Some of the best travel memories come from the kindness of strangers—those unexpected small acts of generosity, invitations to homes, or meaningful conversations. Where have you met the friendliest locals, and what made the experience unforgettable?

I'm in my early 20s and just starting to explore the world, but I know there's so much about travel that you can only learn with experience. For those of you who’ve been traveling for decades, what are the lessons, hacks, or hard-earned wisdom you wish you knew when you were younger?

EDIT: I’m Stanley, a college student from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) studying how people travel. 

I'd love to hear about how you planned your trip to the most recent country you’ve visited for my class project. This questionnaire takes 5 mins to fill out and will automatically enter you into a raffle to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Winner will be announced on 2/3.  Questionnaire: https://forms.gle/acCaMZqy8pzp55nj8

We are pretty well traveled. I find that some of the most memorable experiences from our travels involved some interaction with locals. I remember once we ran into a street party in Valencia and we were dancing with them for an hour.
Once we were in Red Sea, Jordan, just strolling on the beach, watching the local kids swimming. One boy notice me taking pictures, come up to me for a pose, I took his photo, he thanked me and asked my daughter to take picture with him. Ok, why not. Next boy noticed and wanted in. The next thing you know, I have a picture of my daughter with 20 boys around her. It was clean fun, nothing creepy. It was awesome. I went to vietnam, hired local students to take us around town on their own motorcycle. It was so much fun, we did 2 more tours with them, and we treated them to lunch and eating local street food. Just to name a few.

These are the things I want to see happens more. Since we are family, can’t really just go to local bars and clubs to meet people, and I don’t find much personal interaction with professional tour guides, so that’s out too. What’s your suggestion?

Share your experience about past trips, or ask questions about multiday hikes you are interested in.

Anything goes so long as you at least walked somewhere, stayed overnight, and carried on by foot the next day. Be it yoyo'ing the Pacific Crest trail, trekking to Everest basecamp, or a few relaxed days strolling through the Alsace vineyards with your luggage being driven to the next hotel.

I will follow this up with a best single day hike post next.

Previous community discussions can be found using the search for now, and if you have a suggestion please comment here.

hi guys,

I was just wanting some advice as I'm turning 18 in December and I wanted to go on a holiday around that time. I was first planning to go to Ibiza, but its on its off season. I was wondering what are the busiest/ best places to travel to in December for nightlife. thanks :)

I'll be visiting Lyon for the first time in May 2025. I like good food, but I'm not a foodie and don't really appreciate the type of restaurant that would have mushroom foam on their veggies. That being said any recommended restaurants in Lyon?

Itinerary feedback for 2 week trip

Visiting Italy with my SO. It’s their first time, but I haven’t been in 20 years. We have two weeks, and while we do want to see sights, we also like our R&R and don’t want to run outselves ragged traveling nonstop. Here’s our preliminary itinerary- let me know if you think we’re missing a MUST see (no interest in Milan or Florence), or if we should extend our time at any of the stops. We arrive and depart out of Rome Loose itinerary - Rome - 2 nights Travel to Venice via train Venice- 2 or 3 nights Travel to Naples, then Almafi via train Amalfi area- 6 nights During those 6 nights we plan to take day trips to Pompeii, Capri, and hiking. Return to Rome the night before our departure Would love to know anything extra rad we should see within our route, or if you think we should stay less time in Almafi, and make time for something else in the south. Thank you!

Portugal or Baltics based on my situation?

Hi folks, I live in U.S but Im currently in Eastern EU. So flights to baltics are cheap.

I have 2 options: The baltics or Portugal ! Portugal is top of my bucketlist. Technically it would be cheaper if I go to baltics now rather then the future since Ill be departing from U.S in the future. Portugal is always closeby.

Baltics look cool, especialy estonia. I wanna visit within the next 5 year for sure, what would you do? Im in a decision paralysis 😅 ?

Hi folks, I line in U.S but Im currently in Eastern EU. So flights to baltics are cheap.

I have 2 options: The baltics or Portugal ! Portugal is top of my bucketlist. Technically it would be cheaper if I go to baltics now rather then the future since Ill be departing from U.S in the future. Portugal is always closeby.

Baltics look cool, especialy estonia. I wanna visit within the next 5 year for sure, what would you do? Im in a decision paralysis 😅

Hi everyone,

I am about to solo travel for 3 months through Southeast Asia!!!

I’ve been told Thailand have a lot of banned anti-psychotic medications and limits on how much medication you can bring with.

I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences with this or advice? I’m feeling anxious about my meds being taken away!

I thought the ones in Petra are easily ignored although quire persistent , as long as you keep saying no lol. Didnt ruin my experience tbh

Just wondering since I might get a private guide if its a lot worse in egypt

I see that Pegasus (Turkish LCC, quite popular in some parts of Europe and the Middle East) are promoting their very low cost 'personal item only' tickets.

That gives you a limit of 3kg, that has to go under your seat.

Of course you can pay extra for carry-on (8kg) that goes overhead,or more for checked luggage,if you want to.

I travel pretty light but 3kg is really stretching it, for me.

