Motorcycle rides from Seattle to Panama. Tours to Bhutan and India. Backpacking in the Pacific Rim. Beth Whitman has had adventures spanning the globe — often on her own. She’s compiled her advice in for other women interested in traveling on their own in Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo, now in its second edition.

This book is a resource that I can’t help but recommend. Traveling on your own, especially when you’re of the female persuasion, isn’t the same as traveling with a group. It’s not unusual to get questions along the lines of “Where is your husband?” and “Are you really safe out here on your own?”, sometimes even before you set out on a trip. Even in Ireland, I got a few strange looks as a woman willing to wander around a new country on my own. Beth’s book, along with other information that will jumpstart your urge to travel, offers concrete advice and resources for handling those questions specific to women. No offense, guys, but the standard guide books lack information on things like what to do when your hotel manager propositions you.

Every chapter of “Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo” offers resource after resource for planning your adventures. From the best websites to check currency exchange rates to suggestions for adjusting once you get home from your trip, Beth’s writing is like having a travel mentor on hand to help you through each step. Beth even included the basic list she uses to decide what to pack for her trips.

For most of your trips, you’ll almost certainly need a guidebook focused on the local area, but you’ll find that Beth’s book actually works well with other books. There are more than a few sections where Beth points out information you need to look up in your guidebook and how to use that information. Sure, “Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo” doesn’t cover every little detail of traveling, but that’s because travels to different parts of the world require different approaches. Instead, this book is a starting point, making it easy to move towards embarking on any journey.

“Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo” isn’t Beth’s only resource for travelers. She maintains a website, Wanderlust and Lipstick, which brings together advice from a whole list of great bloggers (many of whom I interviewed for my book!), along with the tours Beth leads and the books published under the Wanderlust and Lipstick imprint. Those include Wanderlust and Lipstick: For Women Traveling to India and Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling with Kids.

To top off my review, I have one copy of “Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo” to give away! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling us where you want to travel next before the end of the day Sunday. I’ll randomly select a winner on Monday (June 29). I will pay shipping within the U.S. — if you win and live outside the U.S., I’ll ask you to cover the difference.