How to Stay Local When Travelling | Living La Vida Local

I’ve always loved writing and quickly fell in love with travel after visiting Amsterdam so I always had a niggle in my mind to start writing a travel blog. I was writing about my travels in a journal anyway so why not digitally-document my travels and help others too. When I started my blog in 2018, it was a generic travel blog but I had my own stories to tell and I realised that whether my posts were about food or a weekend itinerary, the underlying theme and my “niche” was everything had to be local.

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And I thought that’s me and what I stand for, being globally local; staying local wherever I am. So this quick post is just going to explain it a bit better for you. Reader, this is how to stay local when travelling.

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Contents (jump to)

Local Definition

The word ‘local’ is described in the Oxford Dictionary in a few ways that resonate with me:

Adjective – ‘Relating or restricted to a particular area or one’s neighbourhood.’

Noun – ‘An inhabitant of a particular area or neighbourhood.’

British Informal – ‘A pub convenient to a person’s home.’

‘Local’ comes from the latin word ‘Localis’ meaning ‘place’.

Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that being local is focusing on the place you are, being present, acknowledging and learning from the people who live there and enjoying what is the norm in that area.

me in Barafundle Bay Map in Places to Visit in Pembrokeshire South West Wales

Bridget Jones filming locations snows hill Cotswolds

Me in KL Indian Restaurant with our food order

Living La Vida Local

Fun word play on the 90s hit by Ricky Martin, my blog aims to advise and amuse!

11 Ideas for How to Stay Local When Travelling

There’s lots of ways to stay local while travelling and the subject isn’t a million miles away from what you do in your culture, the object just changes. Let me explain…

Local Food

While travelling, find out what the national dish is, what local food is like and try the staple breakfast, lunch and dinner options. I’ve had Pho for breakfast in Vietnam, Cataplana in Portugal and pasta in Italy.

Like This Post: Local Food to Try in Penang, Malaysia

Eat Where Residents Eat

Once you know what to eat, look around for the best places to try and this is always where the locals are eating or queuing.

Like This Post: The Best Places for Khao Soi in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Buy Local

Wherever you’re travelling, you of course contribute to the economy but if you’re using small businesses for purchases, this is better and staying local will get you that special souvenir, local guided-tour, unique story, homemade food and a chance to interact with locals.

Public Transport

To truly get a feel for a place, and save money, use public transport wherever you can like the local bus that you may have to wait until it’s full until you leave or a local Songtheaw in Thailand which once you know how to use is so cheap and easy. And these are great ways to meet locals.

Uber / Grab

Uber or Grab or other taxi services like this are amazing ways to stay local when travelling and meet local drivers who know the place very well and have always been lovely (in my experience). Plus it’s safe and fair priced.

Meet A Local

There’s no better feeling than exploring a place through the eyes of a local. They know the place like you know your home and often are proud to show it off so will tell you the hidden spots, the best restaurant and inform you of traditions local to their area. You can go on guided tours to meet locals easier through websites like Viator, Klook, Free Walking Tours or Get Your Guide.

For example, speaking with locals in Berlin, they told us that they have a specific shot exclusive to Berliners and we all did one together. I’d never have known about that without speaking to the local and it was a fun time!

Do Something Specific To That Place

Like my Berlin example, find something out about the country/city/town you’re exploring that is only done or exclusive to that place and experience whatever it is you couldn’t do at home. This is a long way of saying ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do.’

Learn a Word in Local Language

Even if it’s just thank you, learn a word in the local language spoken in that place to help you connect with the natives, show respect and broaden your vocabulary. I always try to learn the local word for ‘cheers’ in places I visit.

Learn Something New

Find out an interesting fact about the place you’re visiting. It could be generic like the population or obscure like Wales having the most castles per capita.

Read Next: Lush Places to See in West Wales

Grasp Local Culture

Every place has their own etiquette (some places, it’s perfectly normal for men spit on the floor), regional ways of doing things (in Cornwall it’s jam first on a scone, in Devon, cream comes first), sense of time (in Germany, trains are on time, in Thailand they run on ‘Thai time’, a more relaxed approach), popular pastimes (in Melbourne, brunch on a weekend goes without saying), local slang (like these sayings you only hear in South Wales), the way things are done in the country (in Italy, no Italian would order a cappuccino after midday) and many more.

Find them out and embrace them before you go back to the culture you’ve been brought up with.

Read About The Place

Grab a book about the place and read a fictional story by a native author, a true story about the place, a history book about the country, a travel blog for an itinerary or a cookbook for recipes when you’re home.

How Not to Stay Local When Travelling

I’m not saying that when you travel you have to do exactly the same thing as all the residents the entire time because lots of us travel for long periods and obviously, we miss things that our local to our culture i.e. Welsh cakes, queuing in orderly form, comfort bath, Eastenders, a proper cuppa, beans on a breakfast, etc.

Pexels Image of bath candles book and cup of tea with plant in back

But if you’re going to Malaysia for 2 weeks and you spend the entire 14 days at the beach or hotel pool, never try a Mee Goreng, the only sightseeing was the Petronas Towers and your food was all from the hotel buffet or Nandos then you have not remotely experienced local life while travelling.*

*Disclaimer: I had one Nandos in Malaysia… but I was there for over 3 weeks and it was my only non-local meal. It was lush to be fair.

Anyway, the most important lesson to take away is to have a good time, enjoy yourself but also ask yourself what is the reason you are travelling to this particular place? And if none of this applies to you then at least you now know what The Happy Days Travels is all about.

Thanks for reading about how I stay local when travelling!

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