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By Becky Mahan, Editor
And we agree. But the truth of the matter is: you’re never going to really, truly feel like a local anyway. You’ll always be a newcomer, a stranger to that city, traversing the streets like the foreigner you are. (Unless, of course, your vacation turns into a permanent one.) And that’s okay. So relieve some of the pressure to be such an organic non-intruder. It’s okay to not be a local.
My own personal travel style is backpacking on a budget, immersing myself in the local day-to-day culture, cooking my own food, and experiencing a city or region the way its citizens do. I avoid anything that sounds remotely like a tourist trap, skip restaurants in favor of cooking pasta and locally-selected produce from the street market, and walk around a city all day long, soaking up the sights and sounds, rather than pay for a guided tour. I sleep in hostel bunk beds to save my dimes instead for snorkeling, or paragliding, or ziplining. Or, just to be able to extend my trip another week.
This past January, my boyfriend and I spent a week at Disney World and Universal Orlando, a far less organic vacation than I have taken in years. We stayed in hotel rooms with no kitchen, ate out for every meal, paid a fortune for multiple day park passes, and took Uber or shuttles to get where we needed to go. I was worried I’d feel like a “travel traitor.” Instead, I came home feeling more relaxed, rested, and recharged than I have in a very long time (including after 3 weeks in Italy last summer.) So much so, that it led me to start embracing the stereotypical, “packaged” vacation a bit more. Why?
You don’t have to plan (or cook) your own meals
In the mornings, you hotel most likely has free breakfast, or there’s a coffee shop within spitting distance. When you’re hungry during the day, you can find a spot on a handy dandy app called Trip.com that serves what you’re craving (pizza? burgers? vegan?), eat your meal, and they’ll clean up after you. Naturally, it costs more money to eat out for every meal, but there’s real meaning in the phrase, “time is money.” You’ll be saving the time otherwise spent shopping for food, cooking, eating, and cleaning, which can instead be used on another activity or an extra hour spent sightseeing.
Staying in a hotel has fringe benefits
While a hostel bed is cheap and allows you to meet other travelers, and a vacation rental gives you the intimacy that feels like staying with a friend, sometimes, the privacy, anonymity, and catered services provided in a hotel just hit the nail on the head. The concierge can give you the inside scoop on the best places to eat or hang, and often provide discounts for hotel guests. They can book activities, tours, and reservations for you (and just might be able to get you into that exclusive restaurant everyone’s vying for.) There’s a pool, spa, gym, bar, and if you forgot your toothbrush, they’ll have a free one at the desk. Think of a hotel as the travel friend that’s got your back.
There’s privacy when you need a vacation…from your vacation
There’s something so satisfying about returning to your hotel room at the end of a long day, lounging around in a plush bed (that you don’t have to make in the morning) and watching a movie on HBO. Or heck, you can even take a day off and spend the entire day on said bed, ordering room service, and never leaving the room. Plus, your own bathroom (bonus: with a soaking tub.) ‘Nuff said.
Someone else does the driving for you
Well, okay, that’s not entirely true: you might rent a car, depending on where you’re headed. But the pleasures of taking the bus, train, taxi, or even a private limo, and NOT having to sit in traffic or navigate your way in a strange new place are sometimes paramount.
Sometimes, you just need a real vacation
Everyone’s idea of a “real vacation” is different. But the concept is the same: every once in a while, we need to step away from our chaotic, hectic, packed daily schedules to relax. The cooking, the cleaning, the errands, the bill-paying, the picking up kids from school and taking them to soccer practice, the overworked hours at the office…they need to disappear for awhile so you can rest. Spend your days NOT working or cleaning or cooking or driving. Giving your mind and body a break from the day to day grind. And sometimes, that means staying in a hotel with housekeeping and concierge service. Ordering a driver to take you where you need to go. Walking into an establishment that will take your order, cook your food to your liking, bring it to you, and then take it away and clean it up when you’re done.
Of course, we are always advocates for the “local” lifestyle, engaging with the community, and spending time learning what makes a place tick. Travel with purpose is important. But sometimes, there is nothing wrong with indulging in the benefits of a fully catered vacation. Sometimes, travel can be both of those things. And whichever one you decide it to be is perfectly okay.
Source: gogobot.com