Joanna Niles' Guide to Budget-Friendly Adventures and Cultural Connections

Unlock the secrets to globe-trotting on a budget with Joanna Niles where she spills the beans on making travel affordable without skimping on fun. This episode isn't just about saving pennies; it's a roadmap to rich, cultural experiences through planning.

Joanna, a seasoned writer and adventurer, joins us to debunk myths about the 'right time to buy airfare' and champions meticulously crafted itineraries that make every trip, whether solo or with the family, a easier. Her personal journey from the Caribbean to the world is peppered with tips and anecdotes that promise to transform your approach to travel.

In addition, Joanna and I trade stories about authentic cultural immersion but also reminding us that the wonders of travel need not be far-flung. We talk about the beauty of rediscovering our own backyards. Pack your bags and tune in, because this episode is your ticket to becoming a savvier, more connected traveler.

Connect with Joanna - Website | Instagram

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Carry On Friends the Caribbean American experience. I'm excited because this person I have on the podcast I've known them as long as I've been blogging and podcasting and she's just now coming on the podcast, but we believe not before it's time. So, joanna, welcome to Carry On Friends. How are you?

Speaker 2: 0:24

Hi, carrie, thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 0:28

Absolutely a pleasure. So why don't you tell the community of friends a little bit about who you are, Caribbean country you represent and the work you do?

Speaker 2: 0:37

I am Joanna Niles. I am a Caribbean American, my family is from Trinidad and Tobago and I am a travel and lifestyle writer and creator.

Speaker 1: 0:49

Wonderful, All right, she give you travel lifestyle. Writer. Creator. So we are talking about travel in this episode, and one of the things that the audience asked for is more content around travel, and I think travel is the hottest thing. It's so Instagrammable, the pictures them look so pretty. But let's talk about the more practical aspects of traveling. So when people think of travel, they're thinking of the beautiful beaches that people go. But when you decided to become a travel writer, what was the inspiration behind that?

Speaker 2: 1:29

It was mostly me traveling to places where I have family from. So a lot of my family is in the Caribbean or in the diaspora, so like in the US and Canada and the UK. So I started traveling to places where I had family and friends. So the first one that I did was to Canada. I went down for like it was their Thanksgiving, so columnist weekend, and I spent like a weekend with my family there. And then I did like little states, like in Georgia, in Louisiana, where I had friends and family, and a lot of people started asking me questions like oh how long did you stay there? Where did you go? What things to do? So I started sharing that on my personal blog and on my social media platforms as well.

Speaker 1: 2:20

Wonderful, and I mean, I've gone to Canada so many times. The drive is ridiculous, but I think even road trips like that can be such a fun experience, because and I have tips about anybody who wants to drive to Canada but, like the road trip, the sites that you get to see going to Niagara Falls, all those experiences is really part of travel, but oftentimes aren't the Instagrammable aspects of travel for some people? So let's demystify traveling. And what are the things that you find people get caught up with when it comes to traveling more?

Speaker 2: 3:06

The affordability of travel, the fact that you can travel within your own city and state. A lot of people don't think that. A lot of people think that it's not attainable in a sense, or even traveling with a family. As far as attainability and affordability, and it's all possible with planning, that's a big thing. Planning and just making a choice to do it in general, yeah, so for me.

Speaker 1: 3:38

I personally feel like there's not enough around traveling with family. Maybe I'm not seeing it, but it's not because then, when you think of traveling with family, you think about how many kids you know. To be honest, most of my kids did a lot of their traveling under the age before they have to start pay for their own plane fare. Right, because it just made sense, especially when you have more than one child. So talk to us about what the planning entails and what's your recommendation of how far ahead you should plan, regardless of whether it's a local trip or regional trip you're still within the US or wherever some people are in Canada or whether it's an international trip, which is like the Caribbean or Europe or wherever.

