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Travel Crush Tuesday: The Ultimate Baecation Guide (PART 1)
Checkout Part 2 of the Guide HERE.
Photo Source: Instagram and Couples
Welcome to Travel Crush Tuesday!
Over here, we are still spreading the love by giving you more to love! This week our Travel Crushes come in pairs as we celebrate Black love and our favorite topic, travel. A total of seven couples came together to provide us with the ultimate baecation guide in this two part blog series. Ready to feel the feels? Let's meet our first four couples!
Dominique & Tonzel
Introduce yourself and provide us with a little background on your relationship.
We are Tonzel & Dominique. We met in during college; he slid into the DM. We had one date; we have been inseparable ever since. We have been together for 10-years, we'll celebrate 7-years of marriage in July of 2022. I work as a program manager at a local CCBHC. My husband works as a DC Manager for a large farm and ranch company. We also own a travel agency, Wanderlust Travel US. We reside in East Texas (HOW 'BOUT THEM COWBOYS!).
Share with us the first time you and your partner traveled together.
I planned our first trip visiting San Antonio, TX. I went all out on SeaWorld tickets, only to find out he is terrified of heights. He was down for everything; except getting on a roller coaster. Still, we had an incredible time in San Antonio. We strolled the beautiful river walk, checked out all the tourist traps, visited the Alamo, and ate delicious food.
In your opinion, what is the most romantic baecation destination?
I would have to say Jamaica. We've been around the world, but there's no place like Jamaica. From the moment the plane lands, time slows down. The colors are vibrant, the history is rich, the people are beautiful, the beaches and waterfalls are stunning, and the food is delicious! Reggae and romance are in the air everywhere you go.
What was the moment you realized your partner was a good travel partner?
I knew my husband was a great travel partner when I saw that he was willing to try new things. To this day, my husband hates heights. Still, I notice him getting out of his comfort zone. From walking out on the "Hand" at Hobbitenango in Guatemala to taking a ride on the Telefèric de Montjuïc in Barcelona; he is willing to try new things.
What is your advice to couples about to travel together for the first time?
I suggest taking a shorter domestic trip. This will help you get a feel for your partner's travel style before you visit the other side of the world with them. You will learn if your partner is an early riser, thrill-seeker, photographer, or foodie.
For more couple content, where can folks find you other than Instagram? (optional)
You can find us at @wandergirld & @tonzeleckford (he's an IG Newbie). We're traveling to Egypt in a few weeks; tune in to our stories to travel with us.
Vivienne and Hilain
Introduce yourself and provide us with a little background on your relationship.
Our names are Vivienne & Hilain Hector but we go by The Love Geeks. We met each other in 2016 at a nightclub on the lower east side in New York City while celebrating our graduations. Accompanied by friends, we ended up talking the night away and abandoning our friends, who were pretty annoyed at us, but the connection was too genuine to care. The club turned into breakfast, then into a first date, and the rest was history. We've been pretty much inseparable since that night we met 6 years ago. The beginning of our dating experience was filled with lots of fun, adventurous dates and spending lots of quality time together. Our first trip / baecation together was a year into our courtship. We kept it simple and went to Charleston, South Carolina for Valentine's Day. What inspires us to travel together is our love for new adventures and experiences. We both come from families that stay pretty close to the norm. We are the ones in our family who step outside of the box, and it is often reflected in some of our weekend travel locations like Annapolis, MD, Manchester, VT and Machimoodus, CT. We value experiences with one another more than we do material things.
What is your favorite thing about traveling with your partner?
My favorite thing about traveling with Hilain is always having someone there to bounce ideas off of. A Lot of the time when traveling, I'm trying something new that I've never tried before. It can be hard when you're by yourself to step outside of your comfort zone, so having him by my side as a supportive figure to say " yea let's try this, or yes that would be cool, and being able to find solace in familiarity while trying new things is important.
My favorite thing about traveling with Vivienne is simply just having someone I share an intimate connection with, my best friend, there to share experiences with. There's no one else I'd love to travel with more than her. Because we're good friends, we can enjoy more than intimate things, like excursions.
Traveling with your partner feels like one long date sometimes. The vibe is very different from traveling with friends who might have different personalities, and views on how they'd like their trip to go. The best nights are when you both look at each other, and agree to skip half the itinerary that you had planned and lay up and talk about whatever for however long in a location that you're both experiencing for the first time.
