When Black Women Travel: 5 Tips You Need

If you haven’t guessed by now, I am a Black women. I am also a Black woman who travels. In the course of the past 4 years I have seen 43 of the 50 US states, 3 European countries, and will be venturing to South America and 5 additional European countries this year. When Black Women Travel, there are a few extra things to pay attention to and I want to address that in this post. Let me know what you think in the comments.

TSA Might be Tripping

Have you seen the article about the body scanners in the airport potentially discriminating against Black women? You can find it right here. It appears that the body scanners have difficulty reading thick hair and head wraps. This means that if you have natural hair like me, wear braids in your hair, or have a wrap on, you are probably more likely to be picked out of the crowd.

Most Black women who travel have had the moment where you are standing in line and watch a bunch of people walk through the scanner just to be stopped and have strangers run their hands through your hair. It isn’t the most bothersome event of going through the security check. However, the more you know, the more you know. It might not be that the workers themselves are discriminating but the machines can’t get a full read of you.

What to Do With Your Hair

I am happy to say that hair is one of the few things that I don’t actually worry about when I am traveling. Not only are there stores that I have been able to find that sell products for Black hair, but there are so many options. I have a friend who packs her wigs for every cruise that she goes on. I have gone on long term trips where I have had no hair, braids, and brought some twisting gel and did my own hair.

If you are traveling to Greece, Italy, or Australia, then I can confirm that there are indeed stores that are geared specifically towards Black hair. I have even found shops that braid hair. Worse comes the worse, you can often find ingredients to make your own products or different oils that should get you through your trip.

You Are Safer Than You Think

I know that the biggest fear that people have regarding traveling solo, or traveling internationally, has to do with safety. I haven’t been to every country that is in the world but I have traveled extensively by myself and safety isn’t even in the top 5 of things that I think about. It makes sense that me saying you will be safe does little to alleviate fear.

What I can say, is that in all of my travels, I have only felt like my safety was in jeopardy once. That has nothing to do with my race. A man had too much to drink and tried to walk me home. Luckily I was able to get back to my Airbnb safe and I never saw him again. Many of the countries where people told me not to go, ended up being filled with incredibly kind and helpful people.

If you are still apprehensive, I have written a post specifically regarding traveling solo and coming back in one piece. You can find it here. You can also read my post about travel safety for Black girls right here.

It’s More Affordable Than You Think

I am not a hater on cruises by any stretch of the imagination and understand that many women think it is the cheapest option for them. I want to challenge that kind of thinking. There are a bunch of ways that you can save money and make travel more affordable.

Have you ever looked into Airbnb for deals on lodging? Have you ever thought of taking a road trip? What about looking into sites like Secret Flying? There are so many ways to make travel a thing if you know where to look. I wrote this one post just about ways to save money on flights.

You can now find sites that will allow you to pay for tickets in installments. There are groups you can join to find travel buddies and reduce your costs. They are also great for finding deals that are available that you haven’t seen. If you just take small steps to save money, you will find that a lot of travel is open to you.

How to Handle Racism

There have been two times where I experienced racism. The first was in Oklahoma City where the hotel staff was obviously very racist. There is also the one time that I was in Naples, Italy and ended up having a brief run in with a woman who wanted to refuse to give me a cannoli. In the span of things, these events barely stand out to me.

The majority of the people that I encounter on my travels are kind and informative. They are great conversationalist and always make me feel comfortable in their city or country. I didn’t see one Black person in Bulgaria and had not one issue. There were practically no Black people when I was in Greece and never had a problem.

I know that safety is a concern and there are some instances where Black women experience racism but I don’t think it is prevalent. I also don’t believe that it is as in your face as racism in America. It might be slower service at a restaurant. There is a chance that someone may try to cut you in line at a tourist site. I have even seen people try to charge more because of a person’s skin color.

I don’t want this to be a deterrent to other Black women. There isn’t one country that I have ever heard of that doesn’t have some form of racism. There is no way to escape nasty people completely. Just as you can find an issue in Italy, you can find an issue in Florida. The doesn’t mean that you can’t rise above that and still have an amazing adventure.

If you think you are being ignored, bring it to someone’s attention. You can tap a person on the shoulder and politely tell them that you were already in line. Raise your hand and ask your waiter if there is an issue with your order. Sometimes it is enough to bring the problem to someone’s attention in order to get it to go away.

There you have it! That is 5 tips to keep in mind for when Black women travel. It you have any questions or comments, drop them below! I love to engage with my followers.