Beyond the Tourist Traps: Experience Iconic Destinations Without the Crowds

What do the Statue of Liberty, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, and the Eiffel Tower have in common? They've all become part of the global tourist trap circuit—places that promise unforgettable experiences but often deliver crowds, inflated prices, and a distinctly inauthentic atmosphere.

I've traveled to numerous destinations on those viral "must-see before you die" lists, and while these iconic landmarks certainly have their merits, the experience of visiting them doesn't always match our expectations. The good news? There are practical strategies to transform even the most clichéd tourist destinations into meaningful, authentic adventures.

Timing makes all the difference. Visiting Italy in November rather than July means fewer crowds, lower prices, and more available accommodations. Yes, you'll need an extra layer or two, but you'll gain a more intimate experience with the destination. Similarly, seeking out alternative experiences—like Iceland's lesser-known Glacier Lagoon instead of the crowded Blue Lagoon—provides comparable beauty without the overwhelming tourist presence.

For truly immersive experiences, consider staying with locals outside tourist districts. When visiting Machu Picchu, some travelers spend days living with families in rural areas outside Cusco, gaining invaluable cultural insights before seeing the famous ruins. Even in major cities like Paris, exploring lesser-known arrondissements beyond the central tourist areas reveals authentic slices of local life most visitors never experience.

The value of travel isn't about checking items off standardized bucket lists but creating meaningful connections with the places we visit. Whether you're an introvert seeking quiet experiences or simply tired of fighting crowds for the perfect photo, these strategies will help you discover the authentic heart of your destination. What's on your travel list? And more importantly—how will you experience it differently?

Join our Facebook community "Solo Travel for Women Over 50" to share your own strategies for authentic travel experiences and connect with fellow adventure seekers who understand the balance between seeing iconic landmarks and discovering hidden gems.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever seen those lists where they ask you
how many places have youtraveled to, for example?
Maybe the list is like thesetop 20 places to see before you
die, or I bet you haven'tvisited more than five of these
places.
So I've seen those circulatingand, being a world traveler, I

(00:23):
do score a little higher thanmost people.
For example, there's a US onethat's specifically for US
destinations or landmarks andI've been to almost all of them,
missing a handful.
But examples like Statue ofLiberty, grand Canyon, walt

(00:44):
Disney World, zion National Park, space Needle, hollywood Sign,
las Vegas Strip, times Square,yellowstone, everglades, pikes
Peak, chicago River, washingtonMonument, mount Rushmore, french
Quarter, golden Gate Bridge,riverwalk, niagara Falls, mall
of America, gateway Arch, umpireState Building, road to Hanna,
fort Sumterter, the alamo wrightbrothers memorial, the white

(01:06):
house, yosemite national park,liberty bell, central park,
south beach, arlington cemetery,saint augustine, lake, tahoe
and alcatraz that's an americanversion, um, and then the one
that I'm not going to read.
Them all but examples of likethese world places.
They they'd say oh, you need togo to these places before you

(01:26):
die.
And you know, you look at themand go.
Oh my gosh, I haven't been toany of these, or maybe I've only
been to one and I'm reallymissing out.
A couple examples would be, youknow, iconic places like the
wall of China, machu Picchu,pyramids of Gaza, taj Mahal,

(01:48):
blue Lagoon in Iceland, grandCanyon, again, eiffel Tower in
Paris, stonehenge, times Square,dubai, big Ben, london and
Chichen Itzu.
In Mexico, it's the Mayan Cityand Galapagos Islands are some
of the list.
I don't know how many have youbeen to, but my question to you
is what do all these places havein common?

(02:11):
Well, today I will share withyou how to avoid these tourist
traps locations.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch.
So how do you avoid these what Iconsider tourist trap, or these
very popular destinations thattend to be overcrowded and even

(02:36):
sometimes rather expensivebecause of that?
Well, what is a tourist trap?
Obviously it's going to besomeplace that is got high
volume of tourists, um, that youknow attract a lot of people.
It gets really crowded andlocals or just business people

(02:57):
in general, take advantage ofthat situation and so, um, they
might scam you.
Uh, they're definitely going tobe peddling, you know, some
souvenirs or some goods, uh,while you're in the area, to try
to attract you and you andentice you in to buy things, uh,
while you are there.
But I guess one way to reallyum turn these attractions maybe,

(03:25):
uh, into something more, youknow, just distinguish itself
and make it more.
Avoiding of the tourists, of thetraps, is one thing you can do.
I have a couple suggestions.
One is definitely consider,when you travel so often, many

(03:45):
of these places are very busyduring the summer months, or
what they call that country'shigh season, so you want to
potentially avoid that time, forexample uh, I forgot to mention
the Colosseum in Rome, whichI'm sure is on one of those
lists.

(04:05):
Right To see that.
And Italy I like to use Italyas an example because it just
seems to always be the hoppingplace, especially in the summer
months, and because it's sopopular.
Things are a little moreexpensive in the summer,
especially accommodations.
They know they can get theprice they're asking.

(04:25):
So consider traveling on theoff season I'm talking off off
season, shoulder season.
You're still going to run intosome tourists.
You're still going to run intoa mediocre pricing.
It's still not going to drop.
For example, if you would go toItaly, say, in November, you're
going to find your price isgoing to drop.

