As a black woman, I’ve always thought about how I’ll be received in any country I visit. It’s a matter of personal safety and well-being.
There are still places in the world where my presence can cause a stir. To be clear, this is not a reason not to travel! It just means I take some time to do my research so I can be prepared for anything I’ll face like intense staring and pointing.
Luckily after years of travel, I’ve had wayyy more positive experiences around the world than negative ones 😁 Here are 3 countries where I felt very comfortable being a black woman wandering around on my own:
1. Costa Rica – I’ve been to Costa Rica twice spending about 2 months total. It’s an absolute welcoming paradise. The locals made me feel at home immediately. On my first trip, I took public buses around the whole country and never felt unsafe.
2. Iceland – I visited in 2016 and was surprised at how kind and open people were despite not having many local people of colour.
3. Japan – I lived and taught in Japan in 2009. While I faced staring and pointing all over the country, including in Tokyo where I lived, I never felt my personal safety was at risk. In fact, many people were just genuinely curious because they had never seen or interacted with anyone that looked like me. I had some cool interactions that started quite awkwardly to say the least 😆
Of course, I’ve felt comfortable in many other countries as well, but if you’re a first-time traveller thinking about some of the things I mentioned, these 3 destinations are good places to start.