Some of us structure our entire holiday around guided travel. Others use guided travel services as a springboard, a brilliant way to get familiar with a destination and gain confidence before setting yourself free to explore further. If you’re the latter, or you’ve built spare time into a pre-booked tour schedule to do your own thing, here’s how to add extra texture and depth to your travel experience.
Take things easy
It’s tempting to rush around, to see all the official sights and not miss a thing. But this is no time for FOMO. Resist the impulse, slow down and soak up the culture at leisure.
Get your walking shoes on to experience everything up close and personal
Google Maps, Google Streetview and Google Earth are your best friends when you’re somewhere unfamiliar. A SatNav app is also helpful. With their help you can venture boldly into the unfamiliar to discover how the local people live.
On foot you’ll breathe in the scents that make the place unique. You’ll absorb the look and feel of the place: the buildings, the shops, the pace of life, the way they drive, the markets, how people dress, the vibe on the streets.
Once the city centre gives way to the suburbs you’ll be experiencing the real deal. People’s homes and gardens, play spaces and parks, the road markings, the way people say hello – or not – as you pass by, the houses’ decorative styles, the language, the sounds, the mood… basically everything! You might walk through an industrial estate, a shopping mall, a development of new-build houses, all giving you more clues about the way the place works.
In Western countries it won’t be such a culture shock, but there are always enough differences to spice up urban and suburban walks. Local life in less familiar cultures can feel extremely strange and exotic: dirt roads, wild animals wandering around, unusual architecture, weird plants. Familiar or not, it’s a proper adventure.
Walk out of town into rural areas for more fascinating insights into the country you’re visiting. The crops, farms, livestock, bird life and wildlife, the country roads, the unfolding landscapes, the trees and flowers, scents and sounds, it all adds up to a level of familiarity you’d never get on the usual tourist trail, giving you an unusually satisfying, rich holiday experience.
Indulge in people-watching
Take public transport for another angle on ordinary life, also a good way to explore further afield into hamlets and villages , alongside huge rivers, up mountain ranges, through endless forests and across lush farmland. Trains are faster and more direct, buses tend to wander around the landscape picking passengers up at remote spots, revealing more places off the beaten track.
People-watching tells you a lot about a society, and it’s easy to observe others on public transport. Do people talk to each other or do they keep to themselves like at home? What are they carrying, what do they wear, where do they get off? Can you strike up a conversation?
Talk the talk with the tech
As a visitor you can only really scratch the surface, but chatting to people quickly takes you a lot deeper. The more locals you engage with, the deeper and more intimate your holiday experience will be.
You might speak the language. If not mobile apps and AI tools will translate more or less every language on earth for you, making it easier than ever to meet ordinary people like you. It’s also nice to learn a handful of useful words and phrases. We all appreciate it when someone makes an effort, and when they do we’re more likely to open up. Hello, how are you, your country is beautiful, please can I have a beer, thank you, sorry and excuse me make a good start!
Eat local
So where do local people eat? Ask about their favourite cafes and restaurants, the places they normally eat. Then go eat there yourself for an authentic culinary experience without the tourist gloss. The menu, the drinks, the way the tables are arranged, the background music, it might feel as familiar as home but it could be utterly strange, completely new to you. In both cases you’ll feel the personality of the place through its food and the people who are enjoying it.
Be in the moment, listen, feel, see and hear
The trick to a more profound time away from home is to observe everything with all your senses, skills it’s easy to neglect when our work an home lives are so full and busy.
Instead of just hearting, actively listen. Look and see. Notice the smells, savour the flavours. Consciously watch the world go by. Empty your mind and let the ambience of the place flow through. Feel the earth beneath your feet as you walk. Let the landscapes flow past the window of a train, thinking about nothing except the landscape flowing past the window, loving being in the moment.
Hear the birdsong, feel the sunshine and the rain, touch the lives of the people you meet and let them touch yours. This is not just a holiday, it’s a deeply enjoyable holiday. You’ll go home feeling fulfilled, holding an intricate inner vision of the place you’ve fallen in love with.
Check out our fantastic guided travel deals
Guided travel is an excellent way to kick off the independent holiday of a lifetime, with plenty of time doe independent exploration. You’ll find everything from solo guided trips for women to UK walking tours, climbing in Nepal to wildlife holidays accompanied by an experienced expert. There are guided breaks for small groups, tailor made and self-guided options, premium travel and guided family breaks. Many are sustainable, perfect for people who prefer to make as little impact as possible on the planet.
Hand-picked hotels, seamless exploration, thoroughly off-piste destinations and unique discoveries are yours, available on every continent except Antarctica. Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America, Oceania and the Arctic Circle await you, all in excellent company. So just how far will you take the adventure?
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