Taryn Weitzman, Photographer and Blogger on Why You Should Travel Solo

As we sit dutifully in our homes and apartments, patiently waiting for the world to become safe again, I have no doubt that in between home-schooling kids, tele-working and banana bread baking, we are all doing the same three things: looking for different forms of escapism, planning the first trip we will take once travel opens up and searching for new sources of uplifting messages and methods of self-care. I couldn’t think of a better time to introduce you to Taryn Weitzman, a digital strategist who runs Her Travel Style, a website that champions solo-travel for women, along with uplifting content that shares the benefits of travel with those who aren’t mobile. Taryn is someone that I’ve known since university. We were both members of a sorority and the half Puerto-Rican, half Jewish dancer with big hair was especially interesting to me. She was curvaceous (like me!), spoke directly (like me!) and drove a black Ford Mustang (I did not drive a Mustang). In those days when the most trivial of things felt like the end of the world, I think we both recognized a depth and sensitivity in each other that was hidden behind tough exteriors. Taryn was a dance major and the person that everyone went to for deeper, personal conversations. She possesses an artist’s spirit that thrives with the freedom that comes from leaping through the air in dance or sitting anonymously in a crowded bar in a new town.

Taryn in White Sands, New Mexico

The New Jersey native started dancing at the age of three after her mother observed her independently taking to the dance floor while on holiday in the Catskills. The first pair of shoes she ever tied were her tap dancing shoes. She was voted “most involved” during her final year of high school and was captain of the varsity cheerleading team and the marching band at the same time. This means that during football games she would cheer and then at half time, switch uniforms to perform with the band, then back to cheering again when done. Let’s just say it’s no surprise that she has forged a career that leaves her untethered.

After her time at the University of Maryland, Taryn moved to California where she got a sensible, stable and lucrative job working for a national chain of learning centers. It wasn’t necessarily her dream role but she stayed for fourteen years and worked her way up to head of operations for the national company. I would try to see Taryn whenever I was in Los Angeles on business and on one of those trips she picked me up to take me to the beach. She looked healthy, happy and was doing great in her career. I was living in New York City at the time and I asked her if she saw herself ever moving back East. I imagined someone as “deep” as she was couldn’t possibly like superficial, Hollywood-obsessed LA. Taryn explained that the opposite was true: the LA lifestyle actually quite suited her, the space, the health and wellness focus, the sunshine and open air. She felt… free.

After so many years at the same corporation Taryn eventually found herself unhappy in her job and out of a long term relationship. “I just no longer subscribed to the company culture and it took too much energy and my positive spirit away from me. My personality and emotional well being started to suffer” she says. She made the decision to quit her job, start a blog and travel solo for just six months. However, once on her big adventure, there was no going back. Through traveling solo she blossomed. She thought more independently and clearly. Her confidence and self esteem grew, not to mention her social circle and career. Taryn turned her new life into a business, partnering with companies on social media content and digital marketing strategies. She is a staunch champion for solo travel, particularly for women, hoping to spread the enlightenment that she achieved on her journeys. Her plans are to transition Her Travel Style to a venue for self-care and wellness, a resource where women can reap the benefits of travel without leaving their homes.

If you have the health and the means, woman or man, as soon as the world opens up, promise yourself you won’t wait for the perfect moment or perfect partner to travel with. If there is an adventure you have always wanted to take, I hope this interview leaves you encouraged and well armed to GO! We have already lost so much time this year. Don’t hesitate to visit Her Travel Style for even more advice, itineraries, packing guides and information.

-How did you get started on your travel-focused lifestyle?

I made the decision around October of 2015 and my last day of work was in April of 2016.  At first, the plan was to move to Paris for six months. It sounds cliché, but Paris was, and still remains, my favorite city in the world.  But as I started to think about finding a place to live and settling down into a routine again, I couldn't do it. I needed to go out and get lost in the world and keep moving until I felt like I really had to stop. After I dropped the Paris idea, I didn't have a full plan fleshed out beyond the first 2.5 months.  It had always been a huge dream to travel to Bali and do a yoga retreat but I could never take that much time off of work to make it happen. So that's how I started the adventure: I visited the place that had always been my biggest travel bucket list item. 

