I sort of do different trips depending on who is with me...

If I do a trip with my mother & brother, my brother has mobility issues... So we usually will book a tour, a cruise, and do something that allows him to see/experience as much as possible with as little walking on uneven surfaces as possible... So we'll get a tour guide, do the museums and all the sites, etc. If I'm on my own, I'm reading a guidebook or four.

If I'm traveling by myself for a ski trip or a kayak trip, then... I am kayaking or I am skiing. So if I'm skiing in the alps or Canada or whatever, I've spent X amount of money on airfare & X amount for lift tickets - so screw seeing museums or culture or buying food, I'm skiing as much as possible. When I'm doing kayak touring trips, I can take my kayak to places that I can't get by car, bike, or walking and camp on utterly pristine places... So screw experiences culture, people, and the rest of that.

If I'm traveling to sightsee by myself - I'm generally trying to get as much off the beaten path as I can. So I will do some of the typical tourist stuff, but will try randomly talking up people and seeing where the local tourist sites are, etc. If I can get a rental car, I will.

I haven't done a lot of bike touring, and I don't really envision that I will... I don't get enough time to travel in any country that I see biking as a really efficient way of getting around... And anything that I see biking, I can see in a car. And I don't have to worry about leaving my panniers or it getting stolen when I'm in a car. I"m also way more likely to stop and take pictures when I'm in a car. If I"m on a bike, I get into "I can't stop till the top of the hill" or "I can't stop at the bottom of the hill, I gotta use the momentum to get to the top of the next hill" mode and I don't sight see as much. I will kayak tour or backpack, because what I can see by kayak or hiking, I can't see from a car. I could maybe see bike touring in Asia.