Tired of holidays that look like everyone else’s Instagram feed?
The majority of travellers visit the same places and do the same things. They check out Top 10 lists. They take the same buses. They snap the same photos.
And then they wonder why the trip felt… flat.
Truthbomb: The best trips aren’t found on TripAdvisor’s front page. They’re the side quests. They’re the happy accidents you didn’t plan but manage to stumble across when you’ve built your trip right.
70% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 are now seeking less touristy destinations, according to new research. Done with tourist traps, travelers crave authentic experiences.
Below are the trip planning hacks that actually work.
Here’s the rundown:
- Plan Around The Experience, Not The Postcard
- Why Standard Tourist Routes Are Losing Their Charm
- Use Real Data When You Research
- Build Flexibility Into Your Itinerary
- Travel In The Shoulder Windows
- Tap Local Insiders, Not Big Tour Sites
Plan Around The Experience, Not The Postcard
This is the biggest mistake travellers make:
They plan their trip around monuments instead of memories. You’ll forget a postcard picture in a week. You’ll remember an experience forever.
Think about Iceland. Everyone goes to the Blue Lagoon, they go to the Golden Circle. But where’s the magic? Underground. A family-friendly ice cave tour allows you to experience something the bus tour visitors will never see – a serene, blue lit sanctuary inside a glacier. Want an unforgettable ice cave experience in Iceland? Head inside the country’s largest glacier with your kids.
That’s what travellers tell stories about for years. Not the selfie in front of a crowded waterfall.
Those memories become dinner party stories for the next decade. The selfie just gets buried in your camera roll.
Start your planning by asking one simple question:
What kind of memory do you want to take home?
Then build the trip around that. Not the other way around.
Why Standard Tourist Routes Are Losing Their Charm
Tourist routes were designed for crowds. Not for memorable trips.
Consider. The list of “can’t miss” attractions at any given destination was compiled decades ago by travel guidebook editors who had to pad their books. Bloggers copied that list. TikTok copied the bloggers. Now everyone arrives at high noon, shoves for a picture, and leaves bummed out.
Statistics on over tourism confirm it. Accor reports that 58% of Brits are now trying to visit off the beaten path places instead of tourist attractions. Travelers have spoken. The hotspot is overcrowded, too expensive, and most of the time… boring.
But there is good news.
If you plan your trip a bit differently, you can:
- Skip the crowds
- See things most travellers never see
- Save money on inflated tourist prices
- Have stories that don’t sound like everyone else’s
Use Real Data When You Research
Don’t just trust the first 5 blog articles you read.
The majority of travel blogs are boring and recycled. They repeat the same top 10 spots that you know because they’re easy to research. Don’t do this. Use actual data when researching.
Here are 3 things to look at:
- Visitor statistics: Iceland saw about 2.3 million visitors in 2024 — so you can bet that the tourist traps are crowded. Those out-of-the-way glaciers and lava caves? Probably not.
- Seasonal data: Monthly visitor numbers to the country. Choose months that balance your ideal weather with fewer tourists.
- Local forums: Bypass the top XX things to do lists. See where locals (and other travellers who know their stuff) are posting. Reddit travel subthreads, specialty forums, and Facebook groups are invaluable.
A bit of digging will save you days of disappointment on the ground.
Build Flexibility Into Your Itinerary
Tightly packed itineraries are a recipe for misery.
You skip one bus and your whole day implodes. You discover a wonderful little place and you can’t enjoy it because you’re off to check the next box. That’s not traveling. That’s a bucket list with extra credit requirements.
The fix is simple:
- Plan only 1x main activity per day
- Leave 1x full day per week with NOTHING booked
- Book the first 2 and last 2 nights only — fly by the seat of your pants in the middle
It allows your trip some wiggle room. You can go with suggestions from locals. You won’t tire yourself out by day four. You’ll also save money on unnecessary reservations.
Some of the best travel memories happen when nothing is planned at all.
Travel In The Shoulder Windows
Here’s a hack most travellers ignore:
Try not to visit during peak season. Shoulder season (typically April-May and Sept-Oct) is ideal. Flights are less expensive. Hotels are less expensive. Lines are shorter at popular attractions. The weather is temperate enough to enjoy your surroundings.
In some places shoulder season can actually be BETTER than peak. Iceland is one of them. Come in September and you get long days, comfortable temps, AND increased chances of seeing the northern lights beginning to make their debut. If you go during peak summer months you miss that opportunity completely.
A bit of date flexibility pays off in:
- Lower prices on everything
- Easier bookings
- More authentic local experiences
Tap Local Insiders, Not Big Tour Sites
The best tip you’ll ever get on a trip will come from a local.
Large tour aggregators promote only a few tours because that’s where the affiliate money is. Smaller local operators offer better (smaller) trips that the big sites don’t display. Operators actually KNOW where they are uncrowded and scenic and off the beaten path.
How do you find them?
- Search “[destination] + local guide” on Google
- Search for smaller reviewers with less than 500 reviews (<500). These companies are usually family run/small businesses
- Enquire at your hotel reception when you check in – front desk staff will nearly always know
- Check niche subreddits for the destination and see who locals recommend
Smaller tours mean smaller groups. Smaller groups mean better experiences. Simple.
Bringing It All Together
Tourist routes are fine. If you want something more, they’re a waste of a vacation.
To recap the hacks:
- Plan around experiences, not landmarks
- Use real data when you research
- Build flexibility into your days
- Travel during the shoulder months
- Tap local insiders instead of big tour sites
Do these 5 things and your next trip won’t resemble the average traveller’s. It will be quieter, cheaper, weirder, and much more memorable.
That’s what real travel is about.
Go have a trip people will actually want to hear about.
Charleswens Loman writes the kind of hidden gems content that people actually send to each other. Not because it's flashy or controversial, but because it's the sort of thing where you read it and immediately think of three people who need to see it. Charleswens has a talent for identifying the questions that a lot of people have but haven't quite figured out how to articulate yet — and then answering them properly.
They covers a lot of ground: Hidden Gems, Horizon Headlines, Travel Planning Hacks, and plenty of adjacent territory that doesn't always get treated with the same seriousness. The consistency across all of it is a certain kind of respect for the reader. Charleswens doesn't assume people are stupid, and they doesn't assume they know everything either. They writes for someone who is genuinely trying to figure something out — because that's usually who's actually reading. That assumption shapes everything from how they structures an explanation to how much background they includes before getting to the point.
Beyond the practical stuff, there's something in Charleswens's writing that reflects a real investment in the subject — not performed enthusiasm, but the kind of sustained interest that produces insight over time. They has been paying attention to hidden gems long enough that they notices things a more casual observer would miss. That depth shows up in the work in ways that are hard to fake.