Do you ever fly with that little luggage? Only for extremely short trips? Or could you do a longer trip with only 3kg?

Here's my itenary so far:

D1: Explore Lima. Leave to huacachina in the night

D2: Sand dunes/ATV on sand dunes. Chill at hostel

D3: Go to paracas and the islands. Take the night bus to arequipa

D4: explore arequipa

D5: colca canyon

D6: flight to cusco in the morning, chill at cusco (acclimatize)

D7,D8,D9: activities in cusco and neighboring places (all one day trips maybe)

D10: spend day in cusco, take the train to aguas calientes in the evening. stay in aguas calientes for the night.

D11: machu picchu and back to cusco in the evening.

D12: leave back to lima or spend the day in cusco depending on the vibes

D13: if still in cusco, leave to lima. else explore lima

D14: flight back

Is there something that you would change? Or does this look good?

I'm looking to plan a vacation for this coming summer and want to avoid places that have their peak in the summer - I'd just like to avoid crowds. How do you find places (across the world), and plan your trips for the off season?

Specifically, how do you find countries where summer isn't busy for their travel, but its still enjoyable to go?

New York, Miami, San Diego, Houston, Austin, Portland, San Francisco, and Philadelphia are trying to get a place on the list too.

Context: I'm doing a big move and looking to explore cities before settling on one. I'd love to know what the travelers here would recommend as I'll be visiting these cities first on holiday before making the big move.

Looking for:

• Sophisticated cultural events (galas, balls, charity events, fancy sports and entertainment events)
• Good music scene
• Major city with all the modern conveniences and stores we've grown accustomed to
• Beautiful architecture
• Walkable city (or at least neighborhood—please let me know which neighborhood specifically you'd recommend—I like aesthetic, high-end neighborhoods)
• Parks, nature, water
• If the weather is mild that's a huge plus. I don't think I can do a super super rainy city or a city that doesn't know how to manage snow if there's a lot of snow
• Would also love to know how you'd describe the people in each city (I'm also a single woman looking to settle down and am looking for a somewhat traditional career/success-oriented man)

If you have notes on Chicago and Washington DC, I'm open to hearing them, too!

I like places with plenty of museums, architecture and good food spots. I've been to Stockholm and Berlin previously. Where would you recommend?

Edit: I'm in the UK, so I've done London.

Hi!

So I love the balkans when I went. I love history and cities and nature (to a certain extent) so Serbia, Bosnia were my favorites. I visited Crostia too which was pretty.

I have plans to travel to Albania because of historic reasons as well, but Im on the fence on Macedonia and Montenegro and Slovenia. Montenegro looks the coolest in nature. Im comparing these countries to nature like in Peru, chile, Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, Iceland, etc and it just looks OK. But a lot of the times pictures dont do justice and I end up loving it.

What are you thoughts?

I have read so much conflicting information that it's starting to worry me.

I am flying to Barcelona and need to know if I need to do anything to enter Spain.

Do I need EES or ETIAS? Do I need anything besides a valid US passport?

Anyone recently travel and can confirm?

Hello all, I am currently in the plans of creating an itinerary for travelling around Egypt with some of my friends in April this year. Also, as we are male British tourists should there be anything we need to be aware of (I know about how many people try to scam you there) and if the Visa on Arrival process is faster and more efficient than just getting an E-Visa. Anyways, this is our current plan:

DAY 1 - 2

Location: Cairo

To-do: Visit pyramids

TRIP 1: Cairo (Tahrir) - Hurghada 

Cost: 350 EGP pp (£5.70) (bus)

DAY 3 - 5

Location: Hurghada 

To-do: Chill, Scuba diving, Snorkelling, Beach

TRIP 2: Hurghada - Luxor

Cost: 320 EGP pp (£5.22) (bus) (Will be leaving Hurghada around 3.30PM so should not be stopped at checkpoint?)

DAY 6-7

Location: Luxor

To-do: Still figuring this out

TRIP 3: Luxor - Aswan

Cost: £10.83 pp (bus)

Day 7-8

Location: Aswan

To-do: Nubian village + figuring more things to do

TRIP 4: Aswan - Cairo

Cost: £14.77 (Bus)

DAY 9-11

Location: Cairo

To-do: Chill, Desert excursions 

Any advice people may have on what to modify, activities, accommodation ideas etc would be most appreciated.

P.S. We are travelling on a student/backpacker budget

Me and my wife (late 20's) are planning our 2025 holiday and have narrowed the options to 2 weeks in either Mexico (Yutacan/Quintana Roo region), Thailand or Egypt and could do with some advice on people's experiences or recommendations. We would plan to go October/November 2025.

For context, our main interests and priorities in a holiday are exploring amazing scenery and nature (national parks, mountains, deserts, jungles etc) for amazing views and unique locations. Food is also very important but to my knowledge all three countries seem to have good and unique food. We are very active and enjoy hiking, cycling and rock climbing. We are also very interested in history and learning about different cultures. We're not interested in sitting and sunbathing by the beach for 2 weeks and we would rather be doing activities or exploring but we are happy to be at the beach and do activities like swimming, watersports, snorkeling or seeing the local wildlife.

