… Because they should be overnight trips!
Day trips… convenient, efficient, and seemingly harmless. They let you cram a lot of sights into a short amount of time. But let’s be honest—some places deserve better than that.
In my travels, I’ve come across too many spots that suffer under the weight of day-tripper tourism. You arrive alongside hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other visitors. You follow the same loop, see the same highlights, are packed in the same boutiques, eat in the same overrated restaurants, and head out just as the best part of the day begins: dusk. You miss the golden light. You miss the peace. You miss the soul of the place.
Here’s a list of places where I either regret not staying overnight, or was grateful beyond words that I did.
1. Bhaktapur, Nepal
A common side trip from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur gets a flood of visitors who spend a few rushed hours in the central area. They lunch at well-known restaurants and pop into the shops around the square before heading back. It’s a small city full of historic monuments, religious shrines, gilded roofs and palaces with elaborate carvings which, technically, you could explore in just a day. However…
What you miss by making it a day trip:
Sunrise in Bhaktapur is pure magic. Before the tourist buses arrive, the city awakens with incense, offerings, and quiet rituals. Women and children step out with trays of flowers, fruit, and rice, moving from shrine to shrine, making their rounds for the gods. The crisp morning air smells of devotion and ancient tradition, while the weak sun rays highlight some of Bhaktapur’s finest art. For me, this was the moment Bhaktapur revealed herself—intimate, spiritual, radiant.
As I mentioned before, Bhaktapur is one of my 12 favourite destinations of all times and the mornings are exactly what made this place more memorable and alluring than others. Coming here on a day trip would mean missing the morning’s enchantment, when the tourists are still in bed in Kathmandu and the town is the playground of the people and their gods.
2. Guatape, Colombia
I visited Guatape as a day trip from Medellin by public transport. Halfway through, I wanted kicked myself for not planning a night in this colourful town.
What you miss by making it a day trip:
Guatapé is wildly photogenic, maybe the cutest and most colourful town I’ve ever seen. But bright midday sun casts harsh shadows and makes photography difficult. Late afternoon, the light softens and the town glows. I didn’t want to arrive in Medellin’s busterminal after dark, I had to leave just as that glow appeared. Dinner and a cool beer at sunset would have been an excellent way to end the day in Guatape. Stay the night—your camera will thank you.
3. Bethlehem, West Bank
Busloads of tourists coming from Jerusalem in Israel swarm the central square of Bethlehem in Palestine every day. The tours arrange the border crossing, a visit to the historical/religious sanctuaries and safe return to Israel after having visited the supposed birthplace of Jezus Christ. Although I understand the importance for many to visit a place of such significance, there is much more to Bethlem/Palestine…
What you miss by making it a day trip
By staying in Bethlehem we were able to visit (and spent a few nights in) a refugee camp, talk to the people of Palestine, get into the current culture, broaden our knowledge on the complex situation of the region… Missing these experiences is missing the point of going to Bethlehem. If you’re visiting the birthplace of Christ, shouldn’t you also understand what the place has become today? Bethlehem was one of the most enriching stops of my journey—one that day trippers never get to see. If you want to know more about travel in West Bank, read my post to find out what’s in Palestine.
4. Pamukkale, Turkey
The cotton castle of Turkey, usually visited as part of a day trip from resorts on the Turkish Riviera. I was surprised to see hundreds of tourists on the site but only a handful of hotels in the town; hello day trippers.
What you miss by making it a day trip
Stay the night in the town of Pamukkale and you’ll have the otherwise overrun by tourist cotton castle all to yourself at the crack of dawn. I was the first person to enter the site that day and had teary eyes when I was confronted with the natural beauty and serenity of Pamukkale. I hopped barefooted from one white rock formation to the next, laughing like a child. It was as though I had found a hidden treasure.
Half an hour after my treasure discovery came the first round of day trippers: the Koreans. While they were very respectful of the site and taking their time to look around, I could already feel a change in atmosphere. By the time the buses of Russians took the relay, the serenity was over. People were more interested in snapping themselves looking sexy than in the site. Beers were consumed, hamburgers and ice creams were spilt and what was a place of wonder just a few hours before, turned into a what resembled a crowed outdoors public swimming pool on a hot summer weekend.
I stayed until closing time but the serenity never returned. I understood it could only be there after the site had spent a night recovering from the assault of mass tourism. When I overheard some day trippers complaining about what a tourist trap Pamukkale is, I knew I had made the right move by spending the night and being the first visitor in the morning.
