Get Your Heels Ready Girls, These Four Black Women Solo Travelers Are In The Race To Visit Every Country In The World And They Have Some Travel Tips To Share With You
by Heather Cassell
Do all of those highly-stylized Instagram photos have you dreaming of jumping onto the next plane in the race to visit all 195 countries in the world? Maybe a smaller goal of at least to half of those countries or setting foot on all seven continents just to jump-start your wanderlust?
These four women – Jessica Nabongo, founder of Catch Me If You Can; Arleta Craig, Oneika Raymond of Oneika The Traveller and host to the Travel Channel’s digital series “Big City, Little Budget” and “One Bag and You’re Out”; and Davita McKelvey, editor-in-chief at Griots Republic and co-owner of BlackTravel.com – are doing it.
They’ve all hit their 100th country milestone: Jessica, 34, landed in South Africa; Arleta, 38, landed in Kosovo; Oneika, 35, landed in Andorra; and Davita, 40, landed in Brunei to mark their centennial adventure.
Arleta and Jessica are already well on their way to making it all around the world with 119 and 107 countries with the soil of countries traveled under their heels, respectively.
Jessica is on a mission to be the first black woman to visit every country in the world. She projects she will hit her 193rd country by May 2019.
Don’t think that these ladies will hang up their traveling heels once they get to the big 1-9-5. Oh no, don’t say bon voyage to them. They plan to keep going revisiting their favorite countries again and again.
These gallivanting ladies recently dished with Essence Magazine about the adventure, trip planning, the people they’ve met, and their must-visit-again countries.
It’s Been An Adventure
Power tripper, Detroit native Jessica has traveled the world taking it all in. She’s indulged in her favorite cuisines: Japanese, Thai, and Italian. She’s gotten her buzz on whale watching in the north of Norway and taking a dip in the Devil’s Pool in Zambia. She’s discovered peaceful destinations that she says are “vibrant hidden gems,” such as Suriname and Uzbekistan. Lastly, but not least or really the last, she’s fallen in love with countries, like Kenya, Colombia, Indonesia and Cuba time and time again.
Experience junkie, Chocolate City native turned eight-year American expat in Italy, Arleta, takes her time to enjoy the moments, such as her pleasant surprises in Tunisia where she was taken in by the eclectic mix of North African culture and Mediterranean vibe and the friendliness of the Tunisian people.
“Tunisian people often mistook me as one of their own,” she told the magazine.
She’s also enjoyed thrilling adventures walking with lions in Zambia and humbling moments sitting in the snow watching the sunset over the mountains of ice in Antarctica.
It’s moments like these that “are memories near to Arleta’s heart,” she told Essence.
Oneika, a Toronto native who now resides in New York, knows all about travel being the experiences of a lifetime. She turned blogging about her adventures while teaching overseas into her dream job and found the man of her dreams (a German man) in Hong Kong. Talk about an adventure! Now she’s learning German to add to her list of languages she speaks fluently: French, English, and Spanish, according to her biography on the Travel Channel’s website.
Tricks, Tips And What To Pack
How do these gals do it? Outside of sheer determination, they are organized. Here are some of their travel hacks that will hopefully inspire you.
Many people lament not having the luxury of time to take off from work making short trips a must for the dedicated traveler.
Arleta knows all about how to take small itineraries to the max. She’s had to due to not having enough time off from her day job.
“I wish I had the leisure to visit certain places for weeks, but duty calls,” she told Essence.
Arleta takes off whenever she has a break between emergency management contracts. Granted, it’s a little bit easier being based in Europe than being in America.
How does she do it?
Arleta signs up for all of the flight deals websites, such as Flight Deal, Secret Flying, Airfare Spot, and others. When the deal strikes, she goes.
“Let the flight deals guide where you travel to,” she told Essence.
Oneika adds be “flexible with your destination and dates of travel. You will save so much money on tickets and accommodation!”
Maximize your time in a destination.
“To make sure I maximize my trip, I often search short itineraries,” such as 1- or 2-day itineraries,” said Arleta. “I pick the things that interest me and do them. This ensures I can tick off all the touristy things I want to see first and still have a little time to roam, explore and relax.”
Oakland native and now New Yorker Davita has simply quit her “cushy positions in corporate America” more than once to hit the road to follow her passion and purpose.
Another essential part to her success a, “super-supportive husband, Chad,” said Davita.
Pack Much?
Packing is always a process and a puzzle all at once. Unlike my girlfriend, I can’t simply throw everything into a backpack in under an hour and be ready to go. I have equipment, an itinerary that requires certain attire, and much more.
