Inspiration

6 of the World's Most Popular Places—And Where to Go Instead

Barcelona. Reykjavík. Santorini. Some of the world's most beloved places are getting harder and harder to access, thanks to Airbnb restrictions, tourists taxes, and outright caps on how many visitors are allowed in each year. And while we're not telling you not to go, you'll need to brace for the crowds. Looking to avoid the extra work—and the roadblocks? Here are a few alternative destinations where you won't run into someone you know from home. This gallery was originally published in 2015. It has been updated with new picks.

By Lilit Marcus and Meredith Carey

January 26, 2018

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Where You're Going Now: Barcelona
Barcelona is one of Europe's hubs for arts, culture, and architecture. Unfortunately, some locals think the city is a little too popular with visitors. Mayor Ada Colau ran on a platform of limiting the number of travelers in the city, and local authorities passed a law in January 2017 that helps tamp down on the number of visitors in the city. Specifically, the new law limits the number of beds available from hotels and tourist apartments and also puts a freeze on building new hotels in some zones of the city. It also allows for issuing licenses for apartment rentals, like those available on Airbnb.
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Where to Go Instead: Lisbon
We've been calling Lisbon Europe's most underrated city for some time now. The Portuguese capital has stunning facades (new like the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology and old like the Baroque São Roque Church), fado music, and nearby sandy beaches. Just remember—it's obrigado, not gracias.

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Where You're Going Now: Bali
In Bali, beautiful temples, lush rainforests, and beach parties are a sure thing—but so are the crowds. Thanks to the Eat, Pray, Love effect and the popularity of Bali's southern beaches as no-holds-barred party destinations, it takes a little more effort than it once did to find those moments of tranquility. Last year, despite a volcanic eruption that caused mass evacuation and airport closures, travelers kept heading to the island in record numbers. As of November 2017, the Indonesian island had seen nearly one million more tourists than in 2016, totaling 5.3 million—that's more tourists than residents. The country's Ministry of Tourism even wants you to expand your horizons a little bit, suggesting any of Indonesia's roughly 6,000 inhabited islands.
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Where to Go Instead: Flores
Traveler's associate digital editor Sebastian Modak suggests another Indonesian island instead: "Flores, east of Bali, has all the wild beauty that has been watered-down by the influx of tourists on some southeast Asian islands. And while it has the crystal clear water and powdery beaches you’re looking for, it also offers more diversions than just a drink on the sand: Climb to the top of the Kelimutu volcano to see its famous (and sacred) multi-colored lakes, or take a quick boat trip from Labuan Bajo, Flores’s port town, to Komodo Island, where you can see the carnivorous dragons that give it its name up close—like, really close. Flores doesn’t have the cushy five-star accommodations of Bali, or Lombok, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?"

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Where You're Going Now: Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre, a series of five connected cliffside villages along the Italian coast, is well known as one of the world's most beautiful places—but perhaps it's too well known. Rumors flew in 2016 that the area was going to only allow only 1.5 million visitors per year (down from the more than two million that visit today), and that all of them would have to buy tickets to access the villages. The rules never kicked in, so each of Cinque Terre's towns—Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore—is still crowded with day trippers who have nowhere to stay; there are just 3,000 beds between hotels and villas in the area.
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Where to Go Instead: Atrani
There are dozens of beautiful towns scattered around Italy, from the Piedmont region to the Italian Riviera. And, for now, plenty of them are free to visit. Might we suggest Atrani, in Campania? Like Cinque Terre, it has a gorgeous cliffside perch, but unlike Cinque Terre, you might be the only visitor around. Italians make the drive to Atrani to eat at renowned trattoria A'Paranza, which is noted for fresh-from-the-ocean dishes like blue-spotted bream and fresh swordfish.

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Where You're Going Now: Santorini
The bright blue-and-white paradise of Santorini has long been Greece's most-visited island. However, those visits have put some wear and tear on Santorini's gorgeous beaches and cliffs, so Greek officials capped cruise ship visitors to the island at 8,000 per day in 2016. One upside? There isn't a quota on the number of people who can visit by air—yet.
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Where to Go Instead: Folegandros
Traveler's senior digital editor Katherine LaGrave suggests heading to a nearby island instead. "Looking for Santorini's famous blues, whitewashed houses, and idyllic cobblestoned streets, but without all of the crowds? Folegandros, Santorini's smaller neighbor to the northwest by some 40 miles, has all that and more. During the day, visit the island's most famous monument, Chrysospiliá (or "Golden Cave"), and come evening, tuck into a bowl of traditional matsáta (handmade noodles with rabbit or rooster) in Chora, the island's center, which rests atop a 650-foot cliff. If it's remote beaches you're after, try Agios Georgios or Ambeli."

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Where You're Going Now: Reykjavík
In the past few decades, Reykjavík has gone from quiet city to bona fide hotspot. The problem? The world's northernmost national capital is also a small one, and it has gotten crowded, with more Americans visiting each year than there are Icelanders in the whole country. Iceland now limits how long an Airbnb host can rent their home, to 90 days a year. The capital city is so crowded that the Iceland's tourism board is specifically encouraging travelers to check out other parts of the country, like Akureyri, the country's second largest city, or Snæfellsnes Peninsula, for glaciers and wild horses.
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Where to Go Instead: Helsinki
If northern Europe is still on your bucket list, head to underrated Helsinki, whose Nordic cuisine (reindeer jerky, anyone?) and vibrant design scene make it a great bargain for culture lovers and foodies alike. And visiting just got way easier, thanks to FinnAir's Helsinki stopover program, which lets travelers flying between Europe and North America spend a few days in Helsinki for free. The city's location makes it easy to pop over to Tallinn or Stockholm if you want to squeeze in another city break.

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Where You're Going Now: Amsterdam
While other cities are limiting tourists and telling them to go elsewhere, Amsterdam is adopting a radically different approach to addressing overtourism—a solution that, in many ways, is distinctly Dutch. The city has extended the range of its public transport City Card so visitors can visit outlying attractions without paying an extra fee, and introduced apps and live feeds to let people know when popular tourist destinations are especially busy. And, in an effort to class up the place, the city banned beer bikes from the central tourist zones. While all these efforts spread visitors all over the city (and keep them relatively sober), the city still remains crowded with visitors.
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Where to Go Instead: Leeuwarden
If canals and bikes are your thing, head to the Netherlands's Leeuwarden, where you can get the same walking-over-bridges selfies—minus the crowds. Besides being officially inaugurated as one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2018, the northern city is known for its dairy industry (read: world-class cheese as a souvenir, yes please). This year, stop by the Phantom Limb Exhibition at the Fries Museum, which features contemporary artworks inspired by M.C. Escher, a Dutch artist famed for his Surrealist prints.