We hear a lot about which destinations are overrated, too crowded, expensive, full of scams, suffering from overtourism, etc.
But which ones do you think are deservedly popular? Which ones justify the hype?
My spare bedroom. It’s great and can be yours for the low low price of £200 per night. Breakfast included!
^but if its a Friday night you have to put the bins out.^
Prague! Went there last September and had a great time. Beautiful and very walkable city, friendly people, and very affordable too. The city castle is an impressive site to behold, and one of the most touristy ones, but very doable if you go in the morning. But there are many other notable things to do and visit, such as the cold-war bunker under the Yalta hotel and the alchemy museum in the Jewish district. If you decide to visit, I would also recommend branching out for a couple of days to visit other cities like Pilsen (where pilsner beer comes from) or Liberec.
Mt. Fuji was beautiful. Ideally you should hire a car and drive around it, theres a series of small lakes, and each time you round a corner you get another beautiful view of the mountain over a different waterfront.
Milford Sound, especially when it’s raining, especially if you an trek there.
I went to the Meiji Jingu in Tokyo on a rainy day (so less crowded) and… Yeah, wow. Didn’t even take any photos, I was just enraptured the whole time. Beautiful environment, beautiful shrine.
The Roman Forum. The Colosseum is cool but way overrated. The Forum is so huge you can easily spend multiple days just wandering around enjoying its history.
10/10 would recommend.
The highlands in Scotland. Beautiful in their entirety.
Pictures don’t do it justice, I’d recommend a guided tour. Also you get to feed highland cows. They’re all pets btw. This is Honey.
Also, sheep are incredibly cuddly, and will happily follow you the whole day just to get more head scritches
Most national parks. Especially Yellowstone is amazing.
You know how the grand canyon always looks kinda crazy in photos? It looks just as crazy in person and it is wild.
It’s one of those places where you go and say, “oh okay I get it. This is incredible.” Pictures don’t do it justice. The physicality of being next to it is hard to describe.
I honestly think the Grand Canyon is even crazier in person. In photos, it looks like a big hole, but in person it is truly a grand hole.
Reminds me of the Parks and Rec line from Ron Swanson. Something about only two things that are acceptable for a man to cry over. I forget the first one but the second was the Grand Canyon. I’m in no way ashamed to say that place got a tear in my eye.
Funerals.
Have you actually been to Yellowstone recently? It’s pretty awful now unless you leave the tourist areas.
I went around 2018. Did some research first to determine when was a good time to go to avoid crowds. Spent over a week there, and while some areas and days were quite crowded, it didn’t really detract much from the experience, and I still got to enjoy large areas of the park with barely any other humans around.
I went in early 2020 and everywhere had thousands of tourists. Going anywhere took hours because there was always a line of hundreds of cars.
The worst were the Asian tourists that completely ignored lines and shoved their way in front of everyone else as well as ignoring barriers.
Definitely a way different experience than when I went in the 2000s.
How recently does it need to be? I went in like 2018 or 19.
I split my year between my homes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Orlando, Florida. I agree with your sentiment 100%.
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Not a “nice” or “beautiful” tourist experience, obviously, but an extremely impressive one. I’m not a very emotional person, and have no personal link to the Holocaust, but one of the few times of my adult life I cried was when I visited the memorial site.
My personal one that’s not overrated. Hiroshima in Japan.
It’s a wonderful city to visit even after you’ve been to the Museum, which should be a bucket list item for everyone.
Gullfoss Falls in Iceland:
Just stunningly beautiful and close to Reykjavík. It’d be a massive mistake to visit Iceland and not see this
Will be visiting Iceland next month. Can’t wait to see things like this IRL.
If you want some more recommendations I’d be happy to share. I really enjoyed my tour around the country in 2023
Thanks. We just decided to sign up for this self-driving 8 day tour.
I’m sure they’ll tell you this when you get there but Icelandic speed limits are a rule, not a guideline. I picked up a speeding ticket in Akureyri just going a few kmh over from a speed camera because of that
Thanks for the heads-up!
The Grand Canyon is pretty sweet. Yellowstone too.
The Black Forest in Germany. Although you might want to skip the mass produced cuckoo clocks.
Montreal is beautiful and fun. People were always polite, food and coffee was amazing. Can’t wait to go back
One of the best cycling cities in Canada too, weather permitting.
Many bike lanes are plowed in the winter. The weather is almost always “permitting” depending on how brave you are.
Ive been living in Outback Auatralia for almost 14 years. Got to visit Uluru once.
Took my breath away when it came into view. Over 1000km (thibknitsncloser to 1500km) away from the ocean. Middle of nowhere. A massive rock just sitting there. Of course you feel a spiritual connection.
I don’t fully understand the cultural significance behind it, but I 110% respect the owners of the land, and what they believe in.
