If you've been around for a while, you'll know we're big believers in exploring the side of a destination beyond the places everyone else visits.

The island beyond the famous island. The small town beyond the major city. The places that take a little more effort to reach but often leave the biggest impression.

This week's hot take dives into why some of the most memorable travel experiences begin with taking one more ferry ride than everyone else 👇🏻

xoxo,
Gabby & The TRAppe. Team

If you've ever wondered what life in Sweden is really like beyond IKEA and meatballs, Somewhere in Stockholm, hosted by Frankie, founder of XperienceSthlm, dives into the cultural quirks, social norms and everyday realities of Swedish life. A great listen before your trip to Sweden if you're looking to understand the country beyond the surface.

🎧 Share your go-to travel playlist or podcast with us. Whether it's road trip anthems or deep-dive travel stories, we want to hear and feature what fuels your adventures.

According to my mum, if a trip doesn't involve multiple forms of transport, an extra ferry and at least one questionable vehicle, then it’s probably not a travel experience I deem worthy 😳

I'm not sure when my obsession with off-the-beaten-path travel began, but it crystallised on a small remote island called Koh Rong Samloem in Cambodia back in 2015.

(Before you say it: yes, it's pretty well known now but not back in 2015)

Getting there took an 8-hour ride from the airport to the coast, an overnight stop, 2 ferry stops and a small homemade boat to reach the far side of the island.

But when I arrived, I was completely blown away, it is till today, one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. There were 30 kms of white sand beaches, some of the clearest water I had ever seen and barely any people or infrastructure around.

The accommodation was so new, the local family was still hammering together my bamboo bed when I was shown to my wooden hut on stilts.

That was the moment I realised that some of the best travel experiences and most beautiful landscapes lie beyond the places everyone else is visiting and often take a little extra effort to reach.

Not necessarily in the most remote corners of the world. But on the island beyond the famous island. The small town past the major city. The region most travellers skip because it takes an extra ferry ride to get to.

I, personally feel in places like these, there is much less distance between visitors and the people who live there.

You pay cash at the guesthouse owned by a local family. The restaurant is run by people from the village. The boat driver is the neighbour’s son. The connection between traveller and community feels much more direct.

The second realisation was how quickly you start interacting with locals when there are very few other tourists around.

You ask for recommendations because there isn’t much on Google Map. You get invited to join a meal because you're one of the only tourists there. You hear real stories that never make it into guidebooks, simply because there is no one else around to talk to besides the locals.

One thing I love about these places is that local isn't something you have to seek out. There are often no resorts. No hotel chains. No international tour operators. The guesthouse is family run because that's who built it. The restaurant is the only restaurant in the village visited by locals alike. The entire experience is local by default.

And I'll admit this philosophy sits behind how we curate at TRAppe.

Many of the stays, tours and experiences we feature are intentionally located away from the places most travellers already know.

Whether it's staying at Chiesa a Varena in rural Tuscany, visiting lesser known villages in Northern Montenegro with Nikena Eco Adventures or escaping to JazzFarm GuestHouse in the Romanian countryside, the idea isn't remoteness for its own sake.

It's about helping travellers discover the places that sit just beyond the obvious while creating more natural opportunities for deeper connections with local people, culture and communities.

I think a lot of travellers say they want “authentic” experiences.

What they actually want is authenticity that's convenient. Experiences that are easy to reach, easy to book and easy to consume.

The reality is that some of the most memorable travel experiences often require a little more effort.

An extra ferry.
A longer drive.

But it also means conversations with locals that happen more naturally. Recommendations that do not come from Google. Experiences that were never designed for tourists in the first place.

So take that one extra boat ride than everyone else, I promise it’ll be worth your while 😌

Thanks for hearing me out, folks. Hope my little hot take lived up to your expectations. Till the next time I have an opinion.

xoxo,
Gabby

We’re honoured to be a partner for Latitude again this July!

Latitude is a global community for changemakers and innovators in responsible tourism. From July 6–9, they are hosting The Global Relay - an immersive, virtual networking event passing the baton across four global regions over four days.

If you’re a purpose-driven founder, tour operator or accommodation provider looking to collaborate with like-minded innovators, there is a seat at the table for you.

In this week’s What’s Hot & What’s Not, meet Hellen, the Founder of VietWorth Travel, a community-based tourism startup dedicated to regenerative and social-impact tourism in Vietnam.

Passionate about uncovering hidden gems in rural Vietnam and connecting travellers with local ethnic communities, Hellen is on a mission to ensure every journey leaves a meaningful and positive impact on the people and places that host it.

🔥 What’s Hot

Community-based eco-adventure, 'slow travel', sleeping in traditional stilt houses, trekking through raw bamboo forests, catching the sunrise on the Hill, cooling down inside hidden wild caves, hands-on beeswax textile painting with local artisans, organic mountainside food, authentic human connections, and supporting directly-operated local eco-agencies.

❄️ What’s Not

Over-tourism, commercialized concrete hotels pretending to be 'eco', zero-dollar mass tourism packages, squeezing 45 tourists into a giant AC bus, rushing through generic souvenir shops, exploiting local ethnic culture just for Instagram photos, destroying the local ecosystem for profit and neglecting the hosts of the destination.

Want to get featured too? Drop your details here.

Curated stays and experiences around the world that are
kind to the planet and good to it’s people ✌🏻