Taryn at the El Rey Court Boutique Hotel in New Mexico, USA

How did this new life become permanent?

I thought I would return to some new type of corporate job and I didn’t have the resources to just travel forever.  But after the months continued to go by it quickly became a year. I couldn't stop cold turkey and learned I needed to make travel a major part of my lifestyle.  I couldn't resist the freedom, the feeling that travel gave me when I did it on my own. I didn’t keep a place anymore. When not on the road I stayed with friends in LA and I was home in New Jersey a bit because my brother was getting married, but I really stayed mobile. By May of 2017, I needed to start looking for work, but I couldn't bring myself to re-do my resume.  The idea of going back into someone else's dream and work environment was too suffocating. I was petrified and still had some PTSD from the toxicity before. So I started switching my mindset to exploring life as a freelancer and following more of my personal interests. I had started blogging in August of 2015, but at first, it was just an Instagram account that used to be called T's Travel Style.  So I switched things around and launched the official blog in January of 2016. 

-What can someone get from Her Travel Style?

Her Travel Style was originally born as a blog to share my travel experiences as a solo-traveling woman but then it began to grow into a platform where I could support women with their own solo travels - what to pack, what to do and where to go. I also just wanted to encourage others to try solo traveling. But I started realizing that the greatest gift travel had given me was the sense of freedom I received from it.  The ability to think and see totally clearly for myself.  I keep saying this because in our day to day lives we don’t realize how clouded our thinking can be. While on the road, I could hear my own thoughts and really analyze my life, what choices had been my own versus what society wanted me to be or to do.  Even though I’ve slowed down on the amount of travel I’m doing, I still want to have the clarity I got from traveling. My mom friends, who couldn't get away or take many vacations, especially by themselves, were very impressed by how I had grown and developed and they wanted to experience that personal growth and self realization too.  Because of all this, I’ve begun to expand Her Travel Style to a collective of self-care and wellness. If a woman wants to know where to shop and what to buy for her next vacation she can do that on the site.  And more importantly to me, if she wants to feel supported in hearing her own voice and caring for herself in a way that truly suits her, she can find that permission and support there as well.  Her Travel Style will forever be aspirational and continues to evolve into a greater collective for courage. 

-Some women are afraid to travel solo due to safety concerns. Can you give some things to keep in mind while preparing for the trip or while on the trip? 

There are many things women can do to feel more secure during solo travel and many of them are what she would do on a night out at home: be aware of your surroundings and practice common sense.  For instance, don't stand at a street corner and pull out a giant map to figure out directions. Even if you’re using your phone, don’t be so obviously navigating with it.  A more nervous woman should travel to countries that are ranked as some of the happiest in the world, those countries tend to have some of the lowest crime rates.  Never overpack.  Take only what you can carry.  Bring a carry-on suitcase that you can handle by yourself and easily carry on public transport and trains. I'm so passionate about capsule wardrobes for vacation and picking options that look like you live in the city you're visiting because looking like a local makes you less of a target for things like petty theft.  Use blogger websites, social media, and hashtags for finding what locals are wearing and what the vibe and safety in the place is like.

Taryn in (clockwise from top left) Sydney, Sedona, Sayulita and Santa Fe. All images are by Taryn who is also a photographer

-What do you do to prevent or combat boredom when traveling solo?

Admittedly, I am an ambivert.  It means I like to be social and feel a great sense of connection with another person, but I also restore alone.  So solo-travel really suits me.  I'm also rarely bored in life in general. I recommend bringing things you are really passionate about, like what you do or how you spend your time at home. I make sure to travel with or download books, music, my journal, workout clothes, workouts, face masks, nail polish, my camera. But there are times that I crave conversation and the company of other interesting human beings. When that happens I will join a walking tour and chat up the tour guide or a fellow traveler.  I will sit at a café and make eye contact or smile at other solo diners.  I'll grab a drink at a bar and chat with the bartender or another patron.  Periodically I will do a small group tour for a few days so I’m still traveling alone per se, but can engage with other travelers when I feel inclined.  I have met some of my best friends in the world this way.  And if you really want, you can download a dating app and find some romance that way.  The key is to be open.  When you look and feel open, people want to know you. 

