What Is The Freewill Girls Club — And Is It For You?
A couple of years ago, I had a problem that I suspect a lot of women reading this will recognise immediately. I wanted to travel more, build something around it, and find my people — but I kept running out of people to go with. That problem is exactly why I created The Freewill Girls Club, a women’s travel community UK women are already part of — and why I think it might be exactly what you’ve been looking for too.
My friends are brilliant. I’m genuinely lucky with the people around me. But most of them are married, have kids with complicated schedules, can’t always get the time off, or aren’t in a position to spend the money. And because I’m a parent too, my travel windows are pretty specific. Getting everything to align felt impossible more often than not.
So I had this thing I loved and this vision of what I wanted to build — and I couldn’t figure out how to make it work on my own.
How it actually started
The honest version of this story starts with a trip to Portugal that I nearly didn’t go on because I was terrified of going alone. A friend came with me at the last minute. Something about that experience gave me just enough confidence to say yes to the next thing — a G Adventures trip to Costa Rica.
I’d been seeing Costa Rica everywhere on TikTok. My dad and brother had both done G Adventures trips, and one happened to be running at exactly the time I had free. So I went for it.
That trip rewired something in me. I met a group of strangers and somehow became completely myself around them. This idea I’d had about myself — that I was shy, not good in groups, someone who needed the safety of familiar faces — wasn’t actually true. I just hadn’t found the right environment to discover that yet.
From a hotel pool in Turkey to two weeks in Asia
After Costa Rica I booked a solo all-inclusive in Turkey. I didn’t leave the hotel once. But I sat by that pool alone, ate dinner alone, and slowly noticed that nobody cared the way I thought they would. That trip planted a seed.
Then came Marrakesh with my four-year-old daughter. I nearly didn’t get on the plane — anxiety about safety had me second-guessing everything — but we both loved every minute. Then the Maldives on a budget trip through Say Yes Adventures, where I met some genuinely incredible women, some of whom I’m travelling with again this summer. Then Gothenburg solo — a spa morning, exploring the city, dinner with a woman I’d connected with on TikTok. And then two weeks in Tokyo and Thailand that changed everything.
Japan and Thailand showed me who I actually am. Connection, empowerment, wellness, presence — these are the things that light me up. I came home and found yoga, journalling, breathwork. My life shifted completely.
And then I noticed what was happening around me
Friends started booking more adventurous trips. Women I didn’t know messaged to say they’d finally joined a group trip and how much it had given them. Most recently, a friend came to Crete with me — she had never flown alone. In 2024 she wouldn’t even sit apart from me on a plane. This week she got a train to the airport, navigated it alone, flew solo, and I picked her up on the other side. She told me how empowering it felt.
That’s when I knew what I was building and why.
So what actually is the Free Will Girls Club?
FWGC is a women’s travel community for UK-based women who want to travel more but aren’t ready — or don’t want — to do it completely alone.
It’s not a travel agency. It’s not a luxury retreat brand. It’s not a polished, aspirational company that makes you feel slightly inadequate every time you scroll through its feed.
The idea behind it is simple: most women want to do more. They want the trips, the experiences, the perspective that comes from stepping outside their normal life. What they need is somewhere to belong while they do it.
Inside FWGC you’ll find women at a similar stage — done putting travel off, done waiting for someone else to be available, done talking themselves out of things they actually want. Women who want to make real friends, not just online ones.
There are in-person meetups so you can find your people locally. There are also group trips — weekend escapes, European breaks, and longer international adventures — where I handle all the planning and logistics. You just show up.
The reason I meet everyone at the airport is simple: I know exactly how it feels to be the woman who almost didn’t get on the plane. That moment in departures, wondering if you’re actually going to do this — that’s where the confidence starts. I want to be there for it.
Who is it for?
FWGC is for you if travel keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your list because the logistics feel complicated or you can’t find people to go with. It’s for you if you want a social life built around women who actually want to do things. Maybe you’ve watched other people live more adventurously and wondered why you’re not doing the same. Maybe you’re ready for something a little outside your comfort zone — just not so far outside that it’s terrifying.
No experience needed. No solo travel history required. Some of the women here are doing their very first trip away from home — and that’s exactly the point.
FWGC is the women’s travel community UK women have been looking for — without the pressure of doing it all alone.
How to get involved
The simplest first step is joining the community. From there you’ll hear about meetups, upcoming trips, and everything happening inside FWGC before it goes anywhere else.
No need to be ready to book anything. Just bring your curiosity.
Come as you are. Leave as more.
[Join the Free Will Girls Club →] https://tr.ee/RknLGD3WGi
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I’m a travel creator and content strategist based in North Wales, specialising in organic, story-led content for travel brands, tourism boards, and hotels that feels helpful, real, and totally watchable.
I love adventuring the world! Sometimes solo, sometimes with my kids, and meeting new people everywhere I go. I don’t just capture beautiful moments: I turn them into content that connects with audiences, builds trust, and creates meaningful engagement. That’s because every piece of content I make comes from a place of strategy and heart.
With a marketing degree under my belt, I combine creativity with proven strategy so brands get authentic, strategic content and my audience gets stories that inspire them.
My mission? To empower women to feel confident exploring the world, choosing freedom, and building lives that light them up — on their own terms.
I'm Emma Owen!
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