Travel Safety ( A 3-part Series)

Part 2: Vetting Tourist Companies & Staying Safe Beyond the Brochure

Some places feel safe because they look familiar. After all, brochures are curated for comfort, and influencers sell joy in bite-sized reels. But for travelers rooted in ancestral memory, safety is deeper than optics. It’s spiritual discernment, legacy listening, and practical protection wrapped in reverence.

Especially for Black and diaspora folks, vetting who we trust with our bodies, money, and spirit abroad is not paranoia, it’s ancestral alignment. It’s honoring the prayers that got us here.

Here’s how we move—intentionally, intuitively, and informed.

Trusting Your Instincts & Doing the Homework

• Research before booking: Go beyond the website. Look for verified reviews, certifications, and authentic partnerships with local communities.

• Ask the right questions: Inquire about safety protocols, staff training, insurance coverage, and emergency response systems.

• Practice community-based tourism: Choose companies that reinvest in local economies and honor cultural heritage. Look for Black-, Indigenous-, or women-led groups, especially in places historically impacted by colonial tourism.

• Watch for red flags: Vague itineraries, pressure to pay upfront, dismissive answers to safety concerns, or a lack of transparency about land or culture.

• Lean into diasporic wisdom: Seek guides who understand the soul of the land—those who honor ancestors, protect participants, and uphold dignity over profit.

Avoiding Spiritual Tourism and Fetishization

• Question “ritual” experiences: Is the offering consensual, elder-led, and rooted in cultural tradition—or commodified for outsiders?

• Know when to witness versus join: Silence can be reverent. Participation, if uninformed, can cause harm.

• Learn destination histories: Colonization, resistance, uprisings. Knowing what the land has endured deepens your presence and choice.

Protecting Energetically and Physically While Abroad

• Bring spiritual tools with you: Small satchels of protective herbs, prayer beads, Florida water, stones from your homeland. Use intentionally, not performatively.

• Set boundaries and check your spirit: You’re allowed to say no. To invasive questions, to disrespect disguised as friendliness, to anything that makes your gut tighten.

• Leave room for restoration: Don’t over-schedule. Make space to listen to your body, spirit, and surroundings.

Rituals for Return

• Cleanse before entering your home: A salt bath, smoke cleansing, silence, or prayer to close the energetic loop of travel.

• Reflect deeply: What did you learn—not just about logistics, but about spirit, identity, and communion?

• Share with intention: Let your experience ripple outward as lesson, inspiration, and protection for others.

Exploring heritage across generations: Hands of different ages tracing the map to Cuba, with cultural elements in the background.

Closing Reflection

Discernment is not fear, it’s ancestral technology. It protects, guides, and affirms that your presence abroad is sacred. You are not just a traveler, you are a carrier of memory, a student of place, and a vessel of legacy. So ask the right questions. Choose ethically. Move in wisdom. And above all, listen for the quiet truths beneath the glossy surface.

Planning a trip? Share this with your travel group, your spiritual circle, or your mentees stepping into global spaces. Let’s make intentional travel part of our collective healing practice.

Part 3 will explore navigating cultural norms, power dynamics, and finding joy while being seen.