Me and the Magic · Amanda Bauner: Solo Travel Expert, Podcaster, and Blogger

The Power of Community in Solo Female Travel

·41 min·2 clips

Thousands of members called police when one traveler was trapped in a bathroom in her boyfriend’s apartment.

1. Me and the Magic focuses on solo female travel and the power of community around Amanda Black’s Solo Female Traveler Network. 2. Host Amanda Bonner speaks with Amanda Black, founder of the Solo Female Traveler Network, a community of more than 600,000 women, and Black brings both a TEDx background and trip-building experience. 3. The episode asks what solo travel becomes when women stop doing it alone and build a network around connection, advice, and shared trips. 4. Black says she started the Facebook group about 10 years ago after a few bad experiences while traveling solo and wanting a place for women to ask for help. 5. She describes the group growing from a small invite-only space for travel friends into a community that reached about 65,000 members before its first trip. 6. Black says the first organized trip was a Bali itinerary built on a “really, really ugly Wix website,” and it sold out. 7. She adds that the trips later expanded to South Africa and other destinations, and that the company has now run women-only small-group trips for eight years. 8. Black explains that destinations are often chosen because of a local connection, a traveler request, or a place that is trending. 9. She says the trips usually include local female guides, a 24/7 on-the-ground support team, and groups capped at 14 women. 10. Black says the tours are designed around “experiences,” “connection,” and “freedom,” with visits to family homes, women-focused nonprofits, and local meals. 11. She gives India as an example, where three generations of women teach family recipes and the group eats together in the kitchen. 12. Black says women often worry about being the oldest or youngest person on a trip, but her tours are for women of all ages as long as they are active and not looking for a party trip. 13. She notes that some travelers make repeat friendships on her trips and keep booking future tours together as what she calls “Sophie gangs.” 14. Black says a travel skill is choosing a hotel or hostel in a safe area, checking reviews, and understanding what a specific destination requires. 15. She argues that “the safest country in the world” can still feel unsafe if a traveler has no safety skills or ignores intuition. 16. Black tells a Cancun story where she was tricked, may have been conned by a hostel, and lost her dive gear, camera, computer, and other belongings. 17. She shares another group story where a woman in a violent situation got help after thousands of members called police and another member met her in person. 18. The conversation is friendly, practical, and personal, with Bonner sharing her own group-trip experience and asking follow-up questions about community. 19. People who want women-centered travel, solo-travel safety ideas, or group-trip community will likely get the most from this episode. 20. People looking for a fast destination guide without community context may skip it.

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