Travel Tip 115
How to avoid places that hate tourists
Guatapé, Colombia, definitely suffers from over tourism, so I visited during the off season. If there are this many people in February, can you imagine what July is like?
Was the news full of people hating on tourists the past few months? Or did it just seem like it to me because I’m reading all the travel news?
Locals protested tourists in Spain repeatedly the past few months, but so did residents in Italy and Portugal. Even locals in Mexico City are up in arms against tourists. Lots of places are introducing new taxes on tourism, like Norway, or increasing taxes, like Bali.
Besides not wanting locals to tell me to go home, I also don’t want to be part of the problem.
So, how can we tourists still travel the world? (Travel Tip 27 was about why I call myself both a tourist and a traveler, depending on the day). How can we see the places we’ve dreamed of without locals splashing us with water and telling us to get out?
How many do you think are taking photos to remember their trip by and how many are taking photos for social media?
My top 2 tips for avoiding places (or people) that hate tourists.
First, travel in the off season.
Check out Travel Tip 62 for my hot takes on how to travel in the off season.
Second, go somewhere that’s not on Instagram.
Gen Z would ask me how they’re supposed to know about a place if it’s not on social media while Gen X would laugh at me for taking this topic seriously.
But why not go somewhere that’s on Instagram? If you look at where these protests are happening, they’re almost always associated with “bucket list” destinations that are featured heavily on social media. In Japan, once a spot with a great view of Mt Fuji goes viral on social media, they have to put up barriers to keep people from mobbing the spot.
How to choose a destination
Browse guidebooks at a bookstore or get on Google Flights, set your departure airport and pick the dates but don’t pick a destination. Choose a flight that seems affordable to you, but after you choose the destination, buy a physical, printed on dead trees, guidebook. (Printed on recycled paper if possible). Whatever you do, don’t search for that destination’s hashtag on social media.
If social media is ruining tourism, I think the obvious answer is to stop using social media to pick where we go and what we do on vacation.
New Blog
After the Spanish got control of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, the Inca fled to the city of Vitcos, in the Vilcabamba Valley. As far as I can tell, it’s the least-visited Inca city anywhere near Cusco. I visited last weekend and have all the tips you need to visit too!
The Tambopata Research Center is high on my list of recommendations for the Peruvian Rainforest.
New Article
How to Visit the Peruvian Rainforest
After more than a dozen trips into different parts of the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, I’ve finally written a complete guide, published this week by Shermans Travel. Next week I’m heading to a new part of Peru’s northern jungle and will have lots of new rainforest recommendations coming soon!
