solo traveler who maybe is going for her first trip?

Speaker 2: 26:26

Yeah, great question. I guess a few pieces of advice. I mean, my first would be probably to start small actually. So if you've never traveled solo and you're a solo female traveler, maybe just start with a small weekend trip, you know, see how that suits you, get your bearings, figure out what you like, what drives you, what do you appreciate about that trip, and then you can replicate it on a bigger scale, moving forward. Sometimes those smaller trips feel a little bit less intimidating and more approachable and more feasible to pull off. Even so, I think starting small is a great one.

Speaker 2: 27:03

I think, following your intuition the entire time, I mean letting your intuition guide you, that you don't necessarily have to see everything, but really leaning into what feels right and what sparks joy for you and I think you know that goes for any solo traveler, but women in particular and I think leaning into those things that you enjoy the most. So just letting your intuition guide you. And then I guess, finally, I would say you know, to just kind of remember that you are capable of probably more than you think. So I think every solo journey begins with just even taking that first step. I think that it's kind of courageous in and of itself, and I think that all solo travelers, women especially will be so, I think, proud of and impressed by themselves and what they can do and what they experience when they get out there. I think it's a really empowering thing to do.

Speaker 1: 28:05

Yes, totally agree, it so is. And for those that have never experienced a solo trip I mean it's people that have can it's hard to put in words, you know, because everybody's experience is different, but there is definitely this. Like you said that word, you said empowerment that happens when you get out of your comfort zone, as we've been talking about right.

Speaker 1: 28:27

But, I also loved how you said to honor your intuition, and I think a lot of people when they go places, they get caught up in. I got to see this, I got to see that, and I think a lot of people when they go places, they get caught up and I got to see this, I got to see that and it's this rushed feeling as opposed to really finding, like you said, find what gives you joy, like what would make you happy in this trip, and not necessarily, you know, maybe you don't like crowds, 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 step further, like I'm just thinking about that, letting your intuition guide you, and I think one of the most powerful things in my mind about solo travel is the opportunities it opens up for connection when you're by yourself.

Speaker 2: 29:15

I think there are more opportunities to be had to. You know, take a moment and speak to the person next to you who might be traveling solo by themselves and other solo travelers looking for that connection. And I think if you're too wrapped up in you know, planning out your day, every second of it, and getting from one place to the other, and looking at your phone to guide you, you miss out on so many of those opportunities for connection, especially when you're traveling solo.

Speaker 2: 29:42

So if you can let go of that a little, bit let your intuition, guide you and be open to those around you and the experiences around you and the people around you. I think that that will only be even 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 starting small, but I also I think, once they've done that, maybe a potential next step, if they're not quite ready to like jump out and do a whole solo trip by themselves, wouldn't you agree? Like a group tour might be great, right? So yeah, I'm biased.

Speaker 1: 30:27

I think it's a great place for people also to start, because they may be, they might even just have this fear factor and of being alone, just being alone in general, and so I love that. Backroads does accept and welcome solo travelers, and you have so many trips to choose from, so tell us where can we find out where all those trips are? Obviously, you've got a website. Is there some social media that you can share as well?

Speaker 2: 30:57

Sure absolutely Yep. So backroadscom is our website and you can find us at Backroads Travel on Instagram and all social 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 traveling by yourself but traveling with others, I do think a group tour is the way to make people feel the most connected and safe and taken care of and to let somebody else handle all of the planning and all of the details and all of the. You know.

Speaker 2: 31:33

you know schlepping your bag and stuff that isn't as glamorous or fun about travel. It's really nice to be able to let go of some of that and hand it over to experts who are there to support you, so I do think that's a really freeing thing as a solo traveler.

Speaker 1: 31:48

Absolutely. I love that. That you don't have to worry. I wish I had done that on my commute Right. Yeah, totally yeah. I slept my bag the whole time. I should I had done that on my commute Right. Yeah, totally.

Speaker 2: 31:59

Yeah, I slept my bag the whole time. I should have had it transported, 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 someone else do all the planning, because I think that too prevents a lot of people from, you know, jumping into doing a whole week of travel, like all that planning can be overwhelming. And to have someone else I know right 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 who have you know so much going on in that mental load, that so many of us carry around all the time to be able to alleviate some of that is, you know, true vacation.

Speaker 1: 32:39

Yes, yes, I love it. Well, any last minute, like nuggets 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 really appreciate this opportunity to connect with you, Cheryl, and I really enjoyed this conversation and I think you know it is such an exciting time to be in the travel space and supporting all different types of travelers out there, but specifically women and solo travelers who are looking for a deeper sense of journey and connection and adventure, and that there's so much enthusiasm and passion and desire out there to experience that is something that really energizes me and excites me, and I so applaud you for creating this space for solo women travelers to learn a little bit more, and it's really, really great to see. So thank you for allowing me to take the time with you.

Speaker 1: 33:40

Absolutely. I love connecting with companies like yours that you know really support the solo traveler in some way or encourage them, invite them in and, you know, provide a great service to you. So guys, go to the website, check out some of their trips backroadscom and I will also leave the other social media links in the show notes for you folks to check out so you can follow them right and see where they're going. Thank you.

Speaker 2: 34:06

Thank you again, avery. Yes, loved it, take care.

Speaker 1: 34:10

You too.