Australians all aboard cruises as holidays soar
"We do have Australian cruise lines that go up there, but again, it's very expensive and cost prohibitive to the average cruiser so I would love to see more cruise ships change their itineraries.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
More Married Women Are Traveling Alone Than Ever Before—Here's Why
According to research from multiple studies, more married women are choosing to travel by themselves than ever before. While older women are leading the charge, younger women are becoming more interested in solo travel as well. Best of all? Many are saying that it's actually been good for their a surprising shift happening in the world of travel: more married women are booking solo getaways than ever before. According to a 2024 study by online travel agency over 54 percent of women surveyed said they wanted to travel solo. And according to previous studies, such as one from 2023 by Boston-based tour operator Road Scholar, found that 60 percent of its solo travelers were married women traveling without their spouses. In that same year, another report from Australian travel agency Flight Centre found that women going it alone was the company's most common type of traveler. But don't be mistaken. While some are opting for quiet beach vacations or leisurely wine tastings. More and more, women are choosing bold, immersive adventures—think of destinations such as Morocco, Colombia, Egypt, and Cuba. Places that challenge and could potentially transform them. 'I think there are multiple reasons, including the fact that women are exhausted at being defined as mothers, wives, grandmothers, career women, etc, and they're facing the if not now, when' question head on,' Stacey Ray, owner of the female-founded travel company Sisterhood Travels, says. For many women in older generations (such as baby boomers and those in Generation X), travel may have once felt exclusively like something reserved for family vacations or something that you would do with a husband. But more and more women are taking the plunge and booking a ticket for one. 'Approximately 40 percent of our clients are married women traveling solo," Rays says. '[That's] up about 15 percent over the last couple of years. The median age range is between 58 and 68 for married women traveling solo, and I think this demographic will continue to rise as other married women share the wonderful experiences they're having.' For Kelly Lewis, founder of the boutique travel company Damesly, says many of her clients travel simply because their spouses can't or don't want to. 'Most of my guests have partners or are married, but choose to travel solo because their partners can't take time off work, or they don't have an interest in traveling,' Lewis says. For writer and blogger Megan Padilla, she and her husband have different traveling styles. Plus, she loves the freedom. 'It's incredible to travel exactly on your terms —to choose what matters most and how you want to spend your time and money without having to bend, cave, or compromise,' Padilla says. 'For example, I love lingering over a spritz at a tiny café in Rome. My husband doesn't drink and isn't interested in food, so if I were with him, I'd miss out on those little moments that make the trip truly mine.' However, for L.A.-based writer Carrie Bell, traveling alone became a necessity during a period of bereavement. And it ended up being exactly what she needed. 'After my dad died, I took a solo road trip to the high desert—Joshua Tree, and Palm Springs—for work. My husband couldn't travel with me because he didn't have the time off, so I had to go alone,' she said. 'It ended up being incredibly special. The desert, especially Joshua Tree, was a place my dad took me as a kid on camping trips, and being there felt like reconnecting with him. I spent my days walking, crying, soaking in hot springs, watching sunsets, and trying to figure out how to move forward without him. That trip became a turning point. Now, I return often to the desert for solo escapes, it's where I go to recenter, reflect, and remember.' Traveling alone, whether it's to it's a wellness retreat in Sedona or a bustling photography expedition in the Galapagos, offers many women an opportunity to reconnect with themselves, away from the demands of daily life. It's not about leaving their marriage behind, but rather, about leaning into rest and independence. For Bell, traveling alone is part of her formula for keeping a healthy marriage. Time apart reinforces her and her husband's time together. 'It's important for me to have these experiences on my own as a way to forge my own identity and feel like a whole person,' she says. Nancy Arehart, a retired photographer from the Raleigh–Durham metropolitan area of North Carolina, says that solo travel has only strengthened her marriage and was born out of necessity, as well as a love for the camera. 'At the time, my husband and I were caregiving for my elderly parents, and we found it pretty necessary to go on solo vacations because one of us needed to be home to care for my parents,' she says. 'I decided, at the encouragement of my husband, to do a photography-focused trip with a friend. I quickly discovered that I loved traveling.' Since then, solo travel has become a shared passion for both her and her husband, and Arehart has visited over 15 countries alone, including Antarctica, the Galapagos, Botswana, India, Africa, Brazil, Svalbard, and Peru. 'We don't always need to be physically next to each other to keep our marriage strong and thriving,' she says. 'Even though my parents are both deceased now, we still do our solo travel, but we make a point of scheduling a few vacations that we can do together each year as well.' Though older women are certainly leading the charge (in that Flight Centre study, the average age of a woman traveling alone was 52), younger women are also becoming more interested in traveling solo. According to travel public relations company ASA Luxury's Travel Trends Report 2025, 58 percent of Gen Z women expressed an interest in traveling abroad alone, and 83 percent said they were inspired to do so by social media influencers and celebrities. For some, however, it's as simple as considering the experiences of the women closest to them—and wanting more for themselves. 'My husband's grandmother did everything right for her generation,' Bell says. '[She] raised a family, kept a home, but never traveled because her husband didn't want to. After he passed, she realized she'd never seen anywhere beyond her hometown. That conversation made me realize: I'd rather dine alone and wonder if the maître d' pities me than miss out just because my husband can't come." Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
