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We've had a long thread on overrated travel destinations, so how about a thread on underrated travel destinations?
What were the places you went to that exceeded your expectations?
For me it would be Romania. We went there largely because another couple we frequently travel with had organized a trip there, the costs promised to be cheap and we thought, what the heck, why not. We knew nothing about the country save the ugly photographs of Bucharest and the grim images of Romanian orphans during the Ceausescu regime.
Well, Romania blew us away. Granted, Bucharest wasn't much to write home about but it did have a rapidly gentrifying downtown and a lovely historic park/outdoor museum featuring traditional cottages and barns from around Romania. But when we ventured into Transylvania it was like slipping into a different world, even a pre-WWI Europe. The old Saxon villages were intact and unspoiled with fowl running across the the muddy unpaved streets and men still worked the fields by hand, assisted by horses and wagons, the fortified churches were impressive and the small cities of Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara were old outposts of the old Austro-Hungarian empire seemingly untouched by time.
We furthered farther afield into northern Romania to visit the painted monasteries and they were breathtaking. The country does have a fascinating history being on the frontiers between Europe and the old Ottoman empires. The food was far better than we expected, the Romanian wines were pleasant and the costs exceedingly reasonable. On top of it the transportation infrastructure was excellent and allowed us to get around the country easily.
What about the rest of you? What are your underrated travel destinations and why?
I had a really nice time in Wales - the people in the small towns were super friendly, I was able to do some outdoorsy stuff, sit by a small river in a small village and just relax, see some interesting things, browse some unique shops, drink good beer - this was during a study abroad in London and it was nice to have that break of contrast
Before kids my wife and I both had Southwest vouchers so we decided to take a trip to a city that we hadn't been to before and that we wouldn't necessarily think of buying tickets to go to ......... We decided to fly into Nashville .... ended up spending 4 nights in Nashville and 3 in Memphis .... made a side trip to the Dickel distillery ...... we both had an absolutely blast - my wife is a Panda freak and the zoo was our first stop in Memphis, it was a bit rainy and about an hour before close so they didn't charge us admission - they also didn't charge for the Panda exhibit .... she was able to pretty much hang out next to the glass and watch some feeding and play of the pandas and get close to them which she enjoyed much more than the SD zoo ......... on a completely different note the Lorraine civil rights museum was very moving
We explored different neighborhoods and it was almost difficult to drive back to Nashville as we were sucked in by a good blues band at WC Handy park - but we had to because we had show tickets
In Nashville it was more of the same - great neighborhoods, great food, historical plantation homes, civil war battlefields, just a real pleasant mix of things to do
Finally, I think my home area in NY State is often overlooked ....... the Finger Lakes region is spectacular .... the lakes and all the associated activity, the gorges, hiking, food, shops, farms and tons of old preserved areas ........ tough place to live but I've really grown to appreciate visiting
I doubt anyone will agree with me, but I had the time of my life visiting Subarctic Quebec (Schefferville)and Labrador this past summer which is VERY remote and literally cut-off by road from the rest of North America and only accessable by rail, air or snowmobile.
Its as far from the Bahamas as you can POSSIBLY get
Krakow Poland is one of the few cities not destroyed in WW2. Beautiful architecture, one of the largest squares in Europe and a mountaineers region just a couple hours' bus ride away called Zakopane. Great food from everywhere, reasonable lodging and cool in the summertime.
I love North Carolina. It really depends on what you like I guess but being out in like the country like that and having that old small-town feel to it, I really enjoyed it the last time I went. I have been there twice and loved it each time. It is more of a relaxing vacation then like sight seeing, and going out but you can still have a great time!
I would prefer to keep the underrated travel destinations to myself so they don't become overrated.
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