Speaker 2: 4:25

Well, I don't have any kids, but I do have brothers and sisters that do travel with their family. They try to make it a priority, especially because travel is big for us, whether within the US or internationally, when we were younger. So for the most part, if it's a domestic trip, they like to plan maybe about six months to a year in advance. That's why they can do any research. I have friends like they have a pool with their kids. Like at the end of the year they have like a hat of different states or different countries and they just pull it up a hat and say, okay, this is where we're going next year and they make a plan that way. So yeah, All right.

Speaker 1: 5:10

So that's domestic. So if they're taking six months to plan a trip, that's domestic.

Speaker 2: 5:13

Yeah, that's definitely domestic six months to a year for domestic and international, international, absolutely Especially for a big trip. A year out is definitely better when it comes to planning, finding plane tickets, finding accommodations that are good for families, things to do within the country or the city that you're, that you're traveling to. It's a good time to research a year at least.

Speaker 1: 5:43

So when it comes to I don't know if this still applies, but there was a particular time when people said this is a good time to find air fear. Do you find that there are particular times when it's best to find air fears?

Speaker 2: 5:56

I don't think so honestly. I know there was a big thing around Thanksgiving like the travel Tuesday. I've been traveling frequently since about 2012,. Never seen it, never heard of it until last year or the year before. Maybe I think it's just like it was just a big TikTok trend to get views, or even the travel on a Tuesday, like I've traveled every day of the week. So I think it's just a matter of when you start looking. I can tell you it's best to look like in incognito mode, like on your browser, so that the cookies they won't see it. And a lot of times I've seen personally like I'm about to book a flight and two days before it was like $300 and then the next time I look there's me about $500. And that also has to do with demand as well. But I try my best to do like with incognito mode when I'm not like quite ready to book the flight, like when I'm just doing research.

Speaker 1: 7:07

That way, that is a clutch tip. You know why? Because the more you search for it, it's like telling the algorithm and the plane, the airplane, to them to rack up the price. Because it's almost like it's. They're like oh, there's a lot of demand on the street if we're planning.

Speaker 1: 7:25

So like, for instance, you know, when we were planning for my brother's wedding in Florida, I mean, there are a whole bunch of us when and it was just like the prices kept going up and my brother was like, yeah, because we're constantly looking at that fear segment. So looking in incognito mode is really really good because, like you said, for whatever reasons, it's telling the airline or wherever people are searching the flies oh this is an in-demand trip, and I'm like, no, no, no, I want them to undercheap tickets. So you know, thank you for that tip. Thank you so much. Listen, if I get nothing else on this conversation, is that incognito mode? Because I'm like, oh, I'm gonna search for tickets. If I can't, that's good In terms of hotel, right, what are some of your tips or advice around when you're traveling and what to look for in hotels?

Speaker 2: 8:20

For me personally, depending on the type of trip. So if I just want like a laid-back trip, a do-nothing trip, looking for the amenities that are available in the hotel, whether it be pools or beach view or things like that, if I'm doing like a hotel within the city or city center, I generally like to see like what's available in that area, so like if it's by transportation or if it's by particular site. Sometimes I don't want to be around where everybody is or everything is, so to see if it's like walking distance to something major or further away. It really depends Also price, as long as it's within my budget, whether I want to just do like a bare-bones trip or something luxurious. If I'm traveling with my nieces and nephews, is it kid friendly? If a friend of mine is coming with a pet, is it pet friendly? These are things that I look into when searching for hotels, and then also reviews from a past guest. That's important too.

Speaker 1: 9:29

So how you start saving for your trip. So you have any tips or strategies. I'm just looking for the goodness because I was like, listen, I'm about to tell everybody in this house for our trip Because we're trying to figure out a trip. So I'm like, listen, switch the incognito motor. You're looking for these things. So what about actually saving? Because money not growing on trees? We're in a very precarious time in the world we have, at the time of this recording, two are still are going on and you know, because of that, the impact on, you know, supply and demand around the world. So everything is still expensive. So what are some of the tips or strategies you have when it comes to saving or, you know, being intentional about putting some money aside for my travel fund?

