Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo

by Beth Whitman

Designed for women of all ages traveling for business, pleasure, or family, this indispensable travel handbook offers encouragement, lighthearted anecdotes, and numerous travel-tested tips. Drawing upon 20 years of travel experience, the guide includes a wealth of information—including how to budget and save money, pack the necessities, and apply for passports and visas—as well as a full list of website resources and advice on the latest travel technology. This travel resource is the ultimate manual for any female traveler embarking on a journey by herself.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Beth Whitman is a self-described travel addict and has been a solo traveler for 20 years. After backpacking through eight of the Pacific Rim countries for a year in 1992, she recognized that other women were looking for guidance and inspiration so that they, too, could plan and carry out their own dream journeys. Thus was born her workshops and, more recently, her book, Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo.

Beth has ridden a BMW motorcycle solo from Seattle to Panama; backpacked through
Nepals Himalayas; driven the AlCan Highway to Alaska; trekked the remote highlands
of Vietnam; and maneuvered the back roads of Frances Dijon region in a rental car.
Shes had a hand grenade pulled on her in Cambodia; fought off giardia in SE Asia; been threatened by Nicaraguan police; and been flashed by men from New Orleans to Saigon.

Her travel articles and photos have appeared in books, newspapers and magazines
including BMW Magazine, Transitions Abroad, Perceptive Travel and Sound Rider.
Shes the publisher of Wanderlust and Lipstick the travel blogger for the Seattle Post Intelligencer and has been teaching travel classes in the Seattle area for 15 years including her very popular class For Women Traveling Solo."

Reviews

[scc101 · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHAT I LIKED:
A lot of books list relevant websites throughout the text, but if you don't jot them down, you may have a hard time finding them. This book puts URLs in bold within the text and then lists all the websites at the end of the book.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I've read other books about women traveling alone and this one was kinda meh overall. There were useful bits of information but nothing too shocking.

Oh, and I think the title is just silly. The lipstick part is what gets me.

Here are some other books I recommend instead:
A Journey of One's Own: Uncommon Advice for the Independent Woman Traveler
The Rough Guide Women Travel 4: A Rough Guide Special
More Women Travel: Adventures and Advice from More Than 60 Countries

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the author speak a few years ago at a Travel and Adventure Show and thought she had some useful tips and tricks for solo female travelers. I recently came across her website again and decided to give this book a shot.

If you're a woman who has rarely traveled at all, much less solo, this book may have some practical pieces of information for regarding travel in general. There are also several good websites and sound pieces of advice. I would caution you, though, that things change rapidly in the travel industry - which means that some of the information in this book is now outdated. For example, Northwest Airlines hasn't existed for a decade (Delta absorbed them in 2008), paper airline tickets were eliminated that same year, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually uses or accepts traveler's checks anymore.

I consider myself a very seasoned traveler, so this book didn't really have too many new tidbits for me and I did skim quite a lot of it. I did enjoy some of the 'stories from the road' and other anecdotes, though, and it's always good validation to read that others use some of the same tactics and tricks that I do when traveling solo.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books about women traveling on their own are collections of essays or narratives. This book is one of the very few that provides basic how-to info on everything from deciding where to go to planning and budgeting to dealing with bodily functions specific to chicks. The author provides a wealth of resources for all kinds of topics and maintains her own website as well. I already travel solo a lot and found several interesting tips and ideas.

[Wren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really basic information and most advice is pretty common sense. Isn't really geared toward the backpacker-type woman traveler. The best parts were the stories from solo women travelers, which were helpful in giving some safety tips.

[lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you need to read this book to tell you how to travel solo, then you don't have enough common sense to travel solo and you should probably stay in the house with the windows shut to avoid accidentally hurting yourself.

[Misti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book in the travel section of my library. Being from the library, this is the first edition and I noticed it was a bit dated in places but I did see that there is a newer edition available online.

First, the positive: the book has a chapter that addresses excuses about solo travel. I liked the fact that she didn’t dismiss people’s fears as being stupid but gave reasons why they shouldn’t be that big of an issue.

If you are a new traveler, there are some good, practical tips in the book. I am not a novice traveler and you can find most of the information in any guidebook, blogs, or travel podcasts. I’m guessing experienced travelers will just want to skip this. Plus, the title is kind of dumb, IMO.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic and basic. I skimmed it, because this is for the « never traveled anywhere before » crowd...
Best things were resources and links to update sites.

