Most vacations reveal more about what we value—comfort or discovery—than about the destinations themselves.

Vacations can say a lot about how we see the world.

For some, it’s about convenience. For others, it’s about experience. And depending on what side of the spectrum you fall on, your idea of a “dream trip” might look wildly different.

I’ve noticed that many lower-middle-class families, often for good reason, gravitate toward certain vacation activities that more seasoned travelers would never touch. Not because they’re “wrong,” but because once you’ve traveled enough, you start valuing different things.

Here are nine examples.

1. All-inclusive package tours

On the surface, this looks like the ultimate value play: meals, drinks, activities, and lodging all bundled into one price.

But seasoned travelers usually avoid them like the plague. Why? Because all-inclusives strip away spontaneity. You’re basically locking yourself into a prefab vacation, eating from the same buffet every night, and rarely stepping beyond the resort gates.

The money saved often comes at the cost of authentic experience.

From a psychology angle, this is tied to something called choice architecture. Lower-middle-class families prefer these because the hard work of decision-making is taken away.

But once you’ve traveled enough, you realize the best part of a trip is often those micro-decisions—choosing a random street to wander down, or asking a stranger where to eat.

When I spent a week in Mexico City, the moments I remember most weren’t the big attractions—they were the evenings where I let the city lead me. A street taco stand in Condesa ended up being more memorable than any guided activity could have been.

2. Long bus sightseeing tours

Ever been on a bus that drives you from landmark to landmark with a guide cracking jokes over a microphone? I have. Once. Never again.

These tours are appealing to families who want the safety net of being shuttled around without having to plan logistics. But to anyone who’s traveled extensively, they feel sterile. You see the city through a bus window and spend more time waiting for people to get back on than actually exploring.

Seasoned travelers would rather get lost on foot and discover the city’s pulse firsthand. Cities are lived from the sidewalk up, not from behind glass.

There’s also something known as psychological distance at play. You experience a place differently depending on how close you are to its details.

Riding past the Colosseum on a bus isn’t the same as walking around its perimeter, feeling the texture of the stones, or hearing the chatter of locals on nearby steps. The more distance you put between yourself and the culture, the less of it you actually absorb.

3. Chain restaurants abroad

I still remember being in Paris and watching a family walk past three cozy cafés to sit down at McDonald’s. I get it—predictability is comforting when you’re traveling with kids. But it’s also a missed opportunity.

Exploring local food is one of the fastest ways to understand a culture. As Anthony Bourdain once said, “Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalism, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma.”

Seasoned travelers know that venturing into a small local restaurant beats the comfort of a familiar menu any day.

The psychology here is risk aversion. Families stick with what they know because they fear “wasting money” on food they or their kids might not like. Experienced travelers see that risk differently—they accept a dud meal as the price of finding the one that changes the way they see food forever.

4. Tourist-trap day excursions

Think glass-bottom boats, dolphin shows, and “pirate adventures” that cost more than they’re worth.

Families book these because they sound fun in brochures. They’re marketed as must-do activities. But the truth? They’re overpriced, crowded, and designed to funnel tourists through the same tired loop.

The seasoned traveler’s alternative? A simple walk through a fishing village, or renting a kayak for a fraction of the price.

When I was in Croatia, I skipped the prepackaged “island hopping tours” and just rented a small boat. I ended up finding a nearly empty cove where I swam alone for hours. No plastic wristbands, no staged entertainment, just raw experience.

This is where perceived value vs. actual value comes into play. Families are often sold the idea that these excursions are the highlight of the trip, when in reality, they’re the most generic.

5. Cruise ship vacations

This one might sting a little because cruises have long been marketed as budget-friendly vacations. Everything is neatly packaged, and families feel they’re “seeing the world.”

But most seasoned travelers avoid them for the same reason they skip all-inclusives: the experiences are curated, commercialized, and disconnected from real local culture. Ports are often overcrowded with the same gift shops, and time ashore is so short it barely scratches the surface.

Cruises often feel more like floating malls than cultural experiences.

A friend of mine put it best after trying one: “I realized I didn’t actually see Barcelona. I saw the port of Barcelona for four hours.”

For frequent travelers, that feels like a waste. The whole point of travel is immersion, and a cruise rarely gives you that.

6. Theme park marathons

Disney, Universal, Six Flags—the holy grail of family vacations. Lower-middle-class families will often save for years to pull these off. And the result is usually a blur of long lines, overpriced food, and sensory overload.

Don’t get me wrong, theme parks can be fun. But seasoned travelers rarely see them as a “vacation.” They’re more like endurance tests. The price-to-experience ratio is steep, and the sense of wonder fades fast once you’ve done it once or twice.

Instead, experienced travelers prefer slow exploration of real places—parks, mountains, historic neighborhoods—that don’t require a wristband to enter.

There’s also the psychological element of hedonic adaptation. Theme parks are designed to overwhelm the senses, but once you’ve been exposed to that intensity, it stops feeling special.

Meanwhile, simple experiences—like hiking through Yosemite or biking through Amsterdam—remain deeply satisfying no matter how many times you do them.

7. Booking through travel agencies

This one feels a bit dated, but it still happens. Families go to a travel agent, pay extra fees, and walk away with a “prebuilt” vacation.

To a seasoned traveler, that feels like paying someone to strip away your choices. With tools like Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Airbnb, the DIY route is both cheaper and more flexible.

The psychology behind this is interesting—families often see agency-booked trips as safer. But what’s really safer is knowing how to plan for yourself. Once you’ve traveled enough, you trust your own research more than a brochure.

I once booked a trip through an agency in my twenties and ended up in hotels I’d never have chosen and on timelines that felt rigid. Now, I’d rather spend three hours digging into reviews and building my own plan because I know that effort usually leads to a better, cheaper trip.

8. Overstuffed itineraries

There’s a certain belief that if you don’t cram in everything, you’re wasting your trip. So families pack their days from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., rushing from museum to monument to attraction without breathing.

Seasoned travelers know the opposite is true. The best moments often come from downtime—sitting in a café, watching locals go about their day, striking up conversations.

A slow trip is almost always a deeper trip.

This connects to something called the paradox of choice. The more activities you try to fit in, the less satisfaction you get from each. Families who overplan think they’re maximizing value, but in practice, they’re diluting the experience.

I’ve mentioned this before in another piece: the days I remember most from traveling are usually the ones I left open. The day I skipped a museum in Lisbon and just wandered the Alfama district turned out to be one of the best of my life.

9. Souvenir shopping sprees

You’ve probably seen it: families hauling home bags of keychains, t-shirts, and snow globes. It feels like proof the trip happened.

But the seasoned traveler learns early on that souvenirs rarely hold the same magic back home. They collect dust. The real souvenirs are photos, journal entries, or conversations remembered years later.

As noted by psychologist Daniel Kahneman, our “remembering self” values moments of meaning over material trinkets. Experienced travelers invest in memories, not merchandise.

A single notebook scribbled with impressions from a trip will outlast ten “I ❤️ NY” t-shirts.

Wrapping it up

None of this is about judgment. These activities make sense in context. Families want safe, easy, and familiar experiences. But the trade-off is depth.

Seasoned travelers learn that the most meaningful vacations usually come from wandering off the beaten path, eating where locals eat, and letting go of rigid plans.

So the real question is—when you plan your next trip, are you booking comfort, or are you booking experience?