Underrated Travel Destinations in the World

[Cane Jason]

Many places in the world are well-deserving of a spot on the travel map, but for some reason haven't yet made it there. You can check out destination list here http://www.postsforall.com/worlds-most-underrated-places/

From above list Iceland and Philippine are my fav. travel destination.

What are yours favourite travel destinations?

[ginnyinWI]

1. I have been to Iceland

Two years ago we spent half a week there on our way to Great Britain. I would recommend it; the people are friendly and the land is like nothing you've ever seen. Want to go back and do a longer tour, but we saw hot springs and waterfalls, lava beds, a historic national park, and did go to the Blue Lagoon. We got an apartment through AirBnB.

[cbayer]

3. Iceland Air has a program where you can take a prolonged layover

in Iceland on the way to another destination at no additional cost.

Is that what you did?

[ginnyinWI]

4. Yes

I couldn't figure out how to do it online, but my AAA agent was able to arrange it. We spent three nights there, then went on to London and rented a car and drove through England, Scotland and Wales for the next ten days. Then took the Chunnel to Paris to visit our daughter for six more days.

In retrospect, three weeks was too much vacation. After two weeks we were ready to go home. It's tempting to cram everything in that you can, but less fun in the end.

This year we went to visit relatives in Germany and limited it to two weeks, and only Bavaria, from Munich to the Alps to the Black Forest and Stuttgart. It was great--much more relaxing. Our daughter took the high speed train from Paris to Munich to join us.

Live and learn!

[cbayer]

5. Yep, that's the program.

They are still doing it, as I saw an advertisement in Boston just a week ago.

I would love to do a self-drive in both Iceland and the UK. The driving on the left thing in the UK is a bit anxiety evoking, but I think I could adapt.

Your idea about getting away is completely different than mine. I am totally into the immersion vacation. I spent the last 3 months in Italy and the previous 6 months in Mexico. I have the incredible fortune of being able to work on the internet or not work at this point in my life.

So glad that your daughter is able to share your experiences. It's not what you have, it's the experiences that you accumulate.

Live!

[ginnyinWI]

7. driving on the left side of the road

My husband did all the driving for that trip and he didn't like it one bit. Very hard to get used to. Not only that, but you are sitting on the other side of the front seat in your car--wheel's on the right. He kept wanting to veer over to the left side of the road, and I was sitting in the shotgun seat always saying, "get back! get back!" because I felt like he was going to run us into something along the left side of the road. This happens because when you are driving on the right side of the road, you follow the center line to position your car. He was following the left side of the road, unconsciously, in the same way.

And there are NO shoulders on those roads and often you have a brick or stone wall running right up to the edge of the road. Or a hedge or something. Very nerve-wracking. The multi-lane roads were okay, but many, many of the roads in the U.K. are these small, narrow roads with barely enough space for one lane each way, with no wiggle room, or they go down to just the one lane. A car would come up behind us and he'd feel like he had to speed up until he could pull over and let them pass. The posted speed limits were about 65 km/hr but you were expected to know when that was not a safe speed. You can get pulled over for going that fast if the area is very windy or twisty. We weren't pulled over, but I heard about this later.

Also they have round-abouts all over, and it is something we are only just now getting put in here in Wisconsin. Not only were these traffic circles new to us, two years ago, but they went the "wrong" way around so you had to remember to look in the opposite direction. What a nightmare.

So although we had the flexibility to go wherever we wanted to, whenever we wanted to, it was hard to get there. We had a GPS or probably we'd be there still, trying to figure out where we were!

[cbayer]

8. While challenging, I find it fun to learn the drivings rules and patterns

in new places.

I did a lot of driving in Italy this summer and by the end, I was driving like an Italian. Now that is not going to work very well in the US, but it was necessary while there.

GPS is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I don't know how we managed before them.

[cbayer]

2. I would like to go to each and every one of those places at some point.

I live part time in Mexico and I think the non-tourist destinations of Mexico are some of the greatest underrated travel destinations.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. What are your favorite little-known destinations in Mexico?

I'm thinking of becoming a snowbird for at least part of the winter.

[cbayer]

13. There are so many and it depends on what you like.

We spend our time on the coast because we live on the boat. We avoid the major tourist areas but love La Paz and La Cruz (north of Puerto Vallarta). We plan to explore more this winter.

Last spring, we drove from Puerto Vallarta to Belize and back and saw some amazing parts of the country. It is so varied.

There are lots and lots of ex-pats in the Lake Chapala region outside of Guadalajara. It has spectacular weather.

It might be worth your while to take a road trip. I would start with the Baja, then maybe explore the mainland a bit.

It's a wonderful place full of wonderful people and food and music and weather.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I'm looking at an Elderhostel that travels the length of Baja

partly because there are nonstop flights from Minneapolis to both San Diego and Cabo San Lucas.

[cbayer]

15. The trip down the Baja is wonderful and really undiscovered.

It's particularly great if you go when the whales come in to calve.

Here is a link to an article in the washington post last weekend on another company that makes this trip:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/in-baja-california-swimming-with-the-whale-sharks-and-more/2014/09/25/b2757706-3dc3-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html

Highly recommended. I drove down last November with a friend and we had a great time.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Whale-watching is a featured part of the trip

Now all I need is a bit more money.

[cbayer]

17. I hope you are able to do it.

I did not see the calving, but plan to be there this year when it occurs.

I think you would love this trip. Just be aware, it is nothing fancy. The Baja is remote and there are few services.

[mainer]

6. Norway. Expensive but eye-popping.

I've been to Iceland, and yes it's beautiful. But no place on earth is like the fjords and mountains of Norway. As a NYT travel writer put it, it's like coastal Maine crossed with Lord of the Rings. Unbearably gorgeous and dramatic and cinematic. The drive between Bergen and Trondheim is amazing.

[ginnyinWI]

9. that's on my bucket list.

And I understand Icelandair is a good carrier to get to Norway with.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. Yes, I took Icelandair to Norway for two reasons:

1. It flies out of Minneapolis but isn't Delta

2. It flies into Trondheim, the nearest large city to the island where my relatives gather each summer

The lowest-priced tickets get only buy-on-board food, but if you're flying from Minneapolis, the flight leaves at 7:30PM and arrives in Iceland at 1:00AM Minneapolis time, so I didn't need to eat anyway.

I took a friend's advice to do my free stopover on the way back rather than on the way over. The reason is what I said above. You arrive at 1:00AM Minneapolis time, 6:00AM Iceland time, and you're a zombie. Better just to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry and save your sleeping for your final destination.

On the way back, you have only two hours of jet lag to adjust to, and you arrive in the late afternoon, so you have time to stroll around the city for a while, have dinner, and go to bed at a normal time, so you can start the day fresh.

I did the Reykjavik city tour on the first day, the Golden Circle on the second day, the South Coast and glacial lagoon tour on the third day, and the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport on the fourth day (it's closer to the airport than to the city).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. So is the Hurtigrute ship journey

We took it in the southbound direction, and it was one amazing view after another, as well as stopovers in a few towns along the way.