[Nicolle Novak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because traveling as a solo women is something that is new to me but that I'll be doing quite a bit of now that I'm single. The title of the book made it seem like the perfect one to pick up for that very purpose. Although, as someone who has traveled quite extensively, just not on any solo trips, I did not find this book to be particularly helpful. There are a lot of things pointed out in this book that become obvious and second nature as you begin to travel more in general. If you're new to traveling all together, I think this book would be more helpful. I managed to jot down a few websites I wanted to check out and did come across a few helpful tips, but they were few given the length of the book. With that being said, it is an easy read (few travel essays/personal stories, mainly just tips and things to keep in mind when traveling) but would be best for new travelers, someone looking for an easy read regarding traveling solo, and those looking for a refresher in traveling. If you've traveled even a handful of times, I'm not sure this book is worth your time.

[Robs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up for a buck at a thrift store, so it's tough to justify being hard on it. The book has some great information and encouragement for women who are looking to set out solo. However, having done more than a little research on the topic, I found this book had very little new to offer me. Most of what's contained are conclusions most of us could reach by exercising our simple common sense.

The book is also dated at this point (reasonable enough it is 7 years old), but plenty of the links and information are still good.

I would recommend this book as a beginner's jumping off point for researching solo travel, but anyone who's spent much time looking into the subject is better off moving on to another book.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this book for women who have never traveled before, whether going solo or not. But as someone who has traveled internationally before, I didn't really learn much. I found myself skimming over the sections on passport and visas.

The anecdotes were my favorite part. That and the list of helpful websites that I will be copying down before I return it to the library.

I was just expecting there to be more wisdom for the traveler who is not new to traveling but new to the solo part. Also, there are not really that many tips for business travelers so if you are looking for that, this book won't help much.

[Annette Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have gotten a lot more out of this book if I hadn't already learned most of its lessons the hard way. ;)

Other reviewers are correct in that it's not a "backpackery" book - but that's cool, 'cause there are plenty of those.

I'd recommend this book super-duper highly to any lady making her first trip abroad, nevermind alone, and it wouldn't do any girl wrong to skim for material and resources that she may not yet be privvy to.

[Alissa Thorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broad, shallow advice for first time international travelers, covering special considerations for women traveling alone. Perfect if it's your first time venturing abroad and you want to make sure you've got all the major bases covered; most likely terribly boring for anyone else. In fact, it's bound to be boring in parts to just about everyone. Expect to skim large chunks that touch on material you are already familiar with.

[Ima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whitman has some good, commonsense advise for women who plan on traveling alone. The tone is conversational rather than dry so it was fun to read. I loved the personal stories from her and other female travelers that are sprinkled throughout the book. Overall, this is a great resource for any girl who is planning a trip.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Some information is useful but most of it is pretty basic and what I consider to be more common knowledge (but I am pretty seasoned international traveler). I enjoyed the short essays that highlight actual experiences the most, but those were pretty far and few in between. This book is probably best suited for someone with a very limited knowledge of travel in general.

[AlishaReadsAllDay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Filled with useful, practical advice, but caters to the older crowd. Some information in this book is just not helpful if your under 40. However, if your older and adventurous, this book is a good place to start.

[Ietrio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! I keep reading on different sites how dangerous it is for women to travel. And by this the life concepts of the christian middle ages are perpetuated today. This book comes to counter all this.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun tips and tricks, interspersed with personal accounts of travel victories. Some of it is basic knowledge, but lots of great websites and innovative ways to save money.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very handy guide for any woman who is thinking of traveling on her own. The author lists lots of great websites and just about every aspect of traveling is addressed with good advice.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is terrible, but it had some useful information. Also, reading travel books gets me really excited about good things to come.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good advice and lists some great websites that were very helpful in planning.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has done quite a bit of solo travel, I have read a few books on the subject and this one, while helpful, was not my favorite. So, there you go.

[Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives solid advice with excitement that makes you excited about getting out there on your own. Well written :)

[Bern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, basic guidelines on traveling solo as a woman.

[Carissa]

ehh...

Good book, but definitely something to get from the library. A light read, didn't really learn too much. But not a bad book.

[Wendy's Wanderings · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has lots of tips pertinent to travelers. It also has an extensive list of websites that are worth checking out. A great book for the beginning traveler especially internationally.

[Calamity Ayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty weak. VERY basic, quite boring. Disappointing.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't include anything new to me--best audience would be women who haven't done a lot of traveling before.

[Kimma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly common sense, but well organized content good for women who have never traveled alone internationally and are considering stretching beyond their comfort zone.

[Annie Kostyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basics for traveling the world alone. I think the guide is applicable to both sexes.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book includes a lot of common sense, some good links and lots of inspiration.