10 Reasons Black Women Should Travel Solo
I once submitted for a competition that asked participants to write about the experience of traveling as a black person. I added a second dimension— traveling as a black woman.
There are many reasons a person might travel and your interest in travel may also have been inspired by a number of different things. However you arrived at your desire to travel solo as a black woman, I’m glad that it may have brought you here where I want to share how it has opened my world (literally) and benefited me to do that all by myself.
Whether you’re trying to work up the nerve to do it, you’ve already planned a trip or two, or you have some experience traveling solo, I hope I can offer a perspective you may not have thought of.
1. Cultural Exposure & Connection
I think this is one of the most obvious reasons that many people travel the world. I’ve always been interested in cuisines, languages, customs, and traditions that are different than my own. Traveling to a new destination provides an opportunity to delve deeper into these ideas, and it also gives us a chance to make connections to reflect on our own ways of life and our ancestral history.
Personally, when I made the decision to start traveling, the criteria for locations were based on where I would see majority black people. Not only is there comfort in that for me, I also know that I’m likely to relate and make connections more easily being around my people. It interests me to find the similarities between my everyday life here and that of black people everywhere, whether it’s the way I wear my hair, a method of cooking, or how I converse and express myself with the people around me.
2. Spontaneity & Self-Discovery
At home, it’s easy to settle into a routine and even more so into what we think we know and like. For me, travel is an immediate thrust into a completely different world where I really don’t have the option to do what I always do. It forces me to make choices minute to minute and to make the best of what’s in front of me.
Traveling alone challenges my idea of what I do and don’t like and what I am and am not willing to do. I found, though, that when I began traveling there was very little that I would say no to trying. Self-discovery is all about your willingness to be uncomfortable and to do something you’ve never done before and traveling offers that opportunity. If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be zip-lining through jungles and diving into underwater caves, I probably wouldn’t have believed them, but I can say now that I’ve done those things and more, but more importantly I can be proud that I said yes to new things and loved every minute of those experiences.
3. Confidence & Self-Esteem Building
Black women live in a world where we’re constantly having to affirm ourselves of our value and worth because other groups are not quick to assure us of it. It’s important that we do things that build us up and make us feel like we can accomplish anything we put our minds to, no matter how big or small.
I remember planning my first couple solo trips and being so proud of the fact that I took flights alone, got around safely, tried new things and had fun all throughout the process. I started with bus trips to Philadelphia and drives to DC and eventually worked my way up to the point where I felt confident enough to go to different countries alone.
4. Solitude
An important part of life is being comfortable being alone, because there will come point(s) in time when you will inevitably be alone without a choice. Solitude is a space where we can process our emotions, our thoughts, and our ideas unfiltered by other people. It’s necessary for self-discovery and reflection. I was adamant about traveling alone because I wanted experiences that were independent from my family and the life I had before I was an adult. It was a way for me to say I can do something on my own with my actions. It was me selecting a hobby- a leisure activity- that was all my own, uninfluenced by other people and specific to my varied interests.
Since my mother passed away, traveling has become a way for me to process grief as well. My mother loved to travel and she had many places she wanted to see, but didn’t get the opportunity to. Taking trips is like my homage to her and a way to further some of her dreams in my own life.
5. Interpersonal Connection
You probably could travel and never talk to a single soul, but I can say for certain that you’ll never experience the fullness of a destination that way. In all of my travels, I would not have had one successful trip if I didn’t connect with the locals of the area. I’ve been taught how to roll a cigar by a factory worker and learned to dance salsa and Reggaeton in Cuba, I’ve learned the history of street food and had the most beautiful photos taken of me in Colombia, I’ve made candles with South African people in Atlanta, I’ve eaten by a lagoon in Mexico with people from London and Spain.
I’ve found that the friendlier I am in a new area, the more I learn and experience the best of the area. Although I may arrive to a new destination by myself, and albeit sometimes the only black woman around, I never have had a problem making a new friend or a few that make my stay more memorable.