Speaker 2: 10:18

So one thing that has helped me tremendously is having a separate savings account for travel. So I have, like, my regular accounts for paying bills and regular accounts for saving, but have a separate account just for travel. I don't really see it, but before, like working at the job that I'm in, I put maybe about 25 to $50 away as I switched jobs, like I was able to put a specific percentage. But yeah, just starting small and I know a lot of people they use like high yield savings accounts or other online accounts and that has helped them as well.

Speaker 1: 11:01

Listen, we're trying to get all the tips so we can level up and travel and experience and just have a good time like a really good time. I'm about to talk about Wisconsin in a few months because I used to live there and people are very surprised when I used to live there.

Speaker 1: 11:18

Yeah, listen, I used to live there. There's a large Jamaican community there and Milwaukee specifically and I brought the kids, you know, because it was the last time we were there was for my grandmother's funeral, and so my five-year-old, he just loved it. He just loved the experience. It was so different. The state fear was happening. There was just like a bunch of things happening and it was just I was taking them to things that I enjoyed about Milwaukee when I was living there, and my five year old, whenever he's talking to my mom, I want to come to your house tomorrow. So it's just like it doesn't matter if it's an international trip. It's the experiences that matter.

Speaker 1: 12:04

So, when you think of experiences, what is like your top three memorable experiences of your travel career so far?

Speaker 2: 12:14

Oh man so it's top three. Well, top for me and I don't know if this is biased or whatever Trinidad Carnival. My first Trinidad Carnival, my first carnival ever, was in Trinidad. I played Mass with two of my cousins, I played Juve with a bunch of other cousins and like that was like the first time that I well I think that was my first time going to Trinidad as an adult without my parents or anything like that. So that was a different experience. But also just being in the carnival atmosphere and like not really knowing but following them, that was a top experience for me. And we didn't like play with a big band, so like that was a different experience. Because a lot of people they feel that you go to Trinidad Carnival you have to play with Tribe or any of the big bands, and we just went with a small band and we had a good time. We were able to go to like a lot of local events. I was just following them around. So it was great because I was with local people and I think that's a different experience too.

Speaker 2: 13:24

A second top I would say going to Thailand for my friend's 30th birthday. It was a bunch of friends from high school, so I'd known them at the time well over 10, 15 years. It was our first time traveling together, which I don't really recommend, but the people that I went with it was a good vibe all around because we were just so open. We went with a tour, so a lot of it was organized for us, but we did things on the sign or not on when we had free time. So the tour they actually had maybe like two to three days, that was free time, do whatever you want. So we did our own thing and that was fun. So on our free days we did Island Hoppin and Poquette and we also did a day at Elephant Sanctuary. So that was a really fun experience. And, like I said, it was our first group trip. It was the first time all of us had been in Asia six Black girls. It was just really, really fun.

Speaker 2: 14:37

And the third I want to say my trip to Cuba was totally disconnected from pretty much everything but at the same time connected to the people and experiences that I had there. I spent the majority of the time in Havana, but the cool thing about the trip to Cuba was because I'm a part of like a lot of Black travel groups and a lot of people were going around the same time, so we were able to know what was going on. But we just had to go and see if people were there because, like they have internet but I didn't connect to any of that. I was just like I'm all vibes but at the same time like I don't recommend going on vibes if you're like a new traveler, but I was with my cousin you were able to speak the language. We were able to connect with people that we knew down there that were going around the same time. So it was really really good.

Speaker 2: 15:39

It was so much fun and because Cuba was, I guess, at the time, like my bucket list trip, I always wanted to go. I was just like really, really open. I remember going into a club that was behind a pizza shop and we were just salsa dancing. I told my old coworker I was like I was dancing with your uncle. I know this wasn't his uncle, but it was just so much fun and it really really made me want to go again. I haven't since, but I definitely would go again.

Speaker 1: 16:14

So on two of those trips, you know they weren't to English speaking countries. So what is that experience like, traveling to a place where English is not the first language?

