Many of us have spent the last few years dreaming of an opportunity to take a well-deserved vacation, pack a bag, and be on our way to see the wonders of this world. For some, it’s taking a stroll through a distant city. For others, it’s going for a swim on their favorite stretch of tropical shoreline. But if there’s one thing we often forget about these places — they’re brimming with loud and annoying tourists who may take out the joy from the entire journey.
Luckily, Reddit users SoursopKid and NuclearWinterGames decided to find out the most underrated destinations travel lovers would highly recommend. Plenty of people shared insider knowledge and revealed spots that are begging to be explored by those who crave to experience something unique.
So take out your notebooks because we handpicked some of the best answers to help you plan your next adventure. Continue scrolling and upvote your favorites as you go. And if you have any suggestions for a perfect getaway, be sure to share them with us in the comments!
I’m an ancient historian and have spent plenty of time in Greece. The north is definitely overlooked and has some real treasures, also feels worlds away from the islands. I particularly love Meteora, pictures cannot capture how beautiful it is
The Southern Uplands of Scotland. Most tourists bypass the south of Scotland and head to the Highlands, so the Southern Uplands tend to be quieter and less “touristy”.
Estonia! Any of the Baltics really. But Estonia is an absolutely delightful place. It has one of the nicest airports I’ve ever seen, it’s super affordable, great public wifi so it’s easy to navigate, Tallinn is so beautiful and clean, the coast is lovely, the people are friendly, and the food is delicious. I absolutely loved our trip there and it would be a great base camp if you want to check out the pricier countries around it like Finland, Norway, and Denmark. I’ve been fortunate enough to do a lot of traveling in my life and Estonia is one of the highlights.
Whether it’s the Statue of Liberty or Hollywood, Paris or London, certain destinations draw in droves of travelers from all over the world. And for a good reason — these places are buzzing with culture and energy, making sure there’s a very slim chance for you to get bored.
But sometimes, you feel like you’ve seen far too many of the same places pop up on your social media feed. That’s why untapped destinations are a coveted thing that allows you to face the unknown, get lost in its beauty, and immerse yourself in a new kind of adventure.
To learn more about traveling through unexplored global treasures, we reached out to the founders of a travel blog called Megan & Aram that’s all about visiting Scandinavia, the Eastern bloc, and beyond. The two friends, Megan coming from the United States and Aram from Armenia, have a specific goal in mind — to share their passion with anyone open to learn about the true wonders of travel.
Inland Spain. Spain it’s not only sun and beaches, but also alot of history, castles, good food, nice people, and not expensive! Greetings from Salamanca!
Overrated: Amsterdam
Underrated: almost any other town in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam is fabulous, especially if you are into architecture and art. But so expensive and SO crowded that I had no regrets basing my last trip to NL out of Utrecht. Haarlem, Alkmaar, Amersfoort, and Leiden are also deliriously beautiful without having to fight for views alongside stoned college students and Chinese tour groups with no sense of personal space.
The country is so small, it’s incredibly easy to train into Amsterdam from any of the above places. Definitely don’t SKIP Amsterdam altogether though.
“In our opinion, the most underrated travel destinations are in the Caucasus and Central Asia,” they told Bored Panda. “We love Armenia for its history and culture and Kazakhstan for its otherworldly landscapes. We have also really fallen in love with lesser-known parts of Norway, as well as the Azores and Faroe Islands.”
“Armenia has such an ancient story that you can’t entirely comprehend until you find yourself there, hiking from monastery to monastery and enjoying the delicious food and hospitality of the Armenian people,” they added. “Kazakhstan’s landscapes will blow one away, and it was part of the Silk Road (as was Armenia), so it truly feels like a warp back in time. It’s really special!”
Romania! Cheap, great food, amazing landscapes, impressive architecture. I freaking loved that country..
It’s especially beautiful in the fall. It’s very grey and foggy and completely fills the gothic stereotype, but in such a great way. It’s amazing if you want to explore abandoned places and landmarks. Of course, there’s also Dracula’s castle and the winding Transfagarasan mountain road too!
