Hey!

So we’ve been somewhat MIA these past few weeks. We spent some time in China reconnecting with family, and then made a quick trip home to get some things sorted out.

It’s been two years now that we’ve been on the road, and the quest for a new home continues. But travelling like this has made us realize that the possibilities are almost infinite, with each country offering something unique, along with its own pros and cons. And it is definitely not easy choosing a new “home”.

But one thing is becoming clear to us: home isn’t necessarily a place, or a house. Home is where you feel happy, where you feel a sense of belonging, and where you’re surrounded by the people you love. That can be a country, a city, a place, or even just being with the right person.

Anyway, we’ve decided to do our newsletters a little differently now, and hopefully you’ll like it!

Here’s what’s in this week’s newsletter:

• 💭 Why does everyone end up travelling to the same places?
• 🗺️ A Japanese region we think deserves far more attention
• 💬 And a question for you…

💭 Are we choosing where we travel—or is the algorithm choosing for us?

In this day and age, we’ve noticed a trend: The more we talk with people, the more we realize that everyone seems to be travelling to the same places. “Hey, we’re going to Santorini”, “Hey, we’re visiting Rome this year”, “Hey, we’re going back to Lisbon!”. And we wondered why that is.

I think there’s a mix of FOMO, security of travel, and the dreaded algorithm. We all know how one conversation with your best friend about their trip to Venice, then the next thing you know, Venice tours are popping up on your Facebook feed, then the next thing you know, it’s all you’re seeing on your Instagram.

Then there’s the aspect of security. We realize that many travellers are quite nervous stepping beyond the tourist trail, and I get it. It’s a foreign country, new rules, different people, customs etc…it can be scary, but if that friend has done it and was happy with it, then we probably will too…right?

Finally, FOMO. Destinations nowadays are hyped and glamourized so much on instagram/TikTok that we fear missing out on something great.

So it begs the question: Are we choosing where we travel—or is the algorithm?

And I think there’s another question we should be asking ourselves: What do we actually want to get from our travels?

Because popularity itself isn’t necessarily bad, but blindly following popularity can lead to experiences that don’t match what you actually want from travel.

I can’t even tell you how many times we hear from other travellers who say they love adventure and then end up going somewhere where they stand in lineups to see a museum and go souvenir shopping.

And truth be told, in our experience, travelling where everyone else is going can often lead to a disappointing trip. Where tourism is hyped is also where you’ll find the biggest lineups, crowds, inflated prices, and also likely the least authenticity in the culture and people since it is catered for tourists.

This is why you will always see us travelling to places beyond the tourist trail, or at least find areas in those countries that are not “on the list”. In the end, now having travelled full-time for over two years, that almost always leads to a far more impactful, memorable, and fun trip!

Yes, we’ve been to Japan and it is popular, but rather than just following the Golden Route, we road tripped through Izu Peninsula and the volcanic landscapes of Kyushu. Yes, we’ve been to Peru to see Machu Picchu, but we did the 4 day Salkantay hike to immerse more in the culture, and then went to Arequipa where we trekked with condors.

But hey, we’re not perfect either. We went to Taormina because of White Lotus. Fortunately, it was absolutely stunning and lived up to the hype.

So our word of advice: Take an extra hour or two to search beyond the destinations that ‘keep on popping up’. Don’t automatically choose your next travel destination because everyone else is going there. Ask yourself what you want to get from your experience there, and see if it matches.

We get asked a lot about how we pick our travel destinations, and it is always based on some unique experience you can get from that country, rather than picking the country as the destination. We believe that in itself makes for a far more meaningful and transformative travel experience…and we can get into our decision process in another email :)

Yet we’re not perfect.

Because here we are in Lisbon and honestly, and unfortunately, we’ve fallen for the hype train…

🗺️ Traveling to Japan? Have you thought of Kyushu?

So we got the chance to go back to Japan a second time, and this time, we wanted to see a more off-the-beaten-path side of the country… so we headed to the southern tip of Japan to explore Kyushu!

We hopped into our rental car and spent the next 10 days venturing through stunning volcanic landscapes, turquoise coasts around Itoshima, hidden Inari shrines similar to Fushimi Inari but without the crowds, hiking around active volcanoes, soaking in onsen towns, and eating more Wagyu beef than we’d like to admit!

If you’re thinking of heading back to Japan and want to see something different from the Golden Route, we highly recommend checking out Kyushu!

💬 What About You?

When you travel, how do you usually end up choosing your destination?

Is it:

• You hear it from a friend?
• You choose based on what pops up a lot on instragram/facebook?
• You do your own research completely?
• Something else?

Hit REPLY and let us know. We’re curious to hear how others pick their trips! We get asked this A LOT, and we’ll share our own strategy in the next email. 😊

That's it for now!

Looking forward to bringing you more stories, inspiration, and adventures from the road.

Ryan & Nan

WaylessTravelers