There’s something about slowing down a little to take in the surroundings you’ve probably long since become accustomed to and explore the very city you either call home or where you ply your trade. As much as someone like a London city slicker who has resolved to explore more of their local environment will never run out of new experiences to revel in, for the most part if you have the true traveller’s spirit burning inside of you then you’ll at least want to move away from your own city.
This applies even if it would be a very similar city to the one you’re accustomed to which you want to explore. In any case, when considering factors which will form part of your getaway, such as how to get around the big city you’re effectively going to break away to, considering it from the point of view of your own city can go a long way in uncovering some great ways to go about it when you arrive at your destination.
So the best ways to get around big cities on a city break aren’t necessarily some explicit means through which to do it, but perhaps rather depend on the many dynamics and nuances of the city you’re visiting. So I could go on and on about some suggestions with regards to how to go about it in a city like Bangkok, Thailand, but you should only take my specific advice on it based on the fact that I know from first-hand experience and countless other fellow travellers who’ve also been to that part of the world largely shared the same experiences. So they’d have similar advice.
That said, it does indeed bring into focus the first consideration, which is that of exactly which big city you’re exploring.
This naturally differs from big city to big city and from destination to destination, but generally the services which are sold to you at the airport are a lot more expensive than what they need to be. So if you’re in Cairo, Egypt for instance, the taxi guys waiting outside will have you duped into thinking the taxi service costs a certain amount of money, whereas you can get around much cheaper in the likes of an Uber or taking some of the local public taxis the locals themselves take. These aren’t that safe however, but you catch my drift, I hope…
What I’d suggest is asking the people at the hotel you’ll be staying at, with some cheaper options such as backpackers’ hostels generally offering the best advice as they take into account your suggested status as a budget traveller.
Once again, it all depends on which big city you’re breaking away to and your specific needs as the unique traveller type you are, such as how adult tricycles may very well be suited to a city such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands, particularly if you might be a more senior traveller or if you really want to take your time about your exploration exploits.