Last week we shared 3 travel myths we had to unlearn.

But we weren't done.
There are 3 more that shaped how we used to travel in ways we did not even realize at the time.
Here they are 👇
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Myth #4: Instagram Shows What Travel Really Looks Like

Those dreamy Instagram shots?

They’re often more fantasy than reality.
Perfect lighting. Carefully staged moments. Heavily edited.

And the frustrating part? They set expectations that real life can’t match. You arrive hoping for magic… and sometimes it just isn’t there (cue bad recorder Titanic music).

We’re not saying skip the famous spots. Some are famous for a reason.
But when a trip becomes about recreating a photo instead of experiencing a place, something gets lost.

We’ve seen it so many times.
People hike an hour to a viewpoint, take photos for 5-10 minutes, and leave.

Box checked. On to the next.
It can be tempting to travel like that.

But the trips that stayed with us weren’t about ticking off Instagram spots. They were about lingering. Sitting in silence. Noticing details. Wandering past the crowd. Starting conversations. Letting ourselves feel small in a big landscape.

It takes a minute for your brain to switch out of checklist mode and into presence.

But once it does, everything changes.
That shift — from chasing pictures to chasing connection — completely changed how we travel.

And it’s exactly how we build our guides now.

Myth #5: Cheap Travel Means Bad Experiences

It is easy to assume the best experiences come with a big price tag.

Luxury hotels. Private tours. Fine dining. The “premium” version of everything.

But in our experience, the more expensive something was, the more it often felt like a polished fantasy built for tourists.

Beautiful, yes. Comfortable, yes. But slightly removed from real life and real culture there.

Many of our most memorable moments came from affordable homestays, street food stands tucked into quiet alleys, and local experiences that were far from glamorous. Those were the places where conversations happened naturally. Where we felt part of daily life instead of insulated from it.

Price does not determine depth.Sometimes spending less actually brings you closer.

Myth #6: It’s Better to Travel Without Planning

We heard this constantly.

“Just show up.”
“Go with the flow.”
“Planning kills spontaneity.”

And at first, we believed it.

But we learned something surprising.
​Planning actually frees you and allows you to experience a place more deeply and meaningfully.

By planning ahead, you can discover hidden gems instead of following the same crowded tourist hotspots, pace your days so you’re not cramming everything in, and avoid wasted time on figuring out logistics.
Planning doesn’t kill spontaneity, it lets you make the most of it.

I will never forget the few days we left unplanned in Bali. We woke up excited. Total freedom.
Then we spent an hour researching what to do. Another half hour debating. Another hour figuring out transport, timing, distances.
By the time we finally “decided,” we were mentally exhausted… and realized we didn’t even have enough time left in the day to actually go.
​*Womp womp*

Lesson learned. Planning did not kill spontaneity. It protected our energy for the experiences that actually mattered. And the more intentional our planning became, the deeper our trips began to feel.

Did you ever have a travel belief that turned out to be completely wrong?
​💬 Hit reply and tell us. We genuinely read every message.
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Happy travels,
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​Ryan & Nan​
WaylessTravelers