Speaker 2: 16:27

It can be a challenge. Fortunately for me, when I went to Cuba, my cousin she did like study abroad in Madrid for like a year, I want to say, and I did Spanish in public school in New York City. So it wasn't. It wasn't hard but it wasn't easy Because, like there was some disconnect. But one thing that was good about the people that we interacted with a lot of them they were like they were learning English. So a lot of the people that we interacted with that was from there, they were learning English.

Speaker 2: 17:05

So we were able to meet in the in the middle ground In Thailand. It was with a tour guide. So on the tour the guide was able to share simple greetings with us or phrases with us like hello, where's the bathroom? Some people they use Google translate. A friend of mine, she was using Google translate because she was vegan, so she was able to type on her phone that like these are the types of food that I can't eat or do you have vegan options, things like that. So Google translate is helpful when it comes to traveling somewhere where you don't know the language and just do a lingo. A lot of people they learn it, especially if it's like a big trip or like an immersive trip. They'll go to use language tools like do a lingo.

Speaker 1: 18:06

So this is carry on, friends. The Caribbean American experience. So let us spend a little bit more time on the Caribbean experience. When it comes to travel and what are like the must experience, cultural things in the Caribbean that you feel like we should try to experience at least once in our lifetime.

Speaker 2: 18:34

I do. Well, I'm more of a cultural traveler, so I do like to go to that festival events. One thing that I love is food festivals food and heritage festivals at least You'll get more than food. You'll get some music in there. You get to see the way people live things like that Also. I would say music festivals as well. Those are really important to me. But when it comes to learning about the people, like they have like dance festivals, they're also literary festivals, like if you're into reading outside of carnival, like everybody, I feel like everybody knows carnival now.

Speaker 1: 19:22

And I'm glad you say that, because I was really looking for a non-carnival experience because, you know there's a lot going on outside of carnival. So I know that Jamaica has a literary festival. It was on hold for a couple years but that it came back a couple years ago. But, in terms of the food festivals, anyone in particular you want to shout out or recommend?

Speaker 2: 19:46

I haven't been, but I've been really wanting to go to Barbados Food and Rum Festival. That one's a pretty big one. Also, there are like marathons that you can go to. I know a lot of runners. They like to travel within the US to run their marathons as well as international, so a lot of people go to like the half marathons and full marathons within the Caribbean.

Speaker 2: 20:13

I also really, really I don't know if they are gonna do it again this year, but there was an event called we Gathering in Barbados where they were pretty much pushing the diaspora to come to Barbados and learn.

Speaker 2: 20:29

So there were about 12 parishes, I want to say, in Barbados and every month they were doing a different event within each parish. So I was very interested in that. And one thing about Barbados a lot of Americans, especially if they're from the Carolinas, they have heritage in Barbados. I know ancestry and DNA and things like that are very popular with black Americans, so when they find out that they have heritage in Barbados as well as parts of Caribbean, they want to visit. So I think that's a good approach to learning about either the Haryas or the island in general and then also visioning like heritage sites. A lot of people don't travel to heritage sites or a lot of people just don't leave the resort, which I think is boring. But even if you do it on a tour, like just for a day, you know it's good to learn about the destination from someone that's from there.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Yeah, strictly Facts, our sister show covered the UNESCO heritage site, some of the UNESCO heritage sites in the Caribbean. I'll link to that. But you made a good point about getting off the resort and I know it's a double-edged sword. Right? You're thinking of safety, but one of the things I typically say, right, and it's my gripe when I hear people complain about other countries and safety. I'm like I live in Brooklyn. There are certain places I'm just not going to go in Brooklyn.

Speaker 1: 22:12

So if I'm not going to go here in Brooklyn, why am I going to a foreign country?

Speaker 2: 22:17

and trying to go there.

Speaker 1: 22:19

So it's using that level of wisdom right. You want to go with a group, you want to make sure, and a lot of these hotels I know, for instance, in Jamaica, they'll set you up with tour guides to go off properties. So it just really takes that intention and to go with a group If you're not staying on a resort but at a hotel, again it's using the wisdom to go out and experience the different sites. I think it's just really important for us to get to know the region because, unlike anywhere else in the world where it's just connected by borders, we're just separated via islands and sometimes it's just not the most easiest places to get to. But I think it's also important because it's just right there.

