Female Travelers on the Up-and-Up

Once upon a time the most well traveled women were either celebrities, socialites, royals, or leggy “air hosts” on airlines such as Braniff International Airways or Pan Am. In other words, the ladies who were placing pins around the globe were either wealthy or worked in the travel business. 

Oh, how times have changed. Today, women are piloting planes, heading up major travel corporations, and traveling at the same rate as their male counterparts. According to the Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, women are the fastest-growing segment among business travelers in the U.S. based on a 2011 report, causing travel companies to rethink their design and their approach. Enter the rise of all-women hotel floors, designer amenities, and plush robes among practicalities like privacy, safety, and connectivity. 

While there’s an ever-growing segment of women jetting from coast to coast and continent to continent for business, there’s also a dominant contingent plotting their own map coordinates for pleasure—a trend appearing way before powerhouse author Elizabeth Gilbert chronicled her soul-searching adventures in Rome, Indonesia and India in her bestselling book-come-movie, Eat Pray Love.

“I’ve been traveling for more than 25 years and much of that has been solo” says Beth Whitman, founder and editor of Wanderlust and Lipstick, a women-to-woman travel publication consistently topping best-of blog lists. “While I’ve always encountered female travelers (solo, with friends, partners, and family) around the globe, women are traveling more now because we have access to so much accurate information online that makes us feel more comfortable—even in the most remote destinations. As we’ve grown more empowered and confident in our travels, there’s now more acceptance for women to travel.”

It’s this access, aptitude, and natural-born need for connectivity (in every sense of the word) that is literally and figuratively placing women on a purchasing pedestal. Today, women influence 85% of all purchasing decisions and account for 58% of all online sales according to Skift Trends Report on The Rise of Female Business Travelers

With more influence comes more license to travel. While it used to be considered gauche for ladies to take a break from their family or work obligations, more and more women are saving a slice of their earnings for solo trips or girlfriend getaways.  

My group of girlfriends is a perfect example of this once-trend-now-reality. We’ve been venturing out on girlfriend getaways since we started working. Fourteen years later, some of us are single, some of us are married, some of us have kids, yet all of us recognize the need to escape and recharge with “the girls.” Case in point: this once- or twice-yearly trip is something that’s held so sacred, it’s booked a year in advance. 

So far, most of our trips have taken us to urban centers or beach towns. Occasionally, we’ve braved the Great Wide Open camping, though after a few brushes with torrential downpours and leaking tarps, my group is ready for glamping. When I tell them chic camping is like staying at a wildernessy five-star hotel at the intersection of “roughing it” and “the lap of luxury”, I’m not sure any of them will miss draining their bank account at Barneys.

Awasi: The Atacama Desert Oasis

At 10,000+ feet above sea level, less than a millimeter of rain per year, and miles of jagged salt flats, the Atacama Desert would seem to repel all things luxury…but then there’s Awasi. This lodge in San Pedro de Atacama has the coveted Relais & Chateaux seal of approval, and we quickly realized it wasn’t just its stunning design, unbelievable activities, award-winning food, and high thread count sheets that earned them five-stars—it is the unparalleled personal attention. There are over three dozen staff members for just eight rooms and every room comes with a private guide and chauffeur, dedicated to making your Atacama wishes come true. Awasi was an absolute oasis in the driest desert in the world.

02-Awasi Facad-HoneyTrek.com

Originally a second family home, the property was inspired by the simple homes of the nearby archaeological site or an early Atacama village, Aldea de Tulor. The earthy buildings are round in shape and made with the traditional mix of adobe, mud, grass, and stone with a concrete core for modern-day stability.

03 Awasi Suite-HoneyTrek.com

The villas with brea-stick roofs may appear rustic from the outside, though inside they anything but. Our circular suite was so spacious and beautifully decorated with a mix of tailored and organic accents–from French settees to locally woven textiles.

