All Your Questions Answered

Because it's more fun! Traveling with a small group of like-minded women is a completely different experience than going by yourself, with your family, or on a large packaged group trip.

We try to find the essence of every place we visit. It’s in the food, the wine, the architecture, the natural beauty, and most importantly, in the people. These are highly-curated, small-group trips for discerning travelers. But we’re not chasing luxury for luxury’s sake. We'll always eat and drink extremely well, but mix it up between local cafes/bistros and Michelin star restaurants. We stay in chateaux and castles, and also farm houses and private homes. We go truffle hunting; we meet with authors and artists; we drink wine with boat captains. These are trips for those who would never be caught dead on a guided bus-driven tour with 50 people following a flag.

About 85% of the women who travel with us are traveling solo, but you'll never feel alone. As soon as you arrive, you’ll be greeted by a bevy of new friends - you just haven't met them yet! By the end of our first dinner together, we'll have shared our stories and laughed and laughed and laughed. 

By the end of the week, you'll have made friends that will last a lifetime. It's super common for women who have met on a Girls' Guide trip to travel together on other trips, with us and independently.

Our trips are small groups, usually 6-10 women. We feel a small group size is more conducive to the connection we make with one another, and doesn't overwhelm the places we visit with our presence. Plus, being able to sit together at the dinner table and regale each other with stories is so much fun!

We welcome women of all ages (over 21) on our trips. That said, the most common age range is probably 45-65, but plenty of women on both ends of that range join us. 

Our only requirement is that everyone has good mobility, as there's a reasonable amount of walking around on our trips. But perhaps most importantly, we want our travelers to have a "joie de vivre" and an openness to meet new people and have new experiences.

The women who travel with us come from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities. They’re single or widowed, married with husbands who can’t or don’t want to travel, or just want a new experience. 

Those who aren't traveling solo are mothers & daughters, sisters, or close friends. 

Our trips are English-speaking, so everyone should have English as their first language or be comfortable speaking English daily.

All our trips are organized and priced based on single occupancy at all the places we stay. Everyone gets their own fabulous room!

 However, if you're traveling with a friend or a family member and prefer to share a room, we can typically offer you a discount. We don't match you with guests you don’t already know, and we NEVER charge a single supplement. 

Occasionally, when we stay in older private Château properties, some rooms might need to be shared. You'll always be informed in advance, and we'll normally offer a price reduction to all affected guests.

Some trips are more active than others. For example, Gorilla trekking in Rwanda requires a higher level of physical fitness than a retreat in Fiji. 

In general, we require that everyone be able to walk 3-4 miles in a day and be comfortable navigating stairs and uneven sidewalks or paths. Many of the places we visit, especially in Europe, will have cobblestone streets and infrastructure that predate modern conveniences like elevators.

If you have any concerns, just ask us!

We make every effort to stick to the advertised itinerary. But sometimes factors outside our control - weather, construction, changes in hotel ownership, strikes, etc. - can impact an itinerary and make it necessary to adapt and make changes. When substitutions are necessary, we strive to maintain the same level and class of service as the original itinerary.

As long as we know in advance, we can accommodate almost any dietary restriction. But some destinations are more limiting than others. For example, it's harder to find gluten-free options in Japan because soy sauce is widely used in the cuisine (which is typically not gluten-free). If you have any concerns, feel free to ask us!

Our complete Cancellation Policy can be found here. But in a nutshell, all payment made towards a trip are non-refundable. It's the only way we can maintain our small group-size and quality of service. Of course, in the highly unlikely event that we need to cancel a trip, you will be offered a full refund or the option to apply your payment(s) towards another trip - your choice.

To protect yourself from the unexpected, we strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance. 

We don't sell travel insurance, but you might find the Travel Insurance page on our website to be useful. It has a number of helpful tips about buying travel insurance, along with recommendations for a service we like - Squaremouth - that compares 20 or more plans for you to choose from, based on your requirements. It's sort of like Kayak or Expedia for travel insurance.

We're easy to get a hold of! Just go to our Contact Us page for your options.

On each trip's webpage, there's a BOOK NOW button. Just click that button and follow the prompts. If you have questions along the way, we're always here to help!

Once you decide you'd like to join one of our trips, there are two ways you can pay: 1) pay a 35% deposit when you book, with the remaining balance due 2 months before the trip starts, or 2) pay in monthly installments that are automatically charged to your payment method. 

The number of monthly installments available depends on how much time remains between your booking date and the start of the trip. The maximum number of months it will be spread out is 6.

Before you book any non-refundable airfare, please check with us to confirm the trip has reached the required minimum number of guests. (Each trip has a specific minimum number of guests in order to be financially viable.) Because of our small group size, most of our trips sell out early, but occasionally a trip will take longer to sell. If the minimum number of guests has not been met within 90 days of the trip start date, we may need to cancel or reschedule the trip. 

Please do not purchase non-refundable airfare or incur other non-refundable costs until you confirm with us that the minimum number of participants has been met.

Many countries require vaccinations and/or other health tests for entry. We require everyone traveling with us to conform to the entry requirements of each country we visit. While it is everyone’s right to decide whether or not they want to receive a vaccination or perform any other health-related procedure, the failure to or decision not to meet the entry requirements of a country will prohibit you from joining the trip and does not qualify as a travel restriction that is the basis for a refund.

Please review the CDC website for recommendations and guidance for each country you plan to join us in. To help protect your immunity, the CDC recommends getting any vaccinations at least 1 month before you travel.

If you're traveling overseas, don’t forget your passport. It’s the one item that’s tough to replace. Please be sure you have enough blank pages in your passport that are free of stamps, and that it is valid for a full 6 months after your return from your trip.

If there are additional Visa requirements to enter a country, we'll let you know and guide you through the process to obtain it.

London is a very popular stopover if you are traveling from the U.S. or Canada to Europe for one of our trips. 

Starting in 2025, most travelers need to obtain an electronic travel authorization (ETA), which allows you to travel to the UK for tourism or up to 6 months. It's a very simple process you can complete online by filling out a short form that asks for your passport details, the reason for your travel, and a small processing fee. 

It is important to note that this visa is required even if you don't plan to leave the airport in London. If you are just connecting through a UK airport, you must obtain an ETA.