Be an Un-tourist!

Be an Un-tourist

While preparing an ebook chronicling a recent trip to Europe, I had an "ah ha!" moment. The best parts of the trip were NOT the tourist sites. The best parts were the unexpected, off beat and unusual experiences. The best parts were the moments when we least resembled tourists.

Here are some suggestions to help make these "un-tourist" moments a part of your next trip.

1. Get to know a local.

Accomplish this by using a home exchange or home stay, asking for a single room in a house and access to the kitchen and living areas of the house. Assume this means that the family will be at home.

Have conversations with your host family. Get to know them. Make new friends. Anyone who will share a part of their home this way, should be open to this type of experience. They will be interested in meeting and knowing you.

Use the internet to build a relationship with someone in the country you are planning to visit. Check with your friends. Do they know someone who knows someone who might enjoy this type of correspondence? It's the old "pen pal" approach. Arrange to meet your new pen pal and spend some time exploring their area and enjoying their company.

Try out an Airbnb Experience, or an experience listed in the 'Things to Do' section of a visitors guide. Depending on the experience and the people involved, you might make a new friend as you get to know the special features of your host area. You may meet people and see things that you otherwise would have missed.

2. Do some good.

Spend a few hours (or a few days) with a non-profit in your destination. Email ahead to discuss the opportunities to do some interesting and beneficial things during your visit. On one trip we hiked across a volcano to a remote cabin with a naturalist. We slept in a no frills cabin with no electricity but a beautiful setting. During daylight hours we helped eliminate invasive plants from the area. Memorable!

Decide what activity resonates for you. Research appropriate non-profits and expect a rewarding and expansive vacation.

3. Build your own tour.

What are you really interested in. Architecture? Street life? Local market days? It could be anything. Plan to spend a day focusing on that special thing. It will be personal for you and will encourage your understanding of the area. Wander around and look around. Feel. Enjoy.

4. Drink it up.

Visit a local brewery, winery, or distillery. Many areas have specialties that are unique to them. Go to a production site and take a tour. Talk to the tour guide or to other guests. Pay attention, but relax. Taste the product. Chat with other guests. Have a meal if available. This will be a bar-crawl to remember.

5. Stay somewhere different.

Do you usually stay at a 5 star hotel? If you are looking for something more local, more real, and perhaps less stark and isolated, try staying somewhere different.

Is there a farm-stay that will get you out of the crowded city? Can you enjoy local food and scenery and local life while staying there? The specialties of local life may charm you and create a life-long connection to the place and people you will encounter.

If you need a little more privacy, rent a place for yourself outside the tourist center. Learn to take the bus instead of a taxi. Go for a walk. Experience something other than the main tourist sites. Really relax!

6. Get into it!.

Learn some words and phrases before you go. Try them out in your travels. People will appreciate your efforts.

Find some local dishes that will always remind you of this trip, and learn the ingredients and methods to prepare them. Take a cooking lesson and even learn how to cook them! Now this is a souvenir that you can share with friends and family once you go home!

7. Make it happen.

Find local businesses that help you create as you vacation. It could be as simple as painting a mug or plate, or as complex as painting a picture of a local scene. Enjoy the process. You may even sip local wine or beer and enjoy local cheese while you learn. Throw a bowl on a potter's wheel, or carve a hunk of wood into a key fob. Don't worry if you have never done it before. That's the idea! It's something new!

On-line is a great place to research this, or at the local tourist information center. The best part? You can take your created object and the memories of making it, home with you.

8. Not another selfie!

Don't put yourself in every picture. You don't have to prove that you visited every tourist site.

Before your trip, take a photography class. Learn how to really take pictures, not just press the button on your cell phone! Or take a class after you arrive. See the section on

having new experiences. (Get to know a local. #1)

Learn to take pictures that are beautiful, frame-able and meaningful to you.

9. Keep track.

If you are not a journal keeper, just write down the important events. The unusual things that happen to you along the way become much more meaningful if you write them down along with your impressions. As a big plus, they can help eliminate memory variations and memory gaps that come along later.

As you plan your next trip, whether it is within you home state or abroad, include things that will help to make it meaningful, memorable and fun.

__________________________________________________The purpose of A Place for the Eye to Rest is to inspire your personal thoughts on subjects presented. It is not to provide all the answers to your travel questions. Know yourself, and your trip will be personal and fulfilling. For more inspiring ideas, access the ebook, Ignorants Abroad, available on Amazon. Available soon.