“Can’t Recommend It Enough”: 22 Travelers Share Unpopular Travel Destinations That Are Worth It
Are you feeling overworked lately, Pandas? Have you been Googling vacation destinations by any chance? Maybe you’re looking to take a road less traveled? Perhaps you’re craving something unusual, or you want to visit a place that’s not as popular but has gorgeous scenery, friendly locals, and can offer unforgettable experiences?
Then you’re in luck because some folks recently shared their favorite less-popular travel destinations. A netizen asked, “Which not-so-popular country is a must-visit?“, and over 500 people came up with suggestions. So, scroll down and start preparing your travel itinerary! And if you have a suggestion yourself but don’t see it in the list, let us know in the comments!
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Slovenia is absolutely gorgeous -- at least in parts. It gets some tourists but far fewer than similiarly beautiful destinations.
Awesome destination, i live in the south east of France so it's only 7 hours driving and it worth it so much. It looks like a mix of switzerland, austria, italy and hungary. It's so damn clean and people are really nice. It's a small country and Ljubljana is one of the most enjoyable capital city in Europe, not much cars, lot of places to chill, great and cheap food.
Romania - great architecture.
Malta.
Delicious food, it's a sort of mix of Arabic and Italian influences.
Lots of historical places like ancient ruins. The capital Valletta is beautiful, there's also two smaller islands Gozo and Comino, that you can visit.
Theres also extensive public transport, so it's easy to get around if you don't drive.
I can't recommend it enough if you're the sort of person that's into exploring history, food and culture.
It's not "not popular," but Austria definitely isn't a country that is on Americans' minds when they travel. We usually hear about and visit Switzerland when we want that mountainous scenery, but Austria has very similar natural beauty with better cities, better history, better culture, and better architecture, all for half the cost.
In 2014 I did a trip to Austria. 4 days in Vienna, overdosing on art and culture. The architecture is gorgeous, like living in a wedding cake. Then a beautiful train ride to go visit a friend in Graz. The scenery was so gorgeous that I got a pain in my neck from looking out the window
Montenegro. Most people go to Croatia. But Montenegro is cheaper and has very similar scenery.
I’m in Mauritius right now and not sure if many people know of it (definitely not Americans!). Small island in the Indian Ocean, not far from Madagascar. Super clean and safe, easy to get around in a short amount of time, felt like everyone spoke English or definitely French. Very unique culture blending Indian, African, French and British influence which means amazing food! Seychelles is close too if you want to hit both.
Ya this is quite popular with irish and English especially for honeymoons.
Czech Republic. It's gorgeous nature-wise and Prague is quite the party city.
Bolivia. Amazing landscape, spotlessly clean, friendly people, and lots of fun if you want to "party". That was 10 years ago, I hope it's still as lovely because it holds a special place in my heart.
My wife and I went to Cartegena, Colombia last year and we have another visit planned for this year. Pretty easy and fast to get to from the US, cheap and delicious street food, friendly people, nice weather year round. Colombia in general is not the same as it was in the 90s.
I agree completely about Colombia. We took our daughter to visit her dad's homeland when she graduated from college. To make life easy we hired a cab driver for our entire stay. That made life so much simpler! We were able to visit all the gorgeous places we wanted to from his childhood and from my years living there, and it couldn't have been safer.
Paraguay is really cool. The history and culture of the capital city Asunción is really cool. Lots of wars with their neighboring countries over the years - at one point in their history like 90% of Paraguayan men were killed in wars.
The social scene and food are also ridiculous! Freshly grilled meats right from the asado with friends is the stuff of legends. One of my favorite parts of Paraguay was staying put obscenely late at a club with friends and then eating lomitos, this amazing sandwich in a bag you buy in a parking lot at 4 in the morning with about 50 other hungry drunk people.
Plus it is CHEAP there. An Uber across town costs literally like 2 dollars. A nice lunch for 2 will cost maybe 15 bucks. I got an hour long massage at a nice spa for 25 bucks. If you’re on a budget, Paraguay is the place to go. .
Kazakhstan. Stunning nature and landscapes, a unique cuisine (although not that rich in variety as in south-eastern Asia), friendly people who are really generous to guests. Also, fascinating archaeological sites.
My sister in law went last year (rather shamefully I had to look it up) and couldn't speak highly enough of it
Bosnia! It's absolutely beautiful and such and interesting place history wise.
I'll also say Tanzania. Absolutely beautiful. Zanzibar has some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen.
Zanzibar was one of our worst holiday experiences. Appalling roads, grabby locals always trying to rip you off, awful levels of poverty... Yes, some of the beaches are nice but it's one of those places where you can end up just staying within the confines of your compound hotel. We had a car and did lots of stuff, but got so fed up with it that we moved to a different hotel for the last few days and did just that.
I've been to Mongolia. There's really only one big city, Ulan Bator. The city isn't really much to look at, there are some good temples to see, as well as some good restaurants, but one or two days there is enough. But that countryside! It's so beautiful. My dad and I went out to a camp where they set you up with a ger (a Mongolian yurt), and you just hang out in the beauty of nature. We went rock climbing and horseback riding. It gets really cold at night in the spring, but there's a wood stove in the middle of the ger, and it stays very warm inside.
