Solo Travel for Moms: Inspiring Stories from Moms Who Did It and Loved It
Traveling solo for the first time after becoming a mother can seem overwhelming and impossible: the logistics, the emotions, and the trust to leave your child with others. No matter how much travel you did before kids, packing your bag post-motherhood doesn’t come without much consideration and internal conflict. Finding inspiration from those who have already been through this journey can help you take the first steps.
Personally, I felt stuck and depressed, as if I’d lost part of my pre-motherhood identity, but didn’t know how to fit the old puzzle pieces together with my new role as “mom”. Thankfully, I found guidance and support through social media and connecting with other like-minded women who had already walked this path. Reconnecting with my sense of adventure through solo travel was a powerful tool to help me build a new version of myself as both mom and explorer.
Let me introduce you to two mothers who regularly travel solo and inspire other mothers to do the same. Although their stories and situations differ, they agree that traveling solo isn’t indulgent; it’s restorative.
Growth, Not Guilt
Meet Evie from @mumpacktravel. Based in Sydney, Australia, Evie has been a solo parent since her daughter’s birth. Her early travels included her daughter, but as her daughter has gotten older and more involved in school, Evie’s solo mom travels have evolved, and she is inspiring solo travel for moms. Today, Evie organizes trips for other mothers to reconnect with their adventurous spirit.
How do you manage childcare and/or logistics while you are away?
“I have been a solo mum from the time my daughter, who is now 15, was born. I’ve had to navigate everything as a solo parent: financially, operationally, emotionally – it was all me. When my daughter was 6, we left Australia with a backpack each and traveled full-time, mainly around Asia. Now that I am running group trips for mums, luckily for me, my parents and my sister live nearby. When I go away to host my trips overseas, my parents or my sister will come and stay at my home with my daughter.”
What inspired you to take your first solo trip without your daughter and where did you go?
“I had to do a few work trips when my daughter was quite small. I was working in corporate, and it was really scary; I had to turn my brain off to be able to leave.
My first solo trip by choice was to Hawaii, just after the COVID lockdown. I remember I just sat on Waikiki Beach with a cocktail and had silence and smiled and just reclaimed myself. I think that’s the best thing you can do for your kids, because you know, you go away frazzled with patience nearing its very end and have a few days for yourself and come back happy and joyful with energy and patience again.”
“I think at first it’s just the fear of the unknown….when you are traveling by yourself for the first time away from your children, the hardest part is the actual ‘doing’, the ‘getting to the point where you start’. “ – Evie, @mumpacktravel
Recharge Your Batteries
Deenaz is a powerhouse mom based out of Pune, India. Known as @backpacking_indian_mama, Deenaz is a TedX Speaker, launched India’s first backpacker travel community for mothers and kids, and is the mother of a now-10-year-old daughter. After her daughter was born, her initial solo mom trips were across India with friends, and since then, she continues to inspire solo travel for moms.
What fears or hesitations did you have before going on your first solo travel post-motherhood, and how did you work through them??
Deenaz isn’t a single parent, but her family is a long-distance family, so she is fortunate to have her parents’ support when she can step away to travel solo. And though her daughter is easy-going, “my only fear was that she had exams at school while I was gone. I was a little worried about how she would manage those in my absence since I am her full-time guardian and teacher as well at home.”
What surprised you most about the experience of traveling solo as a mom?
“When my daughter was 8, I felt it was the perfect time to go for a mom guilt-free backpacking holiday. I had missed it more than I knew…exploring and walking for miles at a stretch, eating dinner alone, sitting at the piazza and eating a gelato, or going on long city walks and knowing more about the various cities that I was travelling to. I had missed staying in hostels with other fellow travelers and having time to just reflect and enjoy the trip. So many little things that one only realizes when one is taking that trip.”
What advice would you give to a mom who wants to travel solo but feels guilty or unsure?
“Just go for it! Plan well in advance for it, such as having someone to take care of your kids when you are not around. My only tip would be to prepare the child for it as well, but not too far back in time, or they tend to get anxious and will keep pleading to go with you. Maybe just a week prior to leaving is when you can start the conversation with them. Reassure them that you will be in touch when you are away, and that they need to know that you will be fine…They always come around and are more understanding than we give them credit for.”
“I had missed it more than I knew. “ – Deenaz, @backpacking_indian_mama
Society has led us to believe that time away from our children, particularly when time spent focused on ourselves, is selfish. However, I think Evie summed it up beautifully when she said to me, “It doesn’t mean that I don’t miss or love my child. It doesn’t mean that I’m not a good mother. It means that I am such a good mother that I know I need to have certain times when I prioritize myself, because that makes me a better mother.” Deenaz adds, “They [children] need to understand that you need some mommy time to recharge your batteries so you are more fun to be around when you are back.”
There is a version of you that is curious and adventurous, and that version already exists. You just need to hold her and embrace her, and connect her to this new role as a mother. Time to get started!