Empowering Women to Explore the World with Doni Belau
Doni Belau with flowers - photo credit Doni Belau
Ep/ 161 - Empowering Women to Explore the World: Travel Stories from Girls' Guide to the World Founder Doni Belau
My 161st guest episode on the Winging It Travel Podcast is with Doni Belau, the founder of Girl’s Guide to the World, which specializes in group tours for women.
This pioneering women-only tour company has been empowering female travellers since 2009.
Doni shares her personal travel experiences, recounting how her childhood adventures laid the groundwork for her passion for cultural immersion and adventure travel.
With Girls Guide to the World now boasting over 60 unique tours across 40 countries, this innovative company focuses on creating unforgettable travel experiences that foster connection and personal growth among women.
This episode provides a treasure trove of travel inspiration, whether you're interested in culinary delights, wellness retreats, or simply stepping out of your comfort zone.
Throughout the conversation, James and Doni delve into the importance of responsible tourism and the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry, offering practical travel tips that every traveler should consider.
They discuss the joys of solo travel, highlighting the beauty of different cuisines + the incredible stories of stepping into the unknown.
Winging It is not just about travel anecdotes; it's about embracing the spirit of adventure and the thrill of discovering new cultures. Doni’s insights into the unique experiences women can have when travelling in supportive groups are both empowering and enlightening.
This episode serves as a reminder that travel is not just about the destinations but also about the connections we forge and the memories we create along the way.
Let’s dive into some topics.
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The Early Inspiration: A Passion for Travel Born from Childhood
Doni’s love of travel was deeply influenced by her parents, who introduced her to the thrill of exploration through road trips across the U.S.
Growing up in the heart of Nebraska—a place far from the vibrant cities and cultures of the coasts—Doni experienced the world initially through long car rides to places like Maine, California, and even Mexico.
This early exposure gave her a strong foundation for a life of discovery.
However, the defining moment came when her older sister took her on a life-changing graduation trip to Europe.
At just 17 years old, Doni was thrust into the world of Paris, London, Florence, and Rome—iconic cities that were a stark contrast to the Midwestern plains.
This trip was an eye-opener, showcasing different ways of life, cultures, and perspectives. It was on this trip that Doni realized just how vast and diverse the world could be.
The experience left her with a deep affection for Paris, a city she would later return to again and again, both personally and professionally.
Doni’s passion for travel only grew from there, but it wasn't until much later in life, after two careers and raising a family, that she fully embraced travel as more than a personal passion.
Her early explorations had laid the groundwork for what would become Girls Guide to the World, a company built on the very premise of exploring the richness and variety of cultures.
Empowering Women Through Solo and Group Travel
Doni firmly believes in the empowering nature of travel, especially for women. She points to her own experiences in her 40s as a critical turning point.
After years of focusing on family, career, and responsibilities, she realized that she needed time for herself—time to travel alone and reconnect with who she was beyond her roles as a mother, wife, and professional.
This time of solo travel allowed her to gain a sense of independence, and with it, clarity. It was then that Doni realized the incredible value of self-exploration through travel.
However, she understood that not all women feel comfortable traveling completely alone. That’s where the idea of women-only group travel comes in.
For women who want the best of both worlds—exploring the world while having the safety and companionship of a small group—Girls Guide to the World provides the perfect balance.
Doni emphasizes that women don’t need to wait for a friend, partner, or family member to join them; these small, intimate groups of like-minded women offer the community and camaraderie many seek.
Beyond just seeing new places, the tours are designed to foster a deep sense of connection. The group dynamics of these tours are crucial to their success, and Doni has built a strong framework that encourages bonding, shared experiences, and mutual support.
Women who join these tours often leave with incredible memories and lasting friendships. The group size is kept small—never more than 10—to ensure every participant feels seen, heard, and part of a tight-knit community.
Many travel companies cram in as many peopkel as they can to each group to maximize profit but I love Doni’s outlook here in putting the people first, we can learn a lot from that.
The Birth of Girls Guide to the World: From Paris to 40 Countries
The creation of Girls Guide to the World was not part of an elaborate business plan. In fact, it began somewhat serendipitously.
After feeling burned out from her career in politics and non-profit work, Doni was seeking something more personally fulfilling. Over coffee with a friend, she mentioned her deep love for Paris and her interest in writing a guide about her personal experiences there.
A friend suggested calling it a “Girl's Guide to Paris,” and the idea took off from there.
Initially, the idea was to create an online guide to Paris for women, offering a more personalized, insider's perspective on the city’s best restaurants, hotels, and cultural sites—places that had been handpicked by Doni herself.
She envisioned an alternative to the bulky guidebooks that travelers often carried, focusing instead on curated experiences that reflected her deep love for the city.
Despite the success of the online platform, with over a million readers, Doni soon realized that she wanted to go beyond the digital realm and offer real-world experiences.
In 2011, she led her first women-only tour to Paris, and while the experience was exhausting at first, she knew she was onto something special. Over the years, the company grew from two tours a year to four, then ten, and now more than 60 tours across 40 countries.
Today, Girls Guide to the World has expanded far beyond Paris, offering tours to places like Morocco, Japan, Bali, and Namibia. Each tour is designed with the same care and attention to detail as the original Paris tours, blending personal growth with the joy of discovery.
Whether it’s a culinary adventure in Italy or a cultural immersion in Japan, each tour is carefully curated to provide transformative experiences.
Check out the full episode, and if you like what you hear, be sure to get a booking with Doni going into 2025 and beyond.
Girls' Guide on tour in Bhutan - photo credit Doni Belau
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Who is Doni Belau?
I fell in love with Paris when my sister took me as a high-school graduation gift. Ever since, I knew Paris and traveling would need to be a part of my life.
I spent the next 25 years visiting France as often as I could. Then, after a girls’ trip to Paris one year with friends, a light bulb went off. I realized something magical happens when a small group of women travel together to a place of great beauty and culture. The story-telling, the dreams, the heartbreak, the laughter and the discovery all meld together to develop a lasting kinship with one another. It’s a completely different experience than going by yourself, with your family, or with a partner.
So in 2009, I started Girls’ Guide to Paris so I no longer had to choose between what I did and what I loved. We began with small-group, women-only trips to Paris, then expanded to other parts of France ... then Bali, England, Greece & Morocco.
By 2022, we were traveling the globe to more than 40 countries, so we changed our name to Girls’ Guide to the World. My heart will always be in Paris, but the spirit of our trips transcends any one place.
I feel like the luckiest woman in the world; I get to travel to beautiful places and share the experience with incredible women who have so much to offer.
Come see the world with other women who share your appreciation for beauty and spirit of adventure. We are sisters who come as strangers and leave as friends.
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