From the archives: When traveling, seek experiences, not sites

You can't flip through a magazine or scroll social media today without being confronted with a list: "10 places to see before you die!", "15 secret vacation destinations," "5 beaches that will blow your mind."

But what's in a list?

In 2015. Christine Sarkis, a Smarter Travel staff writer, said she’d rather ditch the bucket list.

"A travel list isn't like a grocery list, it's not a 'sit down and get it done' thing," Sarkis told MPR News host Kerri Miller. "It's a constant, evolving process."

Seth Kugel, travel columnist for The New York Times, agreed.

"The idea of having a list is great, but what goes on that list, maybe we should change that: It should be experiences instead of places," Kugel said.

This is a encouraging and fun deep track from our archives, which will hopefully put you in the mood for this Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas show. It’s a conversation with novelist Ann Hood about her new memoir, “Fly Girl,” which chronicles her experiences as a flight attendant during a more glamorous, and sexist, era.

Guests:

• A longtime travel writer and editor, Christine Sarkis is the executive editor and cofounder of Family Vacationist.

• Seth Kugel is a columnist for the travel desk of The New York Times.

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