Also for people who have been to them, which is cheapest? For accommodation, excursions, food etc? Flights are similar for all of them ( a bit cheaper for Egypt as we are based in Europe)

Any advice on if one of these you would recommend would be great!

I’m planning to take my family to Europe for two weeks next December (Christmas / New Years). I’d like to be somewhat warm (or at least not freezing compared to where I am in the States!). I’m kind of torn between Spain and Italy/Sicily. Any other locations I should consider for cultural sites and good food options?

I've been to Stresa and Orta San Giulio on Lake Maggiore, and both were great in their own way. Stresa was more active and Orta San Giulio was quieter and very comfortable in its own way, with all the old streets and island views.

But this summer, we'd like to visit Italy again with my wife and son, and we've found out about Cannobio, which in photos and videos, looks absolutely beautiful. I read on "lakeview" that Cannobio is smaller and less crowded, more relaxing than "party"-heavy, which is great as our son is still young anyway. Accommodations are easy to find, but we want to plan for some activities.

We would love some hiking, for example, but only if that's something you do there. I'd also like to know about transport inside the town (buses, or it's just best to rent a car?). Things to do, places to eat, anything like that - please tell us about it if you've been there!

Alright, so my college planned a trip to this snowy place, and I’ve been waiting two years for this. I was super excited, but all my friends ditched at the last minute. Now I’m stuck deciding if I should go alone. I don’t really know the other people going, and with around 60 people, I feel like I might just end up standing there awkwardly with no one to talk to.

The trip costs about 9% of my monthly income, which isn’t a big deal for me, so money’s not the problem. It’s just a one-night stay, and I’m excited to see the place, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel without any close friends around.

The trip places are Faisal Mosque, Patriyata, Mall Road, Nathia Gali, Donga Galli and Lake View Park. They’re charging 9k PKR for the trip, and I think the total will cost around 13k PKR for everything. There’s only the ski chairlift (or whatever it's called) there, but I’m excited because it’s been over 4 years since I traveled anywhere. The views look beautiful, and I’m really looking forward to it, but I’ve never been to a snowy area or done anything like this before, so I’m not sure what to expect.

My family is planning a trip later this year to a nearby historical city, and there’s about a 30/70 chance we might also visit this snowy area during that trip. So, there’s no guarantee I’ll get to go with them either.

For context, I’ve only been on one proper trip before (don’t remember much of the other one because I was super young), so I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy this alone.

Would you guys take the leap and just go? Or skip it and wait for the family trip, even if it’s uncertain? What would you do?

Trip reports, travel tips, food, culture. Whatever helped you find ideas, prepare for, or enjoy your trips.

Big or small is fine. Entire Podcast channels as a whole, or even just a single episode about the history of Ulm that you found interesting and made your appreciation of the Munster even greater.

This has been done here a few times (one and two) but it has been a while, and a pinned post tends to get more attention.

Previous community discussions can be found using the search for now, and if you have a suggestion please comment here.

I am beginning to turn my life in a better direction. I live in Canada, and outside of a few visits to the U.S.A to visit family, I haven’t travelled. In my 50s now and really not sure where to go and what to do. Just saving up money to hopefully go somewhere in the next year or so. Would really like some suggestions, for a middle aged single guy.

Hola!

I cant drive too lol. I like nature, history and food :)

My plan: 3 or 4 days in Torres del paine, is internet fine here?

Atacama for 3 days (including transportstion to go here and leave, too short?)

I was told to skip Santiago lol, only use it to fly in and fly out

3 days in Puerto Varas

I have still time, where should I go and are the days allocated fine? Maybe 3 days Santiago?

Is 2 weeks too long?

So, I am planning to go to Sri Lanka for 8 days. But I am really having a hard time creating an itinerary. Because there are so many places & I can't fit it in my itinerary even after giving 1 day each place (which is not ideal). Looking suggestions from you travellers!

໖໖ Stutiyi Thanks Merci!

We are planning a 2 week Europe Road trip from London around Easter. I have a few places I want to cover but need suggestions on where to stay, how long & some activities. Looking for some off beat, unconventional suggestions.

This is our current planned route - Calais, Ghent, Brussels, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Black Forest, Fussen / Neuschwanstein Castle, Zugspitze, Zug, Rhine Falls. Idea is to cover these in 8-9 days (out of total 15 day trip) & do most of the driving between dinner and bedtime.

Though we visited some of these places before, this is the first time we will be travelling by road.

We are a family of 3 with a 6yr old so don't want to spend most of our time doing general city tours. We really want to do some light adventure activities and visit waterfalls, cable cars, toboggans & mountain roller coasters. We are also not interested in theme parks, zoos or museums. We have flexibility of another 4-5 days to either stay in one place longer or steer slightly away from our plan to visit anything worthwhile.

Can you experienced lot please suggest and make our road trip a memorable one?

Planning to travel to Transylvania ! Curious why Romania is not travelled to alot(for Americans atleast since Im American), it looks cool, especially Brasov.

Me 20f and my partner 23m wanted to travel to Hurghada. I’ve heard a lot about sexual assaults, will it be unsafe to go there even with my male partner?