“Do it. Just do it.”

Nicole is 32, originally from Jamestown, Rhode Island, and has lived in Philadelphia since moving there for grad school in 2016. She joined our June 2026 Bali trip.

She came to solo travel after a difficult breakup in September 2025. Her first solo trip, to Costa Rica that November, was life changing, and she carried on travelling on her own from there. By the start of 2026 she was in a really good place, but she still wanted something different: somewhere new, with people who were not friends or family from home, and not on her own either.

Nerves were not really part of it. She had no reason to doubt that everything would be organised and taken care of, and it was.

There was not a moment she did not enjoy, apart from leaving. Finn's, sunrise paddleboarding in Gili T, biking around everywhere, the Mount Batur hike and snorkelling with turtles all made her list.

What has stayed with her is the women. “The friendships that were built, the honest and deep conversations that were had and the 1000 belly laughs are a type of therapy you can't find anywhere else.”

She also found something unexpected in handing the planning over. “There was something special for me in not having control over a trip and leaving it up to FFS and Putri and it was well worth it!”