So you have booked your flight, and your hotel, but what are you actually going to do once you get there? You could hit up all the tourist spots your destination is known for, or maybe you want to get a little off the beaten path. Everyone has different tastes, but here is how I figure out what is worth seeing, and what I want to do on my vacation!
- Watch Travel Shows That Feature Your Destination
Watching travel shows are a great way to get excited for your trip, and figure what different spots are really like. My main man is Rick Steves, and you can find his show Rick Steves’ Europe on Hulu, PBS, and Youtube. Like myself, Uncle Rick tries to avoid lines and tourist traps. He typically features historical sites, and museums to check out. He’s been around long enough he usually has two episodes on any major European destination. Plus, Steves is like your embarrassing khaki-wearing dad that you realize is actually pretty cool once you grow up, so he is a delight to watch.
Food is a very important aspect of any trip, so I love checking out the late and great Anthony Bourdain’s two shows Parts Unknown and No Reservations. The former is featured on Netflix, and the latter is available on Hulu. Not only does Bourdain provide some great restaurant recommendations, he always finds intriguing activities to do with locals. Bourdain does an awesome job of taking you behind the curtain of so many destinations, and making you wish you knew cool locals to show you around!
2. Check Out Travel Videos on Youtube
Checking out travel videos on Youtube can be a quicker way to get an overview of the places you are visiting. Right after I book my flight, I check if The New York Times has a 36 Hours travel video on Youtube. These videos show what you can do in a city in 36 hours or over a weekend trip. They nicely blend new and trendy places to check out with more historical adventures to experience too. If your destination hasn’t been covered in video format yet, The New York Times has a whole column on things to do in 36 Hours available on their website: https://www.nytimes.com/column/36-hours .
Next, see if Expedia has a video for your destination on Youtube. Expedia typically provides a high-level overview of what you can do in the area. Their suggestions can be spots that are tourist hot spots so this can be a great way to decide which touristy places are worth visiting. Youtube also has a plethora of travel vlogs, but since everyone has different tastes, I find it difficult to find videos that showcase experiences I am interested in.
3. Read Travel Guides and Books About Your Destination
When it comes to travel guidebooks , Rick Steves reigns supreme. Slick Rick’s books provide more in-depth options, walking tours, and ways to cut costs along the way. You can find his guidebooks on Amazon, and you can also find them on the Rick Steves Travel Store. No, I am not getting paid to promote Rick Steves, merely a huge fan of his work.
Another great way to connect with the city you are visiting is by reading books that are set in or about that city. Before I visited Dublin a few years back, I read “Dubliners” by James Joyce. Even though the short stories were fiction, it gave me an idea of what Dublin was like back in the early 20th century. It was fascinating to read about the same streets mentioned in those stories, then walking down them and imagining what they was like a century earlier. If you are going somewhere, add a book about your destination to your reading list beforehand.
4. Find Sightseeing Tours
Viator provides a lot of sightseeing options for whatever you fancy! They provide large tours down to private tour guides, and tours that last several hours to several days. There is a tour for everyone on there. Sometimes I check out the tours they offer to see what interesting places there are to visit outside of town. For example, I am visiting Edinburgh this spring, so I checked out Viator to see what types of scotch distillery tours they provided nearby. Viator succinctly spells out all pertinent information you may need before booking the tour, so you know exactly what you are paying for and what is included.
5. Reach Out To Friends and Family Who Have Visited Before
If you know friends or family members that have traveled to your destination before, contact them to see what they would recommend. Some of the experiences I have most enjoyed are the ones that were recommended to me by people I know. One of my friends recommended the Black Taxi Cab tours in Belfast, and it was honestly the highlight of my trip. I extensively read up on The Troubles beforehand, and taking the Black Taxi Cab tour brought it all to life. I was so thankful my friend recommended it, because it would not have been something I would typically do.
After doing these five things, hopefully you have a clearer idea of which places you want to explore, and where you absolutely have to grab a bite at. What do you typically do when trying to plan out your days on a trip?
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