At 89 years old, B.C.-based Joy Fox is still doing the kind of — independent, adventurous — that “makes her heart beat faster.
” This includes road tripping around New Zealand, celebrating her 84th birthday watching the Northern Lights in Norway, and snorkelling the . Fox is a member of the 100,000 reader-strong , a Toronto-based solo travel website and resource for women over 50, established by the late Evelyn Hannon, a beloved, trail-blazing travel writer. Earlier this year, as the website marked its 30th anniversary, Fox received the JourneyWoman Evelyn Hannon Award for Solo Travel to recognize her contribution to continuing Hannon’s legacy.
Joy Fox, 89, recently received the JourneyWoman Evelyn Hannon Award for Solo Travel. Fox is far from alone. Plenty of older women are choosing to go gallivanting around the world instead of sticking to some sleepy hobby at home.
“Women over 50 are living longer and healthier than ever, actively seeking meaningful ways to travel, and empowered to make our own financial decisions,” says Carolyn Ray, JourneyWoman’s CEO and editor. “We are a force to be reckoned with.” “I’m in the winter of my life, but life isn’t over once you hit a certain age,” says Fox.
“You have to embrace your next act, and my advice to younger women is to get out there and do it. Don’t wait until you’ve retired, or until you are widowed. We all have fears.
I’ve been scared of almost everything I’ve ever done, but if you don’t just do it, you will only regret it later.” Sixty-something influencer Charlotte Simpson, shown in Morocco, blogs at . After her husband died, Indianapolis-based 60-something influencer and content creator Charlotte Simpson joined a 15-day group tour of Italy as her first solo trip.
The airline lost her luggage and didn’t get it to her until the trip was almost over. It was a big lesson in going with the flow when things go wrong with travel, “which they often do,” says Simpson, who blogs at . Her advice to those nervous about travelling solo is to break down their fears one by one.
“I listed what I was scared of: Would I be too embarrassed eating at a restaurant alone? What if I got lost?” she says. “Then I worked through each scenario.” A Parkinson’s disease diagnosis hasn’t stopped Carol Grant, shown at the Parthenon in Athens, from travelling.
Though Toronto’s Carol Grant received a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis eight years ago, the 60-something continues to make bucket-list trips a priority. Her advice to wannabe adventurers is to be confident but always aware of your surroundings, especially if you’re heading somewhere thrilling like Victoria Falls (Grant visited while in Zambia). Consult experts, like your hotel concierge, for practical wisdom.
“Several friends confessed they were worried I did that trip solo, but it was amazing,” says Grant. “I sat at a bar beside the falls with a cocktail watching the sun go down, and took the waiting cab back to my hotel. Three days later, I met up with a girlfriend and we went on safari.
” ‘Do you want to go? Yes. Then go!’ says Louise Green, pictured on a trip to Antarctica. U.
K.-based Louise Green started travelling solo after her husband died in 2018 because her desire to continue to see the world trumps her need to travel with someone else. “You can do a Queen Victoria and dress in black and be miserable for the next 40 years — or you can move on,” says Green, 70.
“Make up your mind: Do you want to go? Yes. Then go! I’m not brave. I just want to do it.
” On a practical level, her advice for beginner solo travellers is to book a river cruise, where being part of a smaller group on-board makes it easier to meet and mingle with others. Retired school principal Gail Dobby has hiked Machu Picchu, among other adventures. Since Gail Dobby retired from being a Toronto school principal in 2012, her adventures have included studying at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos, hiking Machu Picchu in Peru, and in Fiji and Vietnam.
The experience of volunteering with a not-for-profit provided an especially interesting way to travel solo, she says. “When you travel solo as part of a program with a focus, like Habitat for Humanity, this offers unique experiences in that country,” explains Dobby. “And you can still explore and eat all the amazing food and learn about the people.
” ‘You get to be whoever you want when you travel,’ says photographer Shannon Brunner. Ladysmith, B.C.
-based photographer Shannon Brunner recently celebrated turning 64 at a music festival on Vancouver Island, after returning from three months in Bali. For her, the effects of her adventures come home with her. “Travelling solo makes you more open, and people will take you under your wing and talk to you, creating a magical connection that I love,” Brunner says.
“You get to be whoever you want when you travel, so go out there and discover who you are at this stage in your life. Your confidence will grow to travel more and spill into your everyday life.”.