5. Scottish Highlands, Scotland
What was I thinking, booking a day trip from Edinburgh to The Scottish Highlands?! It seemed to be the only way to visit this area during my short stay in Scotland. Boy, did I regret that decision.
What you miss by making it a day trip
As we were driving by the hills that changed colours as the clouds shifted, all I wanted to do was to get out of the van and start walking amongst them. But I couldn’t, we were on a tight schedule. Damn these day trips. So what you miss is… Basically everything. Yes, I saw Loch Ness and yes, I had a delicious meal (haggis, what else) in one of those typical Scottish pubs but I didn’t get to spend the night in a rustic B&B or a local farm. Nor was I getting my hiking boots dirty or drinking whisky with Scotsmen. By trying to see too much too fast, I missed most of what the Scottish highlands have to offer.
6. Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Most travellers do a Mekong Delta day tour from Saigon. It usually consists of a boat ride down the Mekong (while wearing conical hats) with a few stops along the river banks showcasing “real life” around the Mekong. Sometimes the tours also provide bicycles which you ride along the river following your guide and the 20 other members of your group. After lunch and perhaps a few shots of snake-scorpion liquor, visitors are returned to the big city.
What you miss by making it a day trip
Making it an overnight trip gives you the freedom to do the same thing minus the groups and the tight schedule. Because guess what? “Real life” along the Mekong doesn’t run on a tight schedule.
We took a public bus to one of the towns by the Mekong then locally booked a boat in the morning -specifically asking for the conical hats. Since no other tourist had apparently spent the night in this town, we had the boat to ourselves. In the afternoon we rented bicycles and randomly started biking. No plan, just us, the Mekong and its inhabitants. We stopped whenever we wanted, spent an hour hiding from the rain in a farmer’s house with a cup of white coffee. We drank beer in a shack by the street and ordered the old “we’ll have whatever they’re having”. With no tourists in town we were part of the Mekong rhythm for two days.
7. Berat, Albania
As Berat is listed as a UNESCO hertige site, people tend to just want to tick it off their ‘to do list’ and move on. For some, Berat is mere a day trip from Durres on the coast or from the capital Tirana.
What you miss by making it a day trip
If you’ve been reading this blog, you already know that Berat’s beauty made me weep and that it was one of my highlights in Albania. Spending the night in the city of a thousand windows allowed me to take it easy in this gorgeous town and savour its charm.
A fellow traveller who had been to Berat right before me told me she wasn’t impressed. Then admitted she’d only been there for two hours. Spend the night and let Berat work its magic. It doesn’t do well with rush.
8. Ubud, Bali
Don’t be fooled by Ubud’s popularity for long and semi long stays, the town is also swarming with day trippers. Big buses clog up the main streets and the day trippers come pouring in. The typical day trip consists of hitting the Monkey Forest, then the crowned market, having ice cream or perhaps lunch, then heading to a surrounding temple or viewpoint before returning to the coast. No wonder they say it’s too touristy—they only saw the touristy part – and during day tripper peak moment (between 10 AM and 4PM).
What you miss by making it a day trip
You’ll miss the plethora of incredible little restaurants tucked away in surrounding streets and the calm in the rice fields just outside the city centre… On a day trip, you’ll only have enough time to hit the main street which is not Ubud’s best asset. Spend the night -or even better, several nights- and you’ll see a completely different town. A prettier, more genuine and more serene Ubud. And please, forget about the Monkey Forest.
9. Petra, Jordan
Either from Amman in Jordan or from Eilat in Israel, day trippers drive to Petra, spend a few hours exploring the main passageways before return to their hubs or set their journeys onwards.
What you miss by making it a day trip
After spending an entire day exploring Petra, getting lost in majestic caves and climbing the pink rock formations we were happy to casually hang around the site and spend some time with bedouins who had their tents set up near Petra. They offered us tea, played music around a fire while the sun disappered behind the horizon. They shared tales about their families who have been living in the area for centuries. Later, a dinner fit for kings was prepared for us, just down the road from Petra.
On some nights, Petra opens its doors to present a candlelit version of itself. You may not want to dish up the extra cash for the candlelight show, but sleeping in the arid desert area surrounding Petra and meeting the inhabitants is an experience you don’t want to miss out on.
Have you ever regretted a day trip because it should have been an overnight trip? Where was it?
The post “9 day trips you should never take“, first appeared on Travel Cake.
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