A Thelma & Louise Adventure

Christine Davies is the co-founder of women’s online travel community Thelma & Louise. A keen and experienced traveller, Christine has never tired of adventure, but she quickly realised that the men in her life weren’t great travel partners.

‘When you travel with a man, it’s stressful. They complain a lot, especially when they’re hungry. Women always try to put a positive spin on a situation,’ she says.

With this in mind, she decided to leave her husband at home when she embarked on a trip of a lifetime to Ayers Rock. She linked up with a friend of a friend, Grace Frankel, they nicknamed themselves Thelma and Louise, and had a wonderful adventure together.

On their return home, the pair decided to organise more trips and excursions for their female friends and form a little travel club. They were amazed at the response and Thelma & Louise was born.

‘Women have a fantastic attitude nowadays,’ says Christine (aka Louise). ‘They are sick of giving men subliminal messages and waiting to be invited somewhere. If they want to do something, they just go and do it.’

With blossoming careers, high costs of living and hectic social lives, young women in London are under an awful lot of pressure. But if you dream of going on a big trip, says Christine, stop putting it off.

‘New experiences are what make you as a person. It opens your mind, your eyes and your emotions. Save up, stop buying designer shoes, and start making some plans – you can get some great deals. Anyone can do it.’

The website is full of travel hints and tips, and Christine has some of her own advice for girls who are stepping into the unknown: ‘We’re so used to our freedoms and our lifestyle in the UK, sometimes we can go charging into other countries and not even realise we’re offending people. If girls haven’t read up on a culture they could end up in a difficult situation. It’s not a secure world – you have to think things through first and plan ahead.’

Start planning your next trip at: www.thelmaandlouise.com.

Thelma & Louise has 18,000 members from around the world. It’s a free travel forum, information resource and trusted community just for girls. Join up to meet like-minded people, share experiences, and get inspired. 

Next week: Spotting Geishas in Kyoto…