Since travel was first opened to the masses, the experience of going abroad has mostly been focused on flocking to a beach, or sightseeing, ticking off a checklist along the way.

This still dominates, of course, but today there is a growing swell of people who are ditching the sun lounger or guidebook to draw up their own agenda. Boosted by technology and the cheapening of travel, they’re seeking a more fulfilling experience.

Whether that’s staying in a suburban home rather than a glitzy, could-be-anywhere hotel, tapping into online information from in-the-know locals, or using technology to secure a berth with a like-minded traveller, the ways to localise your trip are growing.

And it doesn’t appear to be a fad either – there are whole movements devoted to this way of travelling.

Paul Sullivan is a Berlin-based British travel editor who also runs slowtravelberlin.com, a website aimed at helping visitors to the German capital delve a little deeper into the city by embracing a ‘less is more’ ethos. Subjects include the city’s only sake shop and the local ‘underground’ chess scene – not items that are likely to feature on a traditional top ten.

“The aim is to get beneath the skin of the city a little, or discover it at a more leisurely pace,” says Sullivan. “The concept of ‘slow travel’ encourages people to resist ‘fast travel’ – the frustratingly frequent habit of speeding through all the best known landmarks of a city in 24 or 48 hours, then leaving.

“The era of mass tourism, or ‘spectacle’ hunting, has declined somewhat in favour of travellers who move around more independently and find their own, more personalised itineraries. And there are more resources than ever for these kinds of travellers,” he adds.

One such resource is spottedbylocals. com, an initiative run by Amsterdam- based Sanne and Bart van Poll. The site, which recently won the Guardian and Observer Best Travel Website award, is an online guide to some of Europe’s main cities, with the USP that the information is provided by a network of Spotters – locals based in the destination who share their insights about what’s good.

But is information provided by bloggers really any better than packing a chunky, well-researched guidebook? London-based social media analyst Peter Hoffer has started to use spottedbylocals.com for his travels rather than a traditional guidebook, and says it has improved the experiences he has when he goes abroad.

“I’m a big fan of quick weekends away to Europe, but I really want to get a feel of the city, rather than isolate myself in tourist traps,” he says. “With Spotted by Locals, I feel like I’m getting a friend’s recommendations on where to eat, drink and relax. By ‘going local’, I feel more like a traveller than a tourist.”

Fellow user Louise Kunth, from Hamburg, agrees: “People who live in a city know their city the best. Their tips are insightful and are always up to date. I like to experience the spirit of a place, to see how people live their lives.”

Savvy accommodation providers are also tapping into this desire. Be My Guest (be-my-guest.com), run by Berlin residents George Watts and Sarah Braimah, offers characterful apartments in residential areas in Amsterdam and Berlin, along with insider tips about local spots to seek out.

Watts reckons that “many travellers are now more interested in visiting the less gentrified neighbourhoods, which may often have more colour about them. They might be more artistic, vibrant and have the best restaurant – places like parts of Oost or Zeeburg in Amsterdam, and Neukölln in Berlin.”

But the self-catering holiday has been around for decades, and this sounds like a new spin on an old idea. “Self-catering for me conjures up images of a block of holiday apartments, unlovingly furnished, rather like a hotel complex,” explains Watts. “The apartments that we offer have been specifically chosen with style and comfort in mind, and they are mainly located in buildings where Dutch or German people live.”

London-based onefinestay (onefinestay.com) has a similar outlook. Stay in one of their ‘unhotels’ and you’ll actually be living in a Londoner’s home while they are away. It’s not quite the same as home exchanges; this isn’t a swap deal, but neither are you breaking and entering. You’re simply paying to use someone’s home as your own while you explore London. With properties ranging from plush pads in Notting Hill, to a penthouse in a converted church in Islington or a house boat on the Thames in Putney, guests get to immerse themselves in different neighbourhoods of the UK’s capital.

“We’ve found that if you give someone the chance to stay as if you were in a friend’s house, or a friend of a friend, it’s a much more intimate way of experiencing a city,” says co-founder and CEO Greg Marsh.

And there are some techy treats too. Each property has an iPhone with an app containing local information and videos uploaded by the home owner. “Guests can simply scan one of the barcodes found around each property to find out about an interesting picture on the wall, or how the cable TV works,” explains Marsh.

“It enables people to feel they have a closer relationship with the place they’re staying in and the people they’re staying with, even though they never get to meet them in person.”

Then, of course, there’s couchsurfing. org, where there really is no choice but to meet the home owner (or, at least, tenant). The site, first highlighted by Holland Herald in 2008, now has more than two million registered members, and is a big hit with young travellers keen to broaden their horizons. It’s not just about dossing down somewhere for free. The website lets people from across the globe connect with each other, find someone to show them around, or even just meet for a coffee.

Long-term couchsurfer David Reichbaum, from California, says one of the main principals behind the concept is embracing “a sharing and appreciation for indigenous, local knowledge and experience. It has connected me to people and places I would never have been exposed to otherwise. I’ve met people who have introduced me to their homes, communities, local customs and curiosities.”

And that seems to be the crux of the whole ‘local travel’ movement. No one knows a place better than the people who live there.

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