What It's Actually Like to Travel With Strangers (And Why It's Better Than Traveling With Friends)
What It's Actually Like to Travel With Strangers (And Why It's Better Than Traveling With Friends)
Let me tell you about the moment I knew.
It was our second day on Ambergris Caye. We were piled into golf carts, winding through the back roads of the island toward Secret Beach. Music on. Sun out. A woman in the back seat — someone who had been pretty quiet since we landed — threw her head back and laughed. Really laughed. The kind of laugh you can't fake and can't hold back.
I glanced in the mirror and thought: there she is.
Twenty-four hours earlier, she had been a stranger.
The Question I Get More Than Any Other
When women reach out about a Go Babes trip, they almost always ask some version of the same question.
"I'm really interested — but I don't know anyone going. Is that weird?"
It is not weird. It is, in fact, the whole point.
But I understand why it feels scary. We've been taught that travel is something you do with people — with your best friend, your sister, your partner. The idea of booking a trip with a group of women you've never met runs counter to everything we learned about how this is supposed to work.
Here's what I've learned after years of taking women on adventures around the world: the trips where strangers show up are almost always the best trips. And there are real reasons for that.
The Guilt Problem With Traveling With Friends
Here's something no one talks about: traveling with your actual friends is complicated.
You love them. But someone always wants to sleep in when you want to get up early. Someone is watching their budget more carefully than you are. Someone has a fear of water that makes the snorkeling day feel like a negotiation. Someone needs to check in with their partner every few hours.
You spend half the trip managing the group dynamic and the other half feeling vaguely guilty for wanting something different than what everyone else wants.
With strangers who chose the same trip you chose — who were vetted for the same adventurous, good-vibe energy you were — that guilt disappears. You all said yes to the same thing. You're all here for the same reasons. Nobody is doing anyone a favor by showing up.
That shared intention changes everything.
What the "Get to Know You" Call Is Really For
Before I extend an invitation to anyone new to Go Babes, I do a 20-minute (ish) video call with every woman who's interested.
Some people hear that and think it sounds like an interview. It's not. Nobody is being graded.
What I'm doing is making sure the group is right — that the women coming together have compatible energy, that nobody is going to feel out of place, that the vibe we build is genuinely supportive and fun and real. It protects you as much as it protects the group.
Because the truth is: not every travel group is created equal. I've heard stories from women who booked group trips through other companies and spent a week feeling like an outsider in a clique they weren't part of. (I have been that person too!) That is not what we do.
When you come on a Go Babes trip, you're not joining a random collection of humans who happened to book the same vacation. You're joining a curated circle of women who were chosen — and who chose this — with intention.
That call is how we make sure of it.
What Actually Happens in the First 24 Hours
I've watched this unfold on every single trip we've done, in every destination, with every group.
The first few hours are a little quiet. Polite. Everyone is figuring out the landscape — who's funny, who's adventurous, who's going to be the one who suggests the second cocktail at dinner. There's a warmth in the group, but it's still new.
And then something happens. It's different every time — a shared laugh, a moment of honesty at dinner, a small act of kindness when someone's flight was delayed and she arrived exhausted. Something cracks the politeness open.
And after that, you forget that you didn't know each other last week.
By day three, you're sharing sunscreen and secrets. By the end of the trip, you're making plans for the next one.
What She Said
We have women who have traveled with us to more than one destination. More than 3 different countries. We also have Babes who travel with us BACK to the exact same villa we visited together previously!
This is what we hear over and over.
"The bonds I've formed with other incredible women have turned into lifelong friendships. It's like I've gained an extended family."
Not travel companions. Not trip acquaintances. Family.
"Every destination, every moment, is filled with genuine connection and joy."
These are not women who knew each other before they booked. They were strangers who said yes to the same adventure — and discovered that was more than enough to build something real.
Why It Works Better Than You'd Expect
There's something that happens when you remove all the usual context.
Your job title doesn't matter. Your neighborhood doesn't matter. Your relationship status, your family drama, your daily to-do list — none of it followed you onto the plane.
You're just a woman, in a beautiful place, with other women who chose to be here.
That stripping away of context is surprisingly freeing. Women who would never have met in their regular lives — different cities, different careers, different backgrounds — discover they have more in common than they would have guessed. The things that connect us run deeper than the things that separate us. Travel just makes it easier to find them.
The Part That Surprises Women Most
I ask this question a lot — after trips, in follow-up calls, when women are processing what they experienced.
"What surprised you most?"
The answer, almost universally, is some version of: "How quickly I felt like myself again."
Not the version of themselves who handles everything and worries about everyone. The version who laughs too loud and wants to swim at midnight and says yes to things without overthinking them first.
She doesn't disappear. She just gets buried. And a week with the right group of women has a way of excavating her.
That's the part I can't put a price on.
Here's Where We're Going Next
The Go Babes are heading to Belize this November 9–15, 2026 — and a few spots are still open.
A private beachfront villa on Ambergris Caye. Private snorkeling on the Belize Barrier Reef. Golf carts to Secret Beach. Two nights at GAÏA Riverlodge above Five Sisters Waterfalls. Our signature Confidence Photo flying dress sessions. Chef-prepared meals. And a small group of women who are going to show up as strangers and leave as something else entirely.
The next step is simple: a 20-minute (ish) Get to Know You call. That's it.
If you've been on the fence — if the "I don't know anyone going" thought has been the thing holding you back — I hope this helped.
The women who will be on that beach with you in November? They started there too.
👉 Schedule your Get to Know You call →
👉 Learn more about the Belize trip →
Brenda Kerns is the founder of Go Babes Travel, creating curated adventure experiences for women who are done waiting for someday.
