Things You Are Allowed To Do As A Tourist

Do you think there should be a list of things tourists are allowed to do when they travel?

In some ways, I strongly think so.

As a world traveler and travel writer, I have covered many different topics in so many of my articles in which I addressed some really important issues related to the impact that we travelers can make on the places we visit, as well as the impact traveling the world makes on us.

So, this is why I started reflecting on a few things I have done as a tourist and I decided to write a small list of things I think you are allowed to do as a world traveler. But to start off, I’d like to have a different approach (you’ll see what I mean when you read my thoughts below).

These are some of my personal views on what tourists should not only be allowed to do but also feel comfortable doing when visiting their dream destinations.

6- You’re allowed to choose to not see a certain attraction

This is one of my favorite things to be comfortable with when I travel. It’s not because I’m visiting a new city that I have to feel like hitting every single tourist attraction there. You don’t have to feel guilty about not visiting certain points, so you should let go of any pressure it’s put upon you to visit these places.

It’s not because you’re in NYC that you have to visit the Statue Of Liberty. Is it an attraction that you really want to see? If it’s not, you should feel free to not go.

I know that certain attractions are seen as a must because they represent so much a place’s history and culture, but if you have other motivations when it comes to visiting a new city or country, you should be okay with doing what’s in your heart.

A great example of that is that next month, I’ll be going to Scotland for a second time, but this time I’ll be doing everything I can to immerse myself into nature. I have planned a hiking trip and this is the type of Scotland I’d love to see. I know there are so many historical and ancient buildings and a very rich culture to explore there, but though I find all these things very interesting, I don’t see them as a must. I have looked up hiking trails and mountains in Scotland and this is all I want to see.

It doesn’t matter how cool a place is or how many “must-see attractions” there are, if my motivation is to do something that is more outside the box, that’s what I’ll do.

So, yes, you should be allowed to choose to not go to a certain attraction. It’s not a must. An attraction is only a must when it’s YOUR desire to visit it.

5- You’re allowed to plan your trip the way you wish to

You can plan your trip the way you want to and do whatever is in your heart. You can choose to have a completely planned itinerary, or just make last-minute decisions when you’re already there. You can plan to see one attraction per day or just spend the whole day chilling by the pool of your hotel. This is YOUR trip so YOU can plan it the way you want to.

There is no such thing as “the correct way to plan a trip”. Do whatever you want and don’t feel bad about it.

With so much content on the internet, it is very easy to feel like you’re bad at planning trips because we’re constantly letting these travel writers/bloggers dictate how we should go about our travels. Don’t be influenced by anybody. You are a free soul.

One of my first articles on Medium is about how I prefer to travel without an itinerary. The amount of comments saying that I am ruining my trips by not planning every single second is just absurd. If I let any external opinions dictate how I feel about the freedom of not having to stick to an itinerary, I would feel bad every time I chose to go this way about my trips.

Plan your trips the way you want to. There’s no correct way to do it.

4- You’re allowed to have “strong” opinions about a place

Dear fellow world travelers, as long as your opinions are not rooted in racism, xenophobia and discrimination, you are allowed to say that you hated a certain place. You are allowed to say that some things are cultural shocks to you and that they bother you. No one and I mean, NO ONE is allowed to dictate how you should perceive a certain place.

Some of my most viral articles are about what bothers me in Ireland. I moved to Dublin a year ago and I have written a lot of articles about the things that annoy me the most while living here as an international student. The amount of comments that say that I was wrong when I shared my views about my experience in Dublin is absurd. What do you mean? You didn’t walk in my shoes, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve been here, my views are MY views and they are a reflection of what I have experienced. So, yes, I am very much allowed to say what I think about here, and I should not be afraid to say it.

Then again, respect is key and I can’t just open my mouth and vomit discriminatory words and say racist and xenophobic things that will offend people and cultures. But saying that something is weird, or that it bothers you, or that the place is not as cool as you thought it’d be should not be a crime.

What I find so funny about this is that I am Latino (originally from Brazil) and the most common content related to South American countries is mostly about how dangerous, dirty, and uneducated the people are. So many travelers are okay with saying so much shit about “third world countries” and how they ended up having a “terrible” experience. It’s funny how it is socially acceptable to share the terrifying robbery stories in Brazil, the drug related experiences in Colombia and the poverty in Peru. But when it’s our time to open our mouths to call European and North American countries out when they do pretty much the same things we do, then y’all get offended. It’s as if there is a list of countries that people are allowed to say shit about, and a list of countries that you can’t say a word about, otherwise you are a terrible person.

This is why when in France I will talk about how dirty the country is and how rude so many of the locals are. When I’m in Italy, I’ll talk about how racist so many of them are against dark skin black people. When I’m in Portugal, I’ll talk about how racist and xenophobic Portuguese people are against Brazilians, and while living in Ireland I’ll share the stories that prove that the Emerald Isle isn’t everything that you think it is. Don’t you think that all these things influence how people get to experience their travels? This is why there is so much behind “I didn’t like this and that place”. If someone shares their opinion about why a certain place is not worth visiting, there must be a point. So, don’t come after them. You’re allowed to have your opinions about the places you didn’t like visiting.

One of my favorite articles is by Adrienne Beaumont and I love how honest she is about her experience in Israel and why she’ll never go back there. (You can click here to read her article).

3- You’re allowed to leave earlier than you planned

If you visit a certain destination and you don’t think your experience is as good as you thought it’d be, you’re allowed to leave. Don’t feel bad about doing that, just go somewhere else. It’s a lot better to spend your energy and money on another place than just stick to the “original plan” just for the sake of doing it.

2-You’re allowed to stay longer

However, if your trip is going better than you expected and you wish to stay longer, don’t ever feel bad about it either. Just do it.

When I went on my first European trip, my first stop was London, England. I had only planned to stay a few days there, then take a train to Paris and stop by a couple of other destinations. But when I was in London, I fell in love with the city in a way I can’t put into word. The more places I visited, the more I fell in love with them. Then, as a result, my desire to explore more of England grew bigger and bigger.

So, though I had planned an itinerary to go see other European countries, I really felt like I had to stay longer in England so I could explore more its beauty and history. And that’s what I did. Instead of following the original plan, I ended up staying longer in England and exploring more of its other major towns. And I do not regret that at all. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Don’t ever feel like you have to stick to the original plan. If you have the chance to stay longer because you ended up liking a certain destination more than you thought you would, just do it. It will be worth it.

1-You’re allowed to separate from your friends and family and do what YOU would like to do

I cannot stress this enough. You’re always better off on your own than with people who will ruin your experience.

Remember that this is YOUR time and YOUR experience. You are allowed to live it the way you have dreamed of.

I have had some terrible experiences in which my travel partners ended up ruining my experience, so separating from them was one of the best things to do.

Once I went to NYC with a group of friends and all they wanted to do was spend their time hopping from one store to another. All I wanted to do was explore the city in the best way I could, not waste my time trapped in a store. Going shopping when I travel is never on the list of things I want to do. I would rather spend my time exploring and seeing places than in a store buying unnecessary stuff. So, what I did on that day was to separate from this group. Yes, we traveled together, but that didn’t mean that we had to stick together.

You’re free to do what you’d like to do, so don’t ever feel like you have to be with people that are ruining your experience just because you traveled with them.

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