Inspirational Women Travellers Throughout History

The idea of women travelling alone is often seen as a modern phenomenon, but history is filled with incredible women travellers who defied societal norms and set off on daring journeys long before budget airlines and Google Maps existed. 

These trailblazing women didn’t just explore the world – they changed perceptions, wrote ground-breaking accounts, and paved the way for future generations of solo travellers.

1. Egeria (4th Century AD)

One of the earliest recorded female solo travellers, Egeria was a nun from Spain who embarked on an extensive pilgrimage to the Holy Land, just 50 years after Roman emperor Constantine’s death. 

Egeria travelled across the Middle East, visiting Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, and beyond. 

She wrote a detailed account of her journey, in letter form, seemingly addressed to a community of women back home. The letter, dated back to the early 380s, provides one of the first travel narratives by a woman. 

Her description of the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem, makes her detailed account the prime source of information for those studying ancient history and religion. Her writings offer a rare insight into early Christian pilgrimages and the ancient world.

A modern translation is available on Amazon here, and an earlier version is available here. Both are highly rated.

2. Jeanne Baret (1740–1807)

Jeanne Baret was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe – though she had to do it in disguise. Women were prohibited from being on French navy ships at the time.

A botanist and adventurer, she joined the expedition of Louis Antoine de Bougainville by dressing as a man. 

It was a little more complicated than I’m portraying it here (you can read this Wikipedia page to get the full details), but essentially, Jeanne disguised herself as a man, calling herself ‘Jean Baret’ and joined the expedition as an assistant botanist. 

According to Bougainville, ‘Jean’ was an expert botanist, and he had nothing but praise for her work.

Her contributions to botany were significant, yet she was largely uncredited during her lifetime. 

Today, her name is recognised in the plant species Solanum baretiae, named in her honour.

Fun fact: Jeanne Barret was among the ten notable French women honoured as golden statues in the River Seine during the ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Recommended Amazon read: The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe.

3. Isabella Bird (1831–1904)

An unconventional Victorian woman, Isabella Bird travelled extensively and documented her experiences in a series of books that became bestsellers. 

An English explorer, she wrote several books about her travels to America at the age of 23, and continued to travel the world into her 70s. 

She rode solo across the Rocky Mountains, explored Persia, Japan, and Tibet, and was the first woman to be inducted into the Royal Geographical Society in 1892. 

For her trip across the Rockies, she rode horseback for 800 miles, insisting on riding front-facing like men did. At the time, women only rode sidesaddle, to enable them to wear fine dresses with elegance.

Isabella was unhappy with an article in the Times about her that called her ‘masculine’ for dressing practically and riding her house frontwards, and threatened to sue the newspaper. 

Her letters and journals reveal a traveller with an adventurous spirit and sharp wit.

Some of Isabella Bird’s books are available on Amazon: 

• Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
• A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains
• A Photographic Journal of Travels Through China

4. Nellie Bly (1864–1922)

An American journalist with an unbreakable spirit, Nellie Bly set out to beat the fictional record of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days. 

In 1889, she completed her journey in just 72 days, becoming a global sensation. 

Bly was also a fearless investigative reporter who went undercover in a mental health asylum in New York City to expose the corruption within. Her resulting publication, Ten Days in a Mad House, propelled her to fame in the USA and sparked a new wave of investigative journalism.

Bly also reported on World War I from the Eastern Front. She was the first woman and one of the first foreigners to arrive at the war zone between Serbia and Austria. 

Bly was instrumental in raising awareness about the challenges facing women in the working world, and went on to run an oil manufacturing company, patenting several inventions in the industry. 

5. Alexandra David-Néel (1868–1969)

A French explorer, Buddhist scholar, and writer, Alexandra David-Néel defied expectations by sneaking into the then-forbidden city of Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924. 

Disguised as a beggar, she walked hundreds of miles through treacherous terrain. She was the first European woman to enter Lhasa, and also the first Western woman to be received by the Dalai Lama (who told her to learn the Tibetan language, which she did).

Her detailed accounts of Tibetan culture fascinated Western audiences and remain influential today. She published over 30 books, including Magic and Mystery in Tibet, which was published in 1929.

Alexandra David-Néel led an extraordinary life- she was also an opera singer, helped to run a casino, and adopted a 15-year-old Tibetan monk as her son. She outlived both her husband and her son, living to the age of 100 years old. 

6. Freya Stark (1893–1993)

A true pioneer of Middle Eastern exploration, British-Italian explorer Freya Stark ventured into remote regions of Iran, Yemen, and Afghanistan. Disproving all the modern myths about solo travel, Stark often travelled alone where few Westerners (let alone women) had gone before. 

