Ladies, Here's The Tea On The Best Places To Travel When We Finally Escape Quarantine
As Told To is a recurring segment on xoNecole where real women are given a platform to tell their stories in first-person narrative as told to a writer.
This is Shakeemah Smith's story, as told to Charmin Michelle.
As an avid solo female traveler, I absolutely cannot wait for my next adventure. And I'm sure that most would agree.
The Rona has us at her mercy, and the entire world is under quarantine until...well, I guess at this point, “further notice". Travel influencers and cabin fever-sufferers alike, are holding their breath, waiting on word that borders have reopened, making room for us all to make a mad dash for customs. Even people with little or no travel experience, will likely follow suit, as I predict that they'll suffer a “quarantine-induced epiphany", alluding them to the fact that they've taken travel for granted until now.
But when borders open, where is everyone headed to?
I wanna know, let's talk about it.
My name is Shakeemah Smith, affectionately known as The Passport Abuser, or your Expert Globetrotter. I've visited over 50 countries as a female solo traveler—which all evolved from the hundreds of times I grew frustrated with waiting on friends to travel with me.
I'm also Founder of "Travel Like A Bawse", an online course that focuses on teaching women the art of mastering solo world travel with confidence, safely, and without draining your bank account.
And with this being said, since the pandemic, I'm often asked to advise on what countries would be best to travel to when the world opens back up, so I decided to create a list of my personally approved places where we can vacation with ease.
When compiling this list, (and sitting around daydreaming of getting my next passport stamp), I considered the following three things:
- COVID cases in each country. I instead researched which countries/territories had the least amount of cases, yet were still open to tourism.
- Flight Prices. Because, of course.
- And how far away from home I wanted to travel once borders open. Extremely international travel is not something I would recommend, at least not for a while. There's too much uncertainty in place at the time, and I predict that that uncertainty is likely to hover for the remainder of the year. If you can't stay local, stay close.
And with considering all of the above, I focused my post-Rona travels list on the Caribbean. I mean, the weather is heavenly, the beaches are divine. The Caribbean would be a naturally perfect fit. What's even more amazing, when doing my research, data shows that COVID did not have a huge surge of cases at all in the region. And these countries are all also under five hours flying time from NYC.
So, pack those bags, sis! Here are the best, and safest, places to travel once allowed:
Aruba
Aruba is the first country in the Caribbean to announce its reopening, and plans to open between June 15th and July 1st. Flights to Aruba from NYC can be purchased for the first week of June for as little as $175. The country has also only had a mere 101 confirmed cases of COVID in the entire country.
Belize
Belize was the last country in all of the Americas to receive its first confirmed case of coronavirus. To date, Belize has only had 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the entire country, and is set to reopen its borders on July 1.
Nicaragua
Surprisingly, despite the pandemic, Nicaragua's borders have remained open since the onset of the first confirmed case of COVID in the country. Despite not closing its borders, Nicaragua only has 25 confirmed COVID cases to date, and tickets can be purchased for as little as $90 for the second week in July.
Puerto Rico and Hawaii
If you're ready to cure your cabin fever, but you're not ready to risk international travel, tropical paradise still awaits in Hawaii, or the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Starting June 1st, Hawaii will reopen its borders to out-of-state residents, and Puerto Rico, will lift their 14-day quarantine requirement for tourists on May 25th.
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For more advice and travel tips from Shakeemah, you may follow her on Instagram at @thepassportabuser. You may also learn more about her next adventure and opportunities by visiting her website.
If you have a story you'd like to share but aren't sure about how to put it into words, contact us at submissions@xonecole.com with the subject "As Told To" for your story to be featured.
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Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
Exclusive: Melanie Fiona On Making High-Vibrational Music & Saying Yes To Partnership
Melanie Fiona is back! After taking a little more than a decade-long hiatus, she has officially made her return to music and blessed us with two singles, “Say Yes” and “I Choose You.” While both singles are very different from each other, they both reflect who she is today and the type of music she wants to make. In our conversation, the mom of two expressed what she learned during her time away.
“It's interesting, even when I said it is like coming back, I don't ever feel like I really left because I was always still performing. I've still been public. It's not like I went into being this recluse person or version of myself, but the thing that I really learned in this process is that I think things take time,” Melanie says in a xoNecole exclusive.
