Here Are Some of the Women You Will Meet in Morocco
One of the things people wonder most before joining a Gone International trip is who else will be there.
There is no single type of woman who comes on a Gone International trip.
Some have lived abroad for years. Some are in the middle of figuring out where home is. Some are experienced travellers, while others are doing something that pushes them a little outside their comfort zone. Some arrive knowing someone, many arrive alone. Some want adventure and constant conversation, while others like having space to themselves too.
What they have in common is a willingness to say yes to something new.
And that is exactly who is coming to Morocco.
Over the course of our adventure, we will travel together from Marrakech towards the Sahara, experience a completely different side of Morocco and share the kind of moments that tend to turn a group of strangers into people you are very glad you met.
So, here are some of the women you will be travelling with in Morocco.
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Meet Your Community Host, Vanessa Hernandez
Vanessa is originally from the USA and now lives in Sweden, where she works as a Documentation Manager for construction projects and volunteers with Girl Gone International, leading a large section of our European communities.
She describes herself simply as a woman living abroad and finding her way in the world.
Vanessa already knows the magic of travelling with GGIs and loves the balance our trips offer: you can spend time on your own when you want it, find someone to talk to when you want company and usually end up having a lot of fun along the way.
She is looking forward to pretty much everything about Morocco... with one exception: the camels.
They scare her a little, although she has decided that if she does fall off, at least she will be landing on sand. And a reminder - you don't have to do anything you don't want to do! You can sit out of any additional activities any time - just make sure you stay together and don't miss the bus etc!
Outside of travelling, Vanessa loves audiobooks and mushroom picking and has also casually done something considerably more terrifying than riding a camel: she once swam with bull sharks.
Her advice to anyone wondering whether to join a GGI trip?
“Just book it! If you like solo time, you have that option. If you love talking to others, you'll find a friend. If you like both, you have the opportunity to balance it. GGI really sets you up for it all.”
Meet Your Trip Host and Guide, Yasmina
Yasmina will be one of the women helping bring our Morocco adventure to life.
With several years of experience in tourism and educational travel, she has worked as a program leader and guide for women-only journeys, student programmes and adult cultural trips. Her approach to travel is rooted in connection, care and creating an environment where people feel safe, curious and able to fully experience the place around them.
But guiding is only one part of Yasmina's story.
Three years ago, she started bikepacking with a simple goal: to explore more of her surroundings. It quickly became something much bigger. Cycling gave her a new sense of freedom and purpose and she now takes on long-distance rides across Morocco.
Through those journeys, Yasmina hopes to encourage other women to trust their own strength, pursue the things that matter to them and find their own version of freedom.
She is also a storyteller, documenting her travels through short films and documentaries that bring together Moroccan history, personal reflection and the people she meets along the way.
You can follow Yasmina's adventures on Instagram and watch her documentaries on YouTube.https://youtube.com/@yasminaahl33?si=FIKj4KASQoWdLd2C
Meet Suzanna
Suzanna is originally from Seoul, South Korea and now lives in Los Angeles, where she works at a law firm.
She immigrated with her family as a child and discovered a love of travel as an adult, often travelling solo. Over the years she became part of many Girl Gone International communities, attending and hosting events with travellers and internationally minded women.
Morocco will be Suzanna's second Gone International trip after joining us in Iceland in December 2025, an experience she describes as magical. She usually avoids group trips, but loved that the GGI trip gave her the freedom to socialise as much or as little as she wanted.
She chose Morocco because it is somewhere she would find more challenging to explore alone as a woman. She is especially excited for the markets, desert sunsets, food, sisterhood and that feeling of wonder and awe that comes from discovering somewhere completely new.
At home, Suzanna loves adventures with her dog, live music, theatre and escaping the daily routine whenever she can.
She has also done a month-long road trip from Los Angeles all the way to Alaska in a minivan with her dog, picking up hitchhikers along the way. She admits she may like dogs more than people and says she could currently be on the cusp of a “second-third life crisis.”
Her reassurance for anyone feeling nervous about travelling with a group?
The women may all be very different, but they are united by curiosity, adventure and a sense of wonder.
Meet Debbie
Debbie is from Singapore and is currently in the middle of a big life transition.
