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When it comes to your travel bucket list, big cities like Paris or London are probably right at the top. And it’s hardly surprising why — these buzzing places are rich with culture and energy, and they leave no reason for you to get bored there. But what if you take a chance to explore more off-the-radar destinations? What if you go to an unspoiled global wonder that only the lucky few had the pleasure to experience?
If these questions have been popping up in your mind lately, you’ve come to the right place. Several Reddit users decided to discover some of the most underrated, untapped, and totally surprising spots people don’t often talk about. And travel aficionados instantly took the opportunity to share insider knowledge. Suddenly, they transformed these online threads into treasure troves of inspiration for globetrotters striving to experience something one-of-a-kind.
Below, we at Bored Panda wrapped up some of the best responses into one illuminating compilation for you to enjoy. So grab your notebooks and get ready to plan your next adventure! Upvote the getaway destinations you liked most, and tell us all about the hidden gems you know of in the comments below!
Psst! More unexplored destinations recommended by avid travelers can be found in our earlier piece right here.
Poland beyond Krakow. It was never on my radar before I moved to Germany and started traveling there all the time since it’s next door, but WOW. Poland has everything. Cool cities, great food, beautiful castles and countryside, fascinating history. It really doesn’t get the tourism it deserves, although I do like that the major sights aren’t crowded with other tourists.
Tasmania. When people travel to Australia they think of beaches and reefs. Tas has MASSIVE rain forests, beautiful scenic islands, and one of the largest Antarctic ports on the planet in Hobart.
Northern Spain. Incredible beauty at a fraction of the cost of many similar places in Europe. You could spend a couple of months exploring the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, and Galicia alone. Driving around the Picos de Europa is a great experience, and you can drive between rural mountain towns to quaint beach towns in less than an hour. Great public transportation to rural places in the Basque Country too.
Bologna, Italy. Arguably the best food city in arguably the best food country. I will never forget the tortellini al brodo, tagliatelle al ragù, and panna cotta I had there. I also loved walking up to the Madonna di San Luca and seeing the amazing view
Bhutan is criminally underrated. The government has a brilliant system in which to travel in the country you need to pay a daily fee. It very easily solves the overtourism problem that plagues countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The fee means Bhutan isn’t affordable for backpackers and your average gap year kid. The country is pristine, the vistas are magical, and the people are so nice. I did a 12-night journey and had a guide the whole time, which allowed me to forget about logistics and spend my time in awe. Tigers Nest (probably the most famous tourist attraction in Bhutan) was just spectacular. The whole trip was great for disconnecting, too.
**POLAND**
My fiance and I just visited Poland over the Christmas holiday and had a great time. We will definitely return.
– Cracow is gorgeous. It has all the amenities of a very modern city, but beautiful old architecture, horse-drawn carriages, pedestrian streets.
– The Christmas market in Cracow was amazing. Food was great. Little tchotchkes were great. It made us feel super Christmasy.
– Loads to do. Cultural activities, museums, fun bars, amazing shopping. In Zakopane there are amusement rides, adult playgrounds, natural hot springs, ice skating. Everything!
– Food is killer. Pierogies are life. Mushroom soup is a food group.
– Awesome vodka.
– Mountains in southern Poland (around Zakopane) are gorgeous. Lots of babbling brooks, waterfalls, sweeping views of the valley.
– Really inexpensive. Maybe $60 for a fine dining experience wit multiple courses and wine. $4 for a 3-hour bus trip.
– Super nice (and attractive) people. Everyone was so kind and helpful. It was a stark difference from brusk Western Europe.
– Not super touristy. We rarely saw too many other tourists. Although many things were translated to English, we never felt like any part of the experience catered to visitors.
Belize.
Beside Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker it’s not super touristy. There’s everything from the second largest barrier reef in the world to lush rainforests. It’s cheap, people are very friendly, and it’s relatively safe. I lived in Belize for a period of time and loved it.
Not surprisingly it’s a bit more popular with Europeans, but Malta is practically unheard of among Americans and a fantastic place to visit. Cheap, stunningly beautiful, pretty good weather year round. I was there last month and there were a fair number of tourists around the main sites in Valetta, but literally almost no one once you went even slightly off the beaten path.
Sri Lanka! Pearl of the indian ocean with natural beauty and history.
Friendly people with tasty and organic spicy foods.
Sandy beaches with coconut palm trees. Wild life with elephants.
My wife and I went to Puerto Rico last year on our honeymoon. It was so easy to get there — it felt like cheating. Old San Juan was gorgeous and we also spent time on the islands to the east, Culebra and Vieques. I’d love to go back and spend more time on Culebra. It was very laid back and there was great snorkeling right off the beach.
Ljubljana, Slovenia. Its beautiful and full of friendly people.
On my first night there I went out to dinner with two guys I met at our hostel and the owner of the restaurant gave us some traditional Slovenian alcohol. It was like really strong cherry brandy only strong enough that we physically struggled to get it down. After finally finishing it he would come over with a huge smile and give is a refill. This happened all night and at the end of our meal we had to leave money on the table and run away before he made us drink more. Thinking back it sounds kind of rude on our part but I think he was laughing at us and it was all in good fun.
I found Ljubljana incredibly romantic — think Paris if Paris was still a small city of 300,000 people so nobody is trying to prey on you as a tourist. There’s also a castle overlooking the city. Its beautiful.
Riga, Latvia. Great people and culture, lots of cool streets and buildings to explore. You can rent a car and drive out to a Bobsleigh track or get a train to the beach. If you’re in Europe you can get a very cheap Ryanair flight out there. I recommend going during the Baltic beer festival.
