201. Beyond the Popular Destinations: Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel
Points Talk®: Your Travel Dreams, Made Possible by Points
The hosts of the Points Talk podcast explore the pros and cons of traveling to lesser-known destinations versus popular tourist hotspots. They discuss how venturing off the beaten path offers fewer crowds, more
Key takeaways
- Pam highlights how lesser-known Greek islands offer a relaxed vibe compared to the overwhelming crowds in Santorini during peak season.
- Alex explains that award flight availability often funnels travelers into major hubs like Tokyo, Paris, or London, making off-path travel harder but rewarding.
Main topics
- Off-the-beaten-path travel benefits and drawbacks
- Points and miles award availability challenges
Notable quotes
"Santorini is a place you should visit. You only need two or three nights... But when the cruise ships leave, it's magical."
Conclusion
The episode provides a practical framework for travelers looking to ba
Transcript preview
Speaker 3 (0:00) Once you've traveled to many of the popular points and miles destinations, it's natural to start looking for somewhere different. There's something exciting about going somewhere that isn't all over Instagram. Today we're talking about destinations off the beaten path. Speaker 2 (0:14) Welcome to Points Talk. We are three moms who've Speaker 3 (0:17) discovered how to leverage credit card welcome offers to get hundreds of thousands of dollars of travel expenses for nearly free. We've used credit card points and miles to take vacations to places like Hawaii, Paris, Greece, Maldives, Japan, and so much more. And the best part, we each still have 800 plus credit scores. Imagine being able to take the vacation of your dreams for nearly free. It's totally possible and we're here to show you how. Speaker 3 (0:46) Hey, I'm Alex. Speaker 1 (0:47) And I'm Pam, Alex's mom. And I'm Jess. Let's talk points. We've traveled to many of the most popular vacation spots all over the world. Our question today is this, is getting off the beaten path actually better or are popular destinations popular for a reason? So Pam is going to kick us off with some of the pros of going to those lesser known off the beaten path destinations. Speaker 2 (1:12) Yeah, this has been, I've been wanting, I've been thinking about this now that I've been to so many different places, so many of the real popular places. And there are certain places I love to just go back to, you know, I will always want to go to Greece. I will always want to go to Italy. But there's been a couple times we've gone to little towns that were kind of not as popular. And they were just like, we went for a day and I go. I'd love to come back there and spend a week and just kind of become like a local and have it be chill and stuff. So there's some real pros to doing this. One of this is that you're going to have a lot fewer crowds. Those of you that have been to Santorini know that it can be insane in Santorini when you are going there in the middle of the day. I mean, you've got all the cruise ship people there. You've got everybody out and you can hardly walk. It's insane. But there are a lot of Greek islands that aren't really frequented by a lot of people where there's a lot fewer crowds. And if you have fewer crowds, it means you're probably not going to need to get restaurant reservations a week ahead. The attractions, the places you're going, it's just going to feel more relaxed. That's how I felt when I went to Koushkais. Did I pronounce that right, Alex? Cashkais, I think. Cashkais. Okay. And you're less likely to spend your vacation standing in lines. I'll tell you, I don't know about you, but standing in lines is not my favorite thing to do. So standing in lines to go see the Coliseum or standing in lines for the Vatican, all those things are not that much fun. So you can really have a much more relaxed feel on your vacation if you go to lesser known destinations. Another thing is that you have a more authentic experience. So restaurants and shops will cater more to the locals than tourists. And I think you can even have this even if you go to a crazy place. You can still frequent, find out about some of the restaurants that are off the beaten path. You can even do off the beaten path, even in a big city, just do it. Don't go to all the tourist traps. Find a local. Yes. You can get a better feel for everyday life in the destination. Now, I remember my first trip to Cinque Terre. And that is another place. lots of travelers go. But when everybody in the evening, when all the cruise ships have gone back, it becomes this little, it feels like this little tiny village. And I loved the feel of it. It was so relaxing. It was, you know, I just, I just loved the feel of it. And I always have said, I want to go