'You don’t need to go off the beaten path.' People share their unpopular travel opinions.

Some of the most annoying people on earth are people who travel often.

"Oh, you've never left Australia? How sad!" that particularly pretentious friend exclaims.

"You're not actually experiencing a city unless you live like the locals," another forcefully suggests.

We get it. We get it. You've been to Bali. Twice.

There are a number of overused and over-hyped opinions that have started to dominate the travelling discourse. And so, avid travellers have now started to share on Reddit their 'unpopular travelling opinions' – and they're deeply relatable.

Hotels are better than hostels.

"This is more of an unpopular opinion among the younger and more economical travel crowds: Staying in hotels is fine. I used to stay in hostels almost exclusively while travelling when I was younger, and I remember saying to some fellow travellers that I liked to get a cheap hotel room once in a while to have a room to myself once in a while, and man I was criticised," shared one traveller.

"To some young people, hostels, homestays, couch surfing and Airbnbs were the only way to go. Hostels were the more authentic way to travel or backpack. You meet people from all over the world you talk to them, you make food and eat and drink together sometimes. And hotels were a privileged, stuck-up, antisocial way for 'tourists'.

"Sorry, but I'm sick of the pretentiousness of that. While hostels have their benefits for young people, I'm older now and don't want to sleep in a room with 6-20 other people snoring, playing music, or having sex while I'm trying to sleep. And a younger person is free to feel the same way. Also, even if it's fun socialising, it definitely gets old after a while. You get tired of having the same generic travel conversations with, let's be honest, a mostly white, western, English-speaking bubble," they wrote.

"Hotels can give you security. Hotels can give you peace of mind and comfort and your own space away from the stress of travelling and other people for a while. If you're young, sure, stay in hostels, they can be great, but don't be shamed for wanting your own space once in a while."

Preach!

You don't need to go 'off-the-beaten path'.

"There is nothing wrong with visiting tourist destinations or using tourism infrastructure," shared another travel lover. "I used to pride myself in going to 'off-the-beaten path' types of places and sort of 'roughing it'. But as I've gotten older, I don't really feel the need to impress anyone. There's a reason tourist destinations are popular. And if a city/country/etc. has good tourism infrastructure (hotels, sight-seeing, tour guides, etc) there's no harm in utilising them."

Long holidays are overrated.

"It is possible to visit and enjoy a place without spending eight weeks there," one user said.

"Not everyone can take two-month sabbaticals. If all you can swing is five days or a long weekend, then do it," another added.

'Go-with-the-flow' travel is overrated.

"Having a detailed itinerary and lots of pre-booked tickets makes for a better trip for everyone. When you 'go with the flow' and plan nothing, often one person has a less-than-ideal trip because they're the one constantly researching directions, opening times, ticket prices, etc. That's not fair to that one person," one traveller wrote.

A following comment said, "When we went to Japan, the first thing we did was spend like 15 or 20 minutes with a very helpful JR employee getting the correct tickets for every major train/intercity trip we were going to take for the entire trip. Made the whole trip 10 times easier and less stressful not having to worry about making it to the station and then figuring out tickets each time."

Travel isn't for everyone, and that's okay. 

"We need to stop telling everyone that they need to travel. Some people just do not like travelling, whether it be because of the cost, fear, avoidance of discomfort, or other mental health/physical reasons," said one, er, anti-traveller.

"Travelling is like dancing. The people who love to dance, want everyone to dance and try to pull them onto the dance floor. But it's annoying as hell to people who don't like to dance, so just stop it." 

Holidays can be restful.

"Sleep more on vacation, not less," wrote one user. 

Another added, "It took me years to reach this stage. During early travels, my priority was seeing everything, now it's relaxing and treating it as vacation. Afternoon naps are lovely!"

A follow-up comment in the thread said they had "settled into an 'every other day' system that works well for us. If day one is packed full of stuff, then day two is completely unstructured. Rinse and repeat."

Sometimes you do need a checked bag.

"It's totally fine to check a bag. You don't win anything if you can make it for a month with a single change of underwear and your phone cable."

Another poster agreed, writing, "I LIKE having my stuff. I know people argue that it helps spontaneity and flexibility to not have a bag, but it’s the opposite for me. If I have my things, I can do anything."

Generic fast food shouldn't be taboo.

"It’s okay to get a Starbucks coffee or eat a cheeseburger if that's what you want," one Redditor shared. 

And a parent added, "We were in Japan last week and my kid wanted to go to McDonalds, as they have a different menu. Didn't bother me at all and was a fun experience."

In fact, a lot of people shared that they enjoy trying different McDonald's all around the world. "I have gone to McDonald's in every country I've been to that had it. It's fun to see what changes, and going once doesn't mean you're going to miss out on the local food," another wrote.

"Also, if you've been travelling a while, getting something familiar can be quite comforting."

Hop-on-hop-off buses are actually great.

"I rather enjoy a hop-on-hop off bus. Not sure if that's unpopular?" said one commenter.

Another agreed: "It's often my go-to first day thing in a new city. It's a great way to get oriented and see the sites quickly and then decide what to go back to."

Hotel breakfasts should end later.

"Hotel breakfasts times suck and people should complain about it," one opinionated traveller said.

"I can never sleep as late as I want to because I also want to enjoy breakfast. Sometimes breakfast only goes until 10am, it's like the hotel is full of business travellers instead of just travellers."

Feature image: Getty.