Giving Women Their Wings

By Sandy M. Fernandez

When Evelyn Hannon decided at age 57 that she wanted to create an online travel guide, she had no market research and didn't know the difference between e-mail and a website. What Hannon had was a hunch: beyond the walls of her Toronto high-rise, she sensed a world of female wannabe adventurers eager for women's real-life travel information. "If you need to find a good doctor or a safe hotel, you ask the women," she says. "I wanted to begin a network around the world that would help each other to travel."

Her result is journeywoman.com an award-winning site that has become a nerve center for the booming numbers of women who are leaving their menfolk home and instead traveling either with girlfriends or solo. "These are people who say, 'I want to go, but I'm a little worried. I could use some assistance,'" says Hannon. So far, the site, which has a growing number of imitators, has offered close to 1 million visitors everything from country-specific advice on dress and customs to names of woman-friendly restaurants--all compiled by women who live in the region or travel to it. Leery of wearing a chador? The guide will tell you where you can get away with a long coat. Visiting rural Turkey? Know what time the sun goes down, so you won't get caught on empty streets at night.

Hannon vets and edits every tip herself, as well as chasing down in-the-know sources like frequent-flying businesswomen and savvy flight attendants. Her feel for good info comes from years of travel and memories of her first solo trip, taken after her divorce, at age 42. She recalls her heart's pounding the first time a strange man followed her down a street, and sobbing at her first solo sunset. "I married at 19 and had always traveled with my husband," she says. "I thought, How am I going to do this by myself?" Today Hannon can handle much rougher stuff. Her tip for dealing with the exotic bouquet of some foreign toilets? Dab menthol lip balm under your nose and journey on.

--By Sandy M. Fernandez