I have discovered that meaningful travel experiences truly enrich my soul. So when I do get the opportunity to travel, I try my hardest to really experience the place I am visiting. I like to pretend I’m a local and dive deeper into the destination, and come out with a more meaningful trip experience. And, since I don’t get to travel nearly as much as I’d like (ya know, work and money and stuff), I strive to make my travel experiences last long after I’ve unpacked my bags.

I am a huge advocate for venturing beyond the typical tourist experience. To me, the idea of “being a tourist” invokes the feeling of just checking off a to-do list of places to see. If I want my trip to mean something, I can’t just show up, see what it is you’re supposed to see, and leave with some pretty Instagram shots. Although, if that’s what you’re into, by all means, you do you! 😉 However, you CAN forge more of an emotional connection with your destination – here are a few ways I’ve discovered to make that happen:

Study a foreign language

What better way to immerse yourself in a culture than to be able to speak the lingo? The first step to feeling a bit more connected to your destination is to be able to communicate with the locals. Not only that, by learning a little bit of the language you’ll be able to better understand street signs, ordering food off a menu will be less intimidating, and shopping transactions will go much smoother. In any case, you’ll definitely feel less like a passing tourist.

Before my husband and I embarked on our honeymoon to Italy & Slovenia, I took a few beginner’s Italian courses through a community adult education program. Sure, after a 12 week course, I wasn’t anywhere close to being fluent, but I got a handle on the basic phrases and niceties. It made our trip much more enjoyable, less stressful, made me feel slightly less like the stereotypical American tourist – who only speaks English. At least attempting to speak the local language is not only the polite and respectful thing to do, but you also score mad brownie points with the locals!

There are so many resources out there for learning a new language! Check out your local library or community college to see if they offer low-cost language courses. You could also try a do-it-yourself program like Rosetta Stone, but there are also many free resources available. Open Culture’s resource page is a good place to start or download a free language learning app like Duolingo or Memrise. Language is an important part of our identity, it is how we express ourselves. Learning even just a little bit of another language will put you one step further to understanding another culture.

Find your roots

You could easily build a trip around finding long lost relatives, or visiting grave sites of your ancestors. Ancestry.com and the My Heritage.com are great places to start to research where it is you come from. Don’t forget to grill your relatives for names and dates to get started! Visiting a place that has ancestral roots can be an emotional experience, like walking in the footsteps of your own past. It certainly makes the trip all the more meaningful. I’m looking forward to building a trip to the Scottish Highlands one day, to visit the villages that my great-grandparents grew up in.

My husband Matt is of Slovenian decent on both sides. Before our second trip to Slovenia in 2016 we did our research to see if he had any living relatives still in the “mother country” – turns out he did! During that trip we ended up meeting with two of his cousins, even visiting the former home of his great-grandmother. This summer we returned to Slovenia with Matt’s mother on a quest to connect with more relatives, with much success! My mother-in-law enjoyed a great adventure with her Slovenian cousin to many of their ancestral villages, churches and graveyards. Building a vacation around finding your roots is a sure-fire way to connect with your destination in a meaningful way – and feel like family.

Hang out with locals

The best way to be immersed in a new place, is to understand how the people there live. Instead of just seeing a place at arms length, get in there! Visit the local pubs and restaurants off the beaten tourist path. Now that you (hopefully) know some of the language, attempt to strike up conversations with shopkeepers, waiters, and fellow patrons. Ask them where THEY like to eat, drink or visit. Those are the places you want to go. I live in Nashville, Tennessee. When visitors ask me where the best places are to eat and drink, I usually do not send them to the touristy parts of town. Instead, I send them to the places that we like to frequent ourselves, away from the throngs of tourists.

While conversing with locals might be the best way to uncover the hidden gems of a location, by striking up a conversation, you might just make a new friend. They might even offer to show you around their city, or invite you to a BBQ with friends. You never know what kind of experience you might encounter, until you reach out to connect with a new person in their element.

