Plenty of travel lists will tell you to go see the Eiffel Tower or hit the same three beaches in Thailand. You’ve likely already noticed those guidebook suggestions tend to blur together after a while. If you are hunting for unique things to do when you travel, this collection of offbeat travel ideas is for you. These are the experiences that make for the best stories later, not just the best photos for the ‘gram.
Swap a Cooking Class for a Local Food Swap
Cooking classes are lovely, do not get me wrong. But a food swap is a whole different animal. These events are usually held in community centers or someone’s backyard. You bring a dish you made (or something you foraged or grew), and you trade bites and recipes with strangers who are just as obsessed with food as you are.
The best part is the chaos. Someone will always bring a questionable casserole, and another person will have a grandmother’s recipe for pickled cherries that changes your life. Look up “food swap near me” or check local Facebook groups for the area you are visiting. Go hungry and ready to trade. Worst case, you leave with a full belly and a new internet friend.
Picnic Where Nobody Picnics
Instead of finding the most scenic viewpoint to spread out your blanket, try somewhere with history or a bit of grit. Pack some bread, cheese, and a bottle of something drinkable. Then head toward the forgotten spots: the abandoned castle on the outskirts of town, the old industrial pier, or the cemetery with the oldest trees.
Honestly, cemeteries are wildly underrated for a peaceful lunch. You get total silence, beautiful stonework, and usually a decent view since they were built on higher ground. Just be respectful and keep your music off. For the abandoned castle option, scout it during the day first to make sure it is safe. Bring a trash bag and take your leftovers with you.
Look for a Town’s Weird Claim to Fame
Every single town on this planet has something they are inexplicably proud of. You just have to find it. We stumbled onto a town in the middle of nowhere a few years back that had a statue of a giant peanut in the main plaza. Nobody could explain why it was there, and honestly, that mystery made the whole trip.
Research your destination with the phrase “weirdest thing in [town name]” before you go. You might find a museum dedicated to toilets, a festival for a local vegetable nobody has heard of, or the world’s largest ball of twine that happens to be pink. It takes ten minutes of digging. It makes the whole trip feel more like an inside joke.
Paddle at Night Instead of During the Day
Night kayaking is the travel adventure that doesn’t make it into most brochures. Sounds scary, I get it. But when the moon is full, and the water is calm, it feels like you are floating through a dream. The air is cool, the crowds are gone, and the sound of your paddle dipping into the water is the only noise for miles.
A lot of coastal towns have companies that rent out clear kayaks with lights on the bottom. It sounds gimmicky, but the visibility is unreal, especially if there is bioluminescent plankton around. If you are a beginner, book a guided tour. Do not try this solo without experience.
When you go, bring a dry bag for your phone and a light jacket, the air gets cold fast. Wear clothes you do not mind getting damp. And if you see glowing blue dots in the water, keep your paddle still for a second and just watch. That is the moment you will not shut up about when you get home.
Try a Day Trip With No Destination
Here is something my anxious, itinerary-loving self had to learn the hard way. Let the map be wrong for one day. Pick a bus that leaves in thirty minutes and ride it to the end of the line. Or rent a car and turn left at every fourth intersection. The whole point is to get a little bit lost in a place that has its own rhythm.
You will end up in a neighborhood with restaurants that do not have English menus. You will wander into a shop selling handmade brooms or antique fishing lures. Do not pull out your phone to navigate for four whole hours. Let your stomach growl and see where you end up.
This is offbeat travel at its absolute core. It is the definition of slow travel. I have gotten my best travel stories from these aimless wanderings. Once, we stumbled onto a local fishing competition and ended up eating freshly grilled catch with a bunch of retirees who spoke no English. It was better than any museum. To do this safely, let someone back home know the general area you will be in. Keep your wallet in a zipped pocket. And be okay with not seeing anything famous today.
Book One Night in a Building That Used to Be Something Else
Sleeping in yet another cookie-cutter hotel is the default, so break that cycle for at least one night. You can find former prisons, old lighthouses, repurposed grain silos, and even vintage train cars for rent. These places usually have loads of character and a story to tell.
Find them on booking sites by filtering for “unique stays” or “heritage buildings.” We once spent a weekend in a converted chapel. The bed was in the old pulpit area, and it had the creakiest floorboards, but waking up under those stained-glass windows was unreal. Go in with the expectation that amenities might be a bit quirky. The water pressure might be iffy. That is the trade-off for sleeping somewhere with a soul.
Follow a Stranger’s Itinerary
Ok so this sounds like a safety concern, but I mean it differently. Find a travel blog or a podcast from a local, not a tourism board. Locals know all the spots that never make the top-ten lists. Email a shop owner or a bartender before you arrive and ask, “If you had one free day here, what would you do?” You would be surprised how many people love sharing their city.
Do not just ask for a restaurant. Ask them for their guilty pleasure spot, the place they go when they want to be alone. Write down what they say. I had a barista in Lisbon draw me a map to the best pastel de nata place, but then she crossed it out and pointed to a tiny kiosk across town. She said tourists ruin the good one. The kiosk was better. Follow the weird advice of the people who actually live there, not the influencers who visited for a weekend.
Everyone talks about traveling to check boxes off a list. Unique things to do when you travel usually start with just asking a local question or wandering down a random road. So what is one weird spot you have been meaning to check out? Save this list for your next trip, and get ready to make some non-traditional memories. Bring home a story, not just a fridge magnet.
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