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Travel update: Where I’m off to this spring and summer

BY ONEIKA RAYMOND

I’m travelling a lot over the next few months. Read on to find out where!

Remember when I said that in 2017 I would travel less and stay home more?

Well, apparently I lied.

*welp*

I mean, it’s not like I didn’t try– March and April for were quiet for me travel-wise and I needed it.  With the exception of a short girls’ trip to St. Lucia and two trips home to Toronto for my new TV gig, I pottered around New York City, discovering new neighbourhoods and eating my face off at brunch spots in nearly every borough (those who watch my Instagram Stories can TOTALLY vouch for this, especially the eating part).

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At Corona Park in Queens, NY a few weeks ago

But, as much as I enjoyed getting to know my new home more intimately, the travel itch was always lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be scratched.  And who am I to defy the call of nature?!?

The result, of course, is an itinerary that will take me through a slew of destinations over the next few months, a good number of which I’ve never been to before.  I’m not gonna lie: even though I was feeling tired and jaded at the top of the year (blame it on having travelled to 27 countries in 2016),  I’m super excited for what’s to come! Here’s where I’m off to:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Some of you already know that I’ll be giving a keynote address here, at the Women In Travel Summit.  Milwaukee has never been on my radar, but this is the perfect excuse to explore the city while I’m there! Any tips? I head there tomorrow!

Toronto, Canada

I’ve already shared that I have a monthly travel segment on CTV’s news program Your Morning. The studio’s in Toronto, so I’ll continue to head up to my hometown to tape my segment every few weeks.  My next appearance is on May 3rd!

Belize

Liebling and I will be spending a few days in this nation, which, despite being located in Central America, is steeped in Caribbean/West Indian culture.  As someone of Jamaican heritage, I’m super interested to see what it’s like.

Venice, Italy

While I never need an excuse to visit Italy (I’ve been 6 times and my most recent stay was in October, when I hit up Bologna), the cancellation of an event I was scheduled to speak at in Portugal left me with a few days to explore before my next assignment (see below).  While I considered a few other options, I kept being drawn to the romance and beauty of Venice, a city I’ve never been to before.  I can already see myself in the gondola…

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In Rome, back in 2013

Germany

I’ll be in Germany on assignment with the German National Tourist Organization, producing a number of videos and articles showcasing the ties between Canadian and German culture.  Will anyone be in Bremerhaven, Stuttgart, Kassel, Frankfurt, or Berlin from May 14-24?  If so, message me! I’d love to meet you!

Azerbaijan. Georgia. Ukraine

After Germany, I’ll be gallivanting around a region that’s fascinated me for a long time.  With only a week to spare, it’ll be a really quick trip (you know I’m a fan of “fast travel”), but super fun.  I’ll be in Baku and Tbilisi for three days each before spending 36 hours in Kiev on my way back to New York City.

Baku
Baku, Azerbaijan. Source

Orlando, Florida, USA

I haven’t been to Orlando since I was a kid living it up at Disney World.  This visit, however, will see me speak on a panel about travel at BlogHer, one of the biggest and best conferences for online content creators who are female.  Anybody else going?

Haiti

Expensive plane fares and inconvenient flight schedules from NYC have kept me from travelling to Haiti for long enough! Liebling and I are heading there for five days at the beginning of July.  The current plan is start in Port-au-Prince then hit up Jacmel and the surrounding area.  Intel appreciated!

Haïti 2015_16: Bidonville Sunset
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Source

Paris, France. Marrakech, Morocco.

My mom and I try to do a trip together every year and this July we’re going to Paris and Morocco for 10 days!  Y’all know about my love affair with the City of Lights (I’ve been over 10 times!) so it’ll be great to return with my mom in tow.  After a few days, we’ll hop a plane to Marrakech, where we’ll surely get lost in the medinas and drink mint tea until we burst.  While I’ve been to Morocco twice before, it was years ago (2004 and 2006!) and when I was a broke student. I’m thus excited to experience it differently this time around!

Barcelona, Spain. Andorra. Berlin, Germany.

