Do You Need One? Could You Be One?

Sahara Rose De Vore is a solo traveler, a Wellness Travel Coach, and Founder and CEO of the Travel Coach Network. She has visited 84 countries (and counting!) and is passionate about helping people experience the transformative power of travel. Here she tells us more about her perspective and how a travel coach can help you get more out of your solo journeys.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship to travel.

Travel is what I have turned to when I have been at the lowest points in my life. There is something about it that just lights me up inside. The sense of freedom I feel, the incredible sights I see, the humans I meet, the unknown of what I will experience or see next… all of it feeds my soul in ways I have never felt before. It has propelled me out of a mental rut so I finally feel there is so much more to live for.

My story isn’t that unique, though.

I have met countless other travelers over the years who shared similar thoughts about travel. So many of the conversations I have had privately with the travel coaches in our certification program have revealed comparable stories about how travel has had a transformative impact on their life in some way.

What inspired you to become a travel coach?

When I graduated with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in 2010, I had learned about and been exposed to various career paths that I could have easily pursued. None of them, at that time, felt like the right fit for me. I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I did know that I did not want to sit in a corporate office and be limited in vacation days and I also knew that I wanted to be able to enjoy my adventures as much as I could.

Over my decade-long solo journey around the globe, times changed. There was a rise in technology and social media, which had an impact on how we traveled. I had over 10 years of first-hand experiences and conversations that taught me even more about the travel industry.

I saw patterns, found voids, and realized shortages that existed in the industry, all centered around how and why we travel.

Yet, I still struggled to find a travel career that felt right for me. “There must be something else out there that I can do with my passion and knowledge of travel,” I often thought to myself.

As the years went by, the industry continued to evolve and times continued to change. Yet, so much of what was happening in the travel industry on the surface was staying the same. What I mean by this is how travel was being talked about, marketed, planned, booked, and sold.

How could terms like transformative travel, wellness, meaningful travel, sustainability, regenerative tourism, intentional travel, etc., grow in popularity while the system that was built to take people on these magical, life-altering journeys stayed the same?

In 2018, I stumbled upon the coaching industry and saw how fast it was growing. I had never needed or sought out a life or health or business coach before so this was all new to me.

Something inside of me finally felt that this was right. I wanted to be a Travel Coach. It’s exactly what I had been looking for all along.

What led you to create The Travel Coach Network?

Soon after starting my own Wellness Travel Coaching business that served the business travel industry, I found others reaching out inquiring about the concept of travel coaching. What is it? Where did you learn about it? How can I become one? Maybe I have already been doing it and just didn’t know?

That’s when, again, something inside of me felt right and I started The Travel Coach Network.

I believed so deeply that travel wasn’t getting the credit it deserved as the powerful tool we all know it can be. Travel has the power to change or transform our life, heal us, give us inspiration or clarity, help us find our purpose, connect us with others, teach us about ourselves, teach us about others, and so much more.

I believed strongly that the system of how travel was talked about, planned, booked, marketed, and sold was outdated. It was too transactional.

What exactly is a travel coach? How is it different from a travel agent or tour guide?

Unlike a travel agent, a travel coach does not focus on the booking phase of a trip. Instead, a travel coach helps people bring awareness to their “why” for travel, set intentions for their trips, and use travel as a tool for transformation, healing, self-discovery, and reaching whatever goals and aspirations they have. Think, life coaching + travel.

No more missed opportunities for allowing our travel experiences to benefit us in some way. No more needing a vacation from our vacation. No more seeing travel as a fun getaway once or twice a year.

Yes to acknowledging the decades worth of research that supports travel’s ability to benefit us mentally, emotionally, socially, physically, physiologically, spiritually, and professionally.

Who do you typically work with, and what kinds of travel-related challenges do they bring to you?

Travel coaches focus in a wide range of niches depending on what it is they believe in about travel and who they serve. Some examples of travel coaching niches are helping women 50+ use travel as form of reinvention and self-discovery after retirement, becoming an empty nester, or experiencing a life transition. Another niche is empowering women to travel solo for healing after loss, grief, heartbreak, career transitions, or reconnecting with their true selves. There are travel coaches who guide their clients on finding the perfect place for them to relocate abroad, who help older travelers know that they can still travel despite their physical limitations, or who help digital nomads create a more balanced work-life lifestyle, to name just a few.

The types of travel-related challenges that clients have vary depending on the coach, but some examples are: limiting beliefs, know-how, accountability, clarity on their goals, desire for a lifestyle change, relocation options, and finding the right type of destination for them based on where they are in their life at that time.

How can working with a travel coach transform someone’s travel experience—or even their life?

Travel is more than just a transaction; it is a journey. To reap the many mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and other benefits that travel can provide us with, it takes intention, awareness, accountability, and action. Travel coaches don’t see travel as a one-time-trip and that’s all. They see it as just a piece of someone’s overall goals in life and/or business. We know how powerful travel can be for us on so many levels but it takes more than just creating an itinerary and booking a flight to feel those effects. Travel coaches transform people’s travel experiences and their lives by focusing on the mindset piece and getting to the root of why they want to travel. What is causing them to want to get away? What are they searching for? How do they feel now and how do they want to feel? What does their life look like now and what could their life or lifestyle look like upon return? Transformation doesn’t happen in just one trip, it takes a series of experiences to make a change in your life. Travel coaches guide you on that journey.

Can you share a success story that highlights the power of travel coaching?

Of course! Sonia is a Transformation Travel Coach who helps women who seek clarity and reconnection with their inner self go on pilgramages to El Camino de Santiago in the North of Spain. Sonia helped a woman name Iris (name is changed for privacy reasons) through pre- and post-trip coaching sessions. In the pre-trip session, Sonia had Iris really get to the root of why she was feeling how she was feeling and what it was that she desired for herself and her life. By bringing awareness to this, Sonia was able to help Iris get clear on the types of activities and actions that she needed to take while walking the Camino. This included spending time alone to reflect and journal. It also included her sparking conversations with other travelers on the trail that led to meaningful insights and new perspectives. Iris had to push herself beyond what she believed she was capable of, which, in turn, helped her grow her confidence and feel empowered. In her post-trip sessions, Sonia helped Iris take what it was that she had learned and realized during her trip and apply it to her life upon return. Once Iris was home, she felt like a whole new person and was ready to finally live her life for herself and no one else.

What do students learn in your Travel Coach Certification Program, and who is it designed for?

Our International Coach Federation (ICF) accredited Travel Coach Certification Program is designed for anyone who wants to start a travel coaching business or combine travel coaching into their current role as a travel advisor, tour operator, retreat leader, or life coach, to gain clarity on their entire travel brand, marketing plan, and business model. Our program is more than just another coaching certification, there are plenty of those out there. Our program helps you to tap into your own truth about travel and what travel means to you. It helps you create a niche that is aligned with who you desire to help, not what boxes the industry says you must fall into. Our well-rounded program takes you on our own journey of creating, building, launching, and scaling a travel business that is truly authentic to you, your values, and your vision. If you aren’t sure what those are, our program also helps you to figure that out.

Is there anything else we should know?

The Travel Coach Network is a global community of travel coaches who believe that there is far more to a travel career than just planning and booking trips. Travel is personal and emotional. Travel coaching is changing the game when it comes to how travel is talked about, viewed, planned, organized, marketed, and “sold”.

Interested in exploring the idea of becoming a travel coach? Get all the details here.

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Last updated: 1st July, 2025