"Sometimes, when you are short on time, a bus tour to Pompeii or the Acropolis is better than planning it yourself. It's great to be a cool and savvy world traveler, but occasionally, it is actually fine to do the tour thing.""+1 on organized excursions. Honestly, having someone explain to you the history and cultural significance of a site is better than me googling it as I try to line up trains to get back to my Airbnb/hostel/hotel.
So now I always try to hit up different culture restaurants from the places I visit.""I ignore advice about those shoulder bags with steel straps that can't be cut through. I just keep valuables in my pockets or in my money belt. The shoulder bag or crossover bag is just for stuff like my map, mitts, etc.""I used to look for badly-reviewed hotels. You can find the truth in bad reviews.