Your Take: Who's Your Local Expert?

If you've found a cafe or restaurant which you like, the chances are that locals dining there will have similar tastes to your own and may be able to point you in the right direction for the next night.

Similarly, staff at restaurants or hotels may be happy to recommend their favourites in the next town on your travels - you're complimenting them on their own service, while getting tips for later on.

Taxi drivers are who I go to when visiting new places. They are gold mines for information. My taxi driver in Rome who turned me on to a'matriciana pasta, a local specialty I would never have known to ask for.

I love the idea of getting recommendations from a taxi driver. If language is a barrier, though, you can also get good recs from the people who work at your hotel or guest house, as they probably are locals too. Just be clear that you're interested in visiting a local favorite and not a tourist site. Chances are, they'll be happy to help and flattered you're actually interested in experiencing the real culture.

When I read the same article in the Washington Post yesterday, I started thinking about who I normally ask for local recommendations. While I find taxi drivers to be a great source of information about local politics and corruption, I hadn't thought of them as a source of information on restaurants. But, maybe I'll try this during the next part of our trip (Central and South America).

Usually, my husband and I ask for recommendations at the local fresh market, guest house, or sometimes random locals we start talking to on the street. Sometimes people assume that tourists want a fancy place, so we try to specify we want a local place (like Irv suggested). We usually ask, "Where do you like to eat?"

Greetings! Peterman's Eye Travel is hosting a photo contest and J. Peterman will be judging the entries! Thought I'd share...and you can enter as many as you'd like...

http://www.petermanseye.com/contest

Cheers!

This is one thing I love about traveling with kids. We always end up scouting out playgrounds and parks for the children. I have become the queen of sidling up to unsuspecting parents and caregivers who are watching their charges play and pumping them for information about everything from restaurants to museums to the nearest emergency room.

It all depends on what type of person you are. Taxi drivers could be a great resource because they know where "everyone" goes. However, some people trust the hotel staff, others go to local stores and just ask their staff.

What do I do? I take the "family & friends" route because they know me best. Nothing better than having a "home-cooked"-like meal from a Latino restaurant your friend recommends :).

Generally I ask taxi drivers about local barnyard animal vocalizations. But if I think that'll freak them out too much, I'll maybe pick their brains on the local Santa Claus stories. You can find out the most facinating factoids this way! For instance, did you know that in the Netherlands, Santa is accompanied by a handful of gentleman of African decent (I think the specific number was given as six to eight)? Who knew!

I usually start with the hotel concierge and ask where the locals frequent. Waiters and waitresses are usually a good source of information as well.

Street-food sellers - The best.