TimesLIVE
18 minutes ago
- TimesLIVE
Early start leaves Lord's finalists nervy over composition of line-ups
The Proteas have long been mindful of the conditions they will face in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's next week; be it the weather, the Dukes ball or the slope. It's why they've been careful not to read too much into the outcomes — runs scored and wickets taken — of their match in Arundel against Zimbabwe, where they are using a Dukes ball, there is no slope like at Lord's although the weather has been characteristically crap. No play was possible because of rain for what would have been the third day of their warm-up match Thursday and it may lead some to question why so much stock was put in having the fixture. Temba Bavuma described warm-up matches as largely a waste of time, but even he would have found some value in making 58 on Wednesday. For the rest this was about rhythm, with the mindset stuff kicking into gear once they get to London at the weekend. The conditions at Lord's are of great interest to both WTC finalists, mainly because it's unusual for either side to play a match at that historic venue, this early in June. This is war!!! — Nqobile Madela (@nqobzasheen) June 5, 2025 The last time Australia did so was in 1921, while for SA, in seven Tests at Lord's after isolation, only once have they played at a date as close to next week's June 11 start. That was in 1998 when a century from Jonty Rhodes and a five wicket haul for Allan Donald set up a 10-wicket win. For the rest they've either played there in Late June, July or August as the was case for the Proteas's last trip to Lord's in 2023. 'We haven't played a lot of cricket at Lord's in June so we're going have to make some educated guesses on what the game potentially will look like and that'll generally inform our selection,' Australian coach Andrew McDonald. His side had a team-bonding session in Inverness, Scotland last week and have been conducting some spirited training sessions in Bromley, having forgoed the option of a warm-up match. They, like SA, face questions about the composition of their top order; for the Proteas it's about who will bat at no3, while Australia is weighing up options for an opener to accompany Usman Khawaja. Wiaan Mulder batted at 3 in Arundel, a spot he batted in twice last summer, although not with any great success. He was trapped lbw for 28 on Wednesday and given the quality of the Australian attack and Dukes ball that nips and swings more than its Kookaburra cousin — which both SA and Australia use at home — it is a big risk. Rain delays play in England 🌧️ Wet weather has halted the Proteas' warm-up match ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final. Fingers crossed for clearer skies ☁️🏏. #WTCFinal #WozaNawe #ProteasWTCFinal — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 3, 2025 The Proteas feel they will need Mulder's bowling and even though Shukri Conrad made Tristan Stubbs his no.3 batter last year, it now appears that the head coach feels Stubbs might be better suited to the middle order. Batting coach Ashwell Prince offered little about SA's tactics, saying Mulder was being prepared in case that was the way they would go, but all options, including Tony De Zorzi, who batted at no.6 against Zimbabwe, remain on the table. McDonald expressed a similar sentiment about Australia, who are understood to be considering Marnus Labuschagne as Khawaja's opening partner, with Cameroon Green their new option for the no.3 berth. 'The batters ... really, it's about how we want to shape that order, they're all viable options depending on how we want to stack them up,' said McDonald. 'We try to make the right decisions at the right time and we're a few days off having to make that decision, so we'll just be trying to prepare everyone for that opportunity.' SA's bowlers didn't get the work out they'd hoped for on Thursday — having bowled just 11 overs the previous evening — and they will want the weather to clear in the coming days to allow them to get much needed miles in the legs before next Wednesday.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jones turns up the power in French Open double mission
Emerson Jones has stepped up her mission to win the girls singles at the French Open and regain her junior world No.1 ranking by reaching the last four at Roland Garros. Australia's No.1 seed proved too strong for American opponent Julieta Pareja, the No.9 seed, on court 14, winning 7-5 6-4. The Gold Coast 16-year-old will now take on Austria's Lilli Tagger in Friday's semi-final. Tagger reached the last four by overpowering Germany's 12-seeded Julia Stusek 6-0 6-4. FINAL FOUR 🙌 #RolandGarros — TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) June 5, 2025 Jones is attempting to become the first Australian since West Australian Lesley Hunt, 57 years ago, to win a girls' singles tournament at Roland Garros. Her victims this week have included Capucine Jauffret, of the US, and Czechia's Vendula Valdmannova, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year. She needed three sets to progress from those matches but delivered a straight-sets victory over Spain's Charo Esquiva Banuls on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals. The Gold Coast local is also chasing a return to the junior world No.1 ranking at Roland Garros having recently been replaced at the top by Japan's Australian Open 2025 girls' singles champion, Wakana Sonobe. Victory today could pave the way to a final showdown with her doubles partner, Hannah Klugman. The British starlet beat Sarah Melany Fajmonova in three sets and now faces Bulgaria's Rositsa Dencheva.