Speaker 1: 23:05

I really hope that at some point in the near future they fix inter-regional travel there in the Caribbean. So that is just one of the things I'm just hoping for. So, as we wrap up, is there anything that you feel like you know what when it comes to travel? I really would like not only my Caribbean American audience to know, but just people to know. When it comes to traveling, and traveling as a person of Caribbean heritage, black, whatever Is there anything in particular from your life travels that you want to share.

Speaker 2: 23:40

That is possible. In general, a lot of people don't think that it's possible. I've known people that are American, born, never left their city, never left the state, and when they traveled whether it's to a different state, a different country, whatever their mind just opened, like they were just very, very open. I think it does open up your mind. It does open up your experience to a lot of things. You're able to make connections, you're able to see similarities, you're able to see differences, especially when it comes to food and music, especially in the black community, or, honestly, in general, because I remember I went to Portugal and I had some salt fish and it felt like I was at home, like my grandmother made them. I'm like, wait, portugal, salt fish, what? And when you think colonialism, things like that, that's another thing. Like there may be times where you do get frustrated when you learn certain things or upset about certain things. I tell people it's very possible to be in all the destination, to be to admire everything, but then they'll be angry because of what they did to that region or that island or that country or see how they profited off other people. I see that all the time. Well, I think about that a lot Also that you don't have to. You don't have to go far to have a good experience Living in New York City. Living in New York State, you can experience beaches and not the best you could experience waterfalls, mountains, farms so many things to experience within your own state, within your own city. There are a lot of museums within New York City and in other states as well, so it's just a matter of wanting to do it.

Speaker 2: 25:48

I think a lot of people Like granted, like there are a lot of free things that you can do also within your city and state. A lot of people don't know that Even having a library card gives you access to a lot of things. I know like there's a lot of defunding when it comes to libraries, especially nowadays, and budgets, but there are free things that are available to you. And then there are also Things like Virtual experiences. I know, like in the pandemic there were a lot of virtual Museums or virtual tours that it's not the same thing, but you stay able to learn about a destination that way and even through reading that. The first thing that opened my mind when it came to travel Just reading books, reading about a destination, yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:42

You know, I know we said was gonna wrap up what you said a couple things. So I'm like counting on my finger. So I Am aware that there's a privilege that you and I have being in New York City, new York State and my kids they have access To through New York double access right. So you get it because you're in New York City, but they also get it through the school and I remember taking the boys to the botanical gardens.

Speaker 1: 27:08

They had a blast because they remembered it because I I remember just about a week ago, my, my sons, they were building something with Lego and they were doing a show and tell. So after they build something, they come and they, they, they kind of walk through their architecture right. And so my five-year-old said this is a tulip. And I was like, why did you make this a tulip? He was like, yeah, I remember that you like that. When we went to the garden and there were many of them in many colors and it was just like that stood, that stood out for them, because in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden when we went, there were just so many variation in species of tulips for them. So you know, look at what's in your city, wherever you are, what resources are available to experience. Also, to your point, like there's so much to experience and every year my sister in law and I we talk about it. We live in New York but we haven't even consumed all what New York has to offer.

Speaker 2: 28:04

I love upstate. My husband was like yeah, when I met you.

Speaker 1: 28:06

You wanted a farm and live upstate. I was like upstate is nice, all right, I'm the fall. And I remember my first experience upstate New York was in high school. We went to a trip and we stayed at the Sagamore upstate it was just so beautiful.

Speaker 1: 28:24

It was just an amazing experience. So, I think, think of what's locally in your city and your state and what's available for free to. I want to say that social media is great for inspiration, but if you feel like you know, I just want to go to Jamaica, I just want to go to Saint Vincent, I just want to go to Trinidad and you go there every year, that is okay too. That's true because I I live and born and grow in Jamaica and every time I go to Jamaica I experience something different, and that was something that I was able to experience, that was something that was ingrained in me when I was growing up and living in Jamaica. I was with church and at least twice a year we were going to a different place on the island, right, and so it's okay.

