What is the meaning of the phrase “Travel like a local”?

There are no rules in travelling. Everyone follows their own pace, their taste, their personal limitations etc, but there are some general tips we hear very often. The phrase “travel like a local” is one of them. One of the most classic questions is “Do you want to live an authentic experience?”. Let’s check why it’s not a good idea to travel like a local.

Locals have already seen the sights of the place

First of all, you must understand that locals live permanently on the place you’ll visit and they know all the secrets of the region but until they found what is worth to visit, we are sure that they checked the tourist attractions. We certainly don’t want to stand in the queue of a very famous cafe as we saw it in the travel guide or foursquare, but that doesn’t make us locals, just people who want to explore the city without wasting time.

What we realize is that the phrase was created to emphasize staying unseen. Sometimes travelers are loud, annoying and show no respect to the locals. So, if we wanted to give our own refreshed point of view that would be “respect the locals and the city and don’t cause problems”. Ask the locals for tips but also see the tourist attractions that deserve your attention.

And last but not least for us: Don’t think too much about what you have to do, just relax and have fun!