Finding Cool Stuff To Do

Quite possibly the most important question to determine, prior to traveling somewhere in particular, is what you will do when you get there! Instead of sitting in a plush hotel room all day, or skipping from Starbucks to Starbucks, do a little research and make a gameplan of things to see and do!

Occasionally I am asked how I find things to do. Through travel experience, I have gotten better at this task, yet missing out on interesting activities and sights still regularly disappoints me. In any case, here are my favorite ways to find things to do:

1. Meet a local. No resource can prove as informative, helpful, and efficient as a local willing to show you around. See this post for one such experience I had in Vietnam.

2. Use a travel guide. I’ve been to countries like Mongolia and Japan, where I did not have a travel guide, and am glad I got that “raw” experience of having to figure things out for myself. That said, there is no source as readily available, as broad, and as informative as an established guide book. In SE Asia, I look for Lonely Planet books. In my opinion, no other label comes close to being as useful. In Europe, the Rick Steve’s series always proves helpful. I used to despise guide books as being for typical tourists, but let’s just say that I have been converted to their breadth and depth.

3. Ask locals. Next best to having a local show you around her city, is asking a street food vendor or convenience store clerk for his advice. If you’re interested in getting “off the beaten path,” say so! I like to ask locals to tell me something really odd or weird about their city or country. Some will be hesitant to share, not wanting to embarrass their country, but you’ll be surprised at some of the answers you’ll get if you ask enough people.

4. Use the internet. Similar to having a guide book, the internet is packed with useful information, especially for travel specialists. If you are interested in an elephant jungle trek, use Google to find out the best ways to do it, the costs involved, and reviews by customers. One of my favorite websites is tripadvisor.com because of the extensive user reviews and user-ranked lists of “stuff to do.”

5. Use old school strategies to increase your knowledge of a place. This includes watching documentaries, browsing through books at the bookstore or library, reading magazine articles, asking friends that have been there, etc.

Hopefully this gives you a new idea or two. How do you figure out what to do when you travel?