6.Communication & Language Development
Black women are often misunderstood and we are constantly critiqued on the way we communicate and our express ourselves. We’re too loud. We’re too aggressive. We’re too bossy. None of these statements are universally true of all black women and they can most definitely be used to describe other groups as well.
In traveling by myself, i’ve learned to flip those statements as positive qualities about myself that help me communicate with my environment and the people around me. They help me verbalize what I need to make sure I’m the safest and happiest when I’m in a new location. What society might say is aggressive is actually assertiveness that might help me avoid being taken advantage of when negotiating the price of a taxi or may help me avoid ending up with unsafe people. What people might consider bossy is actually my taking initiative to plan a trip with the very best food and activity options for myself. Going to a destination where I don’t speak the native language fluently teaches me to be resourceful and develop both verbal and nonverbal languages to get what I need.
7. Story
I’m incredibly big on creating the story of our lives. It’s critical because it’s the way we connect while we’re here on earth, but it’s also the legacy we leave and the memory people have of us when we’re gone. Our story also informs our family life, our community, our racial group and more.
The world might see black women one way, but by making it a point to show diversity in our choices and experiences, we change the narrative and prove just how multidimensional we are. When we travel and choose to expose ourselves to new places and things, we transcend culture and let others know that we cannot and will not fit into one idea of us. We are here to influence culture with our voices, with our experiences, and with our dreams, goals, and ambitions. I think that ultimately we can continue to shift the story that’s told about black women by cultivating a wealth of knowledge and worldliness.
8. Relief & Luxury Experience
If for no other reason, black women deserve a break. We carry a lot on our shoulders and it often goes unnoticed and under appreciated. Traveling can be the gift to ourselves that we certainly deserve. It’s a chance to getaway from our responsibilities, obligations and the stress of everyday life and. just. breathe. Relief and relaxation can come in the form of laying out on a beach all day, a spa package at a resort, reading a book on the balcony overlooking a beautiful cityscape, or parties and nightlife in a foreign city. No matter what form it takes, it’s very necessary for maintaining good mental health for black women.
Black women have also been making it a point to become acquainted with luxury, even if we have to give it to ourselves. Luxury means different things to different people, but ultimately the idea is to give ourselves comfort and an extravagant lifestyle if that’s what we want and choose for ourselves.
For me, this takes a different form every trip- I might splurge on an entire vacation wardrobe, or pay extra for a personal driver at my destination, or order the most expensive item on the menu. My luxurious choices are my opportunity to live in the moment and do something I may not ordinarily do at home or ever have the opportunity to do again if I don’t choose it in that moment.
9.Fulfillment
Everyone is fulfilled by different things and the beautiful thing is that you can travel toward your interests. If you’re especially smitten by nature then you might choose a wellness resort with all outdoor activities and be fulfilled. If you’re particularly interested in art then you might choose a destination that has more museums per square mile than any other city and spend all your time going between them admiring what you see.
Traveling is an opportunity to fulfill your desire to know more about something or to gain a different perspective. It provides clarity on what you thought you knew and can expose you to what truly brings you joy and happiness. I’m fulfilled simply by the idea of waking up somewhere new and seeing or doing anything that I can’t access or experience at home. Black women traveling have the opportunity to fulfill something internally that may not get fulfilled by a relationship, a job, our friends, or what’s immediately around us.
10.Liberation
Most people have a general longing to be free. It sounds counterintuitive, but you have to do some work before you can be free. That work is internal, but it eventually manifests physically in the choices we make and the actions we take.
Traveling solo is an opportunity for us black women to free ourselves from who we think we are, who society tells us we are, who we feel obligated to be, and who we have been or what we have experienced in the past. There’s nothing like lifted burdens and a clear headspace- doing and being exactly what you want to be from moment to moment. Travel is a great space for that kind of freedom. I’ve been experiencing it more and more with each trip that I take and I hope the same for you.