Canada. Overall, I don’t think of Canada as a very travel-friendly place, as it isn’t a very common destination, but it is truly beautiful. We have everything from sprawling coniferouis forests, to the prairies, to the Red Creek Fir forests, to tundra, to rock, to anything, really. So maybe next time don’t spend all your time in Toronto, or Ottawa, but go somewhere undiscovered. Because that is what Canada is about.
Sicily
Great food, a lot of sun, great caribic like beaches, beautiful mountains, and forests, great culture (different from northern Italy), a lot of historic places like ancient greek temples and cities, a lot of history, not full of tourists as it’s underrated haha wich I view as a plus
When asked why these unique destinations are not promoted as much, the pair said the region where Armenia and Kazakhstan are situated is a hinder to both. “The Caucasus has had a tumultuous history (even recently), and Kazakhstan is plagued a bit by the word ‘stan’ although it definitely shouldn’t be!”
Slovenia. It’s like a fairytale paradise full of castles and dragons and weird old folktales. The scenery is gorgeous. You can see the entire country in a short visit. The people are unbelievably friendly. And yet most Americans have never heard of it. I literally got “Wait did you make that country up?” from a fairly well educated friend when I said I was going there.
The south of Chile, from like Valdivia to Punta Arenas feels like an enchanted forest from a fantasy novel or video game or something.
Chile is probably the most underrated travel destination on the planet. There’s a saying in Chile that after God made the world, he put the leftovers off in a corner and called it Chile haha That’s why it has a little bit of every landscape.
Olympic National Park in Washington is definitely one of the more underrated national parks in the US. It’s a literal rainforest in the pacific northwest and has great hiking, lodges, lakes, etc. It’s probably a one of a kind environment in the US
Megan and Aram believe that discovering more off-the-beaten-path destinations makes the trip even more rewarding. “You have no preconceived thoughts or ideas about the place until you are there,” they said. “While this requires flexibility and patience, it makes it so much more worth it.”
They told Bored Panda that locations like these should attract more tourists. “I can’t stand when people want a place ‘kept secret’. Tourism could mean a better life for a family and a country’s citizens.”
“If you are of the mindset that a place should stay ‘a hidden gem’ for your own travel purposes, you are speaking from a place of privilege,” they continued. “However, receiving tourism in the first place should not be confused with unsustainable tourism (or overtourism).”
Bratislava!
A lot of people traveling through this part of Europe tend to skip it, and go straight to Vienna, Prague and/or Budapest (which I understand, all three of those cities are beautiful), but I recommend stopping by there, for a day or two. It’s not a big city, so two days will be more than enough to see most of what it has to offer (I did see most of it in a day when traveling years ago), it’s really cheap and really nice, the old town is cozy, food is great, and the view from Hrad is great. Also, Devin castle nearby is a great few hour trip too!
Bulgaria! A lot of people don’t realize it’s right above Greece so the climate and food are somewhat similar. I was there in the summer but was reading an article that the best value for European skiing had spots #1 & #2 in Bulgaria. Cheap to stay, eat & drink, very safe.
Osaka.
Yeah, I know, everybody wants to travel to Japan, but hear me out. People overwhelmingly only visit Tokyo and, if they care about things other than pop culture, Kyoto. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Tokyo (as a travel destination, at least), and Kyoto is my favorite place to visit, anywhere, but Osaka shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a big city like Tokyo, but with a much longer history — smack dab in the middle of the Kansai region, the historical cultural center of Japan. It’s frequently stereotyped as being more fun and laid back, and I think there’s some truth to that. It’s also the culinary capital of Japan, if you’re a fan of, you know, food.
When you’re done scrolling through this post, you’ll have proof that there are plenty of unique places where you can truly feel like you’re experiencing something special. So if you added a couple of them to your bucket list, the travel bloggers would like to advise you to take a chance on them: “You might just fall in love with it! And, always have patience!”
