Go to that “great little place” or discover your own great little place–it’s your trip. (London)
© Joyce McGreevy

When Travel Tips Hit the Tipping Point

It begins innocently. The planning, the packing, a travel tip or two. “Roll, don’t fold, your clothes.” “If you’re heading to A, you might enjoy B and C.”

Now Sam and Kate are at the airport. They’re excited, eager to make personal travel discoveries on their very first trip overseas. New place, new people, new language, new food, new everything. They post a brief announcement on social media and get numerous “Likes.”

Here’s a crazy thought: What if you traveled as you liked to travel?
© Joyce McGreevy

A Tip or Two

Many people add well wishes. “Bon voyage!” “Enjoy!”

Some people offer suggestions. “Will you visit X? It’s lovely this time of year.” “Do sample some Y—it’s delicious!” “Stop in at Z.”

Sam and Kate smile, turn their phones to “airplane” mode, and head onboard.  They plan to read a little, eat a little, and sleep a lot.

Travel light. You needn’t bring along everybody else’s baggage. (Auckland)
© Joyce McGreevy

You’ve Got Travel Tips

There’s WiFi on the flight. Sam and Kate resist the curious urge to check work email. But they can’t help seeing that their social media notifications have blown up.

There are travel tips—lots of travel tips. “Make sure you get to  . . .” “Man, you’ve so gotta do . . .” “If you don’t see [Name of Town], then you really haven’t seen [Name of Country].” Even though lots of people who are native to [Name of Country] have never been to [Name of Town].

Forming our own perspectives is part of the travel experience. (Los Angeles)
© Joyce McGreevy

My Travel Tips Are Better Than Your Travel Tips

“Where are you sitting on the plane?” posts a friend-of-a-friend from Sam’s middle school days. He links to a post entitled, “Top Ten Hacks to Upgrade Your Seat After Take-Off.”

Then there’s this: “My wife and I paid only $29 round-trip and got upgraded to First Class when we traveled overseas. Our miles even scored us a 5-star hotel and VIP access to the Festival.”

Ladies and gentlemen, start your search engines. The competitive travel posts are on.

Craving ornate? Great! (Above: Vienna) Rather eat a chip? It’s your trip! (Below: Athens)
© Joyce McGreevy

© Joyce McGreevy

Let the Tips Fall Where They May

Some folks post travel advice. Lots of travel advice.  Some posters recap research Sam and Kate have already done.

Some offer “To Do” lists: 50 SIGHTS YOU SIMPLY MUST SEE.

“Why is this list shouting at us?” says Kate. “What if we don’t want to see the Museum of 12th Century Dental Instruments?”

Some offer “Skip It” lists: 50 PLACES TO SKIP CUZ THEY’RE SO CLICHÉ.

“We’ve dreamed of seeing those places for years,” says Sam. “Now we’re supposed to ignore them?”

Wherever you travel, travel your own way. (Vienna)
© Joyce McGreevy

1,001 Travel Tips Before You Land

Some posts declare that Sam and Kate’s destination is too cold, too hot, too crowded, too quiet, too pricy, too bare-bones, possibly too This, and definitely too That.

A post from Cousin Bud warns of obscure laws that could lead to Sam and Kate being thrown into a medieval prison for life—just for buying ice cream from a street vendor! “Be safe, you guys!!!!!!” says Cousin Bud, using up a lifetime’s allotment of exclamation marks.

Care to dance all night? That’s all right! (Wedding party in Bodrum, Turkey)
© Joyce McGreevy

Prefer a quiet café? Travel your way. (Vienna)
© Joyce McGreevy

Here a Tip, There a Tip, Everywhere a Travel Tip

Some folks post photos of their own visits to Sam and Kate’s travel destination, complete with travel tips so contradictory that two commenters get into a side argument.

“Loved this restaurant! You must dine there to truly experience the culture.”

“Meh. Avoid. The food was so-so.”

Some travel guidance is great, but it’s also okay to wing it. 
© Joyce McGreevy

Tipping the Baggage Scale

Sam and Kate eat their now-cold airline meal, decide they’ve read enough, and  wearily try to get some sleep. Only they forget to turn down the volume buttons on their phones.

“It’s Aunt Agatha and Uncle Mortimer,” says Kate grimly.

“Is everything okay?” asks Sam.

“No. They saw that we checked in online at that airport deli and they’re hurt that we didn’t let them know we were in town.”

“But we were only changing planes—in Newark! They’re two hours’ drive away.”

Now Sam and Kate have a little guilt trip to go with their overseas trip. Sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, but still excited, they go through Customs, and despite plans to take the bus, decide on impulse to take a taxi.

Forget competitive travel. Travel your own way.
© Joyce McGreevy

Tripping Over Trip Tips

They have such a lovely chat with the driver, who speaks eloquently of his beloved native city, that they ask if he’d mind being in a photo with them. The friendly driver obliges. Posting the photo, Sam writes “We’ve arrived! Wow, judging by the airline crew, airport staff, and our taxi driver, people here are awesome!”

Cue the horror-story posts about dishonest taxi drivers, currency-exchange scams, links to bus schedules, travel tips on tipping, and something from Cousin Bud about how someone woke up in a hotel bathtub missing a kidney. Also a post from Mr. and Mrs. Competitive about the time they got upgraded to a gold-plated limo.

Sam and Kate haven’t just arrived overseas. They’ve brought along an online Greek chorus.

Don’t let social media posts and other travel tips get in the way of your own travel discoveries. 
© Joyce McGreevy

Tip, Tip, Tip—Boom!

Suddenly, they have a vision of how their travels could unfold—a torrent of travel tips that sound increasingly imperative: “Visit X!” “Beware of Y!” “ Must see Z!”

Suddenly, they don’t care who has traveled overseas earlier, faster, cheaper, better, more smoothly, more authentically, or more luxuriously. They don’t care if the local citizenry threw a parade for Mr. and Mrs. Competitive and named a national holiday in their honor.

Suddenly, Sam and Kate experience an oh-I-see moment. Suddenly, each of them hears an unspoken question: Whose trip are you taking?

With that, they turn off their mobile devices and the travel tips.

Happy in a crowd? That’s allowed. (Vienna)
© Joyce McGreevy

Need solitude? Give yourself latitude. (Serifos, Greece)
© Joyce McGreevy

Tripping Merrily Along

From that point on, Sam and Kate make: (A) their own way; (B) the occasional mistake; and (C) many personal travel discoveries.

It all works out.

They even buy ice cream from a street vendor.

No wallets, kidneys, or obscure laws were violated
in the eating of this ice cream. (New Zealand)
© Joyce McGreevy

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