What up Love,
You've probably heard it said before: "Do you want to be a traveler, or a tourist?"
Groan, right?
Naturally, we all want to be the super authentic traveler who has unique experiences and maximizes every moment of our trip. We want to be able to tell stories that make people say, "wow!"
I figured out pretty early on in my travels that there are a few key ways to get those authentic and unique experiences, and it's actually pretty simple:
Leave room for serendipity in your itinerary.
You can say YES more, you can be open, and you can be the chief architect of your adventure.
Here are some tips that I find really help me to have incredible and unique adventures:
- Stay somewhere social that allows you to meet others so that you can join bigger groups of travelers, like a hostel (or if that's not your scene, join meetup.com, couchsurf, or attend couchsurfing.org events)
- Talk to travelers who you resonate with and ask them where you should go next. They know SO MUCH BETTER than the guidebooks do because their information is as current as possible
- Smile and make it a point to be approachable, friendly, and kind to everyone and you'll be shocked at how many doors open
- Have a clear understanding of what the other people you travel with are comfortable with. Do they like spontaneity? Will they be open to testing their comfort zones? That's often where the magic happens.
Embrace the possibility of leaving some parts of your trip unplanned.
That said, you will probably at least want a blueprint of where to go and what to see, and for that, I've ogt you covered!
And
Have fun exploring!
Stay tuned because tomorrow we're talking about how to document your trip and how to get your lingering questions answered, particularly if you're interested in photography.
- Kristin