The joys of visiting small towns

A few times in the past year, we’ve headed to relatively unknown small towns in rural locations. We’ve had interesting comments from people when announcing those destinations. “Why are you going there of all places? XYZ is a much better city!” “That is hardly a good representation of [insert country].” “Why on earth would you go to [insert city name]?”

small towns

I find it kind of amusing, really. Everyone has their own travel style. Yes, there are some really popular places to see; often for a good reason. Umm, Paris comes to mind immediately. It kind of comes down to why you travel or your travel style. There is no right or wrong way to travel. We’re just different.

Sure, we’d like to see the popular sites, but really what gets me the most interested is seeing the parts others don’t see. People who have been to Marrakech often don’t get why I love Morocco. Well, that’s just one of many facets to the north African country. For me, I found Morocco in Essaouira, and even more so in the relatively small town of Guelmim.

Big cities have their attractions for sure. Recently, we’ve visited Sydney and Melbourne and absolutely loved them. But in Australia, I’m even more in love with our tiny village of Buninyong and the bigger town of Ballarat. To me, these locales are Australia.

small towns, Australia

One thing I’ve noticed in all my travels is that big cities tend to be very much alike. They all have their own cool things, sights, interests, culture, and vibe, but they tend to be more homogeneous. I feel small towns represent more of the local culture than the large, metropolitan communities.

Sometimes they’re less welcoming than large cities, but generally speaking I’ve had some of my best experiences while in smaller, rural areas. You may also miss out on the conveniences of a large city such as an easy transportation system, a plethora of restaurants offering a variety of ethnic cuisines, sights and attractions, but to me it’s all worth it.

Just like when people visit primarily touristy attractions, you miss out on a lot of culture when you only visit the popular big cities.

small towns

And some large cities just aren’t all that wonderful either. For instance, Jakarta was one of the least interesting cities I’ve been to, yet it’s huge. You know it’s going to be challenging when you ask a longtime local for tips on things to see and she responds: “I was hoping you’d tell me.” Unless you’re a mall rat or a kid, you’re not really going to find a lot of interest in this city of at least 10 million people.

After several days in Vietnam’s capital, we retreated to the mountain town of Dalat and absolutely loved it. There isn’t much in the way of attractions, but we hardly ever saw another Westerner which by itself made it wonderful. Restaurants were designed for locals, not tourists. Yeah, we were a bit of an attraction ourselves, but it was an incredible 2 weeks, and I would’ve happily stayed there longer.

When planning travel, don’t underestimate the value of rural, small towns. You just may find something incredibly special.

What has been your experience with visiting small towns or untouristed places?

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16 Comments

  1. I agree with a lot of what you’re saying here. Personally speaking, I grew up in a small town, so when I initially hit the road I was totally enamored by the thrills and warp spreed pace of life big cities typically have to offer; however, as I’m getting a little older I’m finding myself going back to my roots again and preferring a slower pace of life. For example, while in Malaysia I preferred Malacca over KL; while in Cambodia, we lingered longer in Battambang than Phnom Penh. I think it’s easier to have more genuine and authentic encounters with locals in a smaller place.

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    • There are definitely some big cities I really enjoy, but definitely feel more connected to a place when I spend time in the smaller cities and towns. It definitely does feel more genuine.

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  2. Couldn’t have agreed more- smaller towns and villages are often a better representation of a country than its bigger cities. We enjoyed Marrakech, but fell in love with Morocco when we visited its villages and small towns (just like you)

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    • Oh my, yes. Marrakech is best done with a small bite and moving on. It is such a crazy place it just doesn’t feel like Morocco to me.

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  3. I feel the same way…sometimes. I’m a city boy, and I feel at home in medium to large cities (overly large or pedestrian un-friendly cities stress me out, though; I like my cities walkable). I often do enjoy visiting small towns after an extended stay in a city, but I don’t think I’d want to travel only to small towns!

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  4. I do think that besides the cultural attractions – museums, shows, ect – big cities have more in common with each other then with their environment. It’s in little towns when you can actually appreciate differences in everyday life. I love cities, and I love visiting them, but I feel like I learn more in the middle of nowhere.

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    • I very much agree. I think this was one of the reasons I was so disappointed with Bangkok the first time. I expected exotic Thailand and got pretty much any other big city in the world except with better street food and some signs I couldn’t read.

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  5. I consider myself to be a city person, but I can’t argue with your appraisal that the big ones do tend to feel quite “samey” after a while. I think this might be highlighted in Asia where the things we have been most interested in experiencing are not necessarily dependent on a big city (for instance, some of the best night markets we have visited were found in little towns!) which always seem to cater more to shoppers. I agree that by going somewhere a little random, a little less expected, it’s a great way to gain perspective on a country, though we’ve also had this backfire on us when we’ve wound up in places that pretty much had nothing to offer us and were bored out of our minds!

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    • Yes, that does occasionally happen as well. We’re in a small village right now that truly doesn’t offer much, but it’s very close to a mid size town so it makes it enjoyable. You have the great local feel of this very small community but within minutes you can be somewhere with more offerings.

      In Thailand we definitely experienced that with night markets. We stayed for a while on the island in Ayuttaya, and their night market had probably the best food I’ve had in Thailand. Even my son would ask “Can’t we go to the night market?” if I suggested going to a restaurant for a change. LOL

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  6. Hell-to-the-yeah! Small towns are sooo my thing!!! Cities are fun for a bit, for something different – I like big to be novel. But it doesn’t take long for the novelty to wear off for me. I settled as an expat in the Far North of NZ, 4 hours north of Auckland and found that to be more authentic than most cities. It didn’t take long to make connections with the people, and soon I was considered a ‘local’ myself.

    We’ve been driving across Canada, and have stopped in the major cities along the way, but truly fell in love with the little places off the map that we either fumbled our way to (sometimes by accident) or that we turned up to because I had friends living there.

    Understanding your own travel preferences will help to shape future trips – I know I can’t handle too much city, so I’ll plan my next trip to take in some small towns too.

    It’s nice to see the little guy (town) represented 🙂

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    • Let’s hear it for the little guy! I’ve always loved them, but enjoy them even more when I’m traveling. So many have such palpable charm.

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  7. Haha we sync in our travel style – I agree with your take on travel . I’m about to write a post on the villages in France 🙂

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  8. I like small towns. One of our best experiences with small towns was our road trip driving Route 66 from Chicago to California. The route takes you off of the interstate and through small town America. It was very eye opening and while many small towns continue to thrive an equal numbered faded away when the interstate diverted the traffic/business. I agree in that some small towns are not always open to others but I think for the most part small towns are very welcoming and you find the best food when you figure out where the locals eat! I remember 1 stop in particular (I think somewhere in Illinois) we stopped at a local burger place and the burgers were $1.55! Small towns are somewhat of a different world though and one has to be willing to see beyond the obvious. Two years ago we moved from a city of 1-million+ people to a town of about 20,000 and we’ve never looked back, it’s been a great experience and we’ve learned a lot – not only about small town life but also about our self and our views of the world. I agree – don’t underestimate the potential of a small town!

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    • I love the conveniences and opportunities of a big city, but for me it’s nicer to live in a small town not too far away from a larger one. Then it’s almost like having the best of both worlds.

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