Gretchen Brauer-Rieke's favorite travel buddy isn't her husband of 48 years – it's her female friends.
The 70-year-old Oregon resident has been set on exploring the world in her retirement. Since then, the former midwife and her friends – a group of like-minded hikers who are mostly aged between 65 and 75 – have visited Guatemala and Iceland, and have hiked through national parks in Utah. Earlier this year, they joined the nonprofit travel organization Road Scholar, which specializes in educational trips for those over 60, on a women-only trip to Cuba and a co-ed hiking trip to Banff. In 2027, she and some girlfriends hope to hike the famous Camino de Santiago from France to Spain.
All the while, Brauer-Rieke's husband stays at home.
"We've been
married a long time, but his interests in retirement are just pretty different than mine," she said. "Every now and then, I hear of women who are like... 'Oh, I want to go here, but my husband doesn't. What are we going to do? You know, he just doesn't want to go.' It's like, well, that's obvious. Just go. You don't have to be joined at the hip."
In fact, going with her friends has unlocked a new side to travel that Brauer-Rieke never expected: the unparalleled joy she gets from the powerful bond of womanhood.
Brauer-Rieke isn't the only woman leaving her partner behind to travel, and enjoying it too. In 2022, around 26% of Road Scholar's travelers were solo, with nearly two-thirds of those married. Most solo travelers were women. According to the 600 senior women surveyed, 42% said it's because their spouse isn't interested in traveling and 40% said they have different interests when it comes to travel.
Their reasons may vary, but what all the women have in common is that they don't let their partner slow them down.
An unspoken understanding
When it comes to travel, Brauer-Rieke and her friends have found they're more compatible with each other than they are with their husbands. They have a shared sense of adventure, and are awestruck by the same things and more than game for thrill-seeking activities. More than that, they're proactive in planning and making the trip a reality. They're just on the same page.
"I know there's men out there who get a lot of joy and adventure and travel, and are very able to be playful in ways that oftentimes men are not able to be playful, whereas I find women are very much oftentimes – or maybe I've just attracted those women to me," she said.
On the flip side, they've found that their husbands "are just as happy to get some home alone time" while the women go off and adventure.
Traveling with your friends rather than your partner also takes some pressure off, she added. Friends are usually more flexible and empathetic with one another, like if someone takes a wrong turn.
"I think there's something about friends – women friends in particular – where we don't have all the buttons you have when you've been married for a long time, and all the patterns that you've fallen into about who's responsible and whose fault and all this stuff," said Brauer-Rieke. "It's just not there. You're sort of relieved of that."
On their trip to Cuba, where they learned more about the island's culture and history, they even added a couple of new members to their friend group. It happened organically, through deep conversations on the bus about their life stories and relationships. "You just bond differently," she said.
No travel partner? No problem
Pam Allgood's husband won't fly or get on a ship, but that doesn't stop her from crossing international borders. She just goes on her own.
"That kind of limits doing anything international other than Canada and Mexico, which we've done, but I've always wanted to go to as many different countries as possible," the 74-year-old Georgia resident said. "He's known that ever since we first met, that once I retired, that was my number one goal."
To the former teacher, travel is the best education. She enjoys meeting people from other parts of the world who have similar interests while also immersing herself in other cultures. These experiences have been invaluable, as she put it.
Solo travel may sound lonely to some, but many of those who take the leap believe it has helped them grow as a person. In a 2026 survey by eDreams of 2,000 American adults, 44% said solo travel builds self-sufficiency and 43% said it gives them a renewed perspective.
As a solo traveler, Allgood has been to Peru, Croatia and Portugal. She's also joined several Road Scholar group trips by herself. One was to Jamestown, Virginia, to help with an archeological dig from the American Revolution, even discovering a uniform button from a French regiment on the last day. On another, she went to Manitoba in Canada to see the Northern Lights – an experience she said was nearly spiritual.
Traveling with Road Scholar makes it easy for her to travel on her own, since the entire itinerary is planned out for her, all the way down to meal times. She's never had an issue being a solo traveler and has always been able to forge relationships with her fellow travelers.
"There's no reason to be hesitant about taking the trip; maybe it's the trip of your lifetime," she said. "Maybe this is your one and only chance to go and do something, you know? Why miss out on doing something?"
Tips for solo travelers
For those who want to take the leap into traveling on their own, here are some tips.
- Start with a women-only trip. If you're dipping your toes into solo traveling and have some nerves, a women-only trip with a company like Road Scholar or Intrepid is a good starting point. You'll be with like-minded women, and there'll often be other singles too. Plus, the itinerary will be laid out for you so you don't need to worry about filling your days.
- Don't go international just yet. For your first trip alone, start with a more approachable domestic destination. "Maybe don't reach for a European or don't go to India right off the bat, you know, just try something that's not too stressful, not too far," suggested Brauer-Rieke.
- Get your own room. There's no shame in booking your own room instead of sharing with someone. This way, you have your own private space to return to and recharge. Allgood enjoys retreating to the privacy of her own room after a busy day.
Kathleen Wong is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY. She's the author of "The Conscious Traveller Hawai'i" and is based in Hawaii.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travel husbands not required: 'You don't have to be joined at the hip'