Taryn in Bali

-Where is the best place to start off on a solo adventure?

I recommend going someplace that feels familiar and safe.  For example, I usually tell women in Los Angeles to travel solo to Carmel, California.  Everyone will speak their language, they don't have to worry about international phone numbers, visas, and their passport.  They know the country's emergency number and how to call an Uber. They drive on the right side of the road and Carmel is known to be safe and pretty. It offers beautiful boutique hotels, shops, beaches, walking paths, and delicious food and wine. Once conquering solo travel in a city she is familiar with, I recommend graduating to another city abroad where they still speak the same language.  For example if you're a native English speaker, try visiting someplace in the UK as a next step.  However, if the desire to travel someplace different is strong, trying a group travel company could be that perfect balance. There are so many companies offering varying group travel for solo travelers, particularly women. You can have the company help sort out all of the logistics and still travel alongside strangers. You may end up making so many new life-long friends. 

-How are you coping with Covid 19, not being able to travel and work?

It takes twenty one days to develop a new habit so, as I’m sure it was for others, the beginning of COVID-19 was jarring.  I lost all of my contract work because of the inability for anyone to travel, but now that we are this far along, “shelter in place” has turned into ‘rest in place” for me.  The world is being re-made and so am I and the more I surrender to it the more I actually feel peace and rest. Like many others, I have to pivot and I'm less and less fearful of what that means.  We don't know what the world is going to be like once we come out of quarantine, so I’m leaning into more of the wellness parts of Her Travel Style.  I want to share other ways women can bring a sense escape into their homes and incorporate daily self-care practices.  Lots to still figure out, but feeling hopeful. 

Taryn in Positano taking in that legendary view at Le Sirenuse

-Favorite view?

I'm not sure how to pick just one view!  I've been to 69 countries and within those countries, there are hundreds of amazing views.  But if I had to pick one of the most memorable or iconic views, I would narrow it down to either the view from the deck of a boat in Antarctica or the view from my balcony at Hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano.

-Best place you have ever stayed ?

It's too tough to pick just one! There are so many aesthetically beautiful places all over the world. If I really have to pick just one, I'd have to say Don Bonito Hotel in Sayulita, Mexico.  It's super stylish, boutique sized and the perfect distance from downtown and the beach.  It was the only time in all of my travels that I got really sick and the manager there helped take amazing care of me.  Since I was stuck in bed for 24 hours the team was incredibly flexible with my stay. 

Breathtaking views of some glaciers in Antarctica

-Travel must-have that would surprise people

 A vibrator! Preferably one that is travel size and not obvious for when you have to go through security.

-One famous person dead or alive you would want to travel with?

ANTHONY BOURDAIN!  Unequivocally.  He was my travel hero. I never had the chance to talk to him, but I was obsessed with his work and how he represented culture and people to the world. 

-A trip from a movie or tv show that you would love to duplicate?

Great question! Also, difficult to pick just one!  But I’m inspired by Murder on the Orient Express, the 1974 version, because I’m obsessed with train rides through picturesque countryside.  A luxury train ride is still on my to-do list.  Either the Venice Simplon Orient Express in Europe or The Golden Eagle through Russia and Mongolia. 

-When are you frugal?

I wish I was frugal.  But if there had to be one area where I am more mindful it's with transportation.  I like to learn cities through public transportation, and a 3 euros train ride instead of a $40 taxi to the airport also helps the budget.

-When are you extravagant?

Meals.  Eating at a restaurant, particularly one with an incredible view, is one of the best and most memorable experiences during travel. 

-If you could tell your 20-yr old self one thing what would it would be?

You're so luscious and loved.  Stop wasting your precious time on anything or anyone that has you feeling less-than.  You will have everything and then some that you're looking for and the road to having it will be anything but boring.  Be patient.  Stay present.  Appreciate yourself so so so much more. 

-Quote that exemplifies your outlook on life?

"I never travel without my diary.  One should always have something sensational to read in the train." - Oscar Wilde

Advice to your younger self:

You're so luscious and loved. Stop wasting your precious time on anything or anyone that has you feeling less-than.

You can find Taryn at:

Travel and Wellness Website: Her Travel Style

Instagram: @hertravelstyle

Photography Website: herapeture