How Emma's tours with us have changed her life since her first 6 years ago! Bali, Thailand, Vietnam & Cambodia + more!!

Our amazing Travel Queen Emma joined us for her first tour in 2019 (and first ever solo group travel experience) and 3 tours later, with a 4th one coming up, she has very kindly shared her story of how finding Travel Queen has, in her words, changed her life. Huge thanks to Emma for her honesty and kind words, which are highly recommended reading for anyone unsure about going for it for the first time!

That's Emma on the right, with Kathy who she became good friends with in Bali!

In 2018 I left a bad relationship. In 2019 I moved into my new home! I was finally happy for the most part, but there was one thing on my mind making me unhappy.

I used to holiday with my ex-partner and we went to Thailand a lot. I learnt to dive in Thailand (Koh Tao) and after three trips there I knew Thailand was my home from home and soul country!

Now I was single at 39 and I was at a loss about how I would ever travel again to beautiful places as I couldn’t see myself travelling alone. 

It was the summer of 2019 and I decided to google ‘solo travel’ and a lot of sites came up, but they all felt very scary and intimidating. That’s when I came across Mel’s site, Travel Queen. Knowing this was a UK based company gave me a level of comfort, however it was upon reading Mel’s introduction and having a nosey through the site that I thought ‘wow, this feels good’.  The icing on the cake was the fact that she had a Thailand tour planned for Nov 2019 that made me contact Mel for more info!  Without realising it I had taken that first bold brave step into solo travel - something I look back on today with pride and gratitude!

Mel replied to all of my questions and even followed up with a phone call. I immediately felt at ease on the call and she notched up the excitement about travelling with Travel Queen, especially as all of the other women booked on the Thailand trip were doing this on their own. I realised at that point that so many women do this, and that I’m not alone!

I went for it and paid my deposit!! I was finally travelling to Thailand for 2 weeks, island hopping and visiting places in Thailand I had not yet been to.

Emma, second from the right at the front, with Amie, Kathleen, Mel and Laura on the Thailand Adventure.

The trip was amazing and what made it extra special was the group of ladies I was travelling with were all in this together, all with our own little stories of why we were on the trip. Making it even more special was the fact that I’d actually done this on my own and it was not scary at all! Everyday was filled with excitement, laughter, curiosity and new experiences. The time also bonded the group, some ladies I'm still in touch with and see to this day. Most important for me, was the fact that I was able to take back a little bit of Thailand for myself, given my ex- partner and I had travelled there so much. Now my memories were full of those I created with the ladies on the Travel Queen trip, including hundreds of amazing pictures!!

There was no doubt in my mind that I was booking my next trip with Mel, so I immediately booked Vietnam and Cambodia for 2020!  However due to Covid, the trip had to be postponed.  I patiently waited until 2023 and booked on the Bali trip with Travel Queen. This is where I met Kathy! Kathy and I were matched as roomies at the start of Bali and we hit it off straight away!! Here's just a few of our highlights from the amazing Bali Adventure!

All the ladies were amazing and again all doing this solo.

I’ve made even more friends from Bali and have even gone on other weekend trips with them to date. It was after this second trip that my anxiety about travelling alone completely disappeared and I was chomping at the bit to book onto my next trip!!! At this point my friends and colleagues started asking ‘where to next Emma?!’, loving the stories and pictures I had posted of my travels to date.

Kathy was asking me all about Thailand and after I had told her how amazing my trip was, she booked hers straight away, and by all accounts when she got back home, she had an amazing time, as expected!

A few months later we saw that the Travel Queen 2024 Vietnam & Cambodia trip was open to book. Kathy and I had a brief chat and literally booked at the same time, knowing we would have a great time and also another opportunity to travel together as we hit it off so well in Bali. Yet again, it was an amazing group of ladies, fun, laughter, meals, drinks, experiences, and lots and lots of stories and pictures.

It was during this trip that I realised just how big solo travel for women is! I also heard of the other solo travel companies from some of the other ladies on the trips and one point remained constant - that none of them were as personable, chilled and fun as Mel’s trips (and I’m not just saying that).

There is no judgement, everyone is there to experience the same trip and location, let their hair down, share stories, life experiences and simply enjoy their downtime with like-minded women - this is something Mel works really hard to ensure happens on her trips and it really works! Mel has done the hard work so we don’t have to. Unless there is a mountain viewpoint climb involved like the one in Vietnam below - then you have to do some work!

Now here is the best bit - it was on the flight to Vietnam that I received an email from Travel Queen saying the San Diego and Hawaii trip was open for bookings! Kathy and I were sat on the plane desperately trying to get WiFi working so we could read the itinerary and book! We eventually arrived at the hotel in Hanoi, met a few of the other ladies and had our first cocktail at the rooftop hotel...

It was in the evening on the first night in Vietnam when we asked Mel a few questions about the San Diego and Hawaii trip. We were sold!!! Kathy and I then spent 20 minutes whizzing around the hotel for WiFi so we could pay our deposit for the August 2025 San Diego and Hawaii trip - this was before we had even gone out for the evening!!

As before, we had an absolutely amazing time in Vietnam and Cambodia and Kathy and I managed to share rooms again!  As we had become such good friends we also decided to add 2 nights in Bangkok onto the end of Cambodia so it was just Kathy and I out there - but we felt so confident in travelling, after having done so much with Mel’s trips already, that we made the most of it!! 

We are on countdown to San Diego and Hawaii, and even one of the ladies that was on the same Bali trip as Kathy and I, is booked onto it too, so we are all very excited to have a little reunion. Kathy and I have even decided to add San Francisco and Los Angeles onto the end of the Hawaii trip!!

So that's my Travel Queen experience so far!!!

If I had to summarise it in less words I'd say this:

In 2019 I was single and at a loss as to how I would be able to do something I loved so much, which is to travel to new places around the world. I then found Mel and Travel Queen and experienced my first trip, and I can honestly say that taking that leap of faith is one of the best things I have ever done for myself and my wellbeing. It has introduced me to so many other women who are in similar situations, of which I have made some amazing friends for life as we have a common interest connecting us all. 

Since finding Mel in summer of 2019 (6 years ago) I have been staying in tree houses and island hopping in Thailand, chilling in a rooftop pool and had my first Singapore Sling in Singapore, bathed in waterfalls and walked alongside paddy fields in Bali, rode on Vespas, sailed on the river, made lanterns and visited temples in Vietnam, visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia, sipped cocktails in a rooftop hotel bar in Bangkok and next onto San Diego, Hawaii, San Francisco and LA to see what other new experiences I have along the way!!! That is a lot for 6 years and I’m nowhere near slowing down anytime soon.

My advice would be to just take that chance, book that trip, make new memories, experience new things, take those pictures and make lifelong friends along the way...

Massive thanks to Emma for her lovely kind words! Stories like Emma's and from all of our Travel Queens mean the absolute world to us. At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do! You can read more about my story (TQ Owner, Mel here!) and why I set Travel Queen up here in my blog and see loads more reviews from women who've been on tour with us here.

To start your empowering women-only group adventure with Travel Queen, just head here to our website to find out more!

Bookings for our 22 May Croatia, 29 May Balkan and 22 June Bali Adventure all close 30 April though, so you'll need to be quick if one of those are on your list.

We can't to share your first adventure with you!