Travel Writers at the Women in Travel Summit

It’s no surprise that I’m a fan of travel writing and I have a special place in my heart for women who are travel writers (did you see my list of Twenty Memoirs about Travel by Women?)

So when I went to Wanderful’s 2024 Women In Travel Summit in Salt Lake CIty and saw there would be several women travel writers there, I was excited (especially since I had already read four of the books!)

It’s always fun to hear authors of books you enjoyed tell their stories, to hear the “behind the scenes” of their writing process or what didn’t make it into the book, or what has happened since the book was published.

And hearing from these women was no different, but hearing from them all at once and seeing them interact with each other was especially empowering.

If you haven’t already read them, here are five more travel books by women writers to add to your collection:

Brave-ish: One Breakup, Six Continents, and Feeling Fearless After Fifty by Lisa Niver

Lisa Niver is an award-winning travel writer who started her travel career with her husband, but after many (challenging) years she’s was forced to face the truth about her marriage and leave him (literally while on the streets of Thailand). So then she had to completely redefine her life and figure out life—and a career—without him. This book is the story of Lisa’s journey after she leaves her marriage (with some stories of how she got there) and how she built her solo travel career.

Call You When I Land: A Memoir by Nikki Vargas

Nikki Vargas is a travel writer who has written and edited for several well-known publications including Fodor’s Travel, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Call You When I Land is the story how a breakup sent her on the road and how travel helped her rediscover herself. (See my list of 20 Travel Books About Self-Discovery if you like that topic). She travels to many fun places and she shares true stories of what it’s like to be a travel creator. (Call You When I Land also won the Bessie Award for Most Impactful Writing at the Women in Travel Summit.)

Flirting with Disaster: True Travel Tales of Fear, Failure and Faith by Angie Orth

Angie Orth is the writer behind the popular travel blog, Angie Away. In Flirting with Disaster, she tells the story of the trip around the world she made when she was about to turn thirty and she wasn’t quite sure what else to do with her life. She visits some fascinating places (like Turkey and Bali) and is honest about some of the realities while traveling (like trying to date). She heavily relies on her faith in God to get through some of those challenges. She’s also quite funny, so be ready to laugh when you read this one.

Twelve Trips in Twelve Months: Make Your Own Solo Travel Magic by Jen Ruiz

Jen Ruiz used to be a lawyer, but now she is a full-time travel content creator, blogger, and speaker. In this memoir, she tells us about what started it all: a challenge to herself to take twelve trips in twelve months. She goes on some epic adventures and learns about herself, the world, and others along the way and shares those adventures and lessons with us in this book, inspiring everyone to find adventure. (This book will be released on 4 June, so I’ll be able to tell you more about it soon, but you can go ahead and pre-order, too.)

Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo by Beth Santos

Beth Santos is the founder and CEO of Wanderful (the organization that puts on the conference mentioned above) and she recently wrote Wander Woman, a book focused on empowering women to travel solo. It’s 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. You can find more about my thoughts in my Wander Woman book review. (I really liked this one and think it will be a great gift for any woman in your life interested in travel.)

*I was given a version of most of these books for free in exchange for honest reviews.