She wrote “over two dozen” travel books, providing some of the most detailed early accounts of the Middle East. 

Her eloquent prose and fearless approach to exploration made her one of the most remarkable travellers of the 20th century.

Stark also served for the British Red Cross in World War I and the British Ministry of Information in World War II. She was also a renowned photographer and won several awards for her work.

Stark was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1972 New Year’s Honours.

Some of Starks books:

• A Winter in Arabia: A Journey Through Yemen
• The Lycian Shore: A Turkish Odyssey
• Perseus in the Wind: A Life of Travel
• The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels

7. Dervla Murphy (1931–2022)

Dervla Murphy’s travel memoir Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle (1965) is a classic in adventure literature. 

Armed with a pistol and an iron will, she cycled solo across continents, braving extreme weather, political unrest, and rugged terrain. 

Her cycling trip spanned Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. She then volunteered with Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal, and trekked in Ethiopia.

After her daughter was born, Murphy wrote about her travels with Rachel in India, Pakistan, South America, Madagascar, and Cameroon.

She later chronicled her solo trips through Romania, Africa, Laos, Yugoslavia, and Siberia. In 2005, she visited Cuba with her granddaughters.

Murphy’s travels spanned decades, proving that age and gender were no barriers to adventure.

8. Annie Londonderry (1870–1947)

In 1895, Annie Londonderry (not her real name) became the first woman to cycle around the world.

Setting off with just a change of clothes and a pearl-handled revolver, she financed her journey through advertising and sheer ingenuity.  

Annie was a Jewish Latvian woman who moved to the United States in 1875 when she was around 4 years old. In 1894, she left her husband and three children to cycle around the world, in response to an advert offering $10,000 prize money. 

Annie entered into a collaboration with a cycle company, which provided the bicycle for the attempt, and other companies who placed advertising placards on the back of the cycle (a little like how a modern-day influencer would conduct their business in today’s world).

When she reached Chicago, she realised she needed to make some changes if she was going to succeed. She ditched her bike, replaced it with a lighter model, and swapped her skirt and corset for a men’s riding outfit. 

Annie was successful in her quest (despite much of the journey being taken by boat) and picked up $10,000 prize money. 

Her trip was part athletic feat, part publicity stunt, but it challenged the prevailing notion that women were unfit for such daring adventures.

There is a fascinating book about Annie available on Amazon: Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World.

9. Junko Tabei (1939–2016)

The first woman to summit Mount Everest, Junko Tabei wasn’t just a solo traveller – she was a mountaineering legend. 

In 1992, she became the first woman to complete the Seven Summits (climbing the highest peak on every continent). Durig this time she was buried by an avalanche and dug out unconscious by a Sherpa guide. She took 2 days to recover before continuing to the summit.

Tabei’s journey shattered stereotypes about women in extreme sports and exploration.

Tabei authored seven books, initiated environmental efforts to remove litter left by climbers on Everest, and guided annual climbs of Mount Fuji for young people impacted by the Great East Japan Earthquake. 

Eventually, it became clear that Junko Tabei did not enjoy the fame that accompanied her achievement. She expressed a desire to be remembered simply as the 36th person to reach the summit of Everest, saying, “I did not intend to be the first woman on Everest.”

Further reading: Reaching For The Sky: The Everest Story – How Junko Tabei Climbed to the Top of the World and Showed Us All That Dreams Have No Limits.

10. Aloha Wanderwell (1906–1996)

Aloha Wanderwell was a true trailblazer in adventure travel. 

In the 1920s, she became the first woman to drive around the world, covering 380,000 miles across 80 countries. 

She was 16 when she achieved this feat. She began and ended her journey in Nice, France, driving a 1918 Ford Model T for the whole journey.

Often compared to a female Indiana Jones, she documented her travels in films and journals, proving that women could be daring adventurers behind the wheel.

Aloha also learnt how to fly a German seaplane, landing it on an uncharted part of the Amazon river. She spent 6 weeks staying with the Bororo people, and indigenous tribe of Brazil.

Throughout her life, Aloho travelled around 500,000 miles in various Ford vehicles. 

You can visit the dedicated Aloha Wanderwell site to learn more and see photos.

You can see her book here: Aloha Wanderwell ” Call to Adventure”: True Tales of the Wanderwell Expedition, First Women to Circle the World in an Automobile.

Conclusion: Inspirational Women Travellers Throughout History.

These women travelled at times when it was far more challenging – socially, physically, and logistically -than it is today.

Their stories remind us that adventure is for everyone, and that solo travel is not a new phenomenon but a continuing legacy of fearless exploration.

Who are your favourite historical female travellers? Let’s keep their stories alive and share the inspiration!