Hello everyone!
I recently started to travel a lot for tourism and I always don’t know how to properly get the info about the place I’m visiting.
I don’t like guided tours so I thought to use Wikivoyage but the articles are so reductive in comparison to what you can find on Wikipedia that unfortunately doesn’t have a TTS option.
What do you use then? How do you organize yourself?
I just walk and see what I find. I like walking so that’s a plus.
As the others have said, anything you Google is going to be too popular. Just wander and wonder.
Tbh now that i think about it, wouldn’t a hoverboard be the perfect mode of transport for exploring cities? It’s faster than walking but still slow enough that you can take things in and stop easily, saves you from getting an extremely chiseled ass from all the walking, and you can easily just tuck it under an arm when needed.
Unrelated to your question, but you seem to have ticked the option in your settings that indicate that you are a bot, so anyone with a blanket ban on bots won’t see anything you write.
I know, I don’t know how to change that… It was a mistake :(
log into lemmy.world, ideally from a browser, not an app or a frontend, click your account in the top-right and choose settings. Then it’s this one:
Yeeeesss, I’m not a bot anymore!
Thank you for bothering helping me!
This is exactly what a bot would say…
You still look like a bot to me…
Do the changes not get propagated back onto existing comments and posts?
They probably do, eventually (same as if you’d edited or deleted a comment)
OP is not showing as a bot on lemmy.world, so - at the very least - it won’t affect their future posts.
Last time I was on vacation alone I googled the few things I knew I wanted to see/do, and the rest of the time I just went out and see where I end up. Looking where locals go and do that is also a great trick.
My experience is that most easily online findable things are very tourist-y. I preffer to see more of the non-tourist stuff. Knowing a local is then the best, but by lack there off, just go with the flow.
I personally make sure I stay in a good neighborhood and check Wikivoyage for details like transportation and safety, but that’s pretty much it. If I land in a good neighborhood (not touristy, lots of amenities and restaurants around, easy connection on foot or by public transport to the major areas), then I’m pretty much golden.
It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but I think not enough research is much better than too much. Any tourist information will draw you to overpriced and/or overhyped places. The desire, say, to “eat the best X” or “visit the most famous Y” is making your travels crappier.
Instead, I recommend cultivating normalcy. Visit your neighborhood by foot, and take chances on unknown places. You can check Google Maps to get the sense of a place, but if the reviews are good and they’re mostly local reviewers, and the place is crowded, you’re in good hands. Check out what other people are eating and order that. (Just point if needed.)
My partner and I have what we call our “grounding ritual.” We set out by foot in our neighborhood and spot what we’ll need: a convenience store for late-night snack runs, a supermarket or fresh market for food, etc. We check out public transportation options nearby. Then we find a nice, no-frills local restaurant and have a meal there. If the place is good, we make a point of returning there over the next few days. Doesn’t matter if we’re there for a weekend.
We just returned from a few days in Warsaw, a city I had never been before. Besides the Old Town, none of the places we visited were stuff I had read about online. We just let our feet, eyes, and noses lead us to interesting places.
Check the neighborhood maps on nomadlist. Check out where there are supposed to be cool stuff/people. Usually I just search Google maps for things/streets in those neighborhoods for things that might be interesting… Cafés, restaurants, bars, shops, etc…
You MUST get used to meeting locals when you’re traveling a lot. Meetup.com, couchsurfing, internations, dating apps, or even the hostel where you are staying.
For context, I traveled full time, nonstop for 4ish years before covid. This is how I did the majority of my travel. Things like attractions or museums or historical places get really old really fast. If I never set foot in an art museum for the rest of my life, I will not be upset in the slightest. People, food, shopping, culture… This is the only thing I feel is worth seeing anymore.
I (almost) never make any plans. I travel to the city, and then I decide what to do on the spot. Whatever I happen to be in the mood for. Most places I visit have something I want to see already and I don’t have to plan for it. And if there are night life activities, I’m checking them out. No rules. No itinerary. Just spontaneous adventure.
Get to know a taxi driver. Ask locals where to go and what to see. Stop by a visitors bureau or welcome center. Hit up a local colleges student center.
When I traveled a lot, I used to start with the local phone book. Not only did it have business information, but government info, and a section devoted to local arts and museums. These days I (gasp) talk to people at pubs or bars or coffee shops. Obviously, if they are annoyed, I let them be, but you’d be surprised how many people are happy to brag about their community.
I use a lot of Google Maps to tag things I want to see. From that, you’ll usually get a cluster of things in an area that you want to see.
I also don’t really care about what the articles say more than just getting a basic list of ideas and then looking it up on Google Maps to see what people really think of it.
My wife and I love to visit new places. We will generally prepare by asking friends who have visited what they liked and disliked, I would check the areas affiliated subreddit to get guidance from the locals, and do a little online searching to get a general feel for the city.
Once there don’t be afraid to talk to people. Talk to a can driver, spark up a conversation at a cafe. Locals are almost always willing to share their favorite places with you since you’re a visitor to their city and they want to shed it in the best light.
It depends on a lot of things. Which part of the world? In Europe big cities all have the tourist part and the “old town” part. If you are there sightseeing just get a tourist map and start exploring.
You can usually get an equivalent of a tourist day tickets, which will give you unlimited access to public transport, sightseeing buses and some attractions/museums. Just pick up the one which tickles your fancy and usually you can get it from any airport, big train/bus station when you arrive.
If you are there to party and check out the night life I would strictly stick to popular spots.
For any other interests (hiking, historical spots, etc) you can find a city specific list of recommendations online.
Also it usually helps to google which tourist scams are popular in the region to avoid them.
In Europe big cities all have the tourist part and the “old town” part.
To add on to this. Quite often there is a neighborhood that is a bit away from the touristic center, a bit more shabby, used to be ‘bad’ part of town. Often those are more vibrant with less tourist traps and fun bars and restaurants that are visited by the locals.
I tend to look out for that kind of neighborhood.
In each city I visit, I always try to do a bike tour. You can see a lot in a 2-3 hours and the tour guides are usually very knowledgeable.
I love to go on free walking tours if they’re available. Other than that there is a view of most popular attractions on Google travel which you can filter by most popular for tourists or locals.
I love to get lost and explore on my own. Sometimes I look up some interesting places to visit, museums, pubs and stuff. It is better to do this on your own or with small group (max 4 people). If you want some tips for Czech Republic you can ask me :-)
I need to eat.
How are you choosing your destinations in the first place? There just be a reason you’re traveling to these places, especially as you state it’s specifically for tourism. Wouldn’t it make sense to do/see the things that attracted you there in the first place?
