Buh-bye, summer travel crowds — hello, calm and peaceful vacation.
Experts at Travel Counsellors, a UK travel agency, and Skyscanner, a UK travel booking site, recommend lesser-known travel destinations that offer the same charm, beauty and cultural flair as popular hotspots — minus the masses.
This list, reported by the Daily Mail, is especially helpful as places like Venice have begun charging tourists entry fees and residents in overrun cities like Barcelona are attacking visitors.
One of the travel dupes experts recommend is the Faroe Islands — an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark — instead of Iceland.
The islands are reportedly “more remote, dramatic and untouched” than Iceland.
Tourism to the Nordic island country has taken off in recent years due to its natural landscape and views of the Northern Lights. So if you’re looking for this type of vibe on your next trip, visiting the Faroe Islands is your best bet.
“The Faroe Islands remain wild and uncrowded, offering true solitude and a chance to experience nature in near-total isolation with sheer sea cliffs, emerald-green mountains and fjords that plunge straight into the Atlantic.”
For the last few summers, locals in Barcelona have had enough with the influx of tourists, as they’ve been spraying them down with water guns and officials are changing laws to ban short-term rentals in protest.
That’s why the experts at Skyscanner suggest skipping the fight and instead checking out the city of Girona in the northeastern corner of Spain.
“If a city is defined by its landmarks, green spaces, museums, cultural offerings and food experiences, then Spain’s northeastern city of Girona has it in spades,” the experts noted.
“It’s considerably cheaper and less crowded than Barcelona, which means you can splurge on lunch and dinner.” This stunning city is also known for its medieval architecture.
Those wanting to frolic in French fields should ditch the idea of visiting Provence, France and consider visiting Transylvania in Romania. And before you wine — they have vino here, too.
The Romanian region is reportedly much more “tranquil” than the French countryside- yet it still offers rolling hills and medieval villages.
“Transylvania feels much wilder, with the Carpathian Mountains offering a dramatic backdrop. [It] can be enjoyed at a fraction of the price of Provence with its medieval castles, farm-to-table meals and local wines,” the experts at the Travel Counsellors claimed.
The crystal clear waters of the Maldives may look like the perfect desktop screensaver IRL, but it’s not the only place with such pristine beaches.
The travel experts at Travel Counsellors recommend that those wanting to soak up the sun and sit in the sand opt for Fuerteventura — the second largest of the Canary Islands.
The soft white sand beaches and year-round sunshine have made this island a dream destination for those wanting to either sunbathe or jump on a surfboard.
Machu Picchu has become so popular in recent years that Peru’s Ministry of Culture has been forced to limit the number of visitors who can explore the ancient ruins each day.
Instead of scrambling to coordinate approval, travel advisors suggest going to Ciudad Perdida.
The archaeological site is thought to be about 650 years older than Machu Picchu and more rugged.
“Ciudad Perdida in Colombia attracts far fewer crowds than Machu Picchu in Peru because of its relative inaccessibility — it can only be reached by a trek through the jungle, which takes several days,” the Travel Counsellors experts explained.
“However, this makes it one of the last truly remote archaeological sites in the world.”
