You’re traveling wrong. Stop it.

In recent months, it seems like there’s been a surge in travel. People have been posting vacation pics, posing tanned on beaches, smiling in front of gorgeous views, and tasting some delicious-looking food.

The problem is they’re all going to the same places: Ibiza, Hawaii, Cancun, Paris… the list goes on. 

When they arrive at these destinations, they all do the same thing: take those obligatory Instagram pictures, see the “popular” sites, and then take a few more pictures for social media.

Instead of going somewhere to relax, enjoy a different culture, and debrief from work, travel has increasingly become a way of keeping up with the Jones’s. A flex to your friends. 

Or maybe it’s just mimetic desire. 

Either way, it’s the wrong approach. 

Instead of going to the places with the best Instagram spots or most famous destinations, try going somewhere less popular. 

Take the Mediterranean coast for example. The coast is just as beautiful in Italy as it is in Croatia as it is in Montenegro. Most people would choose to travel to Italy for a holiday without even so much as a second thought about staying in those other countries. 

The best choice of the three would be Montenegro. 

With stunning coasts, relatively cheap costs of living, delicious food, and far fewer tourists, your quality of life will be noticeably better (that is unless you like overcrowded beaches and venues). The farther you go from traditional tourist destinations, the better you will be treated by the locals (no it’s not just cultural differences). 

Next time you decide to travel, take the road less traveled by. 

I promise you it will be worth it.