Traveling is one of the best activities to engage in. It takes one to different places and helps them experience other cultures, cuisines, and sceneries. Despite the saying that it’s a small world, you’d be surprised to find how uniquely beautiful different places are.
Best Pieces of Advice
Although most people look forward to the destination, only a handful look forward to the hard part — the journey. Travel experts know this, so often, they drop tips to make traveling much more fun. Still, travelers end up disregarding most of the advice. Here are some people purposefully ignore.
1. No Lame Tours
Most travel experts suggest travelers plan a proper itinerary and hire a tour guide to reach their destinations safely. Still, things sometimes go differently than planned.
Many commenters share stories of unexpected detours and “lame tours” that they considered more often than the actual destination, the “tourist traps,” would have been. Plus, what’s life without adventures?
2. Stay In Hostels
Being in a strange city, one might need to stay around people always to be safe. But this is not the only reason travelers are advised to stay in hostels for their visits — it’s cheaper, too. And if you want your personal space, you can always rent a private room.
However, one person says those private rooms often cost more than a medium-level hotel. However, another says they are okay with paying the cost to meet amazing new people, which is one of the main reasons people travel.
3. Don’t Eat Fresh Fruits
“Why do you think I even came here?!” someone says.
This advice helps people avoid getting sick or irritated by “strange food” they aren’t used to. They also think most of them are uncooked and washed with tap water. Still, people don’t care. They are there to try new things.
One says, “Five continents later, I can say I’ve only been sick once after eating street meat off a dodgy cheesesteak vendor in Philadelphia. I purposefully travel with the intention of eating strange things, like deep-fried tarantulas at a night market in Phnom Penh, fresh, raw oysters off a pier on the Skeleton Coast, or mushrooms straight off a tree while foraging in the forest outside of Brno. I never even considered that I should be wary of fruit!”
4. Popular Tourist Traps Are A Waste Of Time
Most travel experts advise people to avoid tourist traps as they are a waste of time and are designed to lure tourists, who should seek their own experiences. However, that is only sometimes true. Visiting a tourist attraction doesn’t make your experience any less authentic.
5. Try To Blend In
Imagine being a foreigner in a country where the citizens behave differently and speak a different language; imagine trying to blend into that.
This tip is to keep tourists safe, but the dangerous ones are often the least likely to be fooled by any pretense. One adventurer says, “As long as I’m not doing something offensive to the local culture, I do not make any special attempt to be anything but myself while traveling.”
6. Do It All, See It All
Vacationers hate taking advice from the “do it all, see it all crowd.” While it’s fun to immerse yourself in a new culture, there are things one shouldn’t do.
“Just because there’s a guided tour to visit the favelas in Rio or an African tribe in Kenya doesn’t make it appropriate to do so. People are people, not an exhibit. So I look for ethical excursions that celebrate or assist people,” a commenter writes.
7. Secret Exploring
No, it’s not always worth trying to find “secret spots no tourist has ever been to before.” The idea may seem intriguing, but it is also dangerous.
Another thing to factor in is the locals who want to enjoy their “secret spots.” A Hawaiian shares, “Our island has been run over by tourism so much that there are spots where only locals can enjoy. And when someone posts these ‘secret spots,’ now they get overrun with tourists.”
8. Avoid Chain Hotels
There is a reason they are famous among tourists. Often, they have the best locations and provide the best comfort. “I’m not against a fun local place, but, sometimes, the well-placed Marriott just makes sense,” someone writes.
9. Animal Tourism
Guides often suggest that visitors explore animal tourism. However, most are abusive to the animals, especially to wildlife.
In Egypt, an excursionist saw “tons of tourists happily get on painfully thin camels and horses and be led around the pyramids in the blazing heat all day.” Tourists may leave their better judgment aside with animal tourism, and folks find it hypocritical and mean.
10. Spend The Afternoon Exploring The Neighborhood
Just maybe don’t? Especially when you’re in a strange land. Some travelers love the daring nature of this advice, but most find it silly. Walking around aimlessly might provide some great experiences, but they can also offer some terrible ones when unfamiliar with the neighborhood.
This thread inspired this post.
More From Savoteur
Firearm fatalities continue to be a pressing issue in the United States, with certain states bearing the brunt of this tragic problem. Here, we present a list of the ten most dangerous states, highlighting their firearm fatality statistics and shedding light on the contributing factors.
The 10 States With The Most Firearm Fatalities: Is Yours The Worst?
Put on Your Lifejackets 14 US Cities That Will Be Underwater by 2050
Climate change is a growing concern across the globe, and one of its most significant threats is rising sea levels. With each passing year, the risk of flooding and coastal erosion becomes greater. According to a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, 15 U.S. cities could be underwater by 2050. Here is a list of those cities and what’s at stake for each.
Put on Your Lifejackets: 14 U.S. Cities That Will Be Underwater by 2050
12 Dangerous Countries for Travelers To Beware of Before Booking a Flight
I have been lucky enough to live on four continents and experience many of the world’s different cultures. While I agree that in every country you will find a majority of good people, there are some places that present a threat to visitors.
Sadly, economic, religious, and meteorological factors can lead to volatile or unsafe societies. A recent online post shares these twelve countries one should research before visiting.
12 Dangerous Countries for Travelers To Beware of Before Booking a Flight
15 of the Worst Cities in America To Avoid at All Costs
The United States is home to many of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world. Unfortunately, it’s also home to cities in steep decline due to increases in poverty, homelessness, and violent and property crimes.Â
While there are many safe towns and cities in the U.S., some online users from a social media discussion board believe there are some you should avoid.
15 of the Worst Cities in America To Avoid at All Costs
These Are the 12 Most Dangerous Lakes in the United States
Some of the world’s most breathtaking lakes are in the United States. Yet, not all lakes are created equal, and some are downright dangerous. These 12 lakes make it to the list of the most dangerous lakes in the U.S.
These Are the 12 Most Dangerous Lakes in the United States
