Ditch the "bachelorette" in favor of a "solorette" + Cultural superiority

Hi Reader,

I am currently in Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, a remote destination that is in fact part of France though it sits 10 hours away by plane.

I just left Madagascar, where I had a GREAT time with an intimate group of adventurers who don't mind getting down and dirty for the best experiences and laugh out loud until our bellies hurt.

I am still trying to process the beautiful trip we had and the many special moments; from baby lemurs learning to jump from trees to a beautiful neon green gecko that came to eat honey from our table at breakfast every day; from the whale sharks we swam with to the turtles that glided next to me for several minutes, completely unbothered by our presence; from the sparkly fireflies at our beach farewell dinner to the Milky Way and the shooting stars that kept dashing above us; from the powdery baby blue island waters to the morning mist in the rain forest; from the ziplining-caving-abseiling-via ferrata adventure to the smiling Malagasy people, always ready to welcome us; from private picnics on deserted beaches to camouflaging chameleons...

I could not have dreamed of a better first tour. If you would love to be a part of something like this, add your name to the waitlist for our next Madagascar tour in 2027.

​

📩 On this week's email:

• Have you heard of "solorettes" instead of a bachelorette? Instead of a night of debauchery, why not consider taking time for yourself by going on a first solo trip?
• The countries with the highest and lowest sense of cultural superiority

---

Ditch the bachelorette and go on a solorette

It's been a while since the last time a friend of mine got married but the last bachelorette parties I went to already involved travel.

We spent a weekend in Bali, Hong Kong or Bangkok that included going out, spa treatments, good food, drinks and maybe some other group activity.

Admittedly, most people have a bachelorette that starts with dinner, continues with drinks and ends with parties. Maybe there are strippers involved, or sex toy parties, or they can also be more "tame" and focus on a boozy brunch.

The latest trend involves saving on the money of a night out and taking a solorette, a solo trip to reflect on the life change that is about to happen, take care of one's self, renew, rest and enjoy me-time.

It can be as low-key as an afternoon at the spa with a nice meal and lots of relaxation, an overnight staycation or a weekend getaway. It can also be a week-long retreat or a group trip to destination of your dreams.

Bachelorettes can be fantastic celebrations and great fun, but can also end up being a burden and a whole lot of extra stress added to an already uber-stressful time in a bride to-be life.

You need to cater to the group's preferences, be mindful of group dynamics and make sure that everyone gets along, even though a bachelorette can end up bringing together complete strangers who may have nothing in common and like different things.

At the end, they can be anything but fun for the bride.

Instead, consider a trip that is all just about you and that prepares you for the next stage in life, one that is shared.

Ingredients of a solorette:

• Your favorite food
• Your favorite drinks
• Your favorite setting
• Your favorite pampering, in whichever form you love the most: facials, massages, meditation, rituals, sound healing, yoga, movies, etc.
• Your time to reflect, journal, and arrive
• Your time to rest, and get away from the stress and weight of expectations that a wedding brings onto the couple

While a honeymoon is the opportunity to celebrate the new commitment, a solorette is the chance to celebrate your own independence.

Ditch the group planning and the need to cater to everyone's wants and needs and do something that is just for you.

​

Pst! You can also join one of our group trips for your solorette! Let us know you are celebrating your new phase of life and we will add a little something for you.

---

Cultural superiority

This map found on Reddit whose source I cannot confirm, is interesting.

Apparently, Spanish are the ones who believe the least that they are superior to others, while the Greek are the ones who believe it the most.

We could hypothesise about the reasons behind this ad nauseam but a few things are interesting to me:

• Almost all Greeks think their culture is superior, while Italians, who inherit the Roman Empire, don't feel the same way.
• Twice as many Norwegians think they are superior than Swedes.
• Belgians are close to Spanish in thinking they are not superior at all.
• Georgians feel like the Greek. The tiny Caucasus country is certainly culturally unique and hard to be compared to anything else. It is also extremely old and with a heritage spanning centuries. I just spent 10 days there on our group trip and can testify and confirm this.
• The Balkans are pretty proud countries, despite being relatively young. Especially Bosnians and Serbians, alongside Romanian and Bulgarians, are all pretty big believers in their cultural superiority. On the other hand, Croatians do not feel the same.
• The low percentage of French who think they are superior is unexpected.

​

Any more thoughts on the above?

---

​

Last chance to travel with us in 2025! We are closing bookings for this year's tours, so if you are keen to travel with us, book your spot now: 🔔 2 SPOTS left on our Oaxaca 9 to 15 November tour => BOOK OAXACA​​ ​ => You can also see the FULL CALENDAR of tours.

---

Photo of the week

Last week's photo This is Iceland's Reynisfjara black sand beach, in the south. We stop here during our Iceland tour and check out the rick formations and troll-like rocks. Join us in 2026!

Can you guess this week's photo? We had a lot of tun that day in....

​

Have a lovely rest of the week!

​

Solo Female Travelers Co-Founders