There’s something about the turning of a new year that makes us pause and take stock. As 2025 winds down and 2026 stretches ahead full of possibilities, many of us find ourselves asking the same question: What do I really want for the year ahead?
If you’re reading this, chances are the answer isn’t another gym membership or productivity planner. It’s something deeper—a craving for sunshine, new perspectives, and experiences that make you feel truly alive. It’s the call of adventure, and winter is actually the perfect time to answer it.
Why Winter is the Best Time to Book Your Next Adventure
The Psychology of Starting Strong
Behavioural research suggests that how we begin something can significantly impact how we sustain it. Starting 2026 with an adventure—rather than restrictions and routines—sets a powerful tone for the entire year. You’re literally beginning from a place of joy, expansion, and yes instead of limitation, obligation, and maybe later.
You’re choosing to prioritize experiences that feed your soul, create lasting memories, and remind you of who you are beyond your daily responsibilities.
Something To Look forward to
Here’s something fascinating: studies show that just having a trip planned—even months away—significantly boosts happiness. The anticipation itself becomes a source of joy long before you ever pack your bags. Something to look forward to during those grey January and February days, and a tangible reminder that you’ve invested in yourself.
Think about it. You’ll have a calendar marked with adventure. You’ll be researching hiking trails in Morocco, learning basic Thai phrases, or daydreaming about Galápagos wildlife. That anticipation? It’s fuel for your spirit.
The Transformative Power of Travel
Costa Rica: Where Nature Resets Your Nervous System
There’s something about Costa Rica’s pura vida philosophy that meets you exactly where you are and gently guides you to where you need to be. Picture yourself in the Osa Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean crashes against volcanic black sand beaches and the rainforest hums with life.
Costa Rica in winter means dry season—brilliant sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and wildlife everywhere. Sloths move through the canopy at exactly the pace your nervous system has been craving. Scarlet macaws paint the sky red and blue. And somewhere between the morning yoga overlooking the ocean and the afternoon hike to a hidden waterfall, you realize you’ve been holding tension in places you didn’t even know existed.
The beauty of Costa Rica for a winter getaway isn’t just the weather (though 80-degree days in January don’t hurt). It’s that this country has mastered the art of sustainable adventure. You’re not just visiting—you’re learning about conservation, connecting with local communities, and understanding what it means to live in harmony with nature.
Thailand: Culture, Cuisine, and Connection
Winter is the absolute sweet spot for Thailand travel. November through February brings cooler temperatures, less humidity, and some of the most spectacular experiences Southeast Asia has to offer.
Imagine starting your day at a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, where monks chant their morning prayers and incense spirals through golden light. By afternoon, you’re in a cooking class with a local woman who’s teaching you her grandmother’s pad thai recipe—but she’s also sharing stories, philosophy, and a completely different perspective on what makes a good life. You’ll fall in love with elephants (we promise) at the ChangChill elephant sanctuary.
What makes Thailand particularly powerful as a winter destination is the warmth—and we’re not just talking about the weather. Thai hospitality, the concept of sanuk (finding joy in everything), and the Buddhist emphasis on mindfulness create an environment where transformation happens naturally.
Morocco: Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Adventure
Few places on earth offer the sensory richness of Morocco, and winter is arguably the best time to experience it. While Europe shivers, Morocco’s diverse landscapes—from imperial cities to the Sahara to the Atlas Mountains—offer comfortable temperatures and incredible variety.
Picture yourself in the souks of Marrakech, where the air is thick with the scent of cumin, saffron, and cedar. Artisans demonstrate centuries-old crafts. The call to prayer echoes across terracotta rooftops. Every corner reveals something that makes you stop and stare.
Then imagine leaving the city behind for the Atlas Mountains, where Berber women welcome you into their homes with mint tea and stories passed down through generations. You’re hiking through landscapes that shift from green valleys to snow-capped peaks, sleeping in mountain lodges, and learning what genuine hospitality looks like.
