How To Travel Like A Local: 7 Tips For The Most Memorable Trips

Do you remember the last time you traveled? How does it compare to your memory of that trip? If you’re like most people, probably not very well. Most travelers only get a passing glimpse into what life is like for locals. You might have visited Paris or Barcelona, but did you feel like a local while you were there? Most likely not. The experience of traveling as a tourist is very different from how you want to travel as a local in the future. As tourists, we tend to book hotels in central locations and take guided tours of the city. These experiences are helpful and exciting – especially if it’s your first trip out of your hometown – but they don’t give us much insight into how locals live and thrive every day. Traveling like a local will give you more memorable experiences with new friends, new sights, and new flavors.

Set a goal

When you travel with a goal, you’re more likely to connect with the locals and have a better experience overall. This doesn’t mean you need to go on a mission trip to a developing country. You can set a goal for a day, a weekend, or a longer trip. For example, if you want to visit a particular city, set a goal to make as many friends as possible while you’re there. If you want to visit several countries, set a goal to learn a bit of the local language or cuisine. You can also set a goal to find out how locals make money or how they spend their day.

Visiting more than one city

If you want to really experience how a city or country is different from your home, visit at least two cities or areas. If you’re in Asia, for example, you can visit a city like Hong Kong, where about 90% of the people speak Cantonese, and then visit a city like Beijing, where about 90% of the people speak Mandarin. Both of these cities speak languages from the Sino-Tibetan family, but they are completely different. Even within the same city, there are often several different neighborhoods or “boroughs” with their own unique cultural identity and language. If you want to travel like a local, visit more than one city.

Stay in an apartment or home-stay

If you want to local-ify your travel experience, stay in an apartment or home-stay. You’ll be able to see a side of the city or location that you’d never see as a tourist. Staying with a host on Airbnb or in a hostel can help you make friends and get a feel for how locals live their daily lives. Stay in a place in the city that is safe but also where locals live. Stay in the suburbs if you want to experience the city but not fully immerse yourself in it. If you want to experience and understand a new culture, you need to live as the locals do. You can’t do that from a hotel room or a tour bus. You have to walk the same streets, eat at the same restaurants, and do the same activities that locals do.

Walk and explore on foot

If you want to travel like a local, walk and explore on foot. In most cities, walking is the best way to get to know the city. You’ll see more, smell more, and connect with the city more if you walk and explore on foot. Walk through different neighborhoods and districts, and try to visit some areas that tourists rarely visit. If you’re in a city in Europe, for example, walk through a neighborhood that is predominantly populated by people with Asian or Middle Eastern heritage. You might find markets, shops, and restaurants that are different from most of what you see around you.

Check out the local food scene

If you want to travel like a local, check out the local food scene. Most people think of food as something that is not particularly city or country-specific. But think about it: If you’re in France, you’ll probably eat a lot of French food. If you’re in Japan, you’ll eat a lot of Japanese food. Whatever type of food you eat, you’ll get a sense of what the local people like to eat. You’ll probably learn a lot about the culture and history of the city from the food you eat. You might even make a new friend who is a foodie just like you.

Be wary of tour guides

If you want to travel like a local, be wary of tour guides. As a tourist, you can’t avoid them. They’re sometimes the first thing that you see when you arrive in a city. They’ll be the people standing outside with fliers and information about the city. That’s fine – you can use them to find out about the main attractions in the city. But make sure that you don’t completely rely on them for information about the city. You’ll probably hear a lot about the main attractions. But you’ll probably hear very little about the history or culture of the people who live there. You’ll probably get a very one-sided view of the city.

Final Words

If you want to travel like a local, you have to change the way that you travel. You have to start thinking about how you can experience the city as a local would. You can’t rely on hotels and guided tours. You have to leave your comfort zone and explore the city as if you were a local yourself. When you do that, you’ll have much more memorable experiences.