Everyone I know only travels to Greek islands and doesn’t really spend time on the mainland except for some archeological sights, but regions like Chalkidiki are very nice too! plus Greece has a pretty unknown repertoire of wildlife preserves!
Banff area is out of this world. St. John’s is culturally beautiful, it’s the one of the oldest cities in Canada. Muskoka is cool. The cities can be cool too, if you like cities.
Taipei, Taiwan. My favorite city in Asia.
A great mix of traditional China, Japan, and U.S. influences.
Fantastic food. Also great street food scene at the night markets.
Modern enough to be convenient, but not expensive.
Big enough to have lots to do, but small enough to be manageable and not overwhelming.
The people are super friendly, open, and helpful.
Maastricht is worth the train ride, even though it’s a few hours. I decided to put it on my itinerary on somewhat of a whim, and it ended up being my favorite part of that trip.
Poland! It really surprised me how beautiful the country was. We went on a road trip from Gdansk-Warschau-Krakow-Auswitz-Zakopane. Every city was very beautiful and had a unique history. The cities offer oppertunities for people who come for the culture, but also for those who want to party. We ended in the mountains were we took a beautiful hike to one of the mountain lakes. According to a ranger we spoke there, the mountains have the most floral biodiversity per m2 of any mountain range in Europe.
Prices are very low if you come from a Western country, so we could stay in relatively nice apartments for our student budget. The only downside is that some public highways really suck.
The isle of Skye in Scotland in November. Felt like i was on a planet from Star Wars. Absolutely incredible
The black hills of South Dakota as well as the badlands. Is almost like something out of a fantasy novel. Especially lake Sylvan
In Mexico there is a city called San Cristobal de las Casas. It is located in Southern Mexico but is not close to Cancun or other really touristy areas. It is also not near an Ocean (about 8 hours from the pacific). San Cristobal does have tourism but it is mostly European tourists. The town is on a mountain and is usually about 70 degrees during the day. It is an old town with tons of cute shops, great food, and history. The town is just beautiful and you should look up some pictures. It is not far from various ruins, beautiful waterfalls, and other great and underrated places to visit. Also it is generally way cheaper than Cancun (although the flight there would be more expensive). I stayed in a Hostel there for $4.00 (USD) a night.
Riga, Latvia. It’s the best-kept secret in Europe. I did a big trip around the Baltics last September, and Rīga was my absolute favorite place I visited.
Great Basin national park in northern Nevada. It’s known for star gazing but is the least visited state park.
Sicily. Gorgeous region and the food was out of this world. The people were so kind and wonderful and you get cultural experiences from Italian, Greek, Norman, Roman, Ottoman, and Spanish occupation of the island. If WWII history is your thing, there’s that too. Want to see a Ballet? Go to the gorgeous Bellini Theater in Catania and watch world class ballet companies. Want to go to a pop concert? You can see one in the Greek amphitheater in Taormina. Visit Romana and Greek ruins or go to the West Coast and devour N African food. Want to go to the beach? Well, it’s an island…take your pick. Want to ski? There are ski lifts on Mt Etna. I can’t say enough good things about this Region of Italy!
Friuli in far north east Italy, on the border with Slovenia. So much culture, history and amazing food and people, but almost no tourists to speak of.
The best moment was when we went to see an old Roman jail. We had to collect the key to the place from the bar on the corner and turn the lights on when we went in. Once we were done, the key had to be dropped off at the bar. I remember thinking, if this was anywhere else there would be a queue around the corner to go in for a look
And the San Daniele ham…makes my mouth water just thinking about it
Thessaloniki, Greece. Great history, awesome food, a vibrant nightlife, and exciting destinations you can explore nearby like Chalkidiki and Mount Olympus.
North side of Bali, most people only visit Nusa Sua for the beach which is nice on itself, but the north side is breathtaking, there are many temples that still look ancient and have little to no visitors. Markets have lots ot traditional crafts and really cool stuff to see. Food is great and cheap too.
Note: this post originally had 81 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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