And the Sahara? There’s nothing—nothing—that prepares you for the Sahara. Riding a camel into the dunes at sunset, sleeping under more stars than you knew existed, waking to silence so profound it feels sacred. The desert has a way of putting everything in perspective.
Egypt: Standing in the Presence of History
Egypt in winter is Egypt at its finest. The scorching summer heat gives way to pleasant days perfect for exploring, and you’ll find yourself standing in places that have captivated human imagination for millennia.
There’s a moment—and every traveller to Egypt has it—when you’re looking at the Pyramids of Giza, and your brain simply cannot compute what your eyes are seeing. These structures have stood for over 4,500 years. Empires have risen and fallen. The entire course of human history has unfolded. And they’re still here, and so are you.
Cruising the Nile is like traveling through a living museum. Temples emerge from the landscape, each one a testament to human ambition, artistry, and devotion. Luxor’s Valley of the Kings, Karnak’s towering columns, Abu Simbel’s colossal statues—these aren’t just tourist sites. They’re portals to different ways of understanding human existence.
But Egypt isn’t just ancient history. It’s also bustling Cairo streets, vibrant markets, and Egyptian hospitality that makes you feel like family. It’s the perspective shift that happens when you realize your daily worries are tiny blips in the vast sweep of human experience.
Vietnam and Cambodia: Hidden Corners and Ancient Wonders
Vietnam and Cambodia deliver. Winter means the perfect weather for exploring Halong Bay’s limestone karsts, Hoi An’s lantern-lit streets, and Angkor Wat’s temple complexes.
Vietnam surprises everyone. The food alone could justify the trip—pho for breakfast, banh mi for lunch, fresh spring rolls for dinner, and coffee so strong and sweet it becomes an addiction. But it’s the layers that get you. The French colonial architecture. The nature. The unstoppable optimism and industriousness of the Vietnamese people.
Halong Bay is legitimately magical. Cruising through those emerald waters past thousands of limestone islands, each one topped with jungle, feels like entering a fantasy novel. Add in cave explorations, kayaking, and tai chi at sunrise on the deck, and you’ve got an experience that lingers in your memory for years.
Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex is one of those places that should be on every bucket list. Watching sunrise at Angkor Wat, exploring the jungle-consumed Ta Prohm, discovering hidden temples—it feels like an Indiana Jones movie. But Cambodia is also a resilient community, with incredible warmth despite a difficult history, and a country that’s finding its way forward while honouring its past.
The Galápagos: Evolution in Real Time
Some destinations fundamentally change how you see the world. The Galápagos is one of them. These islands, where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution, remain one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet.
Blue-footed boobies actually do their mating dance right in front of you. Sea lions sun themselves on park benches. Marine iguanas (yes, marine iguanas) swim in the ocean. Giant tortoises lumber past you on the trail. And everywhere—everywhere—you’re witnessing evolution in action, animals that evolved in isolation into forms found nowhere else on Earth.
What makes the Galápagos special isn’t just the wildlife, though that alone is extraordinary. It’s that the islands feel both ancient and new, harsh and generous, otherworldly and deeply connected to fundamental truths about life on this planet. You return from the Galápagos seeing your own place in the natural world differently.
Baja: Where Desert Meets Sea
Baja, Mexico, offers something wonderfully uncomplicated: stunning natural beauty, incredible kayaking, and the chance to completely unplug. The Sea of Cortez—which Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s aquarium”—is at its best in winter.
Imagine kayaking through calm, crystalline waters, sea lions popping up to check you out, pelicans diving nearby. The desert landscape rises from the shore in dramatic colors—ochre, terracotta, gold. At night, the stars are so bright you can see by their light.
Baja is perfect for women who want adventure without excessive planning, who crave nature, who need to move their bodies and challenge themselves physically. It’s also surprisingly restorative—something about the combination of exercise, sunshine, simple food, and ocean air resets you at a cellular level.