I could agree with this. I went to Mongolia but was only in the Ulaanbaatar area. When people ask me how it was, I reply "I went to Mongolia so now you don't have to." But I really regret not being able to see more of the Gobi dessert and other interesting areas of the region. I did get a cool fur hat that when I wear it in Northern Michigan I get a LOT of questions regarding where I bought it. No one seems to like the answer.
Albania. Try it before the massive exodus due to instagram influencers.
I was there last year. The Albanian Riviera area is ghastly now (well, tastes differ, you might like it if your checklist for beaches is things like loud music, beach bars and lots of touts). The mountains are stunning though. And the bridge in that picture marks the start of a super-fun and very wet hike!
Laos. I totally fell in love with every last thing about this country. The people are fantastic, the food is killer, and the landscape is just gorgeous. It was really eye-opening learning how badly the US f**ked them during the Vietnam War, and how they still deal with unexploded ordinance on a daily basis. I was born at the end of the Vietnam War so had nothing to do with it, but man, I feel a collective guilt for what was done.
I was there earlier this year, and couldn't agree more. Getting there takes a bit of time (depending on where you're flying from, of course), but I can't wait to go back. The people are warm and helpful, the scenery is gorgeous, the air is clean, and the prices are right. Since the construction of the new bullet train from Vientiane to southern China, tourism in the north is growing, so go now before we spoil it. :)
I haven't been but I feel like the Caucasus countries must be pretty underrated: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
From pictures they look stunning and I hear that Georgia has good food as well.
I agree! I was in Tbilisi (Georgia) for one week, the city is beautiful, people are very nice and the food is amazing.
Jordan, Petra is easily the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Pictures do not do it justice AT ALL. You could fit elephants through the door of the Treasury it’s wild.
Curacao. I had an amazing vacation there in 2019 and it was much cheaper than the more well known and visited Caribbean islands.
I absolutely love Guatemala. If you can speak even a little bit of Spanish, I would 100% recommend it. Fly in, immediately leave Guatemala City, and set up your base in Antigua. Antigua and the surrounding areas can be a whole vacation alone, but there are also a bunch of cool places that you could do with an overnight trip from Antigua.
Love Guatemala. Had to go for work a few times. Now I have quite a few friends there. Antigua is beautiful.
Uganda is stunningly beautiful - some of the most lush landscapes you will ever see, incredible wildlife and amazing people. Sadly, it has a terrifying government.
I don't hear much about Sri Lanka tourism but damn is it beautiful and has it all! Beaches, forests, mountains, ancient temples, wildlife safaris, elephants and leopards and monkeys oh my. It is very safe despite the unrest in Colombo and Negombo, but we didn't go there to see the city. They also really need the tourism $$ because their economy is tanked.
Another cool thing I liked is you can pretty much see everything in a near perfect loop of the country via private driver and train.
I've heard some tourists don't like the food but I love eating curry. The beach areas offer a lot more in that respect with loads of fresh seafood (the boats of seafood in Mirissa!). But I dunno, though I consider myself a foodie I travel to see and do stuff, food is usually just a bonus. I do wish we could have stayed in someone's home with some homemade curry, though we did stay in a hotel that was family run and it tasted good.
We had a blast!
Bad advice. The country went through economic crisis, famine and revolts just a few months ago. It is still quite unstable, with upcoming political elections that routinely lead to demonstrations often turning violent. ISIS pulled off a major terrorist attack against touristic targets just a few years ago, and multiple international agencies reported that the island is refuge to several expat and local terrorist groups such as the Tamil Tigers; considering Sri Lankan safety agencies are chronically underfunded and generally ineffective, I think the preference of curry over seafood should not be the primary concerns for tourists.
Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls & Kariba Dam are a sight, Hwange national park, the Great Wall of Zimbabwe in Masvingo, & Matopos/Matobo National park in/near Bulawayo. And it's safe too. Got a bad rep because of the government, but otherwise the people are welcoming.
Zimbabwe is a beautiful country- been to all of the places mentioned. Mugabe was a tyrant who ruined everything he touched, except his bank account, and lived far too long, and Zim continues to suffer. They need tourists, and the people are lovely (even if half of their population seems to be in SA working to send money back home)
At least three places on this list are listed on the travel advisories agencies of major western countries as "high risk / avoid". I understand redditors being disconnected with reality, but BP editors should really put some care in what they copy and paste.
Hungary is a really cool place to visit, and the culture varies a lot from the Slavic countries all around us due to our Mongolian roots. Rural steppes are cool to see, and places you in proximity to Slavic countries. Visit the Páneurópai Piknik Emlékhely, (Pan-European picnic memorial) and the city of Sopron to learn some interesting things about the Cold War and one of the first places the Iron Curtain officially fell
Every country is worth visiting. And even popular countries have not so popular destinations worth exploring.
At least three places on this list are listed on the travel advisories agencies of major western countries as "high risk / avoid". I understand redditors being disconnected with reality, but BP editors should really put some care in what they copy and paste.
Hungary is a really cool place to visit, and the culture varies a lot from the Slavic countries all around us due to our Mongolian roots. Rural steppes are cool to see, and places you in proximity to Slavic countries. Visit the Páneurópai Piknik Emlékhely, (Pan-European picnic memorial) and the city of Sopron to learn some interesting things about the Cold War and one of the first places the Iron Curtain officially fell
Every country is worth visiting. And even popular countries have not so popular destinations worth exploring.
