Research Before You Travel: The First “R” of Responsible Travel

When I was a child, we moved to Mexico not knowing much of anything about the country, the culture, or the language. Before moving there, we had only made 1-2 brief day visits across the border as tourists.

We made a lot of mistakes, offended a few people, were ourselves offended by a few people, and went through a lot of grief trying to figure everything out from scratch.

In our adopted country, a little advance knowledge of the culture and language could have been hugely beneficial. But research back in 1987 was not nearly so simple as it is today.

The internet didn't exist. Personal home computers were only barely coming onto the scene.

Our best bet for research was the library, with its card catalogs—remember those?—and in our case, since we had wanted posters with our faces showing up all over the country, we were avoiding public places as much as possible. As fugitives, our situation was somewhat unique.

But even in the libraries, the available resources on languages, cultures, and countries around the world was limited.

We were lucky to have a guide initially—a man who took us to his family’s home and helped us settle in those first confusing weeks. But all too soon—well before any of us felt fluent in the language or ready to navigate this strange new land—we were on our own. We fumbled our way into the language and culture and in the end it all turned out well, thanks to the kindness of many people there.

In another post, I wrote about the 7 Rs of Responsible Travel: Research, Rank, Respect, Release, Relate, Reflect, and Retell.

Today, I'd like to explore that first R: Research.

RESEARCH. Does that word make you feel like you’re back in high school or college, writing essays and making sure you’ve cited all your sources properly?

Don’t worry, we’re not going to be that structured and boring about it, and nobody is grading your work.

On the other hand, this is not 1987 anymore. In most cases, we have more information than we know what to do with. We don’t want this to turn into a time-consuming aimless rabbit hole down YouTube, blogs, and the interwebs.

Why research at all?

A little advance research can make your travel not only much more enriching, but also much more responsible.

What should you research before a trip? I'll share seven different areas of research that I recommend.

1. "Where should I go?"

First, You can start with, "Where should I go?"

Where can you travel in a way that is not going to negatively impact the destination, while at the same time giving you the kind of experience you want, within your available budget?

Part of responsible travel is choosing a destination that is not already heavily overtouristed. Some places will benefit from your visit. Other places are being loved to DEATH.

Do you really want to go to an overcrowded destination anyway, where your chances of having an authentic local experience are greatly reduced?

Are there some alternative destinations you could consider that would provide a similar experience for you, minus the crowds and the negative impact they cause?

2. What’s the culture like?

Second, once you know your destination, it's time to research the culture.

Learning a few key points about a culture can help smooth the way for a happier trip where you make a better impression on the locals and they feel more inclined to help you as well, because they feel more respected by you than by the average bumbling tourist.

Before going to a country, just Google “culture tips" + the name of the country.

Check out Culture Smart! Guides – a series of books that can be quite helpful when learning about people of certain countries.

And of course, there is a wealth of information on YouTube and all over the internet.

3. What are some phrases I can learn in the language?

Another thing I like to research before a trip is the language.

If you’re traveling to a country where the official language is different from English or another language you already speak, it can make a tremendous difference to spend a little time in the weeks before your trip learning some basic phrases. In most cases, you’ll find the people in your host country to be surprised and delighted with your efforts, since most people do not even try.

Again, with the resources now available to us—internet, apps, YouTube—there's really no excuse not to learn at least a few phrases.

4. What can I do?

A fourth thing you can research is the kinds of activities you can do.

Research the activity itself. Is it ethical?

Will you be doing volunteer work? Research the company you want to go with, because some volunteer opportunities are actually causing more harm than good.

If it involves animals, is it humane? You can watch documentaries about different animal activities such as dolphin swims, elephant encounters, and so on and educate yourself about the treatment of those animals.

If it will be a ‘nature’ experience, what is being done to preserve the environment where the adventure takes place, whether that’s SCUBA diving, hiking, safari, or something else?

Also, searching mindfully for activity providers who are ethical and locally owned is something you can research.

I highly recommend the documentary called The Last Tourist. It gives a good overview of many common tourist activities and will help you make more informed decisions about which types of activities are helpful for the destination and which ones could potentially be harmful.

It should be required viewing for every traveler.

5. What is the history of this country?

Number five: History is another useful topic to research before your trip.

Getting some background on the place before you go is going to make your trip so much more interesting.

The sites you visit will have additional depth, meaning, and relevance. You’ll have a jumping off point for more in-depth conversations with the locals about their country.

6. What’s going on right now?

A sixth topic you can research, but with caution, is current events.

It’s great to have an idea of what is going on in a country before you arrive.

However, remember that the media usually only reports bad news…and they like to exaggerate. After watching the news, many people are afraid to travel at all because it all seems so "dangerous," and that’s really a shame because most of the world is quite friendly.

Keep in mind that if it sounds “dangerous” in the news reports, those are most likely isolated incidents and isolated places. Safety is not guaranteed anywhere, including your own home, so don’t let fear prevent you from living life, expanding your horizons, and seeing the world!

7. Logistics!

Finally, number seven: preparation research!

These are the logistics of your trip.

What kind of weather should you pack for?

Do you need to get any vaccinations for the destination, or pack any special medicines?

Do you need to get a visa before you go?

What currency do they use, and what is the exchange rate?

What is the general cost of food, lodging, transportation?

Part of being a responsible traveler is just preparing yourself for a trip and mitigating potential emergencies.

Conclusion

Eight years after we moved out of Mexico, after my college graduation in the year 2000, I had the opportunity to visit Nicaragua—my first international trip since childhood. Being already fluent in Spanish and having just completed a degree in Spanish, which included coursework on the history of Central America—I had a pretty good foundation for this trip. Knowing something of Nicaragua’s history gave me a much greater understanding of what I saw there. Since that time, I've made it a point to do some basic research before my trips.

If you want your next trip to be more enriching and more responsible, whether you're traveling to another state or another country, I highly recommend learning a little about your destination and watch how it comes alive for you when you go.

Happy travels.

P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my affiliate links, you will be helping to support my work, at no extra cost to yourself!