5 Ways To Find Hidden Gems While Traveling Without A Tour Guide

Hidden travel gems are becoming increasingly hard to to come by. With worldwide access to the internet, special places cease being "hidden" nearly the moment they're "discovered" by whichever travel influencer or tour guide happens to stumble upon them first. If you scroll through social media or browse the internet for "hidden gems" you'll see hundreds of results, but whatever you find has probably been viewed by thousands of other tourists already. Hiring a local tour guide is a great way to find unique spots on vacation, but it's also possible to discover these places on your own.

There's a lot of talk on the internet about how people shouldn't gatekeep destinations, but some places are becoming plagued by overtourism. Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience special places, but discovering them yourself is part of the point. Travel isn't about getting the perfect photo at a "viral hidden gem" just to prove you've been there. It's about taking wrong turns and winding up somewhere delightful, or pulling over at a random B&B because you're too tired to drive any further and then enjoying the best breakfast of your life prepared by a rosy-cheeked woman who talks your ear off.

To find these gems, you don't have to spend hours scouring the internet for secret spots that aren't secret at all, hire expensive tour guides, or follow famous influencers who are being paid to post about how wonderful their hotel, meal, or tour was. All you need is a healthy dose of curiosity, a willingness to talk to strangers, and the confidence to explore the road less traveled. There are still magnificent places across the globe just waiting for you to find them, and here are some ways how. When you do find them, don't be afraid to gatekeep them. The locals will thank you, and so will future travelers.

Talking to locals is one of the best ways to discover places without a tour guide that aren't listed in half a dozen travel guidebooks. Many locals will appreciate your interest and will be excited to tell you all about their hometown or city. I've found that this is especially true in smaller towns that don't experience a ton of tourism. 

Rick Steves, one of the world's top travel experts, suggests that pubs are one of the best places to meet people. One of my favorite things to do is to visit a trendy bar or pub, and ask the bartender where they like to grab a drink when their shift is over. Then head to that bar (which is usually nearby) and repeat. Farmers markets are another great place to connect with the local community. If you purchase some fresh local snacks and mention that you're hoping to go for a hike and have a quiet picnic in nature, there's a good chance the vendor will have some suggestions that might not show up on Tripadvisor or AllTrails.

One should never judge a person solely by their physical appearance, but when you're searching for hidden gem destinations that you'll love, it helps to make friends with locals who share your vibe. If you're an outdoorsy parent looking for a kid-friendly hike, consider approaching a local wearing dirt-covered hiking boots who is lugging their toddler around in a baby-carrier backpack. If you're looking for somewhere you can dance all night, the group of college kids enjoying pints at the bar might be a better choice. If you're in search of unique, independently-owned art galleries, the fabulously-dressed couple sipping lattes at the cafe will probably be able to point you in the right direction.

Instead of booking a tour, let curiosity be your guide. What constitutes a "hidden gem" will be different for everyone, which is why hiring a generic tour guide or following the advice of content creators doesn't always lead to the best experiences. After all, if you're someone who loves nothing more than wandering for hours through a locally-owned bookstore, a visit to a boisterous neighborhood dive bar might not be your cup of tea. Seek out things that spark your interest. Visualize the kind of experiences you want to have and then get curious about how to find them.

Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote "Eat, Pray, Love," one of the most famous travel memoirs of all time, has some sage advice on following your curiosity. "Passion is a tower of flame, but curiosity is a tiny tap on the shoulder — a little whisper in the ear that says, 'Hey, that's kind of interesting...'" she wrote in a Facebook post. "​​The trick is to just follow your small moments of curiosity. It doesn't take a massive effort. Just turn your head an inch. Pause for an instant. Respond to what has caught your attention. Look into it a bit. Is there something there for you?" she added. 

When traveling, following your curiosity can look like making a U-turn when you see a waterfall on the side of the road. It can mean pausing on your walk home when the sound of live piano music drifting out into the street intrigues you. If something makes you wonder what's behind a door or over the next hill, that's your curiosity talking to you. Listen to it. Most of the time you'll be infinitely glad you did.

Travel influencers and bloggers can be great resources when it comes to discovering hidden gems without a tour guide, but instead of taking the advice of the glamorous influencer with a million followers on Instagram, seek out the smaller-scale content creators who post authentic unpaid content. Look for digital nomads and people who spend the majority of their time traveling abroad. Expats who recently moved to a new country and share their experiences online are also great. The differences between their travel styles are bigger than you think, and both will have excellent tips.

Social media is a wonderful way for people to share travel tips and cool places worth visiting, but once travel influencers get famous, they're often posting about places they were paid to visit or review. Those spots may be as wonderful as they claim to be, but it's important to realize that you may be watching an advertisement.

Instead, search for the voices that aren't being paid to sing praises. There are plenty of content creators who share their experiences on daily travel vlogs, or write about them in blog posts that read like diary entries. You may hear things like, "I had the best bowl of pho of my life today," or "I just moved to Paris and wandered into this little vintage shop today. Look at these amazing treasures I found!" Those are the tips worth taking seriously. Skip the viral videos. Opt to follow the advice of small-scale creators and you just might be able to experience a hidden gem before it blows up.

Having unlimited information in the palm of your hand really comes in handy when traveling without a tour guide, but many tourists end up falling into a predictable pattern. As soon as you arrive in a new city, it's tempting to type "best things to do" into a search engine. You'll usually get a list of the top tourist attractions in the area, and it's going to be the same exact list that everyone else sees. Instead, use search engines and online maps strategically.

Google Maps is one of my all-time favorite travel tools. As a nature lover, one of the first things I look for when researching a destination is big patches of green spaces on Google Maps, which often indicates a national park or nature preserve. Zooming in allows me to discover what it's called and do further research on whether or not I should visit. I once met a retired couple who had embraced the immersive style of vacation known as "slow travel," and they chose which country they would visit next using the map function on AllTrails to search for the highest concentration of hiking trails. The same method works when you're trying to find cool neighborhoods to explore. Pull up the map of a city and search "restaurants" or "cafes," and then look for streets with high concentrations of either.

Maps can also help you find off-the-beaten-path museums and historic structures. Whenever I'm in the passenger seat on a road trip, I periodically pull up the Google Maps app and look for interesting icons en route. Castles are usually marked by a castle tower symbol. Scenic views and overlooks are often marked with a small camera symbol, parks are indicated by a tree icon, and restaurants are marked with a fork and knife.

Getting lost in an unfamiliar city is one of the best ways to stumble upon hidden gems without a tour guide. A few years ago I visited Antigua, Guatemala — a beautiful budget-friendly vacation spot in Central America. The city of Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and my itinerary was jam-packed with tours of historic buildings, but my favorite experience of that trip happened when my boyfriend and I got lost on our way home one night. Both of our cell phones were dead, and we were wandering around the cobblestone streets in search of something we recognized when we stumbled upon a mysterious door with a hand-painted sign that led us to Café No Sé. Upon entering, we discovered an art-filled mescal bar illuminated by candlelight that was full of interesting travelers and locals. We ended up staying for hours, and we both agreed that it was the most fantastic bar we'd ever been to.

Most frequent travelers have similar stories of their own. Some people say you need to get lost in Venice to truly experience the city, while others suggest that getting lost will have you taking the best travel photos of your life. It's always important to use common sense and good judgement, and ensure that you're in a relatively safe area before attempting to get lost on purpose. Wandering into a part of town with high crime rates would not be a great situation, but as long as you're careful, getting lost can be a lot of fun. 

Next time you're exploring a new place, put away the GPS and turn down some unfamiliar streets. You might end up finding a hidden gem and making a memory that will last long after your trip comes to an end.