Going Local: Experiences and Encounters on the Road

by Nicholas Kontis

Today’s traveler seeks authentic experiences, not just viewing awesome sites, taking must-see photo opportunities, and checking an item off of a bucket list. Today’s modern day explorers seek immersion, wisdom and better and greater understanding of people and places. Real life experiences are compelling people to travel and bridge cultures together. Travel opens us up to the wonders of the world, and to the serendipitous occurrences when different cultures merge. At the forefront of any journey, travel begins with people and protecting local society and wilderness. It’s a powerful lesson that cannot be learned staying home viewing travel shows on television. Included in the book • Ways to become part of the peer to peer, sharing economy, experiential travel movement. • Case studies in living overseas, seeking out culture through local cuisine and sharing a meal, volunteering while on the road, how an around the world adventure is a life changing involvement. • Learning what it means to be a responsible traveler and choosing operators who protect and give back to local societies. • Keynote interviews with world-renowned travel insiders on their perspectives on travel.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2016

About the author

Nicholas Kontis was born in Greece on one of the most breathtakingly beautiful islands in the world, Santorini. He was brought up in the cultural capital of the Americas, San Francisco. From a very young age, he developed a passion for travel as he shuttled between Athens and his California home during summer vacations. At age 12, he learned the meaning of travel immersion as he slept on couches in various relatives’ homes and learned to bake his own bread.

At age 19, Nick did his first European stomp. He rented a car with two friends in Nice, France, and later participated in the annual “Running of the Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain, where he emerged unscathed.

But it was a two-month trip to the Greek Islands at age 24 that truly changed his life. On idyllic Ios, he met a Swedish couple who swayed him to forfeit his return ticket home to embark on the journey of a lifetime. In the months that followed, he crossed the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, traversed Southeast Asia, traveled overland in Australia from Darwin to Sydney and made his way across the South Pacific. Travelling the globe by train, plane, bicycle, boat and thumb (hitchhiking), even saving a baby in Bangladesh, Nick embraced a lifelong affection for travel.

Upon returning to his native San Francisco with no job prospect in sight, Nick launched the first successful travel agency in the United States that specialized in discount around-the-world airfares. Before long, he had been featured on Arthur Frommer’s travel TV show and Peter Greenberg’s radio show … from Istanbul. Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler called him the “father of around-the-world airfares.”

Today, Nick is an award-winning travel journalist who writes for numerous travel publications. He is proud that many fellow writers and travel specialists cite him as an inspiration in their decisions to pursue careers in the travel industry.
Nick's first book is titled: “Going Local – Experiences and Encounters on the Road.”

He still calls San Francisco home, while also spending time in the Napa Valley, Greece and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas C Kontis and John Gottberg Anderson take you on a journey of adventure and learning in Going Local: Experiences and Encounter on the Road. It’s not only a travel book but a manual for a full life. They tell about how travel has changed over their lifetimes. They point out how important it is to be a traveler, not a tourist. Don’t just see the world, take part in it by immersing yourself in other cultures. At the same time, it is so important to practice sustainable travel and ecotourism and not leave a mark on destinations. The old adage “Take only photographs and leave only footprints” is more important today than ever.
They tell in detail how to do peer-to-peer travel and truly go local. Instead of chain hotels, use Air B and B’s, Couchsurfing, or home swaps. That way you become emersed in local culture as a guest instead of a tourist. Sample the local cuisine and not just the upscale restaurants, but the lesser-known local favorites like Guy Fieri in Diners Drive-ins and Dives.
The book includes interviews with going-local travel experts like Rick Steves, Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet and many others. A parting quote from the book sums it up well. “When your time on this planet comes to an end, will you look back and think: ‘Man I should have bought a bigger car! Or at least a 65-inch TV.’ Or will you regret not having seen the Northern Lights?”

[Jeff Goldenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Going Local to be an interesting and useful book. The book is part autobiography, part biography and part reference book. The author writes about his own experiences traveling and immersing in the local cultures of the places he has visited. He also interviews numerous luminaries of the travel business and provides their take on experiential travel. The book is filled with references to web sites, mobile apps and books that would be useful to travelers in general, but especially to those seeking to fully live like a local during their travels. Significant portions of the book focus on meal-sharing and learning to cook in the local manner while abroad. Another recurring message is to volunteer while traveling. One should not simply take a trip and take photos, but they should also give back.

[Ray Grasshoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book for young or other financially strapped folks interested in inexpensive travel on a limited budget, or for them and others interested in sustainable travel or foodie travel, none of which are a tremendously strong attraction for me and my travels. The book also provides descriptions of some useful travel-related apps, but overall lacks a clear focus. Unusually small print is also a drawback.

[Gabi Kirellos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Going Local completely changed the way I see travel. It reminded me that the most meaningful experiences come from genuine connections with people and places, not just ticking off landmarks. Nicholas Kontis captures that beautifully. This book inspired me to slow down, be present, and really engage with the communities I visit. Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to travel with purpose and heart.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas Kontis gives some wonderful tips on traveling like a local. The best way to really experience a new place.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the immersive travel experience, going beyond typical tourist sites and into the culture of a place, what Nicholas calls "going local." It provides an excellent and broad overview into what this means, from where to stay to eating and learning to cook like locals to finding tours to meeting up with locals to volunteering and responsible travel. His personal experiences and interviews with well-known figures in the travel industry are interesting. They are likely to spur your own wanderlust. One of the strongest parts of this book is the resource information Nicholas provides in each category - sites you can use to plan your own "going local" experience. I know this book will become a standard reference for me when planning travel.

[Pia Vidal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have! Must read! Must re-read! Must share!

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book as the 'go to' book for anyone interested in traveling. There were lots of great experiences and interviews as well as many web sites named as resources. I tried one of the sites -- LikeaLocal that doesn't seem that active around here (Kansas City). However, I am on and am sharing what I know. Perhaps it works better at the major cities of the world (New York, London, Paris, for example). I had some questions about Wichita, Kansas, and got no responses. However, there are many other web sites included in the book and explorers can check them out well in advance of any trips. I have a feeling that when a valuable connection is made, it works well but like any search, one has to do a lot of looking. There's lots of information on volunteering while traveling, retiring to another country (where American dollars often go further), staying in people's homes, and other ideas. The author besides traveling a lot himself also has a travel agency (because traveling is what he seemed to do best). Even though I have no plans on going local, it's always interesting to read about possibilities.