Why chasing 'authentic experiences' is ruining your travels

Rachel Field @ Satellite Island

Experiential travel. Authentic travel. Immersive travel.

These words are everywhere. They sound meaningful, but they’ve been used so often they’re starting to lose their - dare I say it, authenticity! The travel industry knows we crave immersion, so it packages up ‘authenticity’ and sells it back to us.

The problem? We’ve turned 'an authentic experience' into a commodity.

I see it in the way some travellers rush from one ‘authentic’ experience to the next, trying to collect them like souvenirs. A pasta-making class in Tuscany, a tea ceremony in Kyoto, a cooking workshop in Marrakech - all booked in advance, all squeezed into a packed itinerary. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these things (some are truly special), but when we approach travel like a checklist of curated moments, we miss the most important part: the unexpected, unplanned, beautifully imperfect reality of a place. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: the more we chase authenticity, the more it slips away.

Because real experiences - the ones that fulfil you - aren’t scheduled. They happen when you’re not looking for them.

Boat Cave, Kimolos

Last year I sent some clients to a remote Greek island, not one of the famous ones. I found them a converted boat cave, in a private bay with only 3 other accommodations nearby. They fell asleep at night to the sounds of the waves lapping outside their door. The fisherman next door would head out early in the morning before they woke and return with lunch, which he cooked for them, not arranged, not scheduled, not in the itinerary. Just because. Some days they would join him and his friends, some days not - it depended how they felt. I did not arrange this (but I knew it was likely because it's my favourite place to visit and have this experience), but it happened because they had the time to allow it to.

These moments aren’t ‘designed’ for travellers. They exist whether we’re there or not. And that’s the difference.

So how do you actually experience a place?

Linger. Slow down. Stay in one place longer than you think you should. Let the destination reveal itself at its own pace.

Be predictable. Visit the same café, sit at the same bar, buy your bread from the same bakery every morning. You’ll become a familiar face, and you will start to be treated like a returning friend (not just a tourist).

Say yes. To the unexpected dinner invitation, the detour, the stranger who asks if you want to join their table.

Ditch the script. Some of the best experiences come from not having a plan at all.

So, if you want an itinerary filled with polished ‘authentic’ moments, I’m probably not the right travel advisor for you. But if you’re ready to feel a place - to let it seep into you, to build real connections, to come home with your cup full, then let’s plan something different.

Something real.