By Chef Andrew & Chef Trinity

There are lots of approaches to seeing the world. Some people prefer a carefully planned itinerary, some like to travel with tour groups or to go on cruises, while others like to be completely spontaneous and avoid anything that feels like an agenda. Our approach, outlined below, tends to be somewhat of a hybrid of many of these styles and we hope that you may find some useful ideas no matter what type of road warrior you may be.

To Plan or Not To Plan

Generally, we like to be spontaneous when we travel as you never know when you are going to stumble upon some awesome street performer, come across a neat seasonal event, or even just get caught up in a great conversation with someone you meet over a pint. But we have also found that having at least one or two definite activities per day is a good idea. It gets you out and about, helps you check off those “ya just gotta do it” boxes, and provides a target destination as you get familiar with your new surroundings. It also still leaves plenty of time in a day to wander and immerse yourself in the local culture.

Some things we definitely do like to plan are places to stay, trains and airplanes, as well as any highly popular activities that absolutely require advanced bookings. Other than that, we love to just wing it.  

Walk The Town

On what we call “moving days” we usually tend to schedule our travel so that we arrive at a new destination before lunch time. That gives us time to drop our bags off at our lodging, get our bearings, and enjoy a good lunch; which is always nice after tackling the usual throes of trains, planes, and automobiles. After lunch, one of our favorite things to do is to walk the town. Sometimes we walk the entire town in one day depending on how big it is. Walking is a great way to truly immerse yourself into the action of a town. It gets you familiar with the different quarters and neighborhoods, and it can be helpful in determining key activities that you may want to enjoy during the rest of your stay there. It is also a great way to find restaurants and pubs that are off the beaten path. One thing we often do while we are walking is to look for destinations that are open to the general public, like cathedrals or parks, which are usually free or only require a minimal donation.

Use Mass Transit

As much as we love walking, sometimes a city is just too big to do it all on foot. In those cases, we strongly recommend getting familiar with all of the trains, trams, buses, and ferries that are at your disposal. Some people find this daunting and prefer to take taxis but that is expensive and subject to traffic jams. Smart phones have made using these resources significantly easier to access and, to be honest, nothing quite makes you feel like a real “local” than knowing your way around the mass transit systems.  

Keep Calm

Even the most seasoned of travelers is going to have a bad day sometimes. Trains get canceled, passports get lost, pockets get picked, people get hurt. Whatever circumstance you’re in, list your assets, use your smartphone, reach out to authorities as needed, and above all else don’t panic. Here are a few good practices that might help you out of a jam:

• Have a photocopy of your passport and credit cards stowed away.  
• Have a secondary credit card and some extra local currency stowed away.
• Know where your nearest embassy is located and have their address and telephone number on your cell phone.
• Share your cell phone location (e.g. Find My) with your fellow travelers.
• Travel with a first aid kit.
• Be persistent until you get the answers you need to resolve your issue.
• Keep calm and carry on!

Talk To The Locals

Over the years some of the best restaurants, coolest pubs, and most unique travel experiences we have had came about from casual conversations with everyday residents. While guidebooks and tourist offices are all fine and well, there is nothing that quite compares to local knowledge. On our most recent trip to Europe our favorite restaurant experience (“Cafedraal” in Bruges) and one of our most memorable evenings (picnic and outdoor symphony on the banks of the Rhine) both came about from chatting with the locals. This has happened to us countless times and it is really quite easy. When you find yourself across from someone on a train, or sitting next to you at a bar, or waiting online at a museum just ask them: “What’s your favorite restaurant?”, “Anything unusual happening in town this week?”, “Where’s the best pub with live music?”, and you will find more often than not people are quite happy to share their knowledge. And remember, asking if they speak English (ideally in the local tongue) before hitting them with your questions is always the best practice.

Have a Thing

It can be a lot of fun to have something that you uniquely like to do when you go to a new destination. Some people are wanting the finest pastries, some are on a mission to find the weirdest tchotchke, others seek the perfect pint of Guinness or the best local winery. We actually know someone who is completely obsessed with Napoleonic battlefields. For us, it is the game of darts! This awesome game is an obsession for both of us and we always make it a point to find at least one cool darts pub in every town, ideally the one that also has that perfect pint of Guinness (yeah, that’s our thing too), or an excellent local brew. Whatever it is, having a “thing” often leads you to some unique places that the average tourist will never see and can lead to some fantastic long term memories.  

Take A Tour

It’s OK to take a tour. There, we said it. Personally, we tend to resist guided activities as much as possible as we prefer to explore on our own. However, there are times when it just makes a lot of sense to let someone else handle the driving, or to deal with a tricky border situation, or to take you on safari, or any other instance where you really just want a local to be showing you the ropes. We take advantage of day trip tours quite often, especially when a car is needed and we don’t feel like renting one for just a day. Even those touristy hop-on hop-off buses can be useful at times when time is short or you just want to get a quick overview of a big city before you head out on your own. Just wear sunglasses and keep your hat down low. Just kidding!

…and as for cruises, nah we’re just not there yet.  

Be it a big city or a small town, try out some or all of these approaches and we believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how much more dynamic and exciting your travels can be. Be flexible, be daring, and become a local. As always, the hardest part will be having to say goodbye.