FROM TOP:VERONIQUE VAN HOORICK; REN FULLER
mountain-climbing expeditions to the spa
weekends of old. The idea goes back to the late
1970s, when women who’d come of age in the
era of second-wave feminism began starting
scrappy programs providing outdoor
adventures to the kinds of customers attending
the feminist music festivals and conferences
that were then sprouting up around the
country. By the late 90s, upscale operators had
joined the fray, courting luxury travelers—
often widowed or divorced retirees who had
the time and money to travel but didn’t want to
be the loner in a group of couples. More
recently, with a certain demographic of women
rebranding feminism as less a political calling
than a lifestyle choice—one focused on
personal empowerment and self-care—
female-centric travel companies are retooling
and expanding once again.
“We were around back when women-only
travel was kind of a joke,” says Jennifer
Haddow, who seven years ago took over Wild
Women Expeditions, a Canada-based
company founded in 1991. “People didn’t really
see why it was valuable.” Now veteran
outfitters like Haddow are diversifying their
offerings to take advantage of a growing
market. Wild Women has added horseback
riding in Mongolia and cycling, trekking and
rafting in Thailand to its original roster of
kayaking and canoeing trips in Ontario and
British Columbia. Adventure Women, a
35-year-old Massachusetts company that
changed hands last year, has begun catering to
younger clients with its “adventurettes”—
bespoke getaways, like long weekends of
riding, river floating, fine dining and massages
in Montana, for women who don’t want a
traditional bachelorette party—in addition to
its journeys to places like Japan and Nepal.
Some lifestyle companies outside the travel
industry see all-female trips as a way to extend
their brands. REI’s recently expanded Outessa
program brings women to different U.S.
mountains for long weekends of yoga, hiking
and bonding. The sporting-goods giant has
also ramped up its backpacking- and camping-
centric REI Women’s Adventures, which offer
rugged outdoor experiences in locations
ranging from Africa to New Zealand’s
Southern Alps. For the crystals-and-Coachella
crowd, the bohemian apparel brand Free
People operates FP Escapes. Its wellness-
focused itineraries, including sailing from
Sardinia to Corsica, and yoga workshops in
Yelapa, Mexico, come with cleanses, meditationFROM TOP: Rafting
in Thailand on a
Wild Women tour;
a WHOA group
hikes Mount
Kilimanjaro.TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / AUGUST 2017 47
rituals, new-moon ceremonies, and
Instagram-friendly accommodations like
tepees and tree houses.
For some upstart outfitters, personal
growth is as central to the mission as having
fun. Damesly, founded last year, emphasizes
professional networking and skill building,
combining volcano hikes in Iceland and
surfing lessons in Hawaii with workshops on