Choose a meaningful destination

Traveling to a place that holds meaning for you can make a trip all the more memorable. Maybe your grandmother always told you about the diner in St. Louis where she met your grandfather? Or perhaps you’re an architect and have always wanted to see a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? Building a vacation around visiting a place that gets you excited inside is definitely worth the trip!

Last year, I took my mother on her first overseas trip to visit England. I attended graduate school in Oxford, but she never got the chance to visit me during my time overseas. It was such a moving experience. Not only to take her on her first trip, but to show her where I lived and all of my favorite places in Oxford. It was an incredible bonding experience for us, and a trip we will both remember forever.

Research history and regional cuisine

For me, knowing a bit of the history of something I’m looking at, gives it a whole new meaning. Before your trip, check out some books from your local library about your destination. Or watch some documentaries and learn a bit about the local culture.

Before my mom and I visited Blenheim Palace in England, I did a bit of reading about the palace’s past. Somehow knowing that those gorgeous state rooms and gardens were once in danger of ruin, but were saved by the unhappy marriage of the 9th Duke of Marlborough to the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, gave them an almost melancholy beauty.

Reading up on regional specialties before your trip is also a great idea! Before visiting Venice, I discovered that cicchetti (delicious small tapas-style snacks) were a traditional Venetian pastime. Hunting down our next cicchetti fix became one of our favorite things to do Venice. If I hadn’t done some research beforehand, we might have missed this experience entirely! Of course, discovering local cuisine naturally – while you’re there, is super fun too. Especially if locals let you in on some of their secrets! But if you’re a crazy research nut like me, it is great to know at least some of the local delicacies to hunt down beforehand. It saves time and ensures you don’t miss out!

After your trip:

Embrace the food

Can you tell I’m a bit obsessed with food? If you’re able to (and packed smart) bring home some foodstuffs from your travels to savor. Things like olive oil, dried pasta, sea salt, spices or local wine and liquors travel well if packed properly in checked baggage. I tend to fall in love with a new flavor on each of my trips and simply MUST bring some of it home to enjoy (some have become a bit of an obsession…like Jelly Babies from the UK).

Or bring home a cookbook from your travels so you can try and replicate some of the tasty food you experienced. Notice I say try here…. I haven’t always been successful, but trying can be the fun part! Make a quest out of finding the ingredients or flavors you loved on vacation. Explore the local international food market. Seek out that wine you loved and use that cookbook and cook an authentic meal. Hankering for some authentic Italian food like you had in Italy? Seek out a new Italian restaurant you haven’t been to. Or find a market that sells fresh pasta and sauces and make your own feast. Host a destination-themed dinner party, complete with authentic music!

Stay immersed in culture

I always find it a bit sad after I’ve come home from a place where I had an amazing experience. So why not seek out ways to stay connected to the culture? Read novels or watch movies set in your new favorite place. Bonus points if they are foreign films! Or seek out cultural festivals in your area. For example in the Nashville area, we enjoy diving into Scottish culture at the Middle Tennessee Highland Games , and German culture at Oktoberfest every year. And in my home town of Daytona Beach, the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church hosts an annual Greek Festival, allowing you to taste and experience all Greece has to offer.

It is also fun to try out some new customs. Around Easter last year, I was looking to celebrate my hubby’s roots and did some research on Slovenian Easter traditions. I learned that Easter eggs play a large role in their celebrations, and they look so pretty! I just HAD try my hand at making these fascinating “pirhi” Easter eggs. They were so simple to make and fun to do, and they actually came out gorgeous! I think we may embrace this tradition in our Easter celebrations to come.

And lastly, don’t forget to continue your foreign language! Practice makes perfect they say….it might be a good idea to go back to those lessons after being immersed in the language. Just to make it stick. Even if you don’t have any immediate plans to travel back to a place that speaks that language, its great to keep your brain simulated! And for me, it helps me keep a connection to foreign travel….you know…for when I’m stuck at a desk….in real life….and can’t get away anytime soon. 🙂