Thelma & Louise has been connecting women who want to travel for over 10 years.
If, like us, you firmly believe that travel is an essential part of life, join our friendly community of sisters in travel and beyond! Nothing should stop us from travelling, least of all having no-one to travel with. If you’re looking for like-minded travel buddies and friends, you’re in the right place!
We help each other to make our travel dreams reality, sharing everything from books, rucksacks and boots to travel tips, advice and support. Take the case of one of our members who was made redundant recently. Confidence badly shaken, she felt she didn’t belong on Thelma & Louise anymore, but within days she received so many messages of support from other women who had found themselves in similar situations that she realised she belongs here – everyone’s welcome!
Image by gfpeck on flickr
We know that finding the right person to travel with is as important as finding the right destination. The right travel buddy can tip the experience into memorable for all the right – or wrong – reasons, so it’s well worth putting in the time and effort to make sure you meet the perfect travel partner.
Here’s how Thelma & Louise can help you find the perfect travel buddy:
1: Be clear about what you want from your travels and travel buddies
Know your travel style
Have a clear idea of your own travel style and lay out your preferences clearly in your profile. Tell people about yourself, the places you’ve seen and where you’d love to go. The more you tell people, the greater your chances of finding your ideal travel buddy. And remember, you’re 12 times less likely to be contacted by other members if you don’t upload a profile picture.
It’s only when you’re fully aware of how you like to travel that you can expect to find a travel buddy with complementary travel habits. There’s no point finding a travel buddy who likes to explore alone all day before meeting for an evening meal when you want someone to see the sights with. Or travelling with a night owl when you like to get out and about first thing in the morning.
Know where you want to go
If you’ve got your heart set on a particular adventure in a particular place, you should be the one who does most of the planning. The best way to do this is to set up a new trip on the site. Set out your plans as clearly as you can so that potential travel buddies know exactly what they’re getting into. If, on the other hand, you’re open to ideas and want inspiration, check out the trips that are already being planned; you might find one you can join.
Know your budget
This is important. Even if you find someone who wants to go to the same place at the same time, it won’t work if one of you wants a luxury, five-star experience, and the other wants to reign it in. Your perfect travel buddy will be on a similar budget.
Now that you’re clear about what you want to do, you’re ready to find someone to share the experience with you.
2: How to find travel buddies on the site
We don't match profiles for you - we believe travel buddy chemistry is far more sensitive than an algorithm. We simply create the environment for women travellers to meet and talk - it's up to you to find the potential travel buddies. The best way to start is to be active and communicate with the others instead of waiting for someone to get in touch with you.
Use the Find a travel buddy tool
It doesn't matter how big or small your trip will be, you'll find travel buddies ready to go. The ‘Find a travel buddy’ tool allows you to search for women with the same interests, budget or in the same age group. You can then send potential travel buddies a private message or chat with them on the forum. If you don’t know where to start, read this list of 20 questions to ask your new travel buddy for inspiration.
Add a trip idea
Right now there are over 100 active trip ideas being planned for all around the world. Take that step and comment on the ones that give you itchy feet. Even better, add your own!
Arrange a meetup
Meet up with members in your local area, or in the place you are travelling to. Who better than a local to show you the best place for a cup of coffee in Copenhagen, for example?
There’s no doubt Meetups are effective ways to meet travel buddies. I remember how Alice found a travel buddy for a concert less than 3 hours after posting her request in Meetups and using our buddy tool.
Share photos from your past trips
Be social, share an image or two from your latest trip. A postcard showing you enjoying yourself posted alongside a few lines about your trip is a great conversation starter. Share and inspire others the way they shared with and inspired you!
Write a trip review
Thelma & Louise’s strength lies in the transparency and honesty of its users. Tell others about your trip and give tips that could help make the next visit even better. It works in your favour too – for example, after writing a review of her trip to Cuba, Anita got a group of women to travel with her on her next adventure.
Be the first to know
When you find a page on the site that you want to keep up to date with – such as a trip idea, a meetup or a fellow member’s activities – click the ‘Add to my favorites’ button and you’ll receive an email alert every time something new is added to that page.
Get social!
Sign up to our newsletter , your weekly slice of inspiration, news, fun and club matters straight into your inbox. Find us on Facebook and Twitter for daily doses of inspiration, trip ideas and more. And if you know someone else who would benefit from our community, invite them to join too.
3: After your trip
Stay in touch
Finally, when the trip is over, keep in touch – both with your travel buddy and with the Thelma & Louise community. After all, no-one else shares those memories with you, and if it went well, you’ll have a travel buddy for life. Meanwhile, Thelma & Louise will help keep your travel dreams alive in between trips.
Remember, the more active you are on the site, the more travel buddies you’re likely to find. With every comment, travel tip or travel review that you share, you increase your chances of finding friends and people who want to travel with you. Win win!
Here are 7 inspiring tales of meeting travel buddies on Thelma & Louise
- 6 travel buddies on a volunteer vacation to India. “We were a cosmopolitan lot. Three of us from the UK: Jill, Hilary, Jilly; Sandie from Portugal, Mary from the US, and Sally from Australia. The age range was 55 to 77 and our skills ranged from teaching maths, teaching special needs, nursing, auctioneering, secretarial – and the experience of life…” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/stories/2016/05/19/6-travel-buddies-volunteer-vacation-india/
- Oregon’s scenic highways and the bits in-between. “Take a Brit, a Texan and a New Yorker – who met in Peru – put them in a car in Oregon and see what happens…” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/stories/2016/08/17/oregons-scenic-highways-and-bits-between/
- Podcast: Retirement can be a big happy adventure when you have travel buddies. “From hearing about Thelma & Louise Club on BBC Radio 4, to meeting her first travel buddy on the site for a coffee and then booking the tickets to India on the very same day, there has been no stopping Maggie…” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/podcasts/2015/12/01/podcast-46-retirement-can-be-big-happy-adventure-w/
- Podcast: How I found the perfect travel buddy on Thelma & Louise. “Vivian and Beryl are two ladies from Canada who recently returned from a wonderful trip to Croatia. They agreed they were the perfect match – and it all happened on the Thelma & Louise Club website…” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/podcasts/2015/08/04/podcast-36-how-i-found-perfect-travel-buddy-thelma/
- Podcast: How I got together a group of 11 ladies to go to Cuba with me. “As with so many of our members, Suzan’s husband is too busy and has no interest in travelling. But that didn't stop her. Suzan signed up to Thelma & Louise Club, put together an itinerary for Cuba and in no time people signed up to join her on the trip. To get to know each other, the group met in Manchester and will meet again in Birmingham before they go...” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/podcasts/2015/11/16/podcast-45-how-i-got-together-group-11-ladies-go-c/
- 4 go to Iran. “Sue, Ishbel and I checked in and turned in our passports to the clerk at the desk. The fourth member of our group, Catherine, had arrived earlier from India and we met her and got situated in our rooms...” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/stories/2015/06/03/welcome-iran/
- A week in Cinque Terre, Italy. “Just back from a great week in Italy with three other Thelma & Louise Club ladies. We have enjoyed the spring sunshine, pasta and prosecco in Italy...” https://www.thelmandlouise.com/en-gb/stories/2014/10/08/week-cinque-terre-italy/
Join Thelma & Louise Club and find your perfect travel buddy. https://www.thelmandlouise.com