Do you go off the beaten path when you travel?

low-key

14001, 60056, 224
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
yes, a little bit every trip but Im not "go to the part of city that no one knows about guy"
 


Absolutely. Nothing better than getting in the car and just "going". I've done the first 2/3 of Rt 66 (in two separate trips) with tons of side trips to see this, that, and the other. Two years ago, DH flew to Denver, but I drove solo, and stopped wherever I felt like it. Got to the highest point in Nebraska, in the dead center of nowhere, just as a storm was coming in, miles from the closest blacktop road. Was a spiritual experience, and one that was special (even though it's only a little hill, that you drive right up to!)

So, yes, byways over highways, any day....

Terri
 


Sometimes when driving long distance we'll get off the highway for a while and take the old route that was replaced by the interstate. It's interesting going through some smaller towns and areas. We're usually not in any hurry.
 
Yes. I dont want to be in a tourist village, I want to see the culture of where I am. When I travel internationally, I chose to stay in a residential neighborhood within an hour of a major city. I want to see the day to day, eat at the local spots, see the school systems, local boutique shopping etc... We travel to a touristy area for our day activities, but late afternoon/evening, we are fully immersed in their real culture.
 
Sometimes we do some planned out off the beaten path little side trips. I'm too much of an overplanner to wing it. Being able to research on the internet has made me more adventurous. (If you can call research and planning before going adventurous, lol).
 
Nope - not on purpose. We're not travelers, we're tourists and we mostly only ever vacation to major destinations and have specific, iconic things we want to see and do there. Our itineraries hardly ever include time for just wandering around.
 
I'm a wanderer. I plan the big picture of most of our trips but leave time to get distracted and end up where ever too, and I like to seek our the places locals frequent rather than sticking to touristy areas. I also avoid chain restaurants and stores as much as possible, because I want the unique experience of the place rather than a generic nationally-available experience.
 
Once in a while. It can be pretty scary when the locals start telling you afterwards all the bad things that have happened in that area, and why they never go.
Worst haa to have been in Hawaii. I was on assignment to Honolulu in 1979 doing stories for a week and we were mooching around. The Tourism board rep we were dealing with was horrified when went there, and concerned we had done videotaping there. It was on the edge of downtown where all the street walkers and drug dealers hang out!
And on Kauai on our honeymoon, we had a rental car and drove around, came upon an area where folks were actually living in shelters made of cardboard
, and a man and a woman were in a fist fight as we drove by.
Also found what I thought I found a pretty scary area on a trip to Santo Domingo. Our guide said it all depended on your perspective. That area was a popular place for people who fled Haiti to go to because of it's relative safety and prosperity as compared to Haiti!
 
Well, I don't personally think so, but I've been told more than once by locals that my vacation choices are somewhat out of the norm. Like, our Rome hotelier who was trying to tell us how to get to the Spanish Steps, and I was all, "That's nice, can you tell us which bus to take to this tiny Etruscan city of the dead?"
 

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