Finding confidence in Croatia on a single/solo women's group holiday! (Read Emily's Story)
Hi, I'm Emily and this is my story of how our relaxing afternoon kayak in Croatia turned into a thrilling, empowering expedition I’ll never forget!
On this amazing group holiday for solo/single women to Croatia with Travel Queen, we had some free time and of all the creative recommendations for optional activities to try from our Tour Leader, Mel, me and my fellow solo female travellers (or Travel Queens as we are now known!), knew that we simply had to try kayaking to the beautiful little cave just off the coast of Dubrovnik. This experience did not disappoint!
That morning there was a stronger breeze in the air and the waves were looking ever so slightly higher than the day before. The kayak rental man said it could be a ‘little choppy’ out there so to just ‘be careful’ but that is what made this adventure so much more exciting! We envisioned ourselves as explorers conquering the oceans to find the treasure in an obscure little cave off the coast of an abandoned island. But in reality, the waves were tame, we were surrounded by many other intrigued tourists and a brief 15 minutes paddling was all it took us to get just round the corner from the luxurious restaurant where we'd had lunch. But the emotions we felt were what mattered! The moment our feet touched the soft sand, we celebrated as if we'd reached the summit of Mount Everest!
The cave itself was stunning, as you can see from my little video of it above! With Croatia’s famous white stone carved around the entrance and the clear turquoise waters crashing against the beach, it felt like we had swept up on a desert island like from the scene of Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘The Beach’. The harshness of the rocks beneath our feet, whilst making us shout ‘oo, ahh, ee’, also gave us the feeling of being the strong adventurous women we had come on this trip to be. We stopped there for about 25 minutes, admiring the view, chatting with other Travel Queens and taking a daring dip into the rising waves crashing onto the shore. Before heading back, we observed an adrenaline junkie diving from the side of the cliff, quickly followed by gasps and cheers from the crowd below which sparked friendly conversations between strangers echoing throughout the cave. The whole thing just felt like something from a movie where a group of women, high on endorphins and not caring about their hair or body, just blend in with nature and appreciate the fresh salty air in their lungs.
This freeing feeling of being alive only ever comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone or doing something adventurous like this so I cannot recommend it enough! Trust me, just do it and you will feel ten times more empowered than you did before.
The rental price was €36 an hour for a two person kayak, including paddles, lifejackets and the lovely man at the counter even gave us a wet bag for our valuables. We didn’t wear shoes, despite the uncomfortable but painless rocks scattered on the beach, but you should prepare yourselves with sun cream, sun hats and sunglasses before you leave, just to be sure :)
Travel Queen is a small group tour operator creating empowering and often life-changing adventures for women, perfect for solo / single female travellers in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s who want to enjoy the company of likeminded women and a group leader to take care of everything. Travel Queen’s Croatia Adventure and the Balkan Adventure both have time at this beach in Dubrovnik where you have the option to try this kayaking activity.
If something this adventurous isn’t quite up your street, there are plenty of other activities that are included in the tours to experience throughout the two holidays, such as Hvar’s beautiful sailing trip, Split’s medieval city walk, the Krka or Kravice waterfalls and more! Each tour is designed carefully to include something for everyone, encouraging you to push yourself as much out of your comfort zone as you want to go. All of the adventures have a Travel Queen Tour Leader accompanying you every step of the way, which takes the stress out of travelling and allows you to thoroughly enjoy every moment safely and confidently. If you’re interested in booking onto the next Croatia or Balkan Adventure, head to the tour overview pages using the links below:
Thank you for reading and Happy Kayaking :-)
Emily x
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