Article created by: Ieva Pečiulytė
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!
Slovenia is absolutely gorgeous -- at least in parts. It gets some tourists but far fewer than similiarly beautiful destinations.
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.
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.
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.
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. .
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.
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.
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.
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.
Albania. Try it before the massive exodus due to instagram influencers.
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.
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.
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.
Curacao. I had an amazing vacation there in 2019 and it was much cheaper than the more well known and visited Caribbean islands.
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.
