November 24, 2009
Ten Ways to Avoid Tourist Traps and Hang with the Locals
Condé Nast Traveler has partnered with Jetsetter, the members-only flash-sale site for luxury travel, to bring you insider travel intel and pricing. The magazine's November sale on Jetsetter starts today and includes slashed rates at the Viceroy Miami. Get a load of its pool!
What's your best strategy for avoiding tourist traps and finding the authentic hidden-gem spots that only the locals seem to know about?
That's the question I asked you last week as part of a fun new monthly game here on The Perrin Post: You share your best travel strategy answering a common travel dilemma, I choose the ten best tips submitted, and the ten top tipsters earn a spot on "Wendy Perrin's Jetsetter List."
So many terrific strategies came in for avoiding tourist traps and hanging with the locals that I urge you to read the complete list here. It was painful trying to winnow the list down to only ten top tips, but I finally managed -- by choosing those that have worked best for me personally during my own travels.
The great news is that everybody's a winner in this contest: All readers are invited to join Jetsetter via this special invitation link and gain access to exclusive rates at top hotels. The ten top tipsters get not only fame and glory but also the opportunity to earn monetary credits toward Jetsetter purchases by inviting friends. As for the #1 tipster, she has won a free subscription to Condé Nast Traveler Magazine.
Read on for the inaugural "Wendy Perrin's Jetsetter List."
The great news is that everybody's a winner in this contest: All readers are invited to join Jetsetter via this special invitation link and gain access to exclusive rates at top hotels. The ten top tipsters get not only fame and glory but also the opportunity to earn monetary credits toward Jetsetter purchases by inviting friends. As for the #1 tipster, she has won a free subscription to Condé Nast Traveler Magazine.
Read on for the inaugural "Wendy Perrin's Jetsetter List."
(1) To find a good local restaurant, ask the local baker, butcher, or fishmonger where they eat (food suppliers tend to know where to find good food). To find a good place for music or entertainment, go to the local music school or music store and ask them what one event they will be attending that week.
- Elaine of Elaine Travels
(2) Giving back and getting involved in community projects is a great way to leave tourists far behind. Find a local non-profit that could use time or dollars--whichever you have to offer--and let them show you their projects and get to know the community they're working with.
- Andrea Ross of Journeys Within
(3) Have coffee. Decaf works too. Sit in a cafe where the neighborhood folks go with the morning paper. Even if you don't speak their language, you'll be surprised just how much they will help you--with names and addresses, pointing to a map, using body language--whatever they can do to share their little black book with you.
- Kerrin Rousset of My Kugelhopf
(4) Walk lots, especially away from the major tourist sites. In bigger cities, buy a day bus pass and just head off in random directions, hopping on and off at will.
- Robert of Musings of the Global Traveller
(5) Get recommendations from doormen and taxi drivers. They will recommend something homogenized at first, but keep pressing for somewhere they or only locals hang out.
- Kim Mance of Galavanting
(6) Find a mode of travel that forces you to slow down and see more of what you are passing through--biking, hiking, riding horses, etc. You'll chance upon wonderful treasures that you would never have known existed, had you blasted past in a car or bus, and you'll meet many more people.
- Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes
(7) See if there are "meet up" groups in the area that cover topics of interest to you. Take a language class, even if for only a week: You'll meet people who are there for extended periods of time and local instructors. Go to the after-work watering hole, pull up a seat at the bar, and start a conversation with the person next to you and the bartender.
- Kathy of Food Lover's Odyssey
- Elaine of Elaine Travels
(2) Giving back and getting involved in community projects is a great way to leave tourists far behind. Find a local non-profit that could use time or dollars--whichever you have to offer--and let them show you their projects and get to know the community they're working with.
- Andrea Ross of Journeys Within
(3) Have coffee. Decaf works too. Sit in a cafe where the neighborhood folks go with the morning paper. Even if you don't speak their language, you'll be surprised just how much they will help you--with names and addresses, pointing to a map, using body language--whatever they can do to share their little black book with you.
- Kerrin Rousset of My Kugelhopf
(4) Walk lots, especially away from the major tourist sites. In bigger cities, buy a day bus pass and just head off in random directions, hopping on and off at will.
- Robert of Musings of the Global Traveller
(5) Get recommendations from doormen and taxi drivers. They will recommend something homogenized at first, but keep pressing for somewhere they or only locals hang out.
- Kim Mance of Galavanting
(6) Find a mode of travel that forces you to slow down and see more of what you are passing through--biking, hiking, riding horses, etc. You'll chance upon wonderful treasures that you would never have known existed, had you blasted past in a car or bus, and you'll meet many more people.
- Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes
(7) See if there are "meet up" groups in the area that cover topics of interest to you. Take a language class, even if for only a week: You'll meet people who are there for extended periods of time and local instructors. Go to the after-work watering hole, pull up a seat at the bar, and start a conversation with the person next to you and the bartender.
- Kathy of Food Lover's Odyssey
(8) Approach the concierge of an upscale hotel at your destination and ask, "Where would you go for X (a great anniversary dinner, to experience the real local culture, etc.)?" Concierges generally avoid the tourist places when they go out, so this is a perfect way to find great advice from experienced locals who really know their town.
- Carol Margolis of Smart Women Travelers
(9) Two unfortunate words: Strip malls. These places aren't built with tourists in mind. You'll find local people to talk to, reasonably priced and often crazy delicious food, weekly papers that list events and things to do, and get a peek into what daily life is REALLY like. Strip malls. A blight on the landscape and a savior for the traveler looking to break outside the tourist ghetto.
- Pam Mandel of Nerd's Eye View
(10) Leave the map at the hotel! There is nothing better than being completely lost in a new city. I find it's the only way to really discover the true life of a place--the people, smells, and flavors.
- Luke Ford of whl.travel
Congrats to the ten top tipsters! And remember to join Jetsetter so you can check out the Condé Nast Traveler sale that starts today.
(9) Two unfortunate words: Strip malls. These places aren't built with tourists in mind. You'll find local people to talk to, reasonably priced and often crazy delicious food, weekly papers that list events and things to do, and get a peek into what daily life is REALLY like. Strip malls. A blight on the landscape and a savior for the traveler looking to break outside the tourist ghetto.
- Pam Mandel of Nerd's Eye View
(10) Leave the map at the hotel! There is nothing better than being completely lost in a new city. I find it's the only way to really discover the true life of a place--the people, smells, and flavors.
- Luke Ford of whl.travel
Congrats to the ten top tipsters! And remember to join Jetsetter so you can check out the Condé Nast Traveler sale that starts today.
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