(04:46):
You're going to have moreavailable accommodations.
You're not going to run into awhole lot of tourists.
And I will also just sayanother example.
Petra is also on that list thatI didn't quite finish.
But for example, right now,although it really depends on
sort of um, how you feel abouttraveling in this day and age

(05:08):
right now, but uh, for example,petra is um almost empty right
now because of what is going onin you know sort of over there
in the Middle East with somecontroversy and you know local
civil war kind of things goingon.

(05:28):
But anyways, I did see recentlyjust some journalist was over
there and at Petra and he saidpretty dead I don't know if it's
still that way now, but thingslike that how depending on how
comfortable you feel abouttraveling during some of those
times.
So that would be one way tosort of avoid sort of all the

(05:50):
tourist people around.
Another way that we could avoidtourist traps is we can
consider places that might besimilar but less visited.
For example, I'll use BlueLagoon, since I'm actually going

(06:10):
there I've given into the hypeand going there but there's also
a lesser lagoon, it's calledGlacier Lagoon in Iceland, and
then there's also a secret hotsprings which I'm hoping to find
, and once I find it, I willshare where that is in Iceland.
So these are going to be twoplaces that are going to be less

(06:32):
crowded.
There's not going to be theenticement to buy a package or
buy things, upgrade, do anythinglike that while you are there.
Do anything like that while youare there.
Um, things like you know youcould see a, say you want to go

(06:58):
to a big city, maybe, um, berlin, for example, just a big city.
You can find a similar citythat has the same feel as, say,
you know, berlin.
It would just be a smaller town.
So it may require you to gooutside of that, that box.
And you know, just try to lookoutside the box.
Look maybe outside of that cityfor other smaller town

(07:20):
experiences that still are goingto provide you with a similar
experience.
So the other thing you could dois to have a more authentic
experience when you're at acertain place is to live among
the locals or stay among thelocals and truly get ingrained

(07:41):
in that authentic culture andimmerse yourself in that new
city.
And one way to do that is that.
My example is when I did MachuPicchu, we did join a tour group
, and when we were leaving Cuscoand headed out to Machu Picchu

(08:02):
to do the hike, and we werepicking up two other people to
join us, and what they had donewas phenomenal.
I hadn't even I mean, this isback in 2018.
So I hadn't even heard of thisuntil then is that those folks?
They actually stayed withlocals outside, in a very rural
area outside of Cusco, and theystayed with them a few days to

(08:25):
really see, uh, what living waslike, and it gave them a really
authentic experience.
Um, they still got toexperience, uh, machu Picchu, uh
, through the hike, butsomething like that could
certainly bring a differentlevel of appreciation, uh, for
whatever place you are going, um.

(08:47):
Next thing is you can seek outnew neighborhoods that are maybe
nearby.
As I mentioned before, and eventhough you might be going, for
example, going to see the EiffelTower in Paris, there are
plenty of smaller little citiesand side roads of Paris.
Paris is just so manyarrondissements that you could

(09:10):
explore that are not as crowdedas, say, sort of in that central
area of the first, second,third and fourth arrondissement,
they seem to be more denselypopulated, so you can certainly
navigate outside of that.
Now, I mean, I'm not sayingavoid these places, but if that

(09:32):
you know, you have this on yourlist you want to go.
Maybe you're planning to go toDubai and that's been on your
list, then you know, go.
But, um, you know, just expectthat there will be lots of
tourists.
If you're okay with crowds, orconsider, as I mentioned before,
go on an off season Now checkthe country you're okay with
crowds?
Or consider, as I mentionedbefore, go on an off season Now

(09:54):
check the country you're goingto because, um, their seasons
may be different, their highseason may be different than
where you're coming from.
Um, and also, you know, payattention to the weather, of
course.
Uh, cause if you plan to go tomaybe you know Italy, like I
mentioned in November orDecember, it's going to be a
little chillier, uh, than youknow.
If you plan to go to maybe youknow Italy, like I mentioned, in

(10:14):
November or December, it'sgoing to be a little chillier
than you know if you went in thesummer, but then you wouldn't
have to deal with the heat.
So I don't know which one isbetter.
You know the heat and crowns,or do I want to have to wear
layers and still see Italy?
But it'll be a little chillierweather, I don't know.
Um, I'm on the fence cause I do.
I do love to get to a lot ofthese places and you know, kind

(10:38):
of say, I've been there causethey are very iconic.
But if that is something thatdoes not entice you you could be
, uh, an introvert or you don'tlike crowds then these places
may not be your cup of tea andyou will need to think outside
the box and finding other placesthat might be reminiscent of of

(11:00):
these iconic landmarks orplaces, but offer you the same
feel.
So, what is on your list?
What have you done at thatquick list that I just rumbled
on, like, what have you done?
That quick list that I justrambled on, like, what have you
done?
Have you hit any of thoseworldly places that I mentioned?
Where do you stand on that?

(11:20):
And then, if you're from the US, how many of those US locations
have you been to?
Just a question Doesn't meanyou need to check them off, any
kind of bucket list, but just athought.
All right, sister travelers, getout there and have that
adventure.
And if you want to join myFacebook group just to see what

(11:43):
others are doing, get some ideas, you're welcome to join.
My Facebook name is Solo Travelfor Women Over 50.
So if you just Google that inFacebook, you will find it.
It is a private group, so wecan feel safe as women being on
there together.
All right, let's do this, getout there and have that

(12:05):
adventure.