The Roavi Blog
Stories from people who live there.
Travel tips, city guides, and local insights from the Roavi team.
453 articles
Travel Guides · Marrakech
Fes vs Marrakech: Which One Should You Actually Visit?
They get discussed as interchangeable and they are not remotely the same trip. A straight comparison — and who each one is genuinely better for.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Travel Tips · Cali
How to Meet Locals in Cali: 7 Ways That Actually Work
In Cali the answer is dancing — but not at the tourist salsa bars in Granada. Here's where caleños actually go, and how to get invited.
Oscar Garcia··6 min read
City Guides · Koh Samui
Koh Samui and the Gulf Islands: How They Actually Fit Together
Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are three very different islands an hour apart, and Samui's rainy season runs at the opposite time of year to Phuket's.
Oscar Garcia··3 min read
City Guides · Krabi
Krabi: Railay, Ao Nang and the Town Most People Skip
Krabi is a province, not a beach. Railay is reachable only by boat, Ao Nang is the resort strip, and Krabi Town is an actual Thai town almost no visitor stays in.
Oscar Garcia··3 min read
City Guides · Pattaya
Pattaya: What the City Is Actually Like Away From Walking Street
Pattaya has one reputation abroad and a completely different function domestically — it is where Bangkok goes for the weekend.
Oscar Garcia··2 min read
Travel Tips · Punta Cana
How to Meet Locals in Punta Cana: Leave the Resort
The barrier in Punta Cana is economic, not cultural — you already paid for your food. Colmados, guaguas, Veron, and why the staff who are lovely to you are at work.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Travel Tips · Bali
How to Meet Locals in Bali: Past the Canggu Bubble
In Bali the problem is not too little contact but too much of the commercial kind. The banjar, which warungs, why Canggu is an expat town, and the ceremony you should not gatecrash.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Travel Tips · Tokyo
How to Meet Locals in Tokyo (2026): Find the Counter Seat
Tokyo is not unfriendly, it is private — and that changes every tactic. Why the counter seat is the whole trick, which neighbourhoods have a social life, and the repeat-visit problem nobody admits to.
Oscar Garcia··6 min read
Travel Tips · Cusco
How to Meet Locals in Cusco: Past the Plaza de Armas
In Cusco almost everyone a visitor meets in the centre is working. Chicherías, the two-hour window at San Pedro market, and why altitude decides your first two days.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Travel Tips · Tokyo
Do You Need to Speak Japanese in Tokyo? An Honest Answer
You can spend a week in Tokyo without a word of Japanese. You just can't get past the surface. Where the language gap actually opens, the four words worth learning, and what a local changes that an app can't.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
City Guides · Tokyo
Where to Stay in Tokyo: A Neighborhood Guide
Shinjuku and Shibuya are the standard answer, and they're the answer for one kind of trip. A district-by-district guide, including the three well-connected areas that are dead after dark.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Itineraries · Tokyo
3 Days in Tokyo: An Itinerary That Isn't a Checklist
Three days isn't enough for Tokyo — it's enough for a good trip, which is different. One area per half-day, walked properly, and a deliberate list of the famous things this leaves out.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read