100 Places Every Woman Should Go

by Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Holly Morris (Introduction)

With its breezy reviews and insightful advice, 100 Places Every Woman Should Go encourages women of any age to see the world — in a group, with a friend, or solo — and inspires them to create their own list of dreams. Based on her own explorations of many countries, states, and regions, and on interviews with travelers, award-winning author Stephanie Elizondo Griest highlights 100 special destinations and challenging activities — from diving for pearls in Bahrain to racing a camel, yak, or pony across Mongolia; to dancing with voodoo priestesses in Benin and urban cowboys in Texas; to taking a mud bath in a volcano off the coast of Colombia. Divided into such sections as “Places Where Women Made History,” “Places of Indulgence,” and “Places of Adventure,” this guidebook includes timely contact information, resources, and recommended reading. “Ten Tips For Wandering Women” features safety precautions plus pointers on haggling, packing, and staying parasite-free. Vivid portraits of free spirits like Frida Kahlo (“A tequila-slamming, dirty joke-telling smoker, this famous artist was bisexual and beautiful”) help travelers expand their experience.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Womens, Reference, Feminism, Memoir

260 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a globetrotting author from the Texas-Mexico borderlands. Her six books include: Around the Bloc, Mexican Enough, All the Agents and Saints, and Art Above Everything. Widely anthologized, she has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Believer, BBC, and Oxford American. Her work has won a Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting. Currently Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, she has performed as both a Moth storyteller and as a literary ambassador for the U.S. State Department.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s basically a poorly compiled list of places... there wasn’t really a rhyme or reason to how she picked things. Sounds like she just asked her friends and then put her favorites in loose categories. Which would be forgivable. Except the descriptions are horribly tone-deaf. Several practices are suggested that go against most responsible tourism guidelines (i.e. riding elephants, stopping by orphanages, etc) and a few times there were recommendations that just didn’t go together (i.e. take time to really understand the tragedy that happened in this place, then go hit this club nearby!). Most of the recommendations didn’t relate to women specifically at all (and those that did were a stretch sometimes) and several were listed as being unsafe for women to travel alone or recommended women travel with a man... so why exactly is it in this book?! Lots of typos or grammatical errors too... I feel like most “best of” lists I read online are better than this book. Save yourself the time.

[Lavinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a must for all you female vagabonds!

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

How to write a tone deaf travel guide

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my Christmas gifts and has been on my TBR for a while. It was very informative. The tidbits provided about each place were interesting and taught me things I didn’t know. I liked how the chapters were organized in different sections, and the focus on women’s stories and experiences.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thumbnail sketches of the 100 places. Most would probably be interesting to entire family. Would require further reading to plan a whole trip but these may give you some unique ideas. Further good resources at the end of each chapter.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting travel book with some great tidbits of history. It was a quick read with a unique look at many travel places and some good ideas for many different girlfriend/sister trips.

[Shaynipper · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much of the United States I haven't seen and this book has been an inspiration for trips I'd like to make. I've started planning road trips so now I need to find some traveling companions. So if you're up for some adventures - I'm your gal.

[Intplibrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much potential lost

Great idea; poor platform

Would have been great as, perhaps, a wiki, a website

Why recommend places where women cannot travel without a male companion?? NO advice on how safe a locale is for women, in particular.

Sometimes a chapter is a place, sometimes it's a "genre" -- confusing

Sometimes the "woman" connection is totally missing. It's just a recommended place to travel.

And the index is useless on the e-book. A list of words. No page numbers, no links.

OTOH, I DO think this would be a great wiki.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun and easybook to read. It got me to think about a lot of places I'd never considered visiting before. I also really enjoyed the 100th place to go as it was unexpected. My qualms however were that when she described the places I had visited, she usually left out all of my favorite experiences. The book seemed to be aimed at artsy, feminist, party-goers. Also, she provided street addresses in the text of many locations which was annoying to read through and could have been in an appendix or at the end of the chapter.

