Have you ever traveled to visit a friend in a new place, city, or even country? It is always so amazing to have someone that knows what it is like to live there.
They can take you to their favorite spots to make sure you get the most out of your time there. They are taking you to live like locals do in their city. It can completely change your perspective on a place.
What Does It Mean To Live Like Locals
This is one of those things where the phrase says it all. To live like locals you need to do what they do. They go to their favorite cafe. They avoid tourist trap attractions.
They check out the local library. They meet friends at their local pub. They know where the best food spots are. They visit hidden gems that only the locals know about.
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When you adopt this mindset as a traveler, you are bound to have a more fulfilling trip. When you experience a place as a local would, you often get a better understanding of why their culture is the way it is.
You can get a better idea of what it is like to live there. You have the chance to meet amazing people and make connections with them. Most of all, when you live like locals, you are learning to look at the world through their eyes.
So what is stopping you? It has never been so easy to connect with locals and find authentic, local experiences. With a few clicks, you can peruse amazing opportunities in seconds!
Live Like Locals Through These Food Experiences
Eatwith Experiences
South Korea – Korean home cooking class with Busan Oppa
Peru – Eat Like an Inca in Ollantaytambo
Spain – Learn how to make the perfect paella
Traveling Spoon
India – Let a local guide you through a traditional Indian market in south Mumbai
Georgia – Learn to cook traditional Megrelian recipes passed down from Shota’s grandmother
Ireland – Irish seaweed foraging tour & seaweed inspired cuisine
Thailand – Private cooking lesson in a traditional teak home in Chiang Mai
Positives & Negatives
Eatwith Positives:
- Get €10 of free credit when you do your first experience (use this code
CD2C35BB to get €10 off)
Supporting local community
Sustainably & respectfully learning about local culture from an actual local
Supporting the local economy directly compared to international tour companies
Wide range of food experiences in over 130 countries
They offer online food experiences led by locals from all around the world
Eatwith Negatives:
- Still contributing to a large, international company instead of a solely local business
- The local doesn’t receive your full payment – 20% of the payment goes to Eatwith since they are providing a service of connecting you to the local host
Traveling Spoon Positives:
- Supporting local community
- Sustainably & respectfully learning about local culture from an actual local
- Supporting the local economy directly compared to international tour companies
- They offer online cooking classes led by locals from all around the world
Traveling Spoon Negatives:
- They have smaller range of experiences (67 countries), so about half of what Eatwith has
- Still contributing to a large, international company instead of a solely local business
- The local doesn’t receive your full payment – some of the payment goes to Traveling Spoon since they are providing a service of connecting you to the local host
Why We Need To Support Locals
No matter which you choose, you are still supporting international companies. That’s just the truth of it. They both have to take a fee from your payment for using the platform so the local does not receive your full payment.
To me, the absolute best option would be to find locals without an international platform to fully support them through your payment.
Of course, that is not always possible so in that case, finding locals through an online platform is at least better than the huge tour companies that do not support the local economy or community.
You might be wondering,
“Why is it so important to support locals when we travel? Why bother when we are trying to relax on vacation?”
The answer is preservation. By supporting the local community and economy, we are helping to preserve their way of life. As travel becomes more and more commercialized, the only people that benefit are the international travel companies. What is worse is that it comes at the local people’s expense.
They are the ones that deal with thousands of tour buses and cruise ships dumping their waste. They are the ones that struggle to make money and put food on the table since the travel revenue goes back to the big companies.
Start Today & Get Free Credit
Both Traveling Spoon and Eatwith are revolutionizing because they are giving power back to the local people.
They get to decide how and when they will provide these services or tours. It helps to give locals independence over what they are worth and what they want to charge. They teach tourists about their culture in their way.
I like and use both food experience platforms and here’s why:
I like Traveling Spoon because even though they have less types of experiences (they soley focus on in-home meals, cooking experiences & market visits) they give a great amount of free credit!
I like Eatwith because they have a wider range of experiences in over 130 countries. Some of events to choose from are: tastings, picnics, aperitifs, breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea-time, food tours and cooking classes.
Nobody is saying that you can only use one or the other. Try them out and see what you think.
Don’t forget to use code CD2C35BB on Eatwith to get €10 of free credit when you do your first experience!
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