Travel Director Danielle, on leading our first women-only tour in Croatia

At the end of September a sun-soaked adventure will ensue along the Dalmatian coast; our first-ever women-only tour. We are so proud to take this new step toward removing barriers to travel and creating more inclusive spaces for our guests. We caught up with Danielle, the Travel Director leading the tour, for her thoughts on the upcoming trip

Danielle first speaks on the unique benefits of a women-only tour, particularly for those traveling by themselves, which range from comfort to camaraderie.

‘You know you’re going into a group of likeminded people,’ she tells us, ‘a group of women coming together’. She notes the challenges of solo-traveling, such as the pressure of being alone when surrounded by groups or couples. This is particularly pertinent if one is recently divorced, or widowed. Being in a group of only women takes that pressure away. You know that you’re stepping into a community of women who will celebrate and support each other.

Indeed, the trip design reflects this celebration of femininity through its experiences. Guests will meet inspiring women, visit female-led businesses, and more:

– A farm-to-table lunch in Barban, hosted by three generations of women from the Zufič family.

– In Slovenia, you’ll meet Irene Fonda on her family’s sustainable fish farm. Irene is an awarded biologist conducting important conservation work in the Gulf of Piran. On this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience, you will learn about and taste Fonda’s sustainably bred sea bass in a sea-to-table experience.

Read More: Women who MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® – Dr. Irene Fonda – Fostering sustainable sea bass in the Adriatic

– Meet the women of the Tara Community Center, an industrious group of mostly older refugees from the Croatian war of independence. In making handicrafts and coming together to form a tight-knit community, they preserve their traditions and heal from the trauma of war.

Read more: Healing the wounds of war through the power of community: The Tara Community Centre

– Meet Maja and Ana, the tenacious businesswomen who started Brlog, the first female-led brewery in a male-dominated industry.

Read more: Women who MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® – Ana Teskera and Maja Śepetavec – Cooperative Beer Brewing in Croatia

– Visit Udruga Domine in Split, an organization that empowers women and advocates equality through workshops, research and training. You’ll uncover stories of women who shaped Split’s history, yet go unnoticed in the history books.

– In Hvar, you’ll meet Fedra, founder of the Faria women’s co-op. Faria empowers local women to maintain their cultural heritage. They promote the use of traditional recipes passed down over generations and indigenous ingredients of the islands. From this, they create amazing produce – from cosmetics to tasty chocolates. The co-op also mentors young students to help them set up their own business cooperatives.

– The workshop of Deša, in Dubrovnik, works to help refugees and female victims of violence and operates as a safe space for women to support one another. Set up following the siege of Dubrovnik, they are now an important center for education, training opportunities, workshops and women’s rights.

As obvious from the experiences above, the tour has been perfectly designed to celebrate women. From meeting determined businesswomen to brave refugees, the trip offers so many opportunities to become inspired.

Danielle champions Croatia as the perfect destination for the tour. She notes that conflict, such as Croatia’s fight for independence, is often viewed with a male, militaristic lens. ‘This tour allows for a female perspective on the conflict’, to see how the women are impacted. Excitingly, this particular itinerary has ‘never been done before<’. It’s completely new, custom-designed for this women-only tour.

On top of those you meet, Danielle emphasizes the raw, visceral beauty of the country itself.

She waxes lyrical about the coastal country, which she has come to know intimately from running the Country Roads of Croatia trip.

On the upcoming women-only tour, guests start in Venice and then venture down the east Adriatic coast all the way to Dubrovnik. Danielle tells us how they’ll visit lesser-known, off-the-beaten-track destinations. A standout example is the beautiful Istria peninsula. She describes this area with particular glee, noting how guests will see gorgeous coastal towns, pretty little villages, and unbelievable vistas. Opatija, or, as Danielle calls it, a possible ‘Croatian riviera’, is a coastal town with a laidback Mediterranean class, rich with Habsburg-era villas giving it an Austro-Hungarian sophistication. Each and every stop on this coastal expedition has been hand-picked to exemplify our signature style and premium taste.

So, we bid adieu and bon voyage to our lovely Travel Director and the group of women traveling with her, and look forward to future trips of this kind.

Keep your eyes peeled for more women-only tours in the future.