Why Women Are Choosing Winter Adventures
Breaking the “Someday” Cycle
Here’s what happens to “someday.” It becomes “never.” The women who wait for the perfect time—when work calms down, when they’ve saved enough, when they feel “ready”—often find that perfect time never arrives.
Winter travel is particularly powerful because it goes against our conditioning to hunker down, hibernate, and wait for spring. It’s saying: my life is happening now, and I choose to live it fully.
The Power of Solo-ish Travel in Groups
One of the most common concerns women express about adventure travel is going alone. But here’s the beautiful paradox: travelling with a group of women adventurers means you’re never alone, but you’re also free to have your own experience.
You might be hiking with others, but you’re each having your own internal journey. You’re sharing meals and swapping stories, but you’re also getting solo time to process and reflect. You’re part of something collective, but you’re also deeply autonomous.
The friendships formed on these trips are different from everyday friendships. There’s something about shared adventure—challenging yourselves together, laughing together, being vulnerable together in new environments—that creates bonds that last.
Choosing Experiences Over Things
We’re living in a time when research consistently shows that experiences make us happier than possessions. The joy from buying something new fades quickly. The joy from meaningful experiences—like adventure travel—actually increases over time as memories develop, stories get told, and the experience becomes part of your identity.
You’re investing in memories, personal growth, confidence, stories, friendships, and a version of yourself that’s more expansive than the one who stayed home.
How to Choose Your Winter Destination
Are you craving physical challenge? Baja’s kayaking or Costa Rica’s hiking might be your match. Need cultural immersion and sensory overload? Morocco or Thailand. Want to feel small in the presence of something vast? Egypt or the Galápagos.
The best winter destination is the one that meets you where you are and gives you what you need—whether that’s adventure, restoration, perspective, joy, or all of the above.
Consider Your Comfort Level
First-time adventure travellers might appreciate the ease of Costa Rica or the welcoming warmth of Thailand. More experienced adventurers might crave the remoteness of the Galápagos or the cultural intensity of Morocco.
The best adventures happen when you’re stretched but not stressed, challenged but not overwhelmed.
Making It Happen: Practical Steps
Book Early for Peace of Mind
The most popular winter destinations fill up quickly, and booking early means more time to prepare and months of joyful anticipation. It also means committing to yourself—putting a stake in the ground that says this matters.
Start Small If Needed
If a two-week adventure feels overwhelming, start with a week. If going far feels like too much, choose something closer. The point isn’t the length or distance—it’s taking the step.
Trust the Process
Transformation rarely happens in straight lines. You might feel excited, then nervous, then excited again. You might question your decision, then remember why you made it. That’s all part of the journey. Trust that future you will thank present you for booking this trip.
For more than three decades, Wild Women Expeditions has led women into landscapes that spark awe, courage, and deep connection. What began as a love of nature and adventure has grown into a global community of women who travel with intention — seeking meaning, sisterhood, and experiences that stay with them long after the journey ends.
With small groups, expert leaders, and a spirit of curiosity guiding every trip, we’ve explored coastlines, mountains, deserts, and cultures around the world. If you’re craving a reset, a reconnection, or a rediscovery of your wilder self, you’ll find it here — alongside a community that cheers you on every step of the way.
Your Winter Adventure Awaits
As you stand at the threshold of 2026, you have a choice. You can begin from a place of adventure, expansion, and yes.
Winter doesn’t have to mean hibernation. It can mean Morocco’s sun-warmed souks, Thailand’s temple bells, Costa Rica’s crashing waves, Egypt’s timeless wonders, the Galápagos’s fearless wildlife, Baja’s star-filled skies, Vietnam’s emerald waters, or Cambodia’s ancient stones.
It can mean coming home with stories, perspectives, friendships, and a renewed sense of what’s possible.
Ready to start planning your winter getaway? Browse our collection of women’s adventure travel experiences and find the destination that speaks to your soul. We’ve cued up some of our best winter getaways here.
You can learn more about all of our 2026 adventures below.