However, I’m in between always needing to check luggage and being able to roll on and off a plane. I prefer the later. Not only for the time savings and less stress but also, the money savings. However, the airlines are becoming stricter and stricter and the carryon luggage sizes are getting smaller and smaller as the airlines get better and better at processing and ensuring checked luggage not only gets to the destination but onto the baggage claim belt quickly.
So, maybe Arleta, who always has to check luggage, and most of us can learn some packing tips from fellow travel gal Oneika, the queen of a one bag trip. No checking luggage for Oneika.
However, Arleta doesn’t over pack. Her plan of packing action?
“I like to have options and space to bring home local treasures,” she said. “To minimize packing too much, I pick two to three pairs of shoes and coordinate my outfits based on them,” she said.
“In case of lost or delayed baggage, I always carry a change of clothes, toiletries, makeup, and electronics in my carry on,” she added.
That might or might not help if you are planning long trips, such as around the world trips. For longer sojourns, Davita suggests contacting your preferred airline or finding companies that specialize in planning around the world trips or multi-stop flights, such as Airtreks.com.
“Travel in one direction, book your major stops with them, and travel overland to your next destination and you will save thousands and see far more of the places you’re visiting,” Davita said.
Staying Safe
These women know dangers lurk, but they know how to prevent and handle situations.
Jessica takes precautions staying in either Airbnb’s with Superhosts or high-end hotels.
“I trust my instincts, stay at four- or five-star hotels or Airbnb’s with Superhosts,” she told Essence.
In Davita’s backpack, “you’ll always find three things: rubber door stops, a large lock, and a travel sheet with insect shield,” she said.
The “door stops are just added security for shady locks and/or people with keys,” she said. The lock acts three-fold as a weapon, added security for “shady locks and/or people with keys,” and a personal storage.
“A large lock is good for random lockers or when you need to secure your gear in a rush,” she said.
An added bonus is that “a large lock placed correctly could also knock someone out! I’m just saying,” said Davita.
Then there are the other kinds of pests: bugs.
“I’m not a fan of bugs and some of the best hotels in the world have bed bug problems,” so she packs her own protection: insect shield travel sheets.
The People
All of the women generally feel people in the world are good and they all have their own experiences and opinions about which country is the friendliest.
“People will often scare you and make you feel like a country’s politics, religion, or history are reasons to fear traveling there,” said Davita. “However, the heart of [the] country is not in its governments or institutions. It’s in the people just trying to live, just trying to feed their families, and just trying to carve a piece of happiness for themselves.”
“Stepping foot on their soil and simply saying, ‘Hello’ in their tongue is the first step to truly connecting to people,” she said.
Jessica and Arleta agreed.
“That no matter the race, religion, language or location, people are just people and the vast majority of people are good!” she said.
“At our core, we are more similar than we are different” added Arleta. “We all crave love, a secure place to live and enjoy our families, great food and the freedom to indulge in those things which bring us joy and happiness.”
Travel companions can also bring fond memories and joy to a vacation. Davita fondly remembers traveling in Japan with her family.
They were able to roll with being out of place during a day trip to Yunessun Spa Resort in Hakone while vacationing in Tokyo.
“At that time, Yunessun Spa didn’t get many western tourists and they certainly didn’t see black people regularly, if ever,” she said.
They had to navigate around the no tattoos rule at the spa and the Asian sized robes that were complicated.
“My family, however, can turn any situation into a comedy routine and all of our difficulties was just kindling for the fire,” she said. “Until that trip, I had never laughed so hard or appreciated my family’s ability to roll with the punches.”
However, Davita is particularly fond of the people of Jordan, especially the elderly shop owner in Aqaba “who closed his shop to walk her miles to the bus when she was lost,” she said.
The people of Mexico have Oneika’s heart.
“The culture is extremely warm and open,” she said about her experience of being “welcomed with open arms” living in Mexico for a year.
Destinations Worth Returning To
While Mexico holds her heart, Oneika can’t wait to return to Hong Kong, Brazil, Thailand, France.
Davita’s favorite destinations are Singapore, Vietnam and La Serena in Chile.
She hopes to live in La Serena someday, “if she can ever convince Chad to leave New York.”
Another gem of a destination Davita feels most American’s overlook is Belgrade, Serbia, “despite its beauty and affordability,” she added.
The heart is in the stomach for Arleta. She’s looking forward to taking a cooking class during her next visit to Thailand.
“On my next visit, I’m going to take a cooking class, so I can bring that culinary magic home!” she said.
“Thai food is my favorite food and there is no better place to eat it than in Thailand,” she said. “The food is so fresh and inexpensive. The flavors are amazing, and the variety of food is seemingly endless.”
Book your next dream trip with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .
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