Making the best of the human experience: SOLO travel
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Horseback riding in Jamaica. The guides were flirts of course LOL but he was taking some good pics!!
Pretty obvious Where I was ?! Can you spot me?
Flying to Jamaica
I have been thinking ( always thinking in my head) what is next for my writing? In bed it came to me “Making the best of this human experience , A series. My brain really thinks like this lol. I talked a little bit about The human experience in my previous post . Go check it out . The human experience is the good, the not so good , the challenging and the down right ugly. So the series will allow all of that.
So part 1 of my series is SOLO TRAVEL: I pay rent , bills and Travel SOLO, here’s how I do it in planning less than 3 months.
A part of this came from the influencers who I see are wondering aimlessly around the globe every month and In my mind I’m like,” how yall doing this?” I saw some share “ my job allows me to travel” others said“ I save my money and spend it on travel. In my mind I’m thinking Sis , what about those bills? You paying them and traveling everyyy month?! HOW??! LOL But, deep down a lot of people BE LYING lol theres no other way to put it. Maybe not all of them are lying BUT, Although I have my leave ( A TON) and I am entitled to use it as I please. People are BEING PAID to travel AND ..us average working people are not. Lol HOWEVER, it is doable. So, what is traveling like for us 9-5 folks?!
Let me first preface this by saying I am NOT an expert on this subject. Winging it is my motto.(.* insert* has been because , my money these days are going to a bigger project(experience), I’m super excited about and I will reveal at a later date). I don’t travel as often as I would like because, that is not my reality but 2-4 times a year is my average.
So, I wanted to share my perspective as a single lady paying these not so single bills with a full time job , a puppy dog and how I’ve been able to travel solo without paid sponsorships. It sounds risky and I can’t lie it is lol because every trip from 2018 ( my first trip) I’ve literally “winged it” . I booked my most recent trip to Curacao 2 months in advance. Jamaica was a month in advance and St. Maarten was I believe 2-3 moths in advance. SIs IS LAST MINUTE and being a teacher this is unacceptable especially when we get the full years calendar at the beginning of the school year but I digress because thats my business.
I took my first solo trip ever in 2018 to Jamaica because I love Jamaica and I wish I could go every year but ,I need to see other parts of the world lol. I went to Montego Bay . This was my second time visiting jamaica but first time solo. I was a ball of emotions excited, nervous and wrote in my journal my intentions for the trip. Packing and planning were easy because I was ready to go. However, when I had to call that uber 5:00 in the morning it was pitch black dark and it hit me like nah sis its just you and my nervousness hit me again when I found myself looking for somebody to meet me at the airport because It felt so strange doing this alone. My mom and friends were nervous for me as well and required on the hour updates. The flight was smooth , I slept most of the way and when I landed they welcomed me with my rum punch all was well in the world.
How can I afford it? I have a sugar daddy j/k . My money goes to traveling and experiencing DATS IT. (Bills too ) .Yes, I love to shop and I love nice things but , I love traveling more. I also have a cushion for travel expenses/ experiences that I occasionally do good with saving :-/
I did a live on FB while I was in Jamaica and let my folks know I was safe and when I got back I did another live about my trip and I got asked “ were you scared?” How did you do it?” , and request such as“You will have to plan my next trip” and a lot of people were saying they wanted to do it too.
So , I’m putting my top 11 solo traveling tips all in a live document for you to reference mm k .
Find the flight first. I’ve book vacation packages before ( flight+ hotel) but sometimes, I want to just find a good deal and go from there so , I look at the flights first. Especially during these times (post-ish pandemic) the prices are insane, But, if you find a good deal , that can determine your next vacation. I found a good deal for Curacao and ran with it. If you financially can't book the flight right now, some airlines will allow you to put the flight on hold for up to 14 days to lock in the price.
Find your hotel. If you can't financially get that room yet,find a hotel that will let you book now and pay when you get there and no pentailites for cancellations. Once, you’ve locked in a hotel, double check with the hotel for transportation to and from the airport. I forget to do this sometimes lol
Find all inclusive hotels. . This is the safer option and bang for your buck. You can drink all ya want and not have to worry about those late night uber trips alone. Also , Double check for transportation options to and from the airport. Which leads me to number 4.
Look into renting a car. Remember me always winging it? I actually forgot to double check transportation in Curacao and ended up renting a car as this was the cheaper option because uber prices were insane. BUDGET IN TRANSPORTATION.
Find friendly people who will take all your pics. This is the budget friendly option lol Now influencers have changed the game now you can actually rent local photographers to take all those exclusive flicks.
Check out the local social or websites for local events to do away from the hotel. BEFORE IT GETS DARK.
Make sure you see how the locals live and eat . This is by far my favorite thing to do. The hotel food is cool but have you eaten jerk chicken from a hut?! And fresh cassava right out the coal oven? Or FRESH SNAPPER pulled right out the ocean and cooked right in front of you?It will change your life .
Don’t let strangers know ya business. Don’t tell people you are alone. I always stick with “ My friend is coming in tonight” “I am about to meet my friend and her husband for dinner” “My man is coming down in a few minutes” . Something LOL Unless you want a little international boo don’t say that one …but you know add a little razzle dazzle!
Book your excursions at the hotel . Most international hotels require transportation to have taxi licenses to access the resort so at least you will know these drives are “approved” . You can also use sites like tripadvisor to check the reviews before booking.
On the side of caution! be careful cheaper is not always best! there are a lot of side hustles with the tourist industry and sometime these individuals do not run their business legally, I’ve seen tour buses get pulled over by the police for expired licenses or failure to update their insurance and inspections. The people who booked with these “companies”unfortunately ,are stranded on the side of the road for hours ,often times not able to make it to their excursions and risk a possibility of losing their money due to booking through third party companies.
HAVE FUN and BE SAFE!! Book the days that are within your budget . You don’t have to stay everywhere for 5-6 days. It adds up lol . Go back to number 9 and try to find all day excursions if your time is limited.
Traveling is living . Traveling is the human experience. It doesn't have to be out of the country in fact my last trip was a staycation right in D.C . I work hard and I want my human experience to reflect a life of good times and experiences in between all the working. You deserve that too.
Where to next? It’ll be one of the 50 states , I do want to take the train one day and explore more of the 50 states. I have a few places in mind. I am grateful for this human experience of seeing the world and enjoying my own company. Navigating all the emotions solo traveling brings , feeling confident in my ability to make my own decisions and following my instincts. Who Knows , the next trip might be a little baecation ;-) that one is LONG overdue.
Have you taken a solo trip where did you go? If not Where are you taking your first solo trip? Let me know in the comments.
If you have a friend who you think would appreciate these tips , please share :-)
Had some local eats during the boat ride. 2 friends were traveling together and they were HILARIOUS. We had a goodt time!
Took a boat ride to Anguilla while in St. Maarten
St. MaArteen WAS beautiful!