The Birth of a Women's Adventure Travel Society

The Founder’s Journey – how Society du Monde came to be.

Camping with my daughter last Summer in Tahoe National Forest

My name is Stacy Luther, Founder of Society du Monde.

Allow me to take your mind on a brief journey into my past so that you can understand how and why I created Society du Monde…

I was a child of divorce from an early age, living in two homes, both parents blue collar trade workers. We didn’t have time or funds to dedicate to travel, so I would typically take two trips per year – one to see family in Phoenix at Christmas, one for an annual family reunion in Michigan during the summer. I didn’t leave the country until I was 20, and I was nervously glued to the generic all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta because I had heard “Mexico is dangerous”.

It wasn’t until I started dating a man with more travel experience that I was sort of pushed into the scary and unfamiliar idea of exploring a foreign country’s culture. As I didn’t know any other way, I booked an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic for the two of us for a week. He was almost confused, saying he’d never stayed in a resort like that and it would be interesting. We flew in on the south side of the island and had to take a 4 hour shuttle to the north side, taking us through the heart of the country. What I saw on that drive changed my life. I realized that I’d been propagandized and I felt betrayed to my core. Many of the people in this country were POOR – living in makeshift shacks that would even keep them dry in a storm, wearing dirty, torn clothes, no way to get around – but I didn’t see POVERTY. They weren’t lacking, even though they didn’t have what I had been taught to think you needed in order to be happy. They were relaxed, happy, playing music & games with kids running through the streets naked and laughing. No video games or fancy toys in sight. Maybe a radio if they were lucky.

It seems silly to write it out in words now, as if that’s obvious – but that was the first opportunity I had to SEE and KNOW. That’s when I knew I had to start questioning the things I was told on a deeper level. I shifted from ‘tell me’ to ‘show me’ on that drive. As a result, I was more willing, though still a bit scared, to venture out of the resort during that trip and I’m SO glad I did. I met many interesting locals who spoke enough English that we could have real conversations, which at the time was shocking. I experienced the culture like a local. I jumped off of waterfalls. I had STORIES to tell! Not just “we laid by the pool and drank pina coladas for 6 days!”.

Travel had changed me permanently. So much so, that we decided to get married in Bali, Indonesia without either of us ever having been there. I planned a group trip that spanned over 3 weeks in total with 15 people coming and going on either side of the wedding week, sight unseen. I put myself through countless travel vaccinations (I’m NOT good with injections). I planned day and night and I LIVED FOR IT.

My wedding in Bali at Villa Pushpapuri

Here's the really crazy part – we QUIT OUR JOBS before the trip. We sent our fancy clothes home with our friends and we backpacked around Southeast Asia for 3 months after the wedding. We only had a few things booked in advance (like hotel for the Full Moon Party in Thailand). It was new territory for me – I’d never traveled like this before. I’m a PLANNER. And though I did research the hell out of the options in each area we planned to visit, my Husband convinced me to leave things flexible so that we could take advantage of opportunities that may arise as we wandered. It was uncomfortable. Things went wrong. But what I discovered is that even planning couldn’t have prevented the issues that did arise. It taught me to loosen the reigns a bit and go with the flow.

These are just two small examples of how travel changed me and I have many more – too many for one blog post. In summary, I have become a woman who seeks out the unknown and tries new things because they always result in growth.

In 2019, at the age of 36 with a 5 year old daughter, I bought a motorcycle - and after Covid, I signed up for a women’s-only motorcycle expedition to Indonesia. The promise was that this trip would immerse us in culture off the beaten path and that we’d face challenges and get through them as a team. We also wouldn’t know our route or itinerary until the night before… Another highly uncomfortable thing for the planner in me. But, instead of feeling uncomfortable, I chose to feel excited about the unknown. It was a truly exhilarating feeling, and everyone I told about this trip was either in awe or shock/horror.

I’d only ridden sport bikes up to that point, and we’d be riding dual sport (on/off road bikes that look more like a dirt bike with luggage) bikes on the trip, so I signed up for workshops, private lessons, group lessons and went riding off-road with friends to make sure I would be prepared for the trip. I even started working for the company as their main sales person because I was so invested in the concept. I sold 30+ trips per month. I was KILLING it.

Unfortunately, on one of my off-road practice sessions, I crashed and broke my collar bone – 5 weeks before the Indonesia trip was set to depart. I had surgery on August 1^st and was determined to find a way to make it all work even though I wouldn’t be cleared to ride until October. I ended up driving the chase vehicle (a driver to carry luggage and injured riders if needed) from Jakarta all the way to Bali.

The experience was exhilarating at first, but we were spending 7-8 hours per day on the road, which got old quickly. We were staying in nice hotels, but we were often far away from any central part of town to explore, and most of the group was so exhausted after a long ride starting at 5am that nobody wanted to leave the hotel. We ate at the hotel restaurant 90% of the time (attendance was mandatory) and the big “revelation” of the next day’s activities was simply a WhatsApp message with a google map link to the route. For those of us who had experienced cultural immersion before, it was disappointing. I also knew half way through that trip that I wouldn’t have a job when I returned, because  I now knew that what I was selling was not what was being delivered. My integrity is too important to me to sell something I don’t believe in.

When I came back, I shared my story and the overwhelming response was: You should start your own travel club. At first, self-doubt held me back. I came up with some great excuses and my friends kept destroying them. Finally, I’ve found my purpose. I bring people together to create perspective-shifting experiences and life-long memories. I always have. Now, I am doing it for women like me – those who have gotten lost in their careers, relationships, family roles, endless responsibilities – to help them rekindle the flame within. To show them new and exciting ways of existing in this world. To provide a safe way to throw caution to the wind and do something they’ll feel PROUD of.

Society du Monde is not a tour company. We’re a global society of like-minded women who support each other, explore the world together, challenge each other to see new perspectives, and help each other become the best versions of ourselves. The journey is just beginning but the momentum is gaining. I invite you to join us.