04 Awasi Lounge-HoneyTrek.com

We had our first meeting with our guide in this chic outdoor lounge and quickly settled into its sea of colorful pillows. “First things first,” she said. “Can I get you a glass of Chilean wine?” Absolutely. She returned with two crisp glasses of Viognier (Awasi is all-inclusive, by the way) and discussed the slew of cultural and adventurous excursions to create our ideal itinerary.

05 San Pedro de Atacama Church-HoneyTrek.com

Our heads were racing with all the exciting possibilities in the area so we decided to get our bearings with a stroll through the town center, which was just outside Awasi’s front door. San Pedro de Atacama, a town that was actually apart of Bolivia until the 1800s, feels particularly unique to Chile. Its buildings are made of adobe, dripping with red clay from the incredibly rare and brief rain cloud that pass through–no matter if it’s a posh restaurant or the town church. It feels a bit like the the wild-west, filled with extreme athletes, hippies, luxe ladies, sun-worn locals, and flash-packers mingling in a town that has a character all its own.

06 Atacama Volcano

Looking down most streets you can catch glimpses of the snow-capped mountains and volcanoes in the distance. To get a better vantage point and to see how dazzling a sunset could be, we walked ten minutes out of town and up a tiny hill for this jaw-dropping vista. You’d think any vision of snow would be a mirage, but at 17,00 ft the Andes can beat the desert heat.

07 Awasi cuisine

We made our way back to Awasi for dinner and knew we were in for a treat. The incredible menu changes daily, each meal with multiple courses of Chilean-fusion cuisine presented to perfection. Case in point: the raspberry sorbet, served in a candied baby papaya topped with a caramelized crisp…How beautiful is that?!

08 Cejar Pond-HoneyTrek.com

We woke up early the next day for our first big excursion: A bike ride to Cejar Pond. Located in the middle of the Atacama Salt Flat, this pond is so salty that the buoyancy rivals the Dead Sea. What looks like white rocks around this pool are actually salt crystals.

09 Moon Valley-Atacama honeytrek.com

If there is one iconic spot in San Pedro de Atacama’s varied landscape, it would have to be the Moon Valley. Numerous travelers gather at its ridge for sunset but our guide had a secret peak in mind. Carrying a cooler of wine, cheese, crackers, fruit and mixed nuts, our amazing Awasi team led Mike and I up a steep hill for the most breathtaking and exclusive sun-downers.

10 Death Valley Atacama Awasi HoneyTrek.com

The next morning we slept in to enjoy a late breakfast, the hotel pool, and to gear up for some late-day horseback ride and stargazing. I’m not a rider, but when presented with the opportunity to gallop through the magnificent dunes of Death Valley, I suddenly found my equestrian within.

11 Atacama Stargazing

When 10pm stuck were swept away by Awasi’s resident astronomer Jorge Antonio Corante Fernández and into the desert abyss for our stargazing session. With a rainfall of four inches every 1,000 years, and 0% humidity nearly every day of the year, the Atacama has some of the clearest and most spectacular night skies. Jorge had all the knowledge and high tech telescopes to teach us about all the stars we never get to see in the Northern Hemisphere and more.

12 Tatio Geysers

The thing we loved most about Awasi is that the luxury isn’t confined within the walls of their lodge; it follows guests wherever they go. This sit-down sunrise breakfast, aside the steaming Tatio Geysers, is one of many examples. With Awasi, wherever we wanted to go, whatever we wanted to do, it was always possible and achieved with unforgettable style.

 

Anne and Mike Howard are creators of the around-the-world honeymoon blog HoneyTrek.com and Trip Coaches or those looking to extensively travel the world safely, affordably and off the beaten path. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @HoneyTrek.

 

Why Do Celebrities Love Caravanning?

The traditional perception of caravanning is that it’s the domain of Mr and Mrs Boring, bumbling along on their annual getaway to the Keswick Pencil Museum. However that perception seems to be changing. The Caravan Club currently has 1.7 million members and each year it sees a 40% rise in advance bookings. No longer are caravans the sole pastime of pensioners and eccentrics – young people and families can now see the attraction, and so, it seems, can celebrities.