When my mom heads back to Canada, I’ll hop on a plane to Barcelona, where I’ll hang out for a couple days before stepping foot in my 100th country: Andorra!  This petite principality is about a three hour bus ride from Barcelona, and constitutes a relatively easy day trip, so I figured why not go?! After that I’ll fly to Berlin for a wedding.

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At the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, back in 2012

Miami, Florida, USA

Liebling and I haven’t been to Miami for YEARS so we’re taking advantage of reasonably priced plane tickets and flying there for an extended weekend in August.  Some time in South Beach as well as in Wynwood (the area with all the great street art) is definitely on the agenda.

Brazil. Argentina. Paraguay.

Liebling and I will embark on a massive 2.5 week tour of South America this September! We’ll be going to Brazil and Argentina (favourite countries of mine– I spent a week in Rio and Salvador de Bahia in 2015 and two weeks in Buenos Aires back in 2008) and Paraguay, which neither one of us have been to before.

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Rio, in 2015

These next few months are going to be pretty hectic, but extremely fun.  If I’ve learned anything over the last little while, it’s that time waits for no one.  So I’m seizing the day and making some travel dreams happen while I have the finances and the freedom.  As Rihanna wisely sang, “Live ya life!”

Interested in coming along for the ride? Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for real-time updates of my travels!

Read more:

–How I afford to travel

–Travel for less: How to find glitch fares

–9 tips for solo travel if you’re a girl

–How to meet people when you travel solo

–Why I travel without my husband

–The truth about travel blogging + advice for newbies

Are you travelling this spring and summer?  Where to?  And which of the destinations above are you interested in reading about?

SHARING IS CARING

133 Comments

  • Wait, wait, wait! You are going everywhere this Summer and two of my favorites, Belize and Haiti! But you still haven’t had a meetup in NYC yet!! I’m super jealous of the flyer miles that you are accruing this year. Haha! Can’t wait to see your Instastories!

    • Omg Trudy I knowwwww! What’s been stopping me is lack of a location! Do you know of a good place? Perhaps in Midtown for a meetup?? Somewhere fairly easy going and relaxed?

      • Maybe Time Warner Center by Central Park, Bryant Park, or Grand Central Station, if you are meeting in midtown in Summer. If you want to meet further downtown you could meet at Madison Square Park, Union Square, or Washington Square Park. I’m thinking large spaces in case there are too many people meeting. There are always great restaurants in the area of each of these spots.

    • Ooh maybe I will do a meetup! Do you know of a good spot?

      • Yes, I second that. I would love to meet up with you in Miami. Also, your segment was helpful!

  • You cannot miss the historical north of Haiti! Please please please head to Cap Haitien and Milot! Trust me!

    • Awww Anne I wish I could make it up there! Tickets were so expensive to Cap Haitien! Next time!

  • Lovely trips you have planned for the summer!
    Kiev was actually my fave out of the cities I visited in Ukraine: It gave me that déjà-vu feel as I found so many similarities with my hometown, Nairobi.
    Kiev as well had stunning colourful architecture, and a great underground network.
    The highlight for me was the Mother of the Motherland statue; it was MASSIVE and atop a hill so one could view the whole city from that location.
    Happy travels Oneika!

    • I remember following your Eastern European adventures with your daughter! Will check out your blog for more tips!

  • Where in Belize are you going to stay at? Placencia? If so, then try to do a day trip further South towards Punta Gorda. It’s typically a stop that most backpackers make to take the ferry over to Guatemala, but this is where you will find Garifuna culture. It’ll be similar to Jamaican culture as you have been told. You can also experience a tiny bit of Garifuna culture on Caye Caulker, but most of it is found in Southern Belize. Any other major plans for Belize? Or is it more of a quick R&R trip for you and the Hubby?

    • Sadly the trip is both a quick hop and a chance for some R&R with the hubs before I jet off and leave him for the rest of the month. 🙂

  • Wowwww, that’s an amazing list! I’m really excited to read about Haiti because it’s not traditionally seen as a tourist destination.

    Enjoy all of your trips, I look forward to reading about all those destinations.

