Travel as Transition: How Women Are Moving Through Life’s Biggest Shifts

Not just an escape—travel is becoming a sacred tool for healing, clarity, and choosing yourself again.

There was a moment in my life when everything felt like it was falling apart—my long-term relationship had ended after eight years, and friendships I once relied on were shifting too. I was sad, uncertain, and trying to figure out who I was outside of the life I had built around other people. Then in 2020, my cousin passed away unexpectedly. That loss, paired with the pandemic, shook something loose in me. I realized how short life really is. I didn’t want to keep shrinking myself or waiting for the “right time” to choose me. So I booked a solo trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

I didn’t have a deep reason for choosing the destination—I just needed a beach and space to breathe. My only real intention was to prove to myself that I could do it. That solo travel could be part of my healing, and part of my personal growth. What I found on that trip was more than peace—it was a homecoming. It brought me back to a version of myself I hadn’t seen in years. A version that had always been there, waiting for me to make room for her.

A Growing Movement of Women Healing Through Travel

That trip was just the beginning for me. It shifted how I saw solo travel—not as something intimidating or indulgent, but as something deeply necessary. Since then, I’ve met more and more women who’ve done the same thing: booked a flight not to run away, but to come back to themselves. Some were healing from breakups, others were burnt out from jobs or emotionally drained from caregiving. What we all had in common was this quiet, urgent need for space. Not just physical space, but emotional space. Space to reflect, to breathe, to remember who we are when no one is asking us to perform, fix, or prove anything.

This isn’t just a trend—it’s a shift in how many of us are choosing to navigate change. We’re seeing more women taking solo trips, signing up for wellness retreats, pausing for midlife sabbaticals, or just giving themselves permission to unplug for a few days. There are seasons in our lives—internal ones—when the pull to reset becomes impossible to ignore. Times when the noise gets too loud, or the pace of everything makes it hard to hear yourself think. It’s often in those quiet, in-between moments that women start asking: What do I need? Where can I go to listen to myself? Travel becomes not just a getaway, but a path back to clarity.

Not Escape—Expansion

What I’ve learned is that solo travel isn’t about escaping your life—it’s about expanding it. It’s about seeing yourself in a new light, in new places, outside the stories you’ve been told or the roles you’ve been playing. Traveling alone forced me to be present with my own thoughts, my own needs, and my own voice. And there’s something sacred about that. About choosing yourself in such an intentional way.

Whether I was walking along the beach at sunset or sitting in silence with a journal, I kept hearing the same thing within me: “I’m still here.” Even in sadness. Even in uncertainty. That part of me that knows how to move forward—that part never left. I just needed time and space to meet her again.

Reflection Question:

When was the last time you gave yourself space to simply be with yourself—no roles, no noise, just you?

What If Travel Is the Medicine?

As women, we’re so often taught to hold it all together, to be strong, to keep pushing. But what if healing looks like getting on a plane and choosing softness instead? What if transformation isn’t something we grind our way into, but something we gently uncover while walking foreign streets or floating in quiet water?

I believe travel can be a powerful threshold. It doesn’t mean you have all the answers when you come home. But it can help you hear your own truth a little more clearly. It can give you just enough distance to make new decisions. It can remind you that you are whole, even in your becoming.

This won’t be the last time I take a trip to reconnect with myself. In fact, I think I’ll spend the rest of my life doing it—because every version of me deserves to be met, loved, and lived.

If you’re feeling the pull to move, listen to it. You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going. Sometimes, it’s enough just to go.