More women than ever before are swapping handbags for backpacks and hitting the road solo, HostelBookers.com can reveal.

The budget accommodation and backpacking specialist conducted a women’s travel survey with Lost Girls World (who have a novel about their adventures coming out soon). The results revealed that 74% of participants considered themselves ‘solo travelers’, and 67% regularly travel alone (once or twice a year).

Whether for a gap year, career break or way to avoid the recession, an increasing number of women are escaping the 9 to 5 drone and breaking free by backpacking around the world solo.

For these budget savvy girls, hostels are the accommodation of choice – 76% said they would stay in hostels most or some of the time on their trip. 60% would even consider sleeping in a mixed dorm if it meant saving more for their travels.
Hostels themselves are beginning to cater for this demand, with female-only floors, hairdryers and girlie ‘sanctuaries’ for some post-travel pampering all appearing at budget accommodation around the world.

To help out these backpacking beauties, HostelBookers have also launched a series of top women’s travel resources especially for women travelers, from destination guides, safety advice and packing tips for every continent to the top ten hostels for women. There will also be exclusive guest posts from Chelsea Duke, author of High Heels and a Head Torch: The Essential Guide for Girls who Backpack, the Beauty Terrorist of St. Christopher’s Inns and Lauren Resnick, who has penned the Princess with a Backpack guide and blog.