Maiden Voyagers Are Doing It Their Way

At its simplest, travel is about getting away from it all. Reject the routine. Junk the job, for a week or even just a few hours between meetings. Reinvigorated by variety, so the theory goes, the traveler returns to the dreary regularity of workaday life with a carefree skip and a song.

But for some, the restorative powers of the road can be diminished by the hassle. Specifically, for an increasing number of women, one thing always tops the leave-behind list: men. "Women need their own time to be with themselves, create their own journeys, to be...