Transformational Travel for Women: The Journey Shapes Us
Sea kayaking in the Saronic Gulf off the Peloponnese Peninsula, Greece
Travel for women in midlife is not escape — it’s awakening.
Something powerful happens when women travel together. Not the “see-everything-as-fast-as-possible” kind of travel, but the kind where we slow down enough to truly arrive — in the place, and in ourselves.
Our recent Rumblings trip to Greece reminded us of this again and again: meaningful travel isn’t about how much we do. It’s about how fully we experience what unfolds.
We often talk about being a traveler, not a tourist.
A tourist moves through a place.
A traveler lets the place move through her.
Traveling intentionally means noticing the small things — the cadence of conversation in a café, the way the afternoon light hits the harbor, the sound of footsteps in an old stone alleyway. It means trading the checklist for curiosity and remembering that the richest moments aren’t always the ones we planned.
The Transformation Happens in the Middle
Anthony Bourdain said:
“If I am an advocate for anything, it is to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.”
Real travel expands us.
It softens certainty.
It deepens empathy.
It reminds us how connected we all are.
And in midlife — when many of us are renegotiating identity, purpose, relationships, work, and meaning — this kind of travel can offer something we rarely give ourselves in daily life: spaciousness.
Space to feel.
Space to imagine.
Space to remember who we are becoming.
And yes — we see women change on these trips.
Not because anything dramatic happens externally, but because something shifts internally:
Confidence in navigating the unfamiliar
Trust in one’s own resilience
A gentler, more grounded way of being
Joy in simply being rather than performing
Many women arrive solo, some travel with a friend — but by the end, everyone has expanded their circle. The journey has a way of weaving us together.
Sometimes that transformation looks like carrying your own luggage up a steep staircase. Sometimes it’s the moment you sit still, watching clouds pass over the sea, and realize you haven’t hurried once that day. It often involves learning and sharing experiences over regional food, seasonings, and flavors.
Beyond the Itinerary
One of the things that makes Rumblings trips unique is that we don’t just go somewhere — we travel with intention.
Along with the itinerary, we use our guided journal, Beyond the Itinerary: A Transformational Travel Companion, to help you slow down and truly receive the experience you’re in. The journal isn’t about documenting everything you did — it’s about noticing what moved you.
Before the trip, we invite each traveler to choose a mantra — a simple phrase that becomes a steady companion throughout the journey:
“Stay curious.”
“Find beauty in the small moments.”
“Let the experience unfold.”
These gentle prompts create a subtle shift:
You stop chasing the moment, and you start being in it.
The journal holds space for:
The way a conversation lingers
A moment that softens something in you
A realization that arrives quietly
The feeling of seeing yourself differently, even for a second
This is where the real journey happens — not in the miles traveled, but in the way you return home changed in small, meaningful ways.
Create Your Own Transformative Travel Experience
Not every transformative journey requires a passport. You can create meaningful travel experiences anywhere — even close to home — when you travel with curiosity, presence, and intention.
To help you design your own mindful adventure, we’ve created a free downloadable handout: Transformative Travel Itineraries — a simple, practical guide to crafting a personal travel experience that aligns with your values and deepens your sense of connection.
Inside, you’ll find:
Sample itineraries for a weekend escape, weeklong journey, and bucket-list adventure
Mindset and journaling prompts to help you stay present
Ideas for weaving curiosity, adventure, and reflection into your travel plans
Tips for balancing structure and spontaneity so you can receive your journey, not rush through it
Because travel isn’t just about where you go.
It’s about who you are while you’re there. Download the free guide here.
Next Journey: Portugal + The Camino
This spring, we’ll walk a portion of the Camino in Portugal — a path known not for speed or achievement, but for the quiet transformation that happens when we move at the pace of our own footsteps.
There is a rhythm that comes when we walk —
a rhythm that loosens what we’ve been holding
and makes room for something new to take shape.
The Camino offers:
Time to listen to yourself
Time to let go of what no longer fits
Time to let something new begin — quietly, in a way that feels real and lasting
This is travel as presence.
Simone Weil wrote that attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer.
When women travel together — with curiosity, gentleness, and a willingness to be changed — something ancient in us remembers itself.
The Camino invites a different pace. A return to what matters:
One step.
Then another.
Breath, rhythm, quiet.
Come Walk With Us
Whether you’re traveling solo or with a friend, you’ll be welcomed.
You’ll be supported.
And you’ll return with a circle that feels wider and warmer than before.
If this feels like a pull — a curiosity, a whisper, a yes — we’d love to walk with you.
You’re welcome whether you come alone or with someone you love. You’ll be met with warmth, supported with care, and return with a circle that feels like home.
Portugal. The Camino.
A journey inward, and outward.
Together.