If you’re struggling with planning a baecation for you and your significant other or simply don’t know how, no worries.
In celebration of National Spouse Day (Jan. 26), we caught up with some of our favorite Black traveling couples to hear how they are planning trips and adjusting during the global health crisis.
Rennes and Ola Kesh were in a long-distance relationship after initially meeting as expats in 2015. In 2019, Ola asked for Rennes’ hand in marriage.
As expected from two people who share a passion for traveling, they planned a destination wedding in Mexico and a honeymoon in Bali but like so many people, the pandemic altered their plans.
But Rennes told Travel Noire they’re taking full advantage of what the United States has to offer during this time.
RELATED: From Expats To Engaged: How This Couple Made A Long Distance Relationship Work
“Since the pandemic started we have not traveled outside the United States. We decided to postpone our destination wedding in Mexico and honeymoon in Bali, but we went ahead and got married in New York where we currently reside,” she said. “We are looking forward to welcoming our families (from various countries) to celebrate our wedding and one-year anniversary in Mexico this August, and hopefully taking a much needed and well-deserving baecation and honeymoon.”
Stay up-to-date on their travel journey on Instagram.
Mahdi & Lanaiza met while working for a travel company, which started as taking simple lunch breaks together to lunch and baecaetions abroad. Their favorite country to-date is Thailand because of the hospitality, culture, and adventure.
The couple values creating epic memories and sharing new experiences together, telling Travel Noire, “we learn more about each other the more we are exposed to something outside what we are used to, and we feel like these experiences really bring us closer together.”
So, how are they coping?
“We’ve started gravitating more towards places where we can be outside with nature and away from big crowds. We’ve had to cancel many trips abroad so, we started looking more into domestic travel, which, admittedly, we overlooked many times to go to places further away. With all the lockdowns and restrictions, road trips across the US became our best friends!”
You can follow Mahdi & Lanaiza on their travel journey on Instagram.
Desiree and Marquis met as flight attendants, and now they’re married. It’s been a tough year for the two who not only share a career in the travel industry but also a passion.
RELATED: Black Love: From Flight Attendants To Married Travel Baes
The couple managed to take a few trips both domestically and internationally, spending their most recent trip in Tulum. Here’s some of their advice:
“We make sure to check travel restrictions, quarantine restrictions, and cancellation policies when booking since things are unpredictable. We have always been the type to hope for the best but prepared for the worst so, we are ready when things suddenly change.
Of course we have been playing it safe, wearing our masks, wiping down hotels/Airbnb’s, but we’re also keeping our immune systems in tip-top condition. We take our sea moss, vitamin C, black seed oil, etc. daily! Things are definitely different and interesting when it comes to traveling during this time, but we have been just rolling with the punches. We are determined to keep exploring the world and hope that travel gains some sort of normalcy sooner than later. We are definitely ready to get back at it.”
You can watch their adventures on YouTube and keep up to date on their trips on Instagram.
Siphelele and Tirrell crossed paths by chance during a night out in a small town in Ireland called Carlow. Tirrell added her on Facebook, where they instantly connected, and five years later they are planning on moving overseas together.
Some of their most sentimental trips together were to South Africa and America. Siphelele, born and raised in South Africa, took Tirrell to the Motherland for the first time.
In 2019, Tirrell brought her to the United States to Virginia. It was his first time home in 23 years. He hadn’t seen his American family since moving to Ireland at 9.
It’s fair to say that every country they’ve traveled to has offered a unique and meaningful experience, so adjusting to life in a pandemic has been hard. Still, they’re managing by savoring in their moments abroad through pictures and looking forward to the future.
“The majority of our trips in 2020 were canceled due to the pandemic. We were supposed to go to Miami, Croatia, Portugal and return to South Africa for Christmas. We managed to get away to Mykonos and Italy in August and September. Our travel plans aren’t as spontaneous anymore. They require a lot more planning and researching COVID-19 restrictions because every country has varying restrictions. We plan on traveling more this year. We are trying to plan our fifth-anniversary trip which we’ll probably take later on in the year because most of Europe is on lockdown at the moment. We’re not too sure where we’ll end up, but we know from experience, where there’s a will there’s always a way.”
Follow their love story on Instagram.
