Book Review: Wander Woman by Beth Santos

Beth Santos isn’t new to the travel industry–she’s been a blogger, a podcaster, a speaker, a travel fest planner and the founder of Wanderful, a network for women travelers all over the world (full disclosure, I recently became a member of the group).

And one of the hottest topics currently in the travel industry is solo travel, especially solo travel for women. Many want to do it, but many are afraid of it…and part of the problem is that many just don’t understand it. Beth decided to combine her many years in the travel industry with her own experiences as a traveler to write Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo–a book that is kind of a study of the power of travel, kind of a how-to guide on traveling solo, and kind of a self-help book all rolled into one.

I loved it. I started reading Wander Woman while actually on an airplane on my way to a new country and here’s how I knew right away it would get a good book review:

• I kept quoting it and wanting to discuss it with my fellow travelers
• I noted so many quotes from the book
• I plan to give Wander Woman as a gift to several friends
• I’ve already recommended the book to several people

Even though I’ve been traveling solo for 20+ years, I still found the book extremely insightful and helpful. Beth makes some great points on redefining travel, she encourages readers to just get out there and do it, and she reminds us about being a conscious traveler and being aware of our impact on the people, the environment, the culture, and the economics of the places we are visiting. She’s also very aware of how diverse travelers actually are and how that can affect travelers’ experiences (for this, she includes some great resources for travelers who are people of color, identify as LGBTQ+, are plus-size, or people with disabilities.)

She’s also honest about solo travel–it can be scary. It can be lonely. It can be frustrating. Things can go wrong. Your family and friends may not understand. You may not come back “a changed person” like Eat, Pray, Love promised you would. But she gives concrete ideas on how to move through those concerns and still learn from those “misadventures.”

Beth gets it. She gets the power of travel. She gets the power of solo travel. And she gets the power of sharing it with others–this book is the perfect way to do that. As she reminds us:

“Travel is not about how many miles you go, or how many passport stamps you acquire. It’s about how much you challenge yourself, how much you open yourself up to new experiences, and how much you let yourself rethink the way you look at the world.”

*I was given a version of this book for free in exchange for an honest book review. Thank you to @Netgalley and @GrandCentralpub.