NEW YORK, April 9 — Travel is, by definition, dislocating, a condition that the trend toward experiential travel and the connectivity provided by the internet aim to ease.

“The first question is whether you should feel at home while you’re away,” said Tom Hall, editorial director for Lonely Planet guidebooks. “That feeling of difference is one of the joys of travel, as with it comes the invisibility to explore and to learn simply by being somewhere.”

Having contacts in a city can help. Social media allows for people to make friends before leaving home.

“I’m big on trying to find friends of friends; it’s a good way to get an inside look at a city,” said Kelley Louise, executive director of Travel & SocialGood, a non-profit focused on sustainable tourism. She recommends groups like GirlsLoveTravel or Wanderful.

To feel more at home, try out the local lifestyle by staying in a non-touristy neighbourhood, eating outside of hotels and using public transportation. The following options can help travellers feel more at home while they’re away.

Staying with residents

The original bed-and-breakfast model is built on a personal interaction with the homeowner. That has, for the most part, been amplified in the sharing economy through home accommodations services like Airbnb and Couchsurfing.

The more remote the destination, the greater the likelihood of bunking with a local. There are no hotels on the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific, for example. Instead, visitors can choose from 12 homestay options in the rugged destination with a population of about 50.

Eating with residents

Getting into strangers’ homes doesn’t require burglary. Invitations to dinner — for a fee — pour forth from a range of services such as EatWith, which offers home meals made by locals in over 200 cities. A recent search on the site turned up loads of enthusiastic amateurs and a few professional chefs who were veterans of Michelin-starred restaurants.

Similarly, Feastly lists group supper clubs that may take place at a commercial site or at a home and are often prepared by chefs with impressive résumés.

Touring with residents

Internet booking platforms meet local expertise in the entrepreneurial boom of touring companies led by local residents.

In November, Airbnb started Trips, which includes tours — called Experiences — led by local residents. In March, Harlem became the 15th destination with these tours, which are available to anyone, not just Airbnb guests (from US$30/RM130). The Harlem trips include a workshop with the rapper Bodega Bamz and a bike trip around the neighbourhood.

Triip.me started with tours led by locals in Vietnam and has expanded to 98 countries, including Canada and the United States. Travellers can choose from itineraries such as a vegan food tour in Berlin (US$25) or a night tour of Saigon on a motorbike (from US$30).

Meeting with residents

Meetups, or group gatherings, may forgo the sights entirely but unite people with similar passions. The website Meetup.com compiles group activities, like practising a foreign language, knitting and political organising. — The New York Times