When Your Life Shifts Unexpectedly, You Have Two Choices - Shrink Or Expand! Expanding with Solo Travel: One Woman's Honest Account of Starting Over After 50
- whereintheworldsar
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
I left New Zealand with a one-year ticket - and found myself, country by country, through solo travel!
I cried at the airport.
I doubted myself on the plane.
I wondered:
Am I too old for this? Am I being irresponsible? What if it doesn't work? Can I really afford to do this?
But underneath the fear was something stronger.
Curiosity. Determination. Self-discovery. Freedom.
My honest account of how I took the first step on my solo female travel adventures
Yes! I left New Zealand in tears.
Not because I didn’t want to go — but because I knew I could never come back the same.
My marriage had ended. I was half-way through a university Fine Arts Degree at a prestigious Art School, where I was an A student. My identity felt uncertain. And I had just booked an open one-year ticket around the world. I was a single woman over 50. Afraid. Exhilarated. And about to begin solo female travel in a way I never had before.
I had many reasons not to go, yet ....
Curiosity proved braver than confidence. You don't need to feel ready, you only need to feel willing.
I started out travelling New Zealand as a solo female traveller, the Otago Rail Trail by bike and then a Jucy Rental Motorhome trip across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Start your travels with an easy destination.
Starting Over After Divorce — With a Boarding Pass, Your Passport, And your Camera
When your life shifts unexpectedly, you have two choices:
Shrink. Or expand.
I chose expansion.
I had savings — enough to follow my passions — but no guaranteed income beyond that year. It was frightening! That uncertainty was real. But so was my determination. And so was my trust that everything would work out.
Before leaving, I had booked structured tours in South America and Africa, and I also planned to visit my son and his partner in London. Everything else? Unwritten.
For the first time in my life, the plan was… openness! And with that came a deep sense of freedom. I was no longer a wife, a mother, a daughter, a student, a divorcee ... I was a seeker, seeking Sarah.
South America gave me the confidence to be part of a group and still retain my individuality. From Peru, to the Amazon, Machu Picchu, Bolivia and down to the Iguazu Falls, I hiked and laughed, tried new things and misbehaved at times, and through it all I gained in confidence.
My Solo Travel Motto
Before I left, I wrote this in my journal:
“To see the best that the world had to offer — and to bring the best that I had to offer.”
That sentence shaped every experience that followed. I wasn’t travelling to escape heartbreak. I was travelling for self-discovery.
And that changes everything.
Solo Female Travel Over 50: The Truth
Let’s be honest.
Solo travel after divorce isn’t glamorous at first. No change is, as we cling to an old image of self, an old garment that we have long outgrown. I cried at the airport. I questioned myself mid-flight. I wondered if I was irresponsible. I wondered if I would have any money to come home to. Would I even come home? But courage rarely feels powerful in the beginning.
It feels like fear mixed with excitement.
And every country I navigated alone built something inside me:
Solo travel confidence. The confidence to be Me.
I learned:
I could solve problems.
I could trust my intuition.
I could sit alone at dinner and feel whole.
I could handle uncertainty.
I could join any group happily, or explore on my own just as happily.
It became obvious that happiness was something that I brought to each experience myself, not something outside that was added to me.
Travel didn’t fix me.
It strengthened me!
Planned Tours vs Spontaneous Travel
The tours in South America and Africa gave me:
Safety
Structure
Community
An appreciation of what I added to the group
But the unplanned days gave me transformation. Staying longer somewhere that felt aligned. Saying yes to an unexpected invitation. Following music down a quiet street. Wandering around just to look for beauty and a good photograph opportunity. That’s where expansion lives.
I didn't always fit into the mould of the group, but I learnt that I will always fit into the mould of Sarah .. and that also offered others the freedom to enjoy their own uniqueness.
If you’re considering solo female travel over 50, know this:
You don’t have to choose between planning and spontaneity, group mentality or individuality. You can begin safely — and grow into freedom. Just be yourself, it might surprise you how refreshing that is.
What Solo Travel Taught Me About Security
I left with savings. No set income. No clear long-term plan. And yet — I felt more secure than I had in years.
Because security is not just financial!
It’s internal.
After navigating cultures, languages, transport systems, dress codes, currencies, and uncertainty across more than 80 countries, I realized: I am capable.
And capability creates confidence.
If You’re Thinking About Starting Over
Maybe you’re:
Recently divorced.
In a good feeling relationship, but want some "you" time.
Over 50, or under 50, and feeling lost.
Asked yourself "Who Am I?"
Facing retirement.
Feeling restless.
Wondering if it’s too late...
It isn’t.
Solo female travel over 50 isn’t about proving anything. It’s about reclaiming something.
Your independence. Your curiosity. Your aliveness.
So, I challenge you: If you trusted yourself 10% more… Where would you go?
In my next post, I’ll share the best countries to start solo travel — especially if you’re travelling alone for the first time.
Because you don’t need to leap blindly.
You just need to begin wisely.
I would love to have you along for the ride, so if you want to subscribe to my site I will notify you of any news or offers.
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