17 Travel Lessons for 2017

Like many people, I felt a bit brutalized by 2016. But the new year offers the perfect opportunity to look ahead. Reviewing the blogs I’ve written over the last year, I came away with a few important lessons that I’ll pack along on my 2017 travels.

Destroying a perfectly good guidebook can be a smart travel tip.

“Foodie” doesn’t have to mean “expensive.” You can eat very well for budget prices — if you do your homework (and don’t mind eating off a paper plate). This works everywhere from Ljubljana to Kraków — the cities where I had two of my most memorable (and cheapest) meals of 2016.

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In Italy, small-town politics can get extremely heated. Even when it comes to gelato. Especially when it comes to gelato.

The more you travel, the more you collect two very different things: pet peeves and favorite little pack-along items.

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Speaking of pet peeves, if you don’t like The Sound of Music, then for heaven’s sake, don’t go on a Sound of Music-themed tour. Or two of them.

If you really want to find the elusive “untouristy alternative” to popular Tuscan destinations like Florence, Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano…head to Lucca.

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Many of Europe’s quaint and quirky little towns — like Austria’s Hallstatt — are waging a losing war against the rising tide of corporate tourism. Enjoy them now, while they’re still more idyllic than commercialized.

Many alpine trails are snow-covered through early summer. But in Italy’s sunny Dolomites, it’s possible to enjoy a scenic hike even in mid-May. (Still…dress warmly.)

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Some of the most memorable travel experiences come in places you’ve never heard of — like off-the-grid villages high atop the Slovenian Alps — especially if you have trusted local friends to show you around.

Taking the time to take good photos is worthwhile. The pictures I’ve snapped this year in places like the Cinque Terre, the back streets of Lucca, Lake Bled, and other Slovenian grandeur are some of my favorite souvenirs.

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Italy’s Cinque Terre is tremendously crowded these days. But you can still enjoy it — as long as you equip yourself with smart crowd-beating strategies. (Trains jammed up? Hire a boat for a speedy and scenic ride to the next town.)

My ultimate travel thrill for 2016: Soaking in the Széchenyi Thermal Baths of Budapest. (OK, this was far from a new discovery — but it was just as glorious as I remembered.) And if you like Hungarian hot water, those baths are just the tip of the iceberg.

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Speaking of Budapest, the Hungarian capital still gets my vote for most underrated (and most improved) city in Europe. Budapest has some of the best nightlife anywhere — from ramshackle “ruin pubs” to budget opera to ritzy rooftop bars. Budapest is also emerging as one of Europe’s top foodie cities.

The main square of Kraków, Poland, remains my favorite in Europe — and on a balmy late-summer evening, when the horse carriages and breakdancing buskers are out, it’s pure magic.

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Making great television requires a lot of hard work. But it’s worth it. I enjoyed traveling with Rick and his crew as we filmed new episodes in Bulgaria and Romania — from cheesy polenta at a rustic shepherd’s encampment to bureaucratic snafus that nearly forced us to scrap our Bucharest shoot.

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While much of the United States was shocked by our election results, Europeans have seen a similar trend rising for a long time — from Trump-style leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to the Brexit vote in June. In the new year, I resolve to learn more about other countries’ experiences — to better understand what’s happening back home.

It’s a sad fact these days: Terrorist attacks will happen. And when they do, it’s natural to get scared and second-guess your travel plans. But in my view, it’s essential to separate fear from actual risk. Statistically, you’re far more likely to get killed this year in a car crash (1 in 50,000), in a plane crash (1 in 750,000), or even struck by lightning (1 in 14 million), than you are to be killed by terrorists (1 in 20 million). If you really fear for your safety when going to Europe…then you should walk to the airport. Especially in dicey times, I embrace travel as an opportunity to appreciate the full beauty on our planet — which becomes especially poignant when those places are in the news,  as Brussels was in March.

As a new year dawns, my travel plans are starting to take shape. I hope yours are, too. It seems we may be in for another tumultuous year. There’s never been a better time to keep on traveling.

11 Replies to “17 Travel Lessons for 2017”

  1. My traveling days are over so I especially enjoy the trips you take to places I loved visiting for many years. Travel was like air or food to me and I loved the small villages, off the beaten path and meeting and sharing views with locals. A wonderful life. Happy Travels.

