Terri Brown
15 April, 2025
News

Rebecca Hall opens Lonely Planet’s Women Travel Solo with a powerful essay on her journey across the seas

Lonely Planet proudly announces the release of Women Travel Solo: 30 Inspiring Stories of Adventure, Curiosity and the Power of Self-Discovery, a captivating collection that celebrates the highs and lows of travelling across the globe alone. Opening the anthology is a compelling essay by acclaimed writer and travel expert Rebecca Hall, who shares her unforgettable solo voyage aboard a container ship from Athens to Hong Kong.

Rebecca Hall opens Lonely Planet's Women Travel Solo

In the book’s opening chapter, Hall offers readers an intimate glimpse into the unaccompanied and profound experience of spending weeks at sea. Through vivid storytelling, she captures the beauty of remoteness, the insights of navigating life on a working vessel, and the moments of connection with the ship’s crew. Her essay is a powerful reflection of freedom, self-reliance, and the serenity found in vast, open waters.

“As a child I grew up hearing my father tell stories about sights seen during his time working at sea, making up battles fought with pirates. No doubt inheriting the wanderlust gene from him, I was intrigued by this lifestyle; the camaraderie of crew life.


Women Travel Solo
Women Travel Solo Credit: Lonely Planet

I felt as if I’d learned about how to be part of a family, yet still strong and solo” recalls Hall.

Her chapter also offers practical insights into solo travel; moments she will never forget, and how the experience ultimately reshaped her view of the world—and herself.

About the Book:

Women Travel Solo is more than a travel anthology—it’s a powerful testament to the freedom and self-discovery that comes with going it alone. Featuring 30 remarkable first-person accounts from women across the world, the book offers a moving and inspiring glimpse into the transformative power of solo travel.

Readers will be transported to breathtaking destinations through stories such as:

  • Hiking the Huemul Circuit in Patagonia
  • Meeting the Reindeer Herders of Mongolia
  • Cycling and camping from Paris to Geneva
  • Snowboarding in the Lyngen Alps
  • Hitchhiking in Mesopotamia

And Rebecca’s lead:

  • Solo Travel on the High Seas


Additional to the personal essays, the book offers honest advice and tips from each traveler, including:

  • Things they wish they had known before travelling alone
  • Moments they will never forget
  • How solo travel changed who they are today
  • Whether they would do it again
  • Their top recommendations for fellow female solo travelers

Bonus Features:

The book also includes practical resources and expert tips, such as:

  • Five great reasons for women to travel solo
  • The subtle joy of eating alone
  • Twenty expert solo-travel tips for women seeking to embrace the experience with confidence
  • A foreword by Jessica Nabongo, the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 countries in the world

Women Travel Solo is now available on presale at Amazon, released on 12MAY25 in the UK and 20MAY25 on Amazon US