Visiting a new city can be so exciting, but at the same time, planning for the trip can be extremely overwhelming. It's difficult to sort through the touristy attractions and still find the spots that will help you live like a local while you're there. Through my many trips as a solo traveler, I've figured out a few tips on how to find activities in a new city so I can get the most out of my visit, and I feel like you can use them, too.
Google reviews, Instagram location tags and hashtags, travel blogs, and articles from digital publications are all resources I regularly use to make my trips as memorable as possible. I love spending my time sorting through the multitude of information that's available on the internet, and social media to bring the highlights of other people's trips into my own.
Using these five steps, I have been able to plan over 20 of the most memorable trips of my life all around country and globe, and I can't wait to see where they take me next. If you're headed out on a trip sometime soon, try following these simple tips to plan the vacation of a lifetime.
Travel blogs and articles from digital magazines are usually my first resource I consult whenever I'm headed to a new place. A simple search like "Instagrammable places in Stockholm" helped me find articles that lead me to both historic and iconic places, as well as newer, more modern sights.
This is a great first step when I'm just trying to familiarize myself with a destination without doing too much in-depth research. After these searches and quickly skimming through a few articles and blog posts, I'll write down the things I want to look into more deeply.
Because I'm such a visual traveler and often write a ton of travel pieces about picturesque places, Instagram research has become my best friend. Using the list I have compiled in step one, looking through location tags and hashtags on Instagram, helps me narrow down places I really want to see in person, as well as the spots that I'm okay with skipping.
I'm the first to admit that I love taking photos, but often lack inspiration when I actually get to a location. Once I've narrowed down the places I want to see through steps one and two, I'll do more research on Instagram through travel and photography accounts to find more photos of the spots I'm definitely visiting.
This helps give me a ton of inspiration for different kinds of pictures I can take in that specific location. Of course, there are some locations — like Trocadéro in front of the Eiffel Tower — that lend themselves to just a few iconic photo opps, but there are ways to explore different destinations from various angles.
Specifically when I'm looking for places to eat, Google reviews are really helpful. From what I've experienced, people are really honest when they leave their reviews and note everything from cleanliness, to the friendliness of the staff, to the price point's value in comparison to the quality of food.
Google reviews are great, especially when you're trying to stick to a budget, because they have all of the information you might need about a place in one spot. You get the menu, the prices, the location, and personal testimonies as reference points in one resource.
I always try to ask friends who have been to a destination for their personal recommendations, but if I don't know anyone who has been there, I turn to my travel Facebook groups. The one I use the most is Girls Love Travel, which is specifically a community of female travelers who often explore solo (like I do).
Groups like this foster a community of people from all over the world, and I've been able to ask for recommendations. I totally trust that the people in these groups will lead me in the right direction, and some of my favorite travel memories have come from recommendations from these groups.
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