  2. Totally agree about Budapest. A fabulous city and an unexpected gem. The Hungarian Goulash at the Gerlaczy Hotel restaurant is the best in the world! Like you, I take the time to make memorable photos. I create a photo album, with narration, of every trip we take (12 albums to date). They are treasures that allow us to relive all our trips anytime we desire. A special thanks to Rick for the great travel books.

  3. Rick – – I, on the other hand, really enjoy your political commentary. Politics are part and parcel of any society/civilization. In fact, politics are central to what makes a society or country what it is. Thanks for your ongoing commentary in that arena. Don’t stop.

  4. Good comment about the relative danger of terrorist attacks compared to “less exciting” events such as car crashes, lightning strikes etc.
    If I had not been to Turkey twice already and generally prefer to visit new countries each holiday I would be visiting Turkey despite the recent spate of terrorist attacks. Turkey generally, and Istanbul in particular, are wonderful destinations and simply too interesting to avoid.

  5. As an additional item to do in Budapest, coffee houses are very popular. Go to the New York Life building and inside its a coffee house like you have never seen. Artwork so fabulous you would think you were in the Vatican. In Krakow, there are restaurants along the edges with one in particular that serves a mushroom soup in a huge bread bowl for very little money. Fabulous.

  6. “Gelato Wars” sounds like an old Seinfeld episode. Everyone should click on the link to read that post. Priceless!

  7. I have to agree, Politics in the this day in Age is an integral part of life not only here in the US but in all places throughout the world. I strongly believe that it is hard to understand or even try to understand a culture of peoples without first trying to understand their politics and how that plays a huge role in shaping the everyday lives of those people.
    We have a great family friend who works for the French government and every time we visit we always have a great and sometimes heated discussion regarding both American and French politics. It’s entertaining, educational, and most of all NORMAL. Separating politics from culture is nearly impossible but can be limited as to not directly affect your travel experience. I support Rick and his teams use of the political cultures within their videos because no political society is perfect and this just helps to truly relate and understand people around the world and the lives that they live. Keep on traveling and learn as much as you can, that’s what will make this world a better place.

  8. I had the chance to visit Hallstat in Fall 2015. Although it was incredibly crowded in the day with tour bus-loads of people who filled the many centrally-located souvenir shops, local cultural experiences were had at night when the shops closed and the buses left – a ball for graduating students had the town filled with dressed-up young men who had gowned beauties on their arms. A late night pre-archery tournament party in the hotel we were staying at (too loud to sleep, so we joined in the fun!), and an invitation to watch the tourney itself the next day, held well back in the hills above Lahn… it was amazing and well worth making tracks outside of the main square and waiting for the day trippers to get out of town.

  9. Hi Cameron,
    I was wondering if you would ever do an article about how you go about taking your pictures. I have taken some photography courses and I’m not looking for an online course or anything but just how you get the type of photos that you show in your entries (especially the outdoor photographs such as in this particular article). I’ve enjoyed reading your travel stories and your style of photography and know that you have mentioned little bits of info such as the type of camera and accessories that you take along but I always find myself wondering “What kind of lens or shutter speed would he have used for that one!”, etc. You said you don’t lug around a tripod so I wondered how you get those near-night time shots– that type of thing.
    Anyway, thanks a lot!

  10. I am in the same category as Jane Delzitius (? sp). We are multi-Rick Steves Travelers and Rick-informed individual travelers (and Cameron Hewlitt-informed travelers who are most likely ‘past it’ now. Our travel dollars are no longer ‘on the line’ but, looking back, we say our Rick Steves dollars were very well spent. We met wonderful people; had wonderful guides (many honest companies have them)and we would take our Rick Steves tours over and over again IF we could be active travelers! BE REALISTIC: Rick’s tours are for people who have NO PROBLEMS climging steps or stairs. Today’s airports are not for people who can’t carry a 20-lb unchecked bag–distances from door to security to boarding ramp have only “groan” longer. Newbies: DON’T WAIT to buy into this tour source. This is intelligent travel and…as Rick morphed beyond his ‘Hippy’ aesthetic persona, it has become comfortable travel.

    Well, Cameron, you could say “Blah, Blah, Blah’…but we say we got plenty of our money’s worth on all six of our tours. We can’t do it but, through your writing, we have done it and we can continue to do it via your blog!

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