back there and spend a week and be just like, you know, more like a local, you know, not going, you know. around to all the tourist stuff and everything until they leave. And that's what I said in Kashkash. That's how I felt too, is that I am dying. That is probably my one place I want to go. And I want to go spend a week or two and just, you know, it's definitely off the beaten path, a vibe that I love and it spoke to me and I need to do that. You can also, it potentially can be a lot less expensive. Hotels, meals, activities, and transportation can cost less. Your points may stretch further if there are good redemption options. Now, we're going to talk about some of the cons, and one of them is that you may not find as many good redemption options, but if you do, probably a lot less in points and miles. And then you get the fun of discovering something new. I love it when I feel like I've discovered a place. When, you know, like I went to Mallorca. And I'm not saying that's not really off the beaten path. A lot of people go to Mallorca. But nobody that I knew had gone there before. So to me, it was off the beaten path. It wasn't a, you know, major place. It's for Americans probably. Speaker 3 (5:09) It's not all the place. Americans are like, we're going to Rome and we're going to Paris and we're going to London. Speaker 2 (5:14) Yes. Yeah. But for me, I mean, I just thought there was a different excitement because I didn't know exactly what every viewpoint or hotel was going to look like. It was all fresh. It was all new. And you may come home recommending a place your friends have never considered. And that's how I felt about Mallorca. I mean, I'd love to go back there. I thought that to me it was off the beaten path. And there are lots of, you know, small little towns you can go and visit. It's not as busy. Speaker 2 (5:44) I've spoken to lots of people about how much I loved that. So those are some of the pros of going, you know, not going to all the major places. Like I said, there are some cons and Alex is going to address those. Speaker 3 (5:57) Yeah. So first I love your pros and I agree. And I have kind of been noticing with myself that I love going to the big city for a day or two. Like go to the city, do a full day tour, see the things. And then I love to get out and go see other areas. Like that's what my husband and I were talking about when we went to Portugal this summer. We went to Lisbon. We spent. two days, and then we went to the Azores. And we're just, we're in the Speaker 2 (6:25) - Speaker 3 (6:25) No, you went to the Algarve. We went to the Algarve. I'm thinking of Azores, because I'm going to be talking about that in a bit. Yeah. We went to the Algarve, and we were in Lagos. And it is a touristy, beachy place, but more for Europeans. And we were there at a slower time. So it's just so much quieter than big city life. And I realized that's what I really like, is the smaller towns. Big city for a day, and then go see the smaller towns. So I'm hoping to do more of that sort of travel. Okay, but for the cons, points and miles can be harder to use. Like my mom was saying, there might be fewer Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, or IHG properties. Award flights might only get you to the major gateway city. And then you've got to figure out, how do I then get to this other area? So for myself, when we went to the Algarve, we could have flown down there. From London, there was flights. We went from London. They were way, way more expensive than if we flew to Lisbon and rented a car drove. And so that's that factor of getting to those smaller areas are going to cost you more. So and then you may end up paying cash. for small hotels or Airbnb. So for us, we actually did stay in an Airbnb for that very reason. But then there's also that pro of, you know, for a family of six, Airbnb situation was pretty nice, cooking our own meals. And that was the there are hotel options there. But for me, I was very like, I want to stay in an Airbnb, so we have to go to the grocery store. So we have to go walk and do these things so we can do some of the things that the locals do and have that experience of cooking and living not as much a tourist life. So that was kind of part of the experience for me. Another thing is transportation can get complicated. So you might need a positioning flight, train, ferry, or like I mentioned, a rental car or a longer transfer. And that can also cut in like if you only have the limited amount of time, it makes it so your trip gets longer when you have to factor in these days it's going to take you to go Speaker 2 (8:32) to those maybe off the beaten path locations to Speaker 3 (8:35) reach that destination. So just keep in mind like a destination looks close on a map, it could take you an entire day to reach or it could take you