Women traveling alone is becoming more common. Yet there are still many women out there who hesitate to travel alone. They put their dreams on hold waiting for a friend or partner to come along and many times, it never happens.
I was never afraid to travel alone, I embraced it! I wanted to travel alone. Solo travel has had a huge positive impact on my life, my confidence, belief in my abilities and more. I am super passionate about encouraging women to travel.
About a year ago, I had discovered Facebook groups. I thought they were very powerful. I saw women who were worried about their first ever solo trip go online and get advice and feel encouraged. But I saw flaws in Facebook groups. I didn’t want to mix my personal platform with strangers. I found the helpful advice quickly disappeared with repeat questions. I saw strict rules of what can and can’t be said and was constantly spammed by men in groups on personal messages. And don’t forget that these groups are still under the wrath of the Facebook algorithm and stability. This is when I decided to create She Roams Solo.
She Roams Solo is a social networking platform for women who travel solo (or with someone, we don’t leave out any women). Once you sign up for a free membership, you create your own profile, add your photo, cover photo, bio and you are set to go. The platform has a well organised forum with categories like “find a travel buddy” “scams and safety” “eco-travel” “hidden gems” and more. The forum also allows you to ask questions by specific country and modes of transport. The centre of the community is the community board, this is where the action happens. It is where you can see interactions such as new members, questions placed on the forum and new answers. It's the place to find new friends and interact with the community as well as post your thoughts, links, photos and more.
It took me three months to create the community alone, I quit my full time job in order to spend the time on it and do it right. I am originally a graphic and web designer by trade but not a developer so there was a lot of learning. Within three months of the community launching we have over 1,000 members. The community is new but there are some huge plans, from an app to a conference to a magazine!
