10 women travelers who broke all the rules

Ida Pfeiffer

In 19th century Europe, a woman traveling alone was rife with impropriety – the only thing that was worse, in fact, as if she dared write about the adventure publicly afterward. Fortunately, that didn’t deter Ida Pfeiffer, one of the first solo female travelers to get famous for not only setting out on her own but penning best-sellers about her experiences, starting in 1842 with Journey of a Viennese Lady to the Holy Land.

Pfeiffer was in many ways an unlikely heroine. She had neither youth nor independent wealth when she set out on what she told friends and family was a religious pilgrimage to Constantinople. In reality, she traveled not only to Turkey, but also to Palestine, Egypt, the Black Sea, and Italy. She was so inspired that she planned even more ambitious trips in the decade that followed, including two around-the-world voyages and trips to such far-flung destinations as the South Pacific. By the time she died, she’d not only lived life to the fullest, but she’d also paved the way for a new generation of Victorian solo female travelers.