Q: Susie, you’ve been handcrafting walking trips for more than 30 years. Why launch Women Only Walks now?
When we started Classic Journeys back in 1995, I wasn’t thinking in “product lines.” I was thinking: how do we help people experience the world on foot, at eye level, with local people? That’s still the core of what we do.
Over time, I noticed a pattern. On almost every trip, there would be women who pulled me aside—sometimes solo, sometimes traveling with a friend or sister—and said some version of, “This is the first time in ages I’ve done something just for me.” Or, “I didn’t realize how much I needed this until I was actually here.”
I’ve had the same experience on trips I have taken with my own groups of friends. I have one group with whom I’ve traveled for over 30 years on some short trips and some longer trips (they are foodies and like the shopping and cultural parts of a region), and I have another group that likes to do long walking tours where we can really enjoy each other’s company while clicking through our step count. Lucky for me, both of my friend groups love being on our Classic Journeys tours, so WOW! is a natural extension of my own personal travel experience with friends.
Women were already a huge part of Classic Journeys long before we created WOW! departures. We’ve had women leading tours, hosting guests in their homes, and supporting education and women’s initiatives in the places we visit for decades. In fact, other than my husband, our entire executive team is made up of women! Women Only Walks is simply giving a clear name to something that has been quietly growing all along.
Q: What makes a Women Only Walk different from the trips you’ve always run?
At a practical level, WOW! departures are the same handcrafted cultural walking itineraries our guests already love—Morocco, Iceland, the Galapagos, Peru, Tuscany & the Cinque Terre, the Cotswolds—on dates reserved just for women and led by women guides.
At an emotional level, the energy is slightly different. When it’s all women, the “mental load” seems to drop faster. No one is juggling a partner’s preferences or trying to keep everyone else happy. Within a day or two, there’s a feeling of “we’re in this together”—whether “this” is a market in Marrakech, a village lane in England, or a hillside in Peru.
And because the group is women only, the connections with local women often deepen in interesting ways. A weaver in the Sacred Valley, a winemaker in Italy, or the owner of a Cotswolds inn may open up differently when talking to a circle of women. The conversations can be more candid, more personal. I’ve watched that happen again and again.
Q: Classic Journeys has a reputation for exceptional local guides. How do women guides fit into WOW?
Our local guides have always been the heartbeat of Classic Journeys. That’s as true for Women Only Walks as for any other trip.
On WOW! departures, we specifically pair groups with exceptional local female guides whenever possible. These are women who live where they guide—they know which alleyway has the best coffee, which village artisan just put her daughter through university, which family has been making olive oil or weaving rugs for generations.
For guests, that means two things. First, you’re traveling with a woman who understands your perspective as a woman traveler—questions about safety, comfort, and cultural norms. Second, you’re seeing her home through her eyes. When she introduces you to a cooperative, a kitchen, or a school, it often comes with an extra layer of pride and personal story.
I love that WOW! gives us a chance to highlight these women more visibly. They’ve been quietly shaping our trips for years; this brings them to center stage.
Q: You’ve also been involved in work that supports women and children in the destinations you visit. How does that connect to WOW!?
A big part of my joy in leading this company has been helping build programs that support women and children in developing countries—often through education, cooperatives, and community partnerships. I have a background in Economic Development and have seen firsthand how providing education, job opportunities, and microloans can transform a community.
Travel and tourism employ a higher proportion of women than many other sectors, and when women earn, they tend to spend that income on their families’ health and education. We see that play out in very concrete ways:
- A weaving cooperative in Latin America using craft income to keep girls in school.
- A women‑run enterprise in North Africa helping fund tutoring or school supplies.
- Family‑run inns where an additional room or two for guests has meant a daughter can attend university.
When women travel with us—especially on walking trips that spend money “at eye level” in small inns, local restaurants, and cooperatives—they’re participating in that story. WOW! doesn’t create that impact from scratch, but it focuses it. It brings women travelers into closer conversation with women whose lives are directly touched by thoughtful tourism.
For me, that’s deeply satisfying. It feels like a circle: women traveling, women welcoming, and children benefiting in the middle.
Q: There are more women‑only tours in the market now. How do you see Women Only Walks as different?
There are some wonderful companies creating women‑only experiences, and we’re happy to see more attention on women travelers. Where Classic Journeys differs is in what we’ve always done well: walking, culture, and local access.
A WOW! departure isn’t a spa retreat with a couple of walks tacked on. It’s a true Classic Journeys cultural walking trip—days built around exploring at foot level, with time in villages, markets, countryside, and small towns—experienced in the company of women.
We’re also coming at this with three decades of experience and recognition behind us. Classic Journeys has been named a multi‑time Travel + Leisure World’s Best Tour Operator, and we’re the only tour operator in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards Hall of Fame. That reputation has been built largely by women: by our company leadership, by local women guides and hoteliers, and by the women guests who have trusted us with their travels again and again.
So WOW! isn’t a new “side project.” It’s a very Classic Journeys expression of who we already are.
Q: What do you hope a woman feels, or takes away, after a WOW! trip?
I hope she feels three things.
First, ease. That she was able to put down the mental list—at least for a week—and let someone else think about timing, transport, and where to eat.
Second, connection. That she found herself in conversations she didn’t expect: with other women travelers, with local women, with herself. The kind that happen when you’re walking side‑by‑side or sitting at a long table, not rushing from one “must‑see” to the next.
Third, a sense of belonging in the wider world. That she can look back and say, “I walked through that market. I stayed in that village. I met that family. I was part of something real.”
If she goes home with new friends, a little more confidence, and the feeling that her travel dollars helped support women and children somewhere in the world—then WOW has done exactly what I hoped it would.
Q: And personally—when you think about Women Only Walks, what excites you most?
Honestly? The breakfast conversations.
I’m not a morning person but I love walking into a breakfast room on a WOW! departure and hearing the murmur of women’s voices—talking about books, grandkids, careers, health scares they’ve come through, places they still want to see. The laughter. The “You have to taste this.” The “I never thought I could do that, but yesterday I did.”
It reminds me that when we started Classic Journeys, we thought we were building itineraries. What we were really building was a way for people—very often women—to connect more deeply with the world and with each other.
Women Only Walks is just another path along that same ridge. And I’m very glad we’re walking it.