Share with us a time you had to navigate a tough travel situation together.
A time when we had to navigate a tough travel situation is actually the very picture that got us here to this point. The viral picture of our honeymoon actually started out a complete mess. We were scheduled to leave the morning after our wedding. Our flight was pretty early, but we had some errands to run before making our way to the airport. We very quickly realized that we had underestimated our travel time and were racing to get to the airport. We arrived in time for our flight, but the signs at the airport were confusing and it was our first time flying first class. We ended up waiting in an incorrect line, only to get to the correct line to be told we were 3 minutes late for the checked baggage cut off and would not be able to board our flight. That was a really hard experience after having our dream wedding, and realizing that no one else but us cared that it was our honeymoon. It was just another day at work for the gate agent, and apparently a bad one. We ended up having to rebook a flight there at the airport but things got really crazy. Typically Vivienne is the executor, and naturally she jumped into fix it mode. Moving us to new lines, rebooking tickets, calling ubers, driving to a different airport. Hilain was pretty much in a state of shock, but eventually he became the brawns and got us moving with our luggage and physically handling all of baggage while the rebooking process ensued. Whatever one of us is lacking, the other usually picks up, so in high stress situations, we sort of just jump into action and support one another while trying to rectify. We ended up finally getting a new flight after spending an extra $500 and 2 uber rides. The night ended in the Virgin Islands at 9pm on the deck of our airbnb, popping a bottle of champagne in the dark.
Do you have a baecation destination or activity you wouldn't recommend to couples?
We don't have anything we wouldn't recommend, but we do have an activity that we would recommend. When we travelled to Puerto Rico, Vivienne booked us on a Night time Kayaking Tour in the Condado Lagoon. The destination was to the middle of the bio bay to view all of the bioluminescent creatures in the darkness in the middle of the water. The kayaks were set for two individuals. The smaller individual must be in the front of the boat to balance the weight. The first thing we learned during his experience was that we had ego and deference issues. This type of activity really exposes the crux of your communication issues, because the boat will not move unless you both are moving in sync. We figured out that there were serious cracks in our communication, with Hilain in the back not trusting me to guide and lead the kayak. Were both giving instructions at the same time, yelling happened, and stress ensued as it started to get darker. Getting into the mangrove was very hard. But on the way back out, we got it together and found our groover. We watched so many other couples around us go through it, even flipping out of their kayaks because they couldn't agree on their next move. It was very unforgiving, but it forced us to move as a unit, and learn how to communicate and respect each other's positions.
What is your advice to couples about to travel together for the first time?
Our advice for couples traveling together for the first time is to take it slow and have fun. Don't place unrealistic expectations on your travel based on what you see on social media and on tv. Craft the trip around both of your interests and make it unique to your partnership. Plan your itineraries together, and make sure that you're both happy with the level of activity or lack of activity. Pack early, don't miss your flight, and remember to be malleable. Travel is very complicated and can become high stress very quickly. Make sure you have a backup plan if something doesn't work, and remember that you should be supporting one another through all new experiences.
For more couple content, where can folks find you other than Instagram?
To find more content from us you can find us on youtube. Our couples channel is TheLoveGeeks https://www.youtube.com/thelovegeeks. Vivienne also has her own personal channel which is https://www.youtube.com/veebanxx
Kendell and Suzette
Introduce yourself and provide us with a little background on your relationship.
Hello this is Kendell and Suzette Mauzon, we have been together for 18 years. We have three beautiful children, we met in college and we are enjoying the life that we built together. When we got married we decided we wanted to travel the world and we wanted to make it to 100 countries. So far we have visited 58 countries and that has been our inspiration to continue traveling and to continue having fun together.
Where did you and your partner have your first baecation? What was that experience like?
Our first vacation was on our honeymoon. We did a Caribbean cruise and absolutely fell in love with cruising and the ability to visit different countries in one trip. On that trip we visited Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands and Costa Maya, Mexico. Because of that experience, we are Diamond members with Royal Caribbean.
Has traveling enabled you to learn new things about your partner and yourself?
Yes, this experience taught me that Kendell is definitely the planner and I’m the partner who is willing to participate in all the fun activities no questions asked.Yes, I have learned that Suzette hates taking pictures. I learned to be patient and encouraging during our travels to get great pictures.
Where are you going for your next baecation and what are you looking forward to most?
