Eight Places the In-the-Know Are Booking Now

Why Savvy Travellers are Skipping the Obvious

Call them what you like: under-the-radar, ahead of the curve, the road less travelled. More and more seasoned travellers are choosing these places on purpose, not as a fallback but as the trip itself, because they still hold their atmosphere, cost noticeably less, and tend to have a room in the villa or design-led hotel you actually want, on the dates you actually want it. In Greece, let everyone else jostle for sunset selfies on Santorini and set your sights on Milos instead; you won't be sharing it with a cruise-ship crowd.

In place of Kyoto's temple queues, Takayama gives you the same old-world Japan at half the volume. Spend a morning in the Sanmachi quarter, where Edo-era sake breweries hang cedar balls over their doors to signal the season's new brew, and most will pour you a tasting. The Miyagawa riverside market is where to try Hida beef done as nigiri, and the town makes an ideal base for the thatched farmhouses of Shirakawa-go and the open-air onsen of Okuhida. Time your visit for the Takayama Matsuri in mid-April or early October, and you'll see carved festival floats that rival anything in Kyoto.

Bali lovers, meet Sumba: a wild, soulful island just east of the crowds. Here, megalithic tombs and dramatic peaked-roof villages speak to a living ancestral culture, surfers chase a legendary left-hand break, and one of the world's most lauded resorts sits above an all-but-empty stretch of coast. It's the Indonesia of a generation ago: untamed, ceremonial, and unforgettable.

For Indian Ocean water every bit the equal of the Maldives, look to Mozambique's Bazaruto Archipelago. These dune-fringed islands rise from some of the Indian Ocean's clearest water, ringed by reefs where you might snorkel alongside whale sharks, manta rays, and the rare, gentle dugong. A handful of exclusive lodges mean the powder-soft sand feels like your own. Because, more or less, it is.

If Iceland is on your list, the Faroe Islands deliver the same jaw-dropping drama with a fraction of the footfall. Emerald cliffs plunge into the North Atlantic, the Múlafossur waterfall spills straight into the sea, grass-roofed houses dot the hillsides, and a lake seems to hover above the ocean. Sheep outnumber people, the seabird colonies are spectacular, and tiny Tórshavn, one of the world's smallest capitals, even hides a celebrated Michelin-starred table.

Cape Town will always dazzle, but the Winelands village of Franschhoek, an hour east, is where South Africa eats and drinks best. Skip the rental car and ride the hop-on, hop-off Wine Tram between estates like Babylonstoren, with its vast edible garden, and historic Boschendal. The valley packs in some of the country's finest tables, from Le Coin Français to La Petite Colombe. Aim for July if you want the town's Bastille Festival, a nod to its French Huguenot roots, in full swing.

Skip Phuket's crowds for Koh Kood, one of Thailand's last truly unspoiled islands, near the Cambodian border. It's the rare large Thai island with no nightlife strip and no traffic, just empty bays, jungle, and the swimmable Khlong Chao waterfall. Soneva Kiri anchors the high end with its own airstrip, while smaller hideaways line beaches like Ao Tapao and Ao Phrao. Go between November and April when the sea is calm and everything's open, and build in a snorkelling trip out to Koh Rang.

In Mexico, look past the resort strips of Cancún and Tulum to two calmer alternatives. Car-free Isla Holbox is all sandy lanes, hammocks strung over the shallows, flamingos, and (in season) whale sharks gliding just offshore. Inland, Bacalar's "Lagoon of Seven Colors" shimmers in impossible shades of blue, fed by cenotes and watched over by a tiny pirate-era fort.