Being in the public eye at all times must surely be draining, hence why a number of celebrities are drawn to caravanning. It offers the opportunity to get some peace and quiet, the chance to be on the move away from all the hype, as well as the ability to stay one step ahead of the paparazzi…

Here’s a list of some high-profile caravanners and the reasons why they find caravanning so attractive.

 

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

She’s got the looks, the voice, and the charisma to match, however the Welsh classical singer has said that she feels most content when she’s away from it all. One of her happiest moments was when she was with her mum, dad and sister in their little touring caravan in France playing card games for pistachio nuts!

 

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis is the English singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pulp. It seems his vehicle tastes are correspondingly alternative as he is often spotted on the King’s Road in London driving his Toyota mobile home.

 

Tara Palmer Tomkinsin

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

Tara is no stranger to the outdoors being perhaps most famous for her infamous appearance on I’m A Celebrity in 2002. She came in second place and went on the following year to open the Caravan and Leisure Show at Earl’s Court. She always likes to keep up to date with the latest caravanning models on the market and currently owns a cute little custom-made caravan, which she hopes to be making the most of this summer.

 

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Jay Z and Beyoncé

Two years ago it was reported that Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband Chris Martin had organised a caravanning trip with Jay Z and Beyoncé along the coast of Florida. Although this was intended as a quiet getaway, in order to give Jay Z and Chris Martin some quality down time after their whirlwind tours, they travelled in a huge luxury Winnebago.

 

CHeryl Baker

Cheryl Baker 

The Bucks Fizz singer who won the Eurovision Song contest in 1981 is no stranger to the limelight, however it’s been said that she likes nothing better than to hitch a caravan to the back of her Austin Allegro and drive down to Cornwall for the summer.

 

Rowland Rivron

Rowland Rivron

Roland is the television host of a number of travel shows, however it wasn’t until he was aged 42

that he began taking an interest in caravanning. He has been quoted as saying, ‘I’ve no idea who it was that said ‘all good things come to those that wait’ but with me and ‘vanning’ they couldn’t have been more on the money.” Rowland is featured in the image to the left driving away with his brand new Bailey Ranger.

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

Jamie is well known for his down-to-earth, no-nonsense, cooking style, and it seems this rustic spirit rolls over into his choice of transport. He currently drives a converted 1959 Porsche-powered VW Spiltscreen Camper when moving between locations for his TV series. It is, of course, complete with a cutting-edge kitchen and stylish interior.

 

Patsy Palmer

Patsy Palmer

The EastEnders veteran is a frequent caravan user and takes regular trips to Sheerness on the Island of Sheppey in Kent with her family. Although she says she prefers her luxurious holidays she continues to caravan because of her children. She says, ‘If you get a good campsite, then it’s just heaven for them.’

Patsy has also come up with an innovative way to ensure she catches the sun no matter where she travels with what she calls the ‘Tanvan’. This is a caravan which has been fitted out as a mobile tanning shop! She takes it along to summer music festivals and offers fake tans along with her range of tanning products for the fairer skinned.

Gary Numan

Gary Numan

The new wave post-punk singer Gary Numan has strong ties to the caravan, and in fact liked them long before they were considered ‘cool’. He used to holiday at Weymouth with his parents when he was a boy.

After his initial success with Tubeway Army at the end of the 1970s he went out and rented one of the big caravans on the site, thinking he was really ‘lording it up.’ Gary likes to put on a show for sure, but it seems his heart is where the home is.

 

For those people who want to live the celebrity lifestyle whilst enjoying the great outdoors, Glamping.com offer various quiet getaways all over the world. Gwyneth and Tara would no doubt feel right at home staying at the Silver Bullet Retreats in Florida, taking a Combitrip around Chile, or driving a 69 Camper across the South of France – all enviable trips where rusticity meets vintage style and luxury. There are numerous classy outdoor trip options on offer, not all of which are confined to caravanning: whether you decide to stay in a tent, yurt, airstream, hut, villa or treehouse, you’ll experience the pleasures of the countryside furnished with all the amenities associated with a hotel.