We are actually on a vacation right now in Montego Bay, Jamaica or next vacation will be Budapest, Vienna and Prague. On that upcoming trip, we’re really looking forward to visiting the cities, learning about the history, and actually being in those places that we read about.
What is your advice to couples about to travel together for the first time?
Our advice to any couple that will be traveling together for the first time would be to first be honest about your likes and dislikes and then plan accordingly. One thing we always do is create an itinerary before we arrive at our destination, that way we know what we want to do and we have all these mapped out so we can maximize our vacation.
For more couple content, where can folks find you other than Instagram?YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/KendellsTravelLife
Facebook: https://facebook/kendells.travellife
Satoa and Hebert
Introduce yourself and provide us with a little background on your relationship.
(Satoa’s talking) Hi and thanks for having us we are Hebert & Satoa Raymond of@les_deux_aventures we live in Atlanta, Georgia we have been together 14 years and 11 years married. Hebert is Haitian and I am Liberian-American.
Do you and your partner have the same travel style?
( Satoa’s talking)We do have the same travel style we like to book Caribbean vacations on the beach relaxing doing touristy things lol. (Satoa’s talking) I am the one who likes to book all travel it’s my favorite thing to do plan trips. (Hebert’s talking) Some places I have never heard of and Satoa knows all the places, so I just follow her lead. For instance, I had never heard of Aruba before so she kept bothering me saying we should go. I thought it was not a safe place even though I never heard of this country, but we went, and I was proven wrong. It’s beautiful in Aruba I had a great time. It has the top 10 best drinking water in the world.
Were you both avid travelers or did one person's passion for travel become a shared passion?
We both became avid travelers together. (Hebert’s talking) Satoa did not have her passport. (Satoa’s talking) Yes, I did not get my passport until 2018 I kept bugging hebert until I finally got my passport and our first travel out of the U.S was Puerto Rico. Our favorite place is Haiti people think haiti is not beautiful, but it really is we’ve been to 11 countries so far and Haiti is at the top of the list beautiful beaches and great food nice people I suggest you visit or have someone plan the trip for you. Cap Haitian is one of the best places to visit if you are going to Haiti. (Satoa’s talking) We have a YouTube vlog my first time in haiti it has accumulated over 42,000 views I guess everyone wants to know more about Haiti.
What makes your partner the perfect travel buddy?
(Hebert’s talking) we have the same taste in traveling and in food we fight for the same food hahaha we love the ocean and meeting new people new culture and I’m always comfortable with my wife anywhere, so I do not travel anywhere by myself. (Satoa’s talking) I love to travel with my husband I feel safe, and I can drag him to do things he may not want to do lol because he loves me he’ll do it 😊 to make me happy.
What effect has travel had on your relationship?
It makes us see things differently don’t listen to the news about traveling to a particular Country go see for yourself do your research watch YouTube videos on it if anyone has visited said place.
What is your advice to couples about to travel together for the first time?
(Satoa’s talking) Always plan and budget, (Hebert’s talking) always have
your plan B you can always plan but it may not work the way you planned
it so just be flexible. If you don’t trust your partner don’t travel.
For more couple content, where can folks find you other than Instagram?
(Satoa’s talking) you can find us on YouTube and Instagram @les_deux_aventures
More #CoupleGoals
Still feeling lovey dovey? Don't worry we've got more love to give. Meet our last three couples and finish The Ultimate Baecation Guide HERE.
Also in Travel & Slay | The BlackTravelBox® Blog
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Ready to keep your hair looking fabulous on the go? We know that traveling can be a bit rough on the hair, especially when you're hopping between different climates and accommodations. So, what’s the best way to protect your hair while you’re catching some Zs?
Let's dive into the great debate: silk pillowcases vs. bonnets.
We’ll break down the pros and cons, spill some tea on the public bonnet debate, and help you decide which is the best for your next adventure.
The Ultimate Guide to Silk Eye Masks for Travelers
Whether you're catching a red-eye flight or trying to get some shut-eye in a bustling hotel, a silk eye mask can be a game-changer. Let’s dive into why our 100% mulberry silk, weighted eye masks are a must-have travel accessory and how they can help you rest and relax no matter where your adventures take you.
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The Best Selling Starter Kit
All the essentials for hair and body care made for life on the go, with travel friendly packaging and formulations that make packing, carrying (on), and using them simple and easy.
Checkout Part 2 of the Guide HERE.
Photo Source: Instagram and Couples
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