Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cape Town.

Oh yeah. Nobody goes there...

Amsterdam got me also. These popular places that half of the people you know rave about? Can't really be under-rated. Gotta be someplace not many people talk much about, or a place that is mostly thought of as bad or dangerous, etc, but you like for xyz reason

Or a place like Brussels (or DC!), which everyone says is boring and therefore is "rated" poorly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Portugal

How is Portugal underrated

Just got back from Portugal.

Portugal has less "tourist attractions" than most other Western European countries. Portugal's food is not nearly renowned as it's neighbor, Spain. It's top beach region, the Algarve, is said to be populated by trashy Brits on package holiday. There are not stunning mountain areas for hiking, like the Alps. Portugal is a poor country, and appears a bit shabby in places. In some places, like Porto and the Azores, you can't flush your toilet paper.

I somehow found RT tickets to Portugal from IAD for late June for under $500 on multiple airlines (it was under $400 on one of them), so despite never having given a though of going to Portugal, snapped up the tickets and planned a vacation.

And you know what? It far exceeded expectations. We discovered that less "tourist attractions" means less tourist traps. For that reason, Lisbon was a gem. The food was good enough, and it was cheap. The Algarve had it's fair share of Brits, but we were selective in where we stayed and went. The shabbiness didn't bother us...we're used to it....the people were super friendly and it was safe. That matters much more than shabbiness. Sure, we didn't get a spectacular hike in, but the hikes in the Algarve and Sao Miguel were nice. And as long as you have a bidet and a god shower, the toilet paper thing doesn't matter.

Two of the three of us are begging to go back there next year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Portugal

How is Portugal underrated

It’s not one of the “hot” places in Western Europe people always seem to hit first - Paris, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona etc. I went all over most of Europe with my family as a teen and Portugal just wasn’t on the radar. Also had a 20s something cousin recently spend a month in Spain and just a day or so in Lisbon and was annoyed we didn’t rave about Lisbon more so she would’ve spent more time there, which she thought was way better than Spain.

Air Portugal started offering cheap flights several years ago and it's been a super hot destination with Americans since then. It's up there with Iceland as travel fads. Even my un-hip retired inlaws have been there.

Montenegro but inland, mountains, river canyons, etc. The coast is amazing but not "off the beaten path."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oman. I lived in the Middle East for a year (Kuwait- total snoozeville) so we went to Muscat for a long weekend. I had no idea where it was before that trip. Wow! It was a 180 from Kuwait. Extremely clean with beautiful flowers everywhere. I wish we had more time there.

Everyone tells me Oman is the absolute best. Fun fact: LiLo lived there quite a while.

+1 to Oman. No idea who LiLo is though

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Portugal

How is Portugal underrated

It’s not one of the “hot” places in Western Europe people always seem to hit first - Paris, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona etc. I went all over most of Europe with my family as a teen and Portugal just wasn’t on the radar. Also had a 20s something cousin recently spend a month in Spain and just a day or so in Lisbon and was annoyed we didn’t rave about Lisbon more so she would’ve spent more time there, which she thought was way better than Spain.

Syria

Namibia

Anonymous wrote:The Philippines

Colombia

Rural New England

Really, any place you can spend time that isn’t on a Condé Nast Traveler list just yet.

Ah, yes, the “traveler” who hates tourists and views travel destinations as commodities that lose value when they are in high supply has entered the chat.

I was traveling in Europe once and came across a quaint little town known as Paris. Beautiful architecture, outstanding restaurants, and extraordinary museums with unmatched art collections. Plus they have a Disneyland. Would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, it’s hilarious to see what Americans think is off the beaten path. Not a single one of these places is!

The topic isn’t “off the beaten path,” it’s underrated. Sorry about your reading comprehension skills.

Please don’t think I am a troll but Russia, at least st Pete and Moscow.
Was there in 2019 and it blew me away. Hopefully there is still going back to what was.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, it’s hilarious to see what Americans think is off the beaten path. Not a single one of these places is!

Please enlighten us with your suggestions.

Wow, it’s hilarious to see what Americans think is off the beaten path. Not a single one of these places is!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:French countryside

Iraq

Can you be more specific?

Alsace