By Gail Lee Knight
ITWPA Member
As a solo woman traveler, do you yearn to visit foreign lands but hesitate to do so because you don’t know anyone at your desired destination, or you are unsure if it’s safe to “go it alone,” or you don’t speak the language? A solution may be “Women Welcome Women World Wide” (or 5W), a network of single women globetrotters.
Women Welcome Women World Wide, founded in 1984 and based in the U.K., enables women from any country to explore the world confidently and safely, making friends and sharing new experiences along the way. As explained on their website, 5W is an “organisation for women, by women and about women, which fosters understanding and friendship around the world.”
As of March 2012, active membership numbered 2,360 women from 87 countries, ranging in age from 18 to 80. Membership is open to any woman, “regardless of nationality, religion, or home circumstances,” and although there is no specific membership subscription fee, a donation of £35 (or $55) is requested to help defray the administrative and maintenance costs of their website and to allow less affluent women from other parts of the world to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this group. To learn more, visit http://www.womenwelcomewomen.org.uk.
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