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#SmartBrownGirlAfrican DiasporaTravel

Why Black People Don’t Travel to Africa

The Black people travel movement has definitely picked up stem in the past few years. It’s beautiful to see Black people traveling all over the world. But one of the questions that has been persistent is why Black people don’t travel to Africa. And what are really asking is why African Americans are not traveling to sub-saharan African countries that aren’t South Africa. This question has largely bubbled off in the "diaspora wars" of Twitter, where too many uniformed voices are amplified. It constantly pops up in Facebook Travel groups where people are blind to their own privilege that allows
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Travel

Travel To Cuba: AirBnB, Casa Particular or Hotels?

Here's the last in the four part video series on my tips for traveling to Cuba. And this is probably the most important, because something going wrong with your lodging can ruin a whole trip. I would strongly recommend that you do NOT stay at hotels. They are overpriced, out of date, and very very few of them really are worth the price they are charging. As with everything, do your research. Not to say that there are no good hotels in Havana, but you can get more bang for your buck + quality with an AirBnB. Get your people
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African DiasporaCultureTravel

My 7 Week Trip to Ghana as an African American

Finally getting around to talking in full, about my trip last year to Ghana, where I spent roughly seven weeks chilling in Accra. Yes it took me forever and a day to get to this, but here we  are.  I originally landed in Ghana, because I was part of an influencer group heading to Togo to the Alaffia compound. For the first week and a half, Hey Fran Hey, Shameless Maya, and Starr, who’s a writer were there with me. We stayed in the Kempinski hotel for the days we were in Ghana. It's a cute luxury hotel that had
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Travel

Travel to Cuba: Is The Food Bad?

Food is so hotly debated in Cuba. Start talking to Americans who have recently travele there and you will quickly start a debate about whether Cuban food is good. Well, Cuban food as we know it in New York City and Miami is absolutely good. The debate is more about if the food in general in Cuba is good. What it is, is that Cuban food when you have access to all the ingredients is great. Have you ever checked the label on your produce items and noticed where your food is being imported from: Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Jamaica, Thailand,
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Travel

Travel to Cuba: All About the Money + That Confusing Exchange Rate

One of the most confusing aspects of traveling to Cuba is converting your American dollars in order to get the best the conversion rate. We're going to take this piece by piece. Let’s first look at the facts, because really a lot of this discussion is opinion and will come down to your personal preferences. The most important fact of them all is that your American bank and debit card will work no where in Cuba. Let me repeat, any sort of payment card with that FDIC logo on the back will not work in Cuba. That means no American debit or
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LifestyleTravel

Travel to Cuba: Catching a Flight + Visa From the United States

Cuba, Cuba! The new destination for Americans after Obama lifted major travel restrictions that have been in place since the United States, under John F. Kennedy placed an embargo on the island of Cuba. I took advantage of very cheap flight prices to spend this past Christmas and New Years basking in the glory of Cuba, and though I typically do a vlog of my whole trip before I give out any tips, since traveling to Cuba is such a hot button topic, I’m getting the tips out first. I loved loved loved Cuba! However, I totally understand Cuban’s frustration
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Travel

The Best Way to Travel With Friends on a Budget

There has definitely been an uptick in travel related content targeted both at young millennials and Black folks at large. Bless Obama’s heart, but that was definitely one of the overlooked perks of his administration: how much more accessible traveling as an American became. Even just in the attitude of how we are received as Americans. It makes total sense the popularity of content around traveling internationally. It looks cute, you’re experiencing new cultures and food, your Instagram pics will be so lit, I mean it is lit to travel abroad! But as much there are ways to travel on a
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Travel

African American in West Africa: First Impressions

I've been in Ghana for going on three weeks, spending a week traveling through Togo and it's already been an amazing experience. So I thought it would be a fun and interesting conversation to talk about my first impressions as an African American in West Africa. In America we take for granted the beautiful shades of dark(er) brown. Travelling through Sokode and Bassar in North Togo, places that are not easily accessible to non-Togolese, I’ve never felt so melanin deficient. Every one is glorious shades of deep dark brown, with various hues of purple, yellow, red undertones. It’s just a random thought that in
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Travel

Solo Travel to Johannesburg, South Africa [Tips & Notes] | #SmartBrownGirl

This past March, due the graces of the Etihad airfare glitch, I traveled to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. It was an awesome trip and I was super happy to finally meet up with my South African #SmartBrownGirls. An unintentional solo trip, I spent five days in Johannesburg and two + half days in Cape Town. Let's cover some of the basics. Airfare I caught a really good sale and was able to score a round trip ticket from NYC to JoBurg for $350. Adding my travel from Houston to NYC, rounded my entire flight up to $520, still a
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