My Top Five (Non-Obvious) Travel Destinations

I love to travel and wherever possible I’ll try and visit another country or part of this country at least two or three times a year. To me there are few things more satisfying and enjoyable than exploring different lands and learning about other cultures, and when I spend too long in one country I start to feel ‘cooped up’ and as though I’m not making the most of living.

That’s my psychoses, but I happen to know I’m not alone in feeling this way and that there are many of you out there itching to visit somewhere new as well.  But the question is, where? If you have the travel bug then no doubt you will have visited a few places yourself in your time and you’ll probably be running out of new destinations to explore. Here then I’ll look at a few different places that you might not have seen already – these are my five favorite travel destinations that you may not have been to.

Krakow

I traveled to Poland with a mission – to replace the amber pendant that I lost from my chain that year. It was an inherited trinket and came from Krakow originally, so I decided going there to get one myself would be a great excuse for an adventure. And traveling to Krakow really was an adventure – known as the ‘city of knives’ it’s perhaps not the most touristy of places in Europe, but that was really the appeal for me. The city has incredible and huge gothic architecture, all the clubs and restaurants are underground and have a really cool vibe, and the cost of living was almost zero. During my stay I also visited Auschwitz which is one of the most famous (though tragic) sites on Earth and the Zakopane mountains which were absolutely breath taking.

I met a lot of other travellers too and got the impression this place was very much up and coming, so I highly recommend going there before it’s ruined.

Bath

I’m English so Bath in England didn’t seem that exciting to me. However when I went I found the experience to be amazing – the place looks like Rome (it is a Roman city after all) but filled with lush greenery. There is plenty of great history and architecture to look around and the baths are incredibly invigorating.

York

Rarely have I visited any city that has quite the amount of charm that York does. Again located in my home country this place has a magical glow and lots of winding little cobbled streets that makes you’ve walked into a Terry Pratchett novel (for the Discworld fans out there). There’s a city wall and a castle, but not tonnes else to see – but it’s definitely worth seeing if you come to England.

Santa Monica

This is likely to be a matter of personal preference, but when exploring America Santa Monica was my favourite destination. An unusual choice I know, but I loved the pier and the beaches (and the body weight gym equipment) and staying over the top of an IHOP bar and just opposite a great bar (Dundees) really helped too. Again it’s not the obvious tourist destination, but it’s still just a great place to go and visit.

Skiathos

Another place that’s great to just come and unwind is Skiathos. Again it’s not the most obvious tourist destination in Greece, but since appearing Mamma Mia it has gained a lot of new appreciation. What makes it so pleasant is how beautiful the beaches are, how quaint the cobbled streets are and how simply relaxing the place is. It’s not somewhere to visit for long, but for a week-long getaway it’s amazing.