Peru, Bhutan and Cambodia. That’s where Intrepid, the world’s largest adventure travel company, has launched three new Women’s Expeditions.

These small-group trips are designed exclusively for women, creating space to connect, explore and support local women-led businesses along the way.

Trek the lesser-known Chinchero to Urquillos route in the Peruvian Andes with an all-female crew. Discover Cambodia’s street food scene on a women-run tuk tuk tour. Unwind with a traditional herbal hot stone bath at a women-owned farmhouse in Bhutan.

Every trip is led by an expert female guide and built around meaningful, immersive experiences.

Explore Women’s Expeditions

There is a moment when a place stops being somewhere you are staying and starts being somewhere you actually want to be. For me, that moment happened on a beach in Broadstairs, watching the sun go down, listening to the waves come in, and watching my kids just be kids. Drawing names in the sand. Chasing each other. Completely unbothered. That was the moment Kent finally made sense to me.

But let me back up, because it was not always like this.

When we first arrived, I had a quiet moment of "why are we in Margate?" Nothing against Margate, but it was overcast, grey, and I was coming off the high of Bristol, a city that matched our energy almost immediately. A lot of our followers had also put a bug in my ear about Kent before we got there, and I will be honest, some of it had landed. You also have to know that I do approximately zero research before going anywhere. I prefer to see things for myself and hope for the best.

The first week was a whirlwind. Getting settled, getting oriented, figuring out the rhythm of a new place. But a few moments left a real impression on us. First, we got picked up by what I can only describe as a Kentish Timelord Genie, a cab driver who took us down what felt like his personal Rainbow Road while telling us stories of a life spent travelling the world, and why Kent, of all places, is where he chose to plant his flag. It was one of those conversations that makes you pay attention to a place differently.

Then came the history. Hever Castle, Leeds Castle, Eltham Palace and Gardens. There is something about standing in places that have existed for centuries that gives you perspective. You stop seeing a county and start seeing layers. It helps.

But what helped most was just being amongst people. Walking around Canterbury, spending time at Wildwood Trust, wandering through Margate without an agenda. Just existing as a family in a place and letting it show us what it was.

And here is what we saw: harmony. Community. People being patient with each other, looking out for each other, being genuinely decent to strangers. We even spoke to a few people who clearly held different views on things, and it was still just normal, civil conversation. Completely unremarkable in the best possible way. Coming from an American city, I am wired to notice things most people walk past. I was watching. And I saw almost nothing worth worrying about.

Week two brought more of the same. Kindness. Neighbourliness. And yes, BMW drivers who have never once in their lives used an indicator.

Then came Broadstairs.

We went to see the town and ended up having one of those days that reminds you why you do this. A walk around, a good lunch, ice cream, the beach, a proper dinner. We ran into five separate groups of followers, which I was not prepared for, and I will not pretend that was not a little surreal. But while I was watching my kids run around on the beach with children they had never met before, something shifted.

I think a lot of people hit Gravesend, get a feeling, and turn around. They never make it past what feels like an extended Zone 6. They go home thinking Kent is not for them, and they never see the parts that would have changed their mind completely.

Kent rewards the people who stay curious. And today, standing on a beach in Broadstairs with my family, I am genuinely glad we did.