Guest Post By: Keilah Keiser/Original Post at CarRentals.com

Gone are the days of male-dominated exploration and adventures. In fact, female travel—specifically solo female travel—has never been more popular than it is now. If you had any doubt about the growing trend, just take a look at your favorites social media platforms. From hashtags like #dametraveler with over 3 million Instagram posts to Facebook groups like Girls Love Travel to countless “solo travel” Pinterest searches, there’s no shortage of adventurous women. Faces of mothers, aunts, sisters, business women and students exploring quaint villages, bustling cities, and diverse terrain are proof that women are taking our globe by storm, empowering generations to come.

In the midst of all this excitement, we can’t forget that the world was once, for most women, a huge and daunting labyrinth; a difficult, challenge to navigate, and a path best traveled by men. Traditional gender roles discouraged, and in many cases, prohibited women from taking up world exploration alongside men—forget the possibility of solo travel. Jeanne Baret, the first known woman to circumnavigate the globe, disguised her identity as a woman when she joined the French expedition in 1766.

Even today, women in many countries are finally experiencing their first taste of freedom. June of 2018 marked a historically important date when Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on female drivers—and to think that many of us take a simple road trip with our girlfriends for granted.

So when did the gender roles begin to shift and how did travel get where it is today? To help us understand the role of women throughout travel history, CarRentals put together this guide celebrating some incredibly bold women in travel whose calling to cover new terrain, break records and shake up the status quo drove their adventures forward against all odds. Born in different times and from differing circumstances, they all shared one thing in common—they are icons to the female travel narrative. We consider these women heroes because without them travel wouldn’t be what it is today.

*Keilah Keiser is a content marketer and writer with a background in SEO. She has written and produced content for a variety of clients in industries ranging from travel to business. She's a San Diego local who's always on the hunt for the next adventure and would never pass up a good hike with her dog.*