Q&A: Here Not There – The Travel E-book Membership

Andrew Nelson is the kind of author who makes an editor’s job simple—and a delight. When I’d assign him a narrative to put in writing for National Geographic Travel, whether or not about Laos or Bulgaria, I used to be assured to get again a bit each neatly reported, impeccably written, and lavished with witty turns of phrase.

In 2024, National Geographic revealed his ebook Here Not There, a treasure trove of journey recommendation that goes past the standard iconic locations to counsel shocking options.

I chatted with him by way of e mail (he was on a aircraft from New York again to his dwelling in Southern California) about vacation spot dupes, writing inspiration, and favourite journey books.

I had been kicking round a number of ebook concepts, however one query nagged at me: Why had been all of us standing in the identical traces, paying the identical inflated costs, to have the identical experiences? As iconic locations turned more and more crowded—and more and more costly—I questioned if there was a greater approach to journey. Here Not There grew out of that concept. I selected 100 locations that both introduce readers to locations they could by no means have thought-about, like Cumberland Gap on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, or invite them to rethink acquainted journey goals. Instead of Amsterdam, for instance, why not Indianapolis? It has miles of canals, a thriving bike tradition, nice neighborhoods, and a fraction of the crowds—and no transatlantic airfare. The ebook isn’t about avoiding well-known locations. It’s about increasing our concept of what makes a spot value visiting.

Yes, it was one other nice Midwestern metropolis: Cleveland. Cleveland crystallized one thing I’d been feeling for years. So many cities have been “fixed”—their tough edges sanded down by the identical mixture of redevelopment, meals halls, luxurious flats, and conference facilities as neighborhoods. They started to resemble each other. Cleveland hasn’t totally executed that. It nonetheless wears its historical past in plain sight. You can stroll from a Gilded Age arcade to a neighborhood bakery promoting Polish pastries, from world-class museums to previous industrial streets uncurated for vacationers. It’s a metropolis that also exhibits its seams and rusty rivets and to me that’s what makes it fascinating. Travel isn’t at all times about discovering probably the most stunning place. Sometimes it’s about discovering a spot that’s nonetheless negotiating with itself. Cleveland jogged my memory that authenticity usually lives in cities that haven’t completed reinventing themselves—and possibly by no means ought to.

People usually suppose an alternate vacation spot is just a spot with fewer vacationers. That’s not sufficient. To me, an alternate has to supply lots of the identical rewards because the well-known place—whether or not that’s structure, meals, outside journey, tradition, or historical past—however with its personal persona somewhat than as a knockoff. I wasn’t in search of second-best. I used to be in search of locations that stand tall on their very own.

The different check: Could a vacation spot change your notion? That’s grow to be the by line of my work. Here Not There asks, “Where else could you go?” My Substack,“Lost in Place,” asks, “What have we been overlooking?” I’m fascinated by cities and areas which were misunderstood, underestimated, or trapped inside an previous fame. Cleveland isn’t attempting to grow to be Chicago.

So the factors wasn’t simply sensible—fewer crowds, higher worth, simpler entry. They had been emotional. I wished readers to come back dwelling saying, “I had no idea this place existed,” or “I thought I knew this place, and I discovered something new.” That’s when journey does its greatest work.

Two locations instantly come to thoughts: Lecce in southern Italy and Bentonville, Arkansas. They’re worlds completely different, however they taught me the identical lesson—that we regularly journey with outdated psychological maps. We suppose we all know a spot as a result of we’ve heard of its extra well-known neighbor. Then we arrive and understand we’ve been trying within the fallacious course all alongside.

Lecce shocked me as a result of everybody goals about Florence or Tuscany, however down in Puglia I discovered a metropolis that was each bit as stunning with out the crowds or self-consciousness. It has extraordinary Baroque structure carved from heat honey-colored limestone, full of life piazzas crammed with locals as an alternative of tour teams, and that distinctly southern Italian rhythm the place the night passeggiata issues as a lot as any monument. What struck me wasn’t merely that it was stunning—it was that it felt lived in. You may nonetheless expertise what Italians name dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, with out feeling such as you had been standing in line to do it. Sometimes probably the most vivid model of a rustic isn’t present in its headline metropolis.

Bentonville was a completely completely different type of shock. If you’d informed me 20 years in the past that one in every of America’s most enjoyable outside and cultural locations would develop round Walmart’s headquarters, I might have laughed. But the Walton household has poured assets into creating one thing exceptional: world-class artwork at Crystal Bridges, tons of of miles of mountain biking trails, bold eating places, espresso tradition, public artwork, and a neighborhood that pulls folks from all over the world. It isn’t attempting to mimic Austin or Boulder—it’s grow to be its personal factor.

The reply isn’t to cease touring—it’s to unfold out. Travel within the shoulder season. Stay longer as an alternative of checking off cities. Visit second cities and missed areas. Most importantly, do not forget that journey isn’t a race to well-known landmarks; it’s an opportunity to know place. If extra of us chased curiosity as an alternative of bucket lists, we’d ease strain on overcrowded locations whereas discovering locations that usually want—and genuinely welcome—guests.

Yup, however I gained’t reveal it. Some locations must be stumbled upon on their very own!

That’s a tough query as inflation and the present struggle are impacting everybody in the mean time. Instead of naming one vacation spot, I’d encourage folks to rediscover one in every of America’s nice state parks. Places like Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California or Riverside State Park exterior Spokane—the place you may hike alongside the Spokane River and may even spot a moose—ship extraordinary experiences for the value of a day move.

If cash is actually tight, grow to be a traveler in your personal metropolis. Leave the automobile behind, decide a neighborhood you’ve by no means actually explored, and get misplaced on foot. Curiosity continues to be the most effective cut price in journey.

I are inclined to gravitate towards books the place place is sort of one other character. Believe it or not, I’d put Stephen King excessive on that listing. People consider him as a horror author, however I believe he’s actually one in every of America’s nice chroniclers of Maine like in Salem’s Lot. He notices the diners, the climate, the mill cities, and—particularly—the way in which extraordinary folks really speak. Strip away the supernatural, and his books are remarkably grounded in place.

For journey writing, it’s In Patagonia, by Bruce Chatwin. It stays the gold commonplace for me—not a lot a guidebook as a exploration of historical past, myths, and landscapes. I believe the most effective journey books don’t simply inform us the place to go—they modify the way in which we see the world as soon as we get there.

Nature writing? I’d select The Everglades: River of Grass, by Marjory Stoneman Douglas. She writes in regards to the Florida Everglades as in the event that they’re a residing, respiratory presence. It’s each science and literature, and she or he writes fantastically.

Gosh, Amy. There are so many. But I must say New York City. It’s the capital of the planet and at all times appears to supply one thing for everybody: theater, meals, people-watching, museums, and tradition. Not the most cost effective place on the earth, however the view from the Staten Island Ferry will encourage anybody and it’s been free since 1997. Those monumental skyscrapers willed into existence by human ingenuity, imaginative and prescient, and creativity. Gets me each time. —Amy Alipio