Regardless of the extent of your travel experience, adventure shapes your opinions about travel. It can be easy to find common ground with fellow travelers, but when your opinions clash with widely-held beliefs, it can spark many interesting conversations. Here are some unpopular travel opinions that we swear by!
1. Tourist Destinations Are Fine
There’s a stigma among travelers, especially more experienced ones, around visiting popular sites that tourists heavily visit. There’s nothing wrong with visiting the same places many others want to see. It just means you share something in common. Going off the beaten path doesn’t always make the experience more valuable.
2. Traveling Isn’t for Everyone
If gallivanting around the world is your thing, more power to you. However, not everyone shares that sense of wanderlust. Quite a few people prefer to travel locally, if at all. That doesn’t make them less cultured or sophisticated than a person with many stamps on their passport.
3. It’s Okay to Sleep More on Vacation
The desire to pack in as much sightseeing and local activities as possible during a vacation is understandable. But don’t sacrifice sleep to fit everything in. Sticking to your regular sleep schedule will have you feeling better and more prepared to go out than you would when sleep-deprived.
4. You CAN Check a Bag
For some reason, it’s become a point of pride if you can travel without checking a single bag. It’s nice if you can pack efficiently, but other globetrotters must carry many things with them for various purposes. Checking a bag is a necessity for many.
5. Eat and Drink What You Know
One of the upsides of visiting a different country is trying new foods and beverages. But if you want a Starbucks Frappuccino or an order of McDonald’s fries and those establishments are there, go for it! There’s no shame in wanting a taste of back home instead of always dining on the local cuisine.
6. Repeat Visits
Many with the travel bug want to visit as many places as possible. Some like to return to the same place each year, and they make a point of doing so. Whether it’s to see family or friends or continue an annual tradition or just because you like a particular place, there’s nothing wrong with going to a familiar destination.
7. It’s Selfish
Taking an airplane or boat to a far-flung destination is a dream many have; some are fortunate enough to make it come true. However, all of those plane and boat trips are harmful to the environment, but that doesn’t stop folks from traveling because they’re not thinking about the damage they’re causing to vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
8. Take a Day Off
Don’t work the day before you leave for a trip. It leaves more time for all the required packing, planning, and preparation. Take at least one day off from work for this purpose. The same applies when you return. Take a day off to decompress before returning to work.
9. Domestic Travel Is Underrated
Having a passport that reflects a lot of foreign trips doesn’t mean the holder is superior to someone who’s only traveled to destinations that do not require a visa. The United States and its territories have countless attractions and activities for visitors. Domestic travel can be as fun and adventurous as visiting another country.
10. Stay Indoors
Whether you’re on vacation in the U.S. or somewhere overseas, there may be days that you don’t feel like being on the go. Staying in your hotel room for a day or hanging out at the resort can provide the relaxation needed to recharge those batteries and continue enjoying the sites.
11. Itineraries Work
Take the approach of having no set plans and taking things as you go, or create a schedule to map out which attractions to visit and when. If you’re traveling with more than one person, an itinerary can help ensure everyone gets to do or see something that appeals to them.