[Kconrad2k · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sections the book was divided into gave me some ideas for travel pieces that I might want to write. There a section on Places of Indulgence which include things like Champagne, France, Famed Chocolate Sites, and Česky Krumlove. It also includes Sexiest Lingerie Shops which I'll pass on. There is also a section on Places of Womanly Affirmation. I was surprised to see Belly Dancing in Austin, Texas listed! The recommended reading at the end of suggested site looks like something I might follow up on if I go to any of these places.

[Cassandra Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a World Traveler Confirmed Too Many Stereotypes.

I have visited almost as many places as the author and have done some in depth exploration. During my travels I have discovered that meeting the people and going back to the basics is the most powerful way to connect with others. This books seems to be a stretch and narrowly defines what it means to be a female traveller. The only items I found interesting were the tips on safe travel. Really disappointing.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this along with my daily morning readings - loads of places I would love to go and quite a few I wouldn't and many to which I've already been - and if time and money allowed - I'd return. I liked the final chapter - Visiting the Motherland - encouraging each of us to explore the land from which our immigrant ancestors began their journeys. Back to Ireland, then to Scotland and England and Tasmania and who knows where else - sign me up!

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess I only skimmed for the places I'd like to visit, but it seems pretty good. While there are a lot of stereotypical female items in here, I do appreciate that it doesn't rely mostly on Western Europe as it better reflects my ultimate travel goals. I'm sure I'll want to check it out from the library again or maybe even buy it...though it would be awesome if newer editions continue to be published.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not all the way finished with this book but I am enjoying getting through it slowly. Not exactly what I had in mind but it has a lot of good information and history of places to visit all over the world- and it should really apply to any kind of woman, there are sections that suggest places to get pampered and also places to have grand adventures!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely took notes as I went through this book as there are some places within places that intrigued me (especially the places of indulgence). Unfortunately, just like all travel guides tend to do, it has become dated in several places. The author and I have the same taste in travelling, I'd say! Time for a new edition though!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic reference for anyone who wants to adventure into parts of the world and get the most out of it. It is a bent toward women but anyone can find the places fascinating. I liked that there was further reading suggestions and URL's for research as well as tour suggestions. I took this book out of the library but plan to buy it so I can use it when I am planning an adventure.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I browsed this one and would call it places women COULD visit. There are certainly several that I have no interest in: Rawanda, Iran, Skydiving and bungee-jumping. The short articles were interesting and informative. Note to travel partners: Clare Island, Ireland.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this book was a waste. The more I read the more I enjoyed it. There were so many ideas of thing to do and see. Even if you can't go to the exact place, the book had great ideas for travel.

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a collection of travel essays, and it's actually more of a guidebook, but it was still a great read, and made me wish I had the resources to travel to oh, pretty much everywhere. Croatia, anyone?

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading "Around the Bloc" I was excited for this next author's book. Travel selections are good, but the list on travel "how to's" is disappointing.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I immediately liked this so much, I put down the library copy to order one for myself.

It is very America-centric, but I still loved it!

[Melanie Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of travel spots for women. It fueled my imagination for places I'd like to visit someday. For now, I'll just be an armchair traveler!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides great ideas for travel -- inspires wanderlust.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It spoke about places I never would have thought about going to. I liked how the author provided info about the diff. places like websites.

[Laura-nassidesa Eschbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could not resist the temptation, there is entries for sexist shops, famous women writers and their creative nooks, places of indulgence to name a few. This will be one of my daily reads.

[Gail Fligstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book inspired me to start a wish list for vacations. San Cristobal de las Casas and Cuba stand out. Fun for a quick read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting perspective on travel based on what some women may want out of travel. I like the history bits on historical woman and some safety tips, etc.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly hokey, and not for the sophisticated traveler. I should have known just from the title!

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me want to travel again. My wanderlust is calling me to go to one of these cities or stops on a tour of shopping and adventures. Great bathroom and falling asleep book.

[Nicole]

For a travel book it was strange that it didn't have any photos but otherwise I really enjoyed it!