Call me a snob, but I do know a thing or two about travel . . .

I’ve often written about the wisdom of what I would consider “original” thinking when it comes to travel. There’s a whole lotta cookie-cutter, mass-market tourism that isn’t focused on quality – but rather on quantity. Tour companies that spell out a compelling list of places you’ll see, without regard to the quality of the experience or the pace and timing of the visits. Unsuspecting customers plunk down deposits with high expectations about finally seeing the beautiful places they’ve dreamed of all their life. When they get there, they find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with hordes of tourists with selfie sticks and smart phones obscuring their view of whatever it was they traveled halfway around the world to see. They come home after a week or two, feeling depleted, exhausted and ripped off.

I’ve met tour guides who were given scripts to follow for what are called “series tours” in which the identical itinerary is followed by group after group after group. Everything is tightly planned and orchestrated with no opportunity for flexibility or spontaneity. They might be moving every single day to a different hotel – packing and unpacking; checking in and checking out. Never getting a sense of the place or the people because the group is joined at the hip and is never allowed any free time to wander around and soak up the culture. Menus are pre-selected for familiarity and predictability; carefully translated for the American palate lest anyone complain about eating snails or lapin (rabbit) or pomme frites with mayonnaise!

You can imagine how dispiriting it must be for any credible, intelligent tour guide to be micro-managed and forced to adhere to a script.

I read a great blog post recently that showed jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring images of iconic destinations … like this one:

The expectation . . .

… and followed with a second photograph of what you might really experience if you’re not careful. Like this:

The (unfortunate) all-to-often reality of such a place . . .

I would never suggest that you go to India and skip seeing the Taj Mahal. But I do suggest that you do your homework – find out what time they open the gates, what time is sunrise, how long it will take to get there from your hotel, set your alarm and get out the door early – very early. If you’re with a tour group that isn’t sensitive to such things, ditch the tour and catch up with them later. (But make sure you advise the tour leader, of course …)

You don’t need to hear the commentary. You can read and research as much (or as little) as you care to know about a place either before you visit or after you’ve seen it. But for me, the ecstasy is in the moment – having an intimate, private experience. Time to sit and savor and connect. After that, it can be a fun experience to watch the hordes from a distance – as they jockey for position. As they maneuver for that classic, cliche photo of pinching the tip of the Taj Mahal. Or kissing the Sphinx. Or holding up the Leaning Tower in Pisa . . .

You’ve got to hand it to the tourists . . . creativity knows no bounds sometimes!

(Yes, I’ve got those corny, cliche photos too, just couldn’t find them in time to meet the publication deadline for this post. And, yes, it can be fun to be a “typical” tourist sometimes!)

But when it doesn’t work, you gotta know when to make a different memory. Like the one that one of my employees, Whitney, created on her honeymoon. A fire at the Rome airport changed what was supposed to be a quick connection to a lengthy forced layover. Rather than sit around the airport, she and James decided to make a quick dash into the city to toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain – only to find it drained and surrounded with scaffolding. There was one small opening in which to toss a coin, but the queue was like a summer day at Disneyland. Disappointed, but not deterred, they created a new plan. They got pizza and gelato, snapped some photos, and dashed back to the airport to make their onward connection.

When in Rome . . . give up on the Trevi Fountain and get gelato!

I’m sure Whitney and James made many other great memories on their honeymoon, but I’m willing to bet that their abbreviated Roman escapade will always be a highlight!

So – my expert travel tips for the uninitiated?

1. Do your homework about whatever tour company or cruise line you might be choosing. Read reviews, check the locations of hotels or where a ship will be berthed. Look critically at the itinerary: how long will you stay at any one place? Remember, 2 nights = only 1 day.

2. Be bold! Don’t hesitate – where feasible – to ditch the tour group and do your own thing. If it feels like you’re on a forced march – be a deserter! Remember, it’s precious time and money that you’ll never recoup. But be considerate of the group – don’t do anything that would compromise anybody else’s experience.

3. Be flexible! Expect the unexpected. When you get disappointed and things don’t go the way you envisioned (and they often won’t), you can choose to be bummed out, pissed off or despondent. Or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and change your attitude. That – and a generous helping of gelato – will save the day. I guarantee it!

Do you have a story or piece of advice?