This week’s topic on Traveler’s Night In, a “tweet-up” for travelers, was Off the Beaten Track. Ten questions were asked, tagged #TNI, and afterwards I was ready to book my next trip to the ends of Earth! There were several trends that kept coming up today, #TNIer’s love the thrill of finding an off the beaten track place and equally excited to share it with us!
@Banff_Squirrel had the perfect opener: “Two paths diverged in the woods and I took the one less travelled. I’m hoping the Park Rangers find me before nightfall.”
Here are the questions:
Q1. What does off the beaten path mean to you?
- @TheWorldCalls Off the beaten path = not on any top 20 lists.
- @CharlesMcCool Not seeing people carrying Rick Steves guidebooks!
- @Shantiwallah Secret surf beaches in New Zealand where you need to carry your board, food and tent through the bush for a day.
- @travelswtavel Off the beaten track-where you can see, smell, feel, hear, taste the truth of a place.
- @What_Boundaries A place youll never want to write about cause others might find it
Q2. Place to go that can only be reached on foot?
- @camorose The cliffs of Cassis, my favorite place to cliff dive into the Mediterranean
- @khegre Place to go that can only be reached on foot? A2. Inside sacred Buddhist temples in India. You can’t even take your shoes.
- @gobyWest The petroglyphs at #LaBajada between #Santa Fe and #Albuquerque. #TNI chats
- @TravelsceneUSA The staircase to the moon from Cable Beach in Broome (Top End of Western Australia).
- @TravelingWithS at top of trail to see Hidden Lake, Glacier Nat’l Park
Q3. Off-beat place that wasn’t worth the hassle?
- @AboutLondon Tunisia 5hr coach trip to see Star Wars sand dunes – we drove past
- @Screenscapes Peoria!
- @CruisingCathy I’ve hiked to see some waterfalls only to discover it was the dry season and they were a trickle.
- @charynpfeuffer: Cape Horn, Chile. The glaciers are just as spectacular in Alaska and a helluva lot closer.
- @wheresandrew: How about a jail cell in eastern Ukraine? Ah, but that’s another story.
Q4. Hard to get to town that’s totally worth it?#TNI
- @sillyamerica Hyder, Alaska! 20 hour drive to a town with…nothing…but you get to say you drove to Alaska!
- @roniweiss I love Inis Mor, the Aran Islands off of the coast of Galway.
- @whereisyvette Swakopmund, Namibia. Awesome little German town in the sand dunes!
- @FlyingPhotog Paradise City – where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.
- @BBADWoman Pastores, Guatemala an awesome leather-making town right before you get to Antigua. They have amazing boots
Q5. Amazing destination that requires a guide?
- @clareappleyard: China. Anywhere in China. There is no point of language commonality at all.
- @solangefrancois: Southern Bolivia & Salar de Uyuni
- @santafetraveler The Amazon Rain Forest. You want someone who knows how to deal with those critters & can get back out.
- @chickybus Spiritual journeys involving psychoactive substances, etc. Guide = shaman.
- @CravenTravels Ft. Knox, KY
Q6. Favorite Winter off-the beaten path spot?
- @travelerkate Tubing in South Dakota. I’m not a skier or snowboarder, but some places offer tubing on opposite side of the slop from the skiers
- @Leavetheiguana Amelia Island Florida, Not off track, but usually passed over for beaches further South
- @AryCancun I’ve only ever seen snow once: Paris. The same day I went to Montmartre
- @Butterflydiary The Ice Hotel. Odd but fun to sleep on a block of ice.
- @metsbwd Smaller ski villages in the alps, like Gerlos, Austria.
- @christinenspain My parents snowy acre of land in the woods of Washington. Nothing beats home, sweet home.
Q7. Best place to camp & hike in the world?
- @italylogue I don’t love camping, but have had great camping experiences: in the French Alps chasing the Tour de France, & in Monument Valley.
- @whygocanada Canada. Seriously. We OWN camping and hiking…
- @evierobbie I’m not going to say in the world BUT Sado Island, Japan
- @tomtravel2: I think the Inca Trail works for every question. Kinda like the Old Spice Guy in that way
- @TransAmericas More Great hiking Camping – North Rim, Grand Canyon
- @llgable Cinque Terre is a pretty good place to hike along the Med. & Lunch of pesto + local wine in Vernazza Castello – but not in July
Q8. What’s the furthest ‘off the beaten path’ you’ve ever been?#TNI
- @ecuadorguide Almost too far into the Amazon basin by foot to meet a shaman … took days to walk in and a lifetime to get out but all worth it!!!
- @khegre Red Center, Australia. Nothing but red dirt and bright stars all around.
- @ALocalTrip The mountains of nothern Maine always feels like the end of the earth to me
- @steffydechina Jevaskujlla- so off-beaten, I don’t even know how to spell it 🙂 It’s a town in Finland, way up north…there’s nothing there
- @elitetravelgal Colca Canyon Peru & Laucala Island Fiji
Q9. Destination that is best to visit off-season?#TNI
- @candicewalsh Hiking Gros Morne Mountain in NL in the fall was UNREAL…whole mountain to ourselves! And some moose…
- @poohstraveler: Belize! I go every Oct shoulder season) – hotel rates lower, beach is empty, private dives & discounted tours!
- @SeaFox4 My hometown, San Diego, has gorgeous weather in Sept/Oct., but all the tourists come in June/July (June Gloom always disappoints!)
- @earthxplorer: When you’re younger, U want to be where everyone is. When you’re older, U want to be where NO ONE is…
- @giopalatucci: Tuscany in the fall/winter
Q10. Unusual situations/experiences from being off the beaten path?
- @WriterChick47 Going whale watching in Provincetown Mass. in a tiny little boat! A little scary, a LOT awesome!!
- @leorawrs8 A tuk tuk ride in India where the driver was so excited to have foreigners he blasted Sean Paul’s “Temperature” the whole ride
- @jgabbott Seat-ass rash from grueling Guatemala style bus ride to Quetzaltenango
- @StevenMTroy Woke up from sleeping in my car near Mt. Whitney, Calif. to a black bear outside
Miss #TNI this week? Join in with your answers to the questions in the comments below and make sure to join us next Thursday from 3:30 pm EST- 5:00 pm EST for all the fun!
Thanks to the ZipSetGo girls for organizing a conversation with travelers from all over the world!
