Women are conditioned—from birth—to care about being liked. We’re taught to be agreeable. Cooperative. Helpful. Polite. “Nice.” From elementary school to the boardroom, likability is served to women as currency. And heaven forbid we come off as “difficult,” “bossy,” or that favorite old chestnut—“too much” or “a lot”.

Here’s the truth: travel is a privilege. Full stop. And if we’re lucky enough to be doing it, especially for work (shout out to my fellow travel industry folks), then we have a responsibility to think about the impact we leave behind. So let’s talk about some simple, very doable ways we can travel better. Each of these comes straight from experience—mine, my clients', and maybe yours, too.

For women, especially in midlife, having real, authentic connections are more than a luxury; they’re a necessity. There’s a special kind of magic that happens when women come together. It’s the connection—the unspoken something that we women share through similar life experiences and events, just because we are female.

Sometimes, travel isn’t planned months in advance with color-coded itineraries and carefully curated outfits. It can happen last minute—unexpected, spontaneous, and a little chaotic. How to prepare for an unexpected journey without stress-taking over. Here’s my approach, honed over years of (sometimes haphazard) globetrotting.