I’m gonna say Alaska, but not via cruise. I stayed in a small town 3 hours from Anchorage and had the time of my life. It’s untouched wilderness. It was mind blowing. Moose would walk along the river bank while we fished and orcas swam next to our boat when we went to Kenai Fjords.
Albania! Greece’s less famous neighbour. Beautiful beaches, tasty and quite cheap food, lots of gems to explore. The downsides: speaking English is kinda not their thing, so maybe brush up on some Italian or here are few useful words I learned 🙂
Western Sichuan, China. People flock to Tibet every year, they shovel out money for special Tibet Visas and they need to travel there in tour groups. Worst of all, all this money goes towards funding the Government or its supported tourism industry.
Sichuan province borders Tibet, and its western regions are steeped in thousands of years of history. It’s culturally Tibetan, and in the Himalayan foothills. Best of all: no permits, freedom to roam, and your money goes to the support of local people.
Borneo (esp. Kalimantan). Lots of people visit Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, most of Java, and Bali. Not as many people head to Borneo, and of those who visit Borneo, most stay in Malaysia and very few venture into Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo). Rainforest, orangutans, leopards, and beaches, and it’s way less crowded than Bali!
I was pleasantly surprised by Busan and South Korea in general. Bizarre juxtaposition of ancient/super modern and chaos/organized. I’m not sure how it functions but it does and seemingly way better than other large cities. The scenery, the food, and the people are fantastic.
Not too off the beaten track, but one of my most pleasant surprises in recent years was the Istria region in northern Croatia. The Germans know all about it, but other than that I didn’t notice many other non Croatians.
[Rovinj](http://www.rovinj-cocaletto.com/img/rovinj.jpg) was like a fairy tale, and the interior is full of lush countryside, with interesting hill towns, like [Motovun](
http://en.istria-guide.hr/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Motovun_General_view_01.jpg).
Good place for Foodies and History Nerds, and the climate is good too.
If you are an outdoorsy person, you’ll find heaven in Baños, Ecuador. There is easy access to biking, whitewater rafting, bridge jumping, canyoning, zip lining, amazing waterfalls, and viewpoints. And there’s even pretty good nightlife. I would also recommend Mindo, located in Ecuador’s cloud forest. Ecuador is on the US dollar and everything is extremely cheap.
As I’ve said countless times on reddit.
Oman
It’s not a party destination but if you like the outdoors it’s got it.
Hiking? Check
Camping? Check
Dune bashing? Check
Miles and miles of untouched coastline? Check
Hidden Oasis’? Check
Hell, they even have lush rain forests.
The people are some of the nicest in the world and the food is good. It’s still an under the radar destination and people are scared to go because it’s in the middle east but it’s completely safe. Omanis don’t buy into that extremist s**t so it hasn’t spread there.
Great f****n place it is.
Vilnius, Lithuania – Husband was surprised by how hip, cool, and well dressed people in Vilnius were. City was very nice as well – very clean and quaint with great baroque architecture.
Nepal, what an amazing place. It’s like taking a vacation to 700 years ago. The people are very friendly. The food is tasty. I stayed at the Vajra. Which is in the Western part of Kathmandu. It’s at the same latitude as Atlanta, so in out winter it’s in the seventies there. The peak event was a trek,I flew into Lukla( the world’s most dangerous airport).I walked four days taking time to accmitize
in Namche Bazaar. The last day of my Northerly jaunt was to Tengboche Monastary. It is in the Kumbu Valley. The view up the valley is Ama Dablum to the right. Lhotse an Nupste are straight ahead and the peak of Everest is visible behind the Lhotse ridge. F**k, I saw the top of the world. I would return in a heartbeat. I didn’t mention the rhododendrons. I was on the second floor at the Vajra. There was a Rhodi that went past us to the third floor. It was more tropical than I imagined.
Bordeaux is really fantastic. The food, weather and wine are amazing and it is much cheaper and friendlier than Paris. In fact, all the “second cities” of France have pleasantly surprised me.
And I love Paris.
Go to Lebanon for the amazing food, nice people, the nightlife, and beautiful scenery throughout the country. Also the food! I’ve been to Israel, which was amazing in itself, but I enjoyed Lebanon even more.
I don’t know how under the radar it is, but Budapest is a beautiful city and very affordable.
Istria, Croatian peninsula on the border with Italy. Northern Adriatic in general doesn’t seem to get as much love as the south.
I’d definitely recommend Giethoorn, The Netherlands. It basically is a small vilage where you can sail with a silent boat through the canals and just enjoy the view. In the summer it’s quite crowded but I love it and there are restaurants on the side where you can drink something. Definitely a must go-to if you’re in The Netherlands where not many tourists know about. [Picture](http://www.paintballgiethoorn.nl/attachments/Image/m1ezs6qaemw6_2.jpg?template=generic)
Edit: it’s also quite cheap, €15 for an hour.
Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
I’d never heard anything about it until I planned my trip, but it is probably the best place I ended up going to last summer. it’s in a beautiful area with such an interesting history both during and before the war, and the hostel I stayed in offered an amazing tour of the city and the surrounding area.
Vienna — I didn’t have much expectations but the city is just gorgeous. Much more beautiful than Paris IMHO. The cafes, the museums, the architecture, even the subway is probably the cleanest I’ve seen in Europe. Plus, during the summer, they host a free arts festival where they air some opera in a big screen with some street food and beer.
Note: this post originally had 74 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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