I loved my time in Aruba! It’s a beautiful Dutch Caribbean island which is drivable. Most people rent a car but I didn’t. I want solely to relax and take it easy on the beach. It’s very tourist friendly and takes U.S. currency. Locals speak 4 or more languages (Spanish, English, Dutch, Papiamento). Palm beach and eagle beach is a must go. If you really want to relax, stay at boutique hotel close to the beach or just stay at a resort which is pricier. For the 4 nights I visited, I stayed a 2 boutique hotels, 1 resort and a boat and breakfast. Yes, a boat on a marina, just to add some adventure to the mix. Also as a solo traveler, I wanted to stay somewhere social for the first night and I met a friend which I hung out with for then rest of my trip. We had a photo shoot by the Divi Divi trees, dinner at West deck beach Bar and island grill and went to rennasance Private island. Dinner and nightlife at MooMba on sundays. I found my accommodations on Airbnb and booking.com. I purposely wanted 4 unique places to stay but for true relaxation, 1 place is perfect. I got a massage by the beach by Spa del Sol at manchebo beach which I also recommend if you want a peaceful beach. Taxi’s were not the most reliable as later in the nights, I waited a long time for a taxi on 2 occasions, but if you’re close to a resort or shopping center, they can usually fetch you one easily.

Lima is a great bustling city. I love how exotic this place was! I visited for a week during a mission trip. This place is romantic and fun. I went hang gliding off a cliff with a professional of course. Go to Lacomar and see the beach by the plaza. There’s restaurants there as well. Walk through Parque Kennedy. There’s also opportunists to go on excursions to Ica and Cusco. I went on a boat tour and saw Nazca lines and sea lions. I went to a Pisces vineyard, crushed some grapes and had a tasting. In Huacachina, I went sandboarding and rode in a dune buggy. Word of caution, be very careful of the taxi drivers, if you don’t know who they are, you can get kidnapped. Don’t just jump into any taxi, make sure they are safe and walk in groups. They use peruvian peso, 1=.30 cents in U.S. There’s a lot of casinos around the town, and easy access to food. I usually try to eat what the locals eat so the food was very tasty and flavorful.

I visited Florence during my month long euro trip in September. It’s a very romantic and artistic place to travel. If you like to ride bikes, rent a bicycle and ride throughout the town. There is plenty to see and interesting conversations to be had. There are many squares that I stumbled upon with artists drawing, painting, playing music and putting on shows. I even found a moulin rouge inspired art festival. I wondered upon Giotto’s Campanile and Baptistery of St. John, which are absolute masterpieces and you’ll appreciate them if you love cool buildings. They also have wonderful cobblestone streets. Go see the Florence cathedral. Stop by the famous buildings that overlook the water and beautiful bridges called Ponte Vecchio. They had a lot of jewelry shops inside and you can buy souvenirs and antiques.

My experience in Havana as a black solo female traveler was quite surreal because I felt so safe and comfortable. I stayed at Cuba 58 Hostel in La Habana Vieja for 6 nights. Fábrica de Arte Cubano is the place to go for modern nightlife. Talk to the locals and see what they do for fun etc. Los Nardos is the place that locals eat on special occasions, so go and wait in the long line because it’s worth it. Eating at the small tourist shops with burgers etc will be of poorer quality and very cheap. Be careful of some unofficial locals may offer to take you around and go out to eat but then expect you to pay for meals and for their services. Once you suspect that is happening, you can always say no and walk away. The government ensures that weapons or drugs are tightly regulated and restricted, so you can roam all hours of the night without worry. Cubans vary in skin tone, many locals have dark skin and what I would consider as black. Everyone was extremely friendly and I never felt threatened. I asked a local tour guide, who was showing us about old and new Havana, if blacks are especially targeted in Cuba or if there is any discrimination such as I experienced in the Dominican Republic (in regards to Haitians) and other countries. He laughed, as he did not understand why anyone would “fight their brother” or any Cuban regardless of skin color. From his understanding, everyone there was solely Cuban and had the duty to take care of each other. No one is treated differently or in an unfair way. He explained that it is also very common for interracial couples to exist with no trouble of cultural acceptance. This is something I kept inquiring locals about and I received a similar response each time. The fact that they could not even comprehend why there could be any issues between races already says a lot about the culture in general.