    My own list looks a lot less exciting: I’m going to Hamburg to visit family in the first week of May, and then I plan to go to Warsaw in June, Malta in July, and Sofia in August. We’ll see if I actually make all of those happen. 🙂

    • Hamburg sounds amazing! My husband loves the city. Also, one of my close friends JUST moved to Warsaw and is loving it. Hoping to make it there soon.

    • I would LOVE that! My middle name is Ikeja. 🙂 Tried to go last year but was advised that I should visit with a Nigerian friend!

  • Oneika,
    You have inspired me so much over the years. Your trips sound amazing! I’ve just returned from Barcelona a few days ago! What an awesome experience. I went on a three country tour, and one of the places we visited was Andorra! Beautiful little country!

    • Cool! What did you think of Andorra? What did you see?

  • Hi Oneika,

    Did you blog about your trip to Salvador de Bahia? I would love to read about it. It’s on my bucket list! You inspire me so!

    • I haven’t but you’re reminding me that I need to! Thank you!

  • I’ll be at BlogHer this year can’t wait to see you again, it’s been a long time! 🙂

    • So loving to have sat down to pow wow with you today!

  • Oh my god, so much travelling! About Venice: don’t make the mistake to stick to the most touristy areas without venturing into less crowded (but equally beautiful areas) like Madonna dell’Orto. I have a few posts in my blog about this! 🙂

  • I think you are going to love Milwaukee! I live here and would love to show you around if you have time. A few suggestions (I notice a few are already part of the conference schedule, but worth your time)…

    – Lakefront Brewery (especially for Friday Night Fish Fry)
    – Joan of Arc Chapel (on Marquette University’s campus; a beautiful 15th century chapel moved brick by brick from France)
    – River West Neighborhood: Company Brewing; Linnemans for live music
    – Lakefront! Especially Lakeshore State Park

    And the BUCKS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! You could see NBA games tonight (Thursday) or Saturday evening. Great weekend to visit.

    • Thanks for all the recs! The Bucks actually played the Raptors last night (and I think they crushed them, eek)!
      I don’t know how much sightseeing I’ll get to do, sadly, but I’m hoping I will get to see the lakefront at the very least!

  • Wow! So many places! And 100 countries?! I will probably never go to 100 countries (and I’m not sure I’d actually want to) but I enjoy following along via your blog to see your pictures and hear your perspective. We just got back from Venice and rode the gondola (we paid 80 euro) and had so much fun. It really is a beautiful city. Our next stop is Berlin in June. Enjoy your travels.

  • Wow Oneika, them legs be strutting all over this summer. Personally, I may take a trip to Bermuda to celebrate my birthday later in the year. I am not doing too much travelwise this year, and I am inclined to stay on my own continent. I was in Panama in March, lovely place. Looking forward to your travel stories.

  • I love love loved Tbilisi. You will eat and drink very well (and cheap)! A hike up to Narikala fortress is a must for the views of the city, and the Georgian bathhouse was a… unique… experience. 😉 I love the insanely vast bazaar near the Sadguris Moedani metro stop (metro is so so cheap and plenty of English signage) – buy churchkhela (great snack for travel days), and wind your way into the back alleys for some chacha.

  • I saw a picture of Copenhagen attached to this post and I was hoping you would come here! Would have loved to meet you 🙂

  • My fiance travels to Germany three times a year for work. The next time he goes, which is this summer, I definitely plan on going.

    I’ve visited several of the places you plan on going and you are going to have a fabulous summer. I visited Paris three years ago in June and it was the end of their rainy season. I wasn’t a very happy camper because of the cold temps and rainy season. Although we spent 4 days there, I feel like I need to return for a ‘summer’ visit.

    We visited Barcelona last February for a weekend…which wasn’t enough time. We actually spent five days in Madrid and took a 45 minute plane ride over to Morrocco which was FABULOUS!! But that’s another story. The point is I definitely plan on traveling to Barcelona again to really tour the city and neighborhood.

    And I’m so jealous…I wish I had blogger friends to travel with! Enjoy your summer!

    http://www.keepingupwithcandy.com

  • Can’t wait to read about your adventures in South America! I am hoping to plan a South America trip next year and Argentina is one of the destination I would love to visit.

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