Speaker 1: 29:10

I have a friend and her and her husband they love going to Saint Martin. They're always in Saint Martin. So it doesn't matter if, like you know, I go to Jamaica every year. If you do go back home, wherever home is in the Caribbean for you, I still I feel like you still make an effort to try a new experience. Like you know, we have we have homes in Jamaica. So what we do. We get a day pass and you know we spend a night or two on a hotel or something. Just create a different experience. It's, it's one thing to travel. It's the experience that I say with you in in all of that.

Speaker 1: 29:45

So, yes, we want travel. Make it affordable If you're like, oh, you know I have a house and you know you can stay with family, but again, you know, just try to have these experiences and do something different and new when you go back home, wherever home is. So I'm glad that you shared that, because the local trips, whether domestically, they're also important, and I say this because I've been to Florida a bunch of times and every time I go there is just something different, even though I feel like Florida is a whole different country. But that's a different topic. But again, you know, it's really being intentional about. I want a new experience and who do I want to have this experience with? And I think that's key in travel.

Speaker 1: 30:34

So I know this is not the last time Joanne is going to be on the podcast. She just coming in here to warm us up. Right, she's going to kick off her year. I do have a question for you and I'm keeping this in the recording. So you're doing travel, at some point are you going to organize your own little trip and group trip and thing? Is that in your future?

Speaker 2: 30:53

You know people have asked. Right now I'm doing I'm a travel advisor, so if you go on like my website it's Joannecom slash welcome. There is a link where you can tell me about your trip or what your plans for a trip. I'm able to share hotels or flight details and help you organize a trip. A lot of people ask about group. I'm not sure yet because there's a lot of logistics when it comes to group trips, even planning a group trip with family, you know getting on the same page. So it's just a matter of me doing the research and planning that, but it may be not this year but in the future, possibly For sure.

Speaker 1: 31:41

I asked you in my younger years, when I had patients, I was the one that was planning all of the trips. I remember the last. So outside of my wedding in 2010, everyone still talks about that trip, right, because everyone had the most fun Before that. I had planned a trip to Jamaica, and people talk about that trip. But it is a lot of work to plan these trips and it's a lot of work to get people to pay their money so that everything else can go, and it's like you know what. I don't have time to be running people down for this thing. I'm here trying to organize myself as part of this.

Speaker 2: 32:12

Exactly, and you still want to have fun. And then you're like, okay, I put my project manager hat on. You got to go through all the factors.

Speaker 1: 32:20

Listen, there was what. So we went to Jamaica, we went during the Emancipation Week and it kind of carried over and we had a lot of trips. We went like Paris sale, we did all of the things, all the things. And we went to one of the all inclusive parties and I couldn't fight one of the persons at the party and my whole night was done Because I'm like, where's this person? Where's this person? Because in my head I'm like, lord Jesus, what am I going to tell that mother if we can't find them? You know, it's just little things like that, where it's just like you have to take into consideration before you decide to take on that responsibility.

Speaker 2: 32:55

And then, if things go wrong, you have to figure out a solution for that. Like, a lot of people are not put under pressure, so you have to be mindful of that.

Speaker 1: 33:07

For sure, for sure. Well, Joanna, tell everybody where they could find you and connect with you. I know you mentioned the website. I'll put it in the show notes about where they could connect with you on social media.

Speaker 2: 33:17

Okay, my Instagram is Joanna E and so full Joanna E and JLA, and then they will see it on my screen. I'm on tiktok sometimes, so it's miss Joanna E and it's the same thread, joanna E and my website, joanna Ecom. Will you see links to everything my write-up portfolio, my blog with travel tips and guides, as well as where you can look a trip with me?

Speaker 1: 33:52

Wonderful. Thank you so much. And, as I love to say at the end of every episode walk good. Thank you, harry, thank you, thank you. Good luck, you're welcome. Thank you. Thank you, I'm going to turn this off. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 2: 34:00

I'm going to turn this off. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay Okay.