Three More Effective Ways to Live Like A Local When You Travel

Experiential travel is the hottest trend in tourism. Travelers are seeking more meaningful experiences and want to immerse themselves in the culture and heritage of their destination.

With that in mind I’ve put together a series of tips to help you live like a local while you’re on vacation. Here are three ideas from my blog series.

How To Live Like A Local

Cooking Class- “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are,” Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said. I think he would have suggested that you enroll in a cooking class on your next vacation. It’s a wonderful activity for families or solo travelers. And you get to eat what you prepare!

Food reveals much about the culture of a country, local agriculture and the artisans who make the regional delicacies. One of my favorite cooking schools is in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Sazon. The chef took us on a tour of the market where we purchased our locally grown lunch ingredients and then we helped him make Purslane soup with fresh corn, Chiles en nogada and Flan de queso ranchero con kahlua.

By the way, purslane is a vegetable that contains more omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. And I learned about this powerful food in a cooking class!

Worship – If you go to church at home, continue the practice while on vacation. I don’t mean touring a cathedral or taking photos of a glorious ceiling, I mean attending a service with people from the neighborhood. Even if the priest speaks a different language you can simply sit and absorb the spiritual energy. Use the quiet time for a private prayer or meditation. You’ll be surprised how refreshed and at home you’ll feel.

Before your next holiday, go online and enter the name of your religion and the city you’ll be visiting, and bingo, church choices! If you add the words “English speaking,” your vacation city might have a specific service just for you.

Many churches in the U.S. offer a pancake breakfast or a bake sale to raise funds. What a delicious way to meet locals and enjoy an inexpensive meal or loaf of banana bread!

Recreation – Recreation means refreshment of strength and spirit after work. What sort of recreation do you like? Do you ride bikes, jog, fish, go to the beach? Whatever it is, you probably never have enough time to enjoy it when you’re at home. Vacation time should include lots of recreation time.

Take a look at the root word of recreation, recreate. I think that’s just what we should do while on holiday, re-create ourselves!

A few years ago my family completed a home exchange on Cape Cod, MA. The beautiful Victorian home overlooked a private fresh water lake. Our home exchange partner told us to help ourselves to all the toys in the barn. Toys included rafts, fishing poles, lanterns and a couple kayaks. We were on the water almost every day. Talk about refreshment!

Living like a local is the best way to experience a vacation destination. Next week I’ll reveal my final three tips.

Your Turn

Please comment below and let me know how you re-create yourself on vacation.

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