Wonderfully Wanderful
DISCLOSURE: Wanderful provided me a one-year membership for their new membership community. All opinions are my own, but I am totally in love with these guys and read on to see why!
Read on to find out how to get your chance at 1 of 10 free memberships to Wanderful’s travel community!
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I have a confession to make. I haven't done any solo travel. Yes, I've added a few days before or after business trips or conferences to do a little bit of exploring on my own, but I haven't done a full-on fierce female solo trip. I'm not sure a few single days in a foreign (or domestic) location counts, it certainly doesn't make me feel like a warrior. Although I'd really love to do a solo trip one day!
My curiosity about solo travel started when I was a junior in high school. I had a huge crush on Fernando M. (I'm not giving his full name because I just Googled him and found him and there is no way I'm letting a guy I had a high school crush on find me!) Fernando was a handsome foreign exchange student from Madrid, Spain. Growing up a military brat who lived all over, I wasn’t impressed that he was living in a foreign land. I was impressed that he was living in a foreign land without his family as a support system.
When CouchSurfing became a thing, I was like “go Andi!” Oh wait…you thought me? How sweet, but no, my friend Andi Perullo was the brave Betty who couch-slept all over the world! I couldn't wrap my mind around sleeping on strangers' couches, particularly if they were in male-dominated homes.
But what if there had been a sassy sisterhood of wandering gypsies to cushion the uncertainty of traveling alone? Well, I think I would have liked that very much. In fact, I think it's a brilliant idea! And that's exactly what the wise women of Wanderful have done. They've created the world’s first ever homesharing network exclusively for women.
You go girl!
No really. Now you can go and feel all warm, cozy, and cocooned into a network of amazing women.
The Wanderful homesharing network creates a vehicle for members to offer a room in their homes for a small fee to travelers coming to town. The transactions are safe. They take place behind a wall of an identity-verified, subscription-based membership network, one built of trusted members. For the traveler, the network connects female travel lovers from around the world online and IRL.
Here are some of the benefits that members enjoy.
In a world where a lot of locations start to look the same, finding opportunities to see something truly unique are few and far between. There are things you can do to experience a place like a local, and one of them is connecting with locals and/or travelers who know an area well. Why not stay with them too?!
That’s what the foundation of the Wanderful organization is all about – connecting like-minded travel-addicted women with each other in fun, safe and welcoming clubs, networks and now homes.
My experiences with Wanderful have been, well, WONDERFUL!
I first encountered Wanderful when my friend Katie was working on the conference team to help organize their annual conference, WITs (Women in Travel). I attended their conference in 2015 in Boston. I got to meet Katie in person along with Brianna and scores of other amazing travelers.
In 2016, I returned to the conference where I not only met more of my online friends but also presented a session on building a content strategy. It was so much fun to be around such warm, inspiring women.
Oh and by the way, this year's conference will take place in Milwaukee, April 21st-23rd. Don't forget to register!
With all my wonderful Wanderful experiences it was a no-brainer to become a member. I'm looking forward to connecting with other women all over the world (and Seattle!). I would love for you to be able to experience that as well. If you are a female traveler looking for your tribe, look no further than Wanderful!
But don't just take my word for it, listen to these smart ladies!
Also not only is Wanderful an amazing network of women who help each other out but they help OTHERS too. Just in time for International Women's Day, Wanderful announced their partnership with Womentum, a nonprofit pay it forward crowdfunding platform that enables anyone in the world to donate to women entrepreneurs in developing countries.
<3 Love those women!
@Katie, you’re one of them, love ya too!
Fingers crossed! I think The Wanderfull Traveler and Wanderful might make a good fit 😉
I have been thinking about signing up for a while but not sure if it would be worth it considering my travel plans this year. Their group trips look interesting though!
@Murissa, if you win one then there is no money wasted!
Well said Andi! WITS was also how I initially got involved with the Wanderful community, and I’ve stuck around ever since 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you in Milwaukee!
Love that picture with some ladies I recognize!! I have done a little solo travel after grad school and plenty on business trips when I’d take some time on my own to explore. I always loved it. And nothing better than women supporting women.
@Tamara, maybe we will do solo trips in our 60’s!!!
I love when company products and values align! Great informative review and giveaway!
I haven’t heard of Wanderful homesharing network. Thank you for introducing it — I will definitely check it out.
I also rarely travel alone, however I’d love to do this one day. I think it’s such a great idea to use a women’s network for traveling solo. I tweeted!
Aww I love Brianna, glad you got to meet her! Love the idea of this program so there are “verified” stays- and also love your site logo, btw!
This is an idea that is long overdue. I travel with my family now and have instilled the travelling bug in my girls. I think this is a good option for them.
What a wonderful idea! I’d love to learn more about this incentive as time goes on. And how fun to see some familiar faces in these photos. I’m jealous 🙂
What a “Wanderful” giveaway!! Sorry, couldn’t resist, Andi! I love that you added the photo of us at WITS last year, it was so much fun! This is such a great idea for women to come together to help each other. I love it!
What a great initiative, thanks for highlighting it! Love the idea of verified stays as well, that’s such a great idea. Best of luck with the program.
I get my emails and info from them. I have yet to be able to attend a WITS though. Very cool that you are giving away some memberships.
This looks like such a great idea, thank you for sharing it! As a femal enterpeneur myself I was very nicely surprised that they are supporting this cause. Also, I think a little support for more women travelling alo e is always needed.
I’ll see you there. Loved WITS in OC last year and I’m looking forward to getting to know Milwaukee a bit too. Nothing like having a sisterhood of travelers! https://twitter.com/tripwellness/status/841402944918441984
This is fantastic! what a wonderful way for women to come together. Love the story you shared!
This is great news! I’ve only couchsurfed once and had a good experience. I will definitely couch surf more now! And that conference, I’d love to be there.
What a fantastic idea! I love seeing women being empowered to travel all around the world. Go us!
Go, girls! I’ve got some friends who’d love to win a membership.
Oh what a great resource! I had never heard of Wanderful before. Couch surfing isn’t really my thing but I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ha! That’s how Andi and I met. I CouchSurfed my way around the world from 2005-2008 (and did a lot of press for them in magazines back in the day) and she messaged me through the app in 2007 to get together. After our first meeting, we planned a trip to Cuba together! This sounds like a very cool program.
@Kristin, well you are a testament! I think a female-focused network is pretty cool!