People travel to all parts of the globe each and every year and there are millions of different reasons why. We know that some of you are looking for the full tourist experience, armed with a pre-planned itinerary marking out all of the top spots you plan to visit during your travels. Conversely, a lot of you want to immerse yourself in a new environment and live like a local.
If that last one describes you, when you’ve voiced that desire to friends and relatives, you’ve probably heard, “Just do what the locals do.” While that sounds like great advice, once you’ve arrived at your destination, how do you get started?
While there are apps and websites to point you to things like popular pandals to visit in Delhi and other popular places to visit in the area, we have a few simple tips to help you experience it like a local.
1. Stay Locally
Meeting other tourists in places like Fort Lauderdale beach restaurants is never going to give you the experience you’re looking for. Many tour operators will strongly suggest that you stay within a certain radius of those types of popular tourist areas in order to “stay safe.” However, in many cases, those areas are actually where you’re most likely to get pick-pocketed or scammed. Avoid anything more than a quick visit to those areas and stay where people live day-to-day life.
2. Meet the Locals
Staying in the areas where people live day-to-day life gives you an opportunity to meet more locals than tourists. You can even use a tool like All The Rooms to see the available rooms in your destination city and stay with a local.
When you explore your surrounding areas, take a cab and chat with your driver or use public transportation and try to meet more locals. The more people you meet and talk to, the more you may be surprised by those who are willing to share the city’s best-kept secret spots to visit.
Visit local markets and purchase clothing items that blend in and show respect to the locals. However, you need to be aware of what people are actually wearing around you. Just because it’s in a local shop on the outskirts of the touristy area doesn’t mean it’s for the locals.
3. Try It Anyway
It may seem a little scary and maybe a little stomach-turning, but you should definitely partake in the local cuisine. While you’ll want to make sure you’re not about to dine on an endangered migratory bird or something illegal, immerse yourself in the culture of the area.
Sure, some local dishes are going to be a bit more trying than others (fish eyeballs, anyone?) but if you try something and don’t like it, at least you tried.
4. Go Exploring
Forgoing the tours and staying in the outskirts of those kinds of areas gives you the opportunity to explore the less-traveled sights and absorb the sounds and
smells of everyday life.
Go for a long jog, walk and wander around, get lost (to an extent), and find things off the beaten path.
5. Last But Not Least
Before you go, learn the customs and cultures of your destination. It should go without saying that customs and religious beliefs vary widely around the world and, oftentimes, even city to city. Things like simply patting a child on the head is considered bad luck in many parts of Asia, so you need to do your research beforehand.
Traveling like an actual tourist can definitely be fun and has its benefits, but immersing yourself into the local customs, meeting the residents, and seeing the area’s non-traditional sites can give you a trip to remember for a lifetime.