Finding content-worthy locations (no Instagram)
In light of the overtourism we were beginning to see right before the pandemic, I wanted to share a few tips and tricks for finding places off the beaten path.
Although, in essence, there’s nothing wrong with going to the same places as many people, it impacts the local communities and environments. From the queues at temples to the disrespecting of rules and boundaries in local parks - and that’s just scratching the surface - as we start exploring the world again, it would be great to continue being aware of our surroundings and intentions for our travels.
Might seem obvious, but it’s one tool that gets seriously overlooked! A free library of information and content to discover the next place, simply Google-ing your destination with a few keywords like ‘coffee’, ‘pretty’, ‘vegan’ or ‘local’ can return a plethora of locations to hit up!
From blog articles to news pieces to social media posts, sometimes the most beautiful locations are hiding in plain sight (on the world’s biggest search engine).
Another underused search engine, but a little more visual, just a couple of searches and you once again have a plethora of knowledge and locations at your finger tips. In the form of photos, articles and now also videos of the places.
For this platform, I do recommend trying some keyword searches in other languages as well. For example looking ‘remote working Uruguay’ didn’t return many results, however ‘teletrabajo Uruguay’ brought up several more options.
Mapify
An app I was introduced to during the pandemic and haven’t tried too much (the above two work well for me). But the idea behind this app is that travellers can upload their content from their trips to share with other people heading to the same destinations. Showing even just different angles of popular locations, it gives a little more scope for different perspectives for those trying to see alternatives sides of a location.
Some places still have very little content or will send you to other destinations entirely, but possibly one to keep an eye on as more of us begin to travel again.
Are there any apps or platforms you would add to the list?
Han x