After moving to Australia at 19, followed by time in Japan and Qatar and 11 years living in Denmark, she is returning to Singapore this summer after 16 years abroad and deciding what the next chapter might look like.
She works as a Project Manager, which means planning and organising is part of her everyday life. Although, as Debbie puts it, somewhat ironically, her own life can still be a bit of a mess!
This will be her first time travelling in this part of the world and she is excited about pretty much everything Morocco has to offer. One of the biggest appeals of joining the trip was being able to experience the country with travel companions and a guide she can trust, without having to organise every detail herself.
“The planning being taken care of is already such a load off my shoulders.”
Debbie speaks English, Mandarin, Japanese and Danish. Outside work she loves learning languages, playing Dungeons & Dragons and can happily spend hours simply sitting in nature.
For Debbie, Morocco comes at quite a fitting moment: between one home and whatever comes next.
Meet M.
M. is originally from Poland and now lives in Ireland.
Her interests are wonderfully wide-ranging, from psychology and criminalistics to art, science and languages. She speaks Polish, English, German and Spanish.
Moving abroad came at a major turning point in her life. When life changed dramatically, an opportunity appeared to work in another country, and M. decided to follow it.
She has wanted to visit Morocco for years, but previous plans were interrupted by Covid. When she saw this trip, the excitement came straight back. She gave herself a week to think about it, realised she was still just as excited and booked.
She is especially looking forward to mehndi, sleeping in the desert and, of course, the food.
M. normally travels alone and organises everything herself, so joining an organised group trip is actually the unfamiliar part for her and something she admits she still feels a little nervous about.
Her philosophy for saying yes is a good one:
“On your deathbed, will you regret that you went, or that you missed the chance?”
And one unexpected fact about M.? Her voice appears on an album by Lord of the Lost.
Meet Nicole
Nicole is originally from near Chicago in the USA and now lives in Stockholm, Sweden, where she works as a forensic accountant and consultant.
She moved to Sweden for a job opportunity, leaving behind the place she had always called home and starting a completely new chapter abroad. Travel is a huge part of her life and she has already visited more than 30 countries, with plenty more still on the list.
Morocco has been somewhere Nicole has wanted to visit for a long time. She has family with Moroccan roots and has always wanted to experience Africa, but felt it was the kind of journey she would prefer to do with a trusted group rather than completely alone.
She is especially excited about the desert experience, the ethical camel ride and making new friends along the way.
Nicole is also joining our Iceland trip, where she will finally tick off the last Nordic country on her list.
A couple of fun facts about her: her first name is actually a combination of her sisters’ middle names and she once appeared on a national TV game show with her family. They lost.
Her advice to anyone feeling nervous about joining a GGI trip is simple:
“Go! GGI trips are truly once in a lifetime and you’ll have unforgettable memories to go along with them.”
Meet Luna
Luna is from Iceland and is currently studying coding while looking for more opportunities to travel and see the world.
She loves history, politics and discovering a place through its food,
One of the biggest reasons Luna chose to join the trip is simple: she loves travelling, but does not particularly enjoy travelling alone.
She is especially looking forward to learning more about Morocco’s history, as she has a strong connection to the country.
Luna speaks Icelandic, English and Moroccan Arabic, so she may also turn out to be a very useful person to have around!
Her advice to anyone nervous about joining a group trip is practical: you will already be in contact with the other women before you go, so you won’t arrive feeling like a complete stranger.
Meet Chang
Chang is originally from China and now lives in Oslo, Norway, where she works as a structural engineer, or as she puts it, making sure buildings don’t fall down!
Norway is already the third country she has called home before turning 30. She moved to Singapore at 18, studied and worked there for more than a decade, then recently relocated to Oslo. Growing up in such an international environment gave her a real love of living across cultures.
Alongside engineering, Chang is passionate about photography and loves using it to tell visual stories. She also travels often and is always on the lookout for great local food. Her current food obsession is Norwegian mackerel in a tube!
Morocco appealed to her because the itinerary felt exciting, but also because it is somewhere she would rather not explore completely alone. She saw the trip as both a great way to experience the country and a perfect introduction to the GGI community.
She is especially excited about the Sahara Desert and all the adventures out on the dunes.
Chang has a lovely way of thinking about travel and connection, inspired by a line from an anime she has loved since her early twenties: you grow more through the people you encounter than you ever could by experiencing everything alone.