“I think often we're so caught up in it, being on the timing of demand or popularity, or, like, striking while the iron is hot and the thing that I've learned is that everything is on God's time. That's it. Every time I thought I would have been ready, or, like, things were taking too long, I had to reship some things, personally, professionally, in my life. I also gave myself permission to make a living, not just make a living, but make a life for myself.”
Making a life for herself included getting married to Grammy-nominated songwriter Jared Cotter, starting a family, and embracing new landscapes, such as podcasting as a co-host of The Mama’s Den podcast. She also began doing more spiritual work and self-care practices like meditation, sound healing, Reiki, acupuncture, and boundary setting, which allowed her to get in touch with her inner voice.
“I wasn't putting out music, and I wasn't experiencing a number one record, but I was being a number one mom,” she says.
“I was experiencing things that were allowing me to heal and get in touch with myself so that I could make new music from a space of joy and freedom, and excitement again because I definitely feel like I did lose some excitement because of just politics and industry and what it can do to your mental health and even your physical health. So giving myself the space to really just say, ‘Hey, it's okay. Everything's right on time.’”
The joy and excitement are felt in one of two new singles, “I Choose You,” which is more of a lovers rock vibe, a tribute to Melanie’s Caribbean roots. While the Grammy award-winner is known for ballads like “It Kills Me” and “Fool For You,” she is becoming more intentional about the music she makes, calling it high-vibrational music. She says her music is a “reflection of my life,” as it captures every facet, from hanging out with friends to riding around in her car.
“Say Yes” has the classic R&B vibe Melanie is known for. However, both songs are inspired by her relationship. Melanie and Jared got married in December 2020, and the Toronto-bred artist dished on their relationship. Fun fact: he is featured in the “Say Yes” music video.
“When we first started dating, I had come into that relationship post a lot of self-work. I had gotten out of a long-term relationship, I had a year and a half to date and be by myself and do a lot of work on myself alone. And when we met, I remember feeling like this has to be my person because I feel it,” she says.
“And so when we went into that relationship, and we started dating, I was very clear. I was like, I know what I want. I'm very clear on what I need, and I'm not going to withhold my truth about myself in this process because of pride or fear of rejection. I know you love me, but I'm coming with my heart in my hand to let you know that if we're gonna get there, we have to put fear aside and say yes. So that was kind of like my open letter to him, which is why the video is us having a conversation.”
Melanie also shares that saying yes to her partner has empowered her in many ways, including motherhood and showing up for herself. Her new EP, also titled Say Yes, will be available at the top of 2025.
Check out the full interview below.
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Feature image by Franco Zulueta
Serena Williams Hits Back At Skin-Bleaching Accusations: 'I’m A Dark, Black Woman, And I Love Who I Am'
Serena Williams is clapping back at skin-bleaching accusations. During a makeup tutorial for her beauty brand, Wyn Beauty, the tennis legend took the opportunity to address the "haters."
“And then I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color, and no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin,” she said. “There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors.”
The rumors started after the mom of two posted a video of herself and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, at their daughter's school play. In the video, she appeared to look a few shades lighter. During her response, she revealed that she was volunteering at the play and wore stage makeup.
“Yes, I’m calling you out on this because it is ridiculous that everyone’s like, ‘Oh, she bleached her skin,’" she said. "I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look and that's just not my thing.”
The 23-time Grand Slam champion also said that she doesn't judge anyone who bleaches their skin as she "stays in my lane."
Serena has always had style on and off the court, and even collaborated with Nike with her own collection Serena Williams Design Crew. However, the tennis champ has now pivoted into beauty.
Wyn Beauty was launched in April 2024 with at 10-piece collection of lip, eye, and complexion products. The brand was inspired by Serena's time on the court and the packaging is reminiscent of a tennis ball due to its chartreuse color.
“Throughout my career, I was always searching for makeup that looked good after hours on the court, mixing products myself and creating my own formulas while traveling the world,” she said in a statement. As she continues to make a name for herself in the beauty industry, I'm sure we will see a lot more looks from the tennis star.
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Feature image by Marc Piasecki/WireImage