Have you ever gone to a popular beach, and realized there’s not even enough room to sit on the sand? That’s just one of the many reasons why I prefer to travel to underrated countries…
Get inspired by reading my countdown Top 10 – the Best Underrated Countries to travel
1. Get Surprised
All of us use the internet to get information about things we plan to do when visiting our next destination. Even adventurous travelers do the same. There’s plenty of information available about the touristy destinations. Hence, we have the opportunity to get a better idea of what things will be like. That is indeed convenient. But then, once you get there, everything looks and feels just like the way you thought it would be. Not really an exciting experience, is it?
When preparing to travel to underrated countries, it is harder to find out what to see and what to expect. It’s a surprise!
2. Sites and activities are less crowded
Underrated countries can be very densely populated. Ironically, if you are interested in visiting a site, you’ll have the whole place for yourself! Similarly, when you hike a trail, if you do see a human, it will probably be a local shepherd with his herd.
3. Travelling to underrated countries is safer!
You may be surprised by this one, but I am very comfortable with this statement. The most touristy country in Africa is South Africa, which is also the most dangerous country I have ever visited. No joke.. check out My Story! The most touristy country in South America is Peru. It is also, after Venezuela, the most dangerous country on the continent. In popular Costa Rica, someone broke into my car and stole all my belongings. I know, it could happen anywhere, but it didn’t happen in any of the lesser-known countries I’ve visited.
In touristy countries, tourists are the targets. The locals have the opportunity to develop a successful mugging/robbing/scamming business. In underrated countries, that kind of business is simply not productive. Next, keep in mind that in many underrated countries, travellers are protected like saints. The local governments know that if something happens to a tourist, the news could have a horrible effect on both countries’ international reputations and local businesses. Hence, when you travel to underrated countries, locals will likely fear that you might harm them.
What about war, terrorism, etc?
In most cases, such hostilities occur only in certain parts of the country. The police checkpoints won’t even let you go there. You don’t need to research where it’s dangerous. The local government does it for you. In so many countries, random people would frequently warn me about potential dangers in the area.
I’ve learned a lot about safety from my experiences. Check out my Travel Safety Tips post.
4. You’ll have more stories to tell
Let’s say you take a trip to the Maldives. You are really enjoying yourself while scuba diving and drinking cocktails on the beach. It’s an amazing vacation, but unless you get chased by a shark, you’ll have no stories to tell when you come back.
5. People are more friendly, and it’s easier to meet new friends
In underrated countries, Westerners are treated with huge respect. They don’t see us very often, so we appear interesting. They feel pleasantly surprised and honored that we have decided to visit their country. For those reasons, we could easily meet local friends. Other than having fun with them, they could be very helpful with travel tips, and most importantly, having local friends is the best way to experience the lifestyle. All they want in return is our company and kindness. They may hope for some cash tips, which is reasonable.
Many adventurous travelers prefer to find a local through Couchsurfing or social media before their trip. I don’t think that’s necessary, cause I find it easy to meet friends once I get there.
Other than meeting locals, underrated countries are better for meeting other travelers.
True, you see them rarely, but they tend to be all the more interesting. When I visited Guinea, I met only 3 travelers, and all 3 of them were very interesting. On the other hand, I met hundreds of them in Colombia, but unfortunately, I found none of them interesting.
6. Less upcharging and less hustling
Have you ever walked on the beach, disturbed by a local, trying to sell you a necklace, offer a boat tour, a taxi ride, weed, or a prostitute? Then, as soon as you get rid of him, you enjoy the sound of the waves for 5 minutes, before another guy comes over, with a big smile, and offers you the same stuff… You can imagine that kind of business is simply not profitable in the underdeveloped countries. Hence, hustlers are scarce.
Also, in underrated countries, you’re more likely to get fair prices when buying food, groceries, transport, etc. The vendors are not very skilled at overcharging. There is another explanation for that. In many less touristy countries, locals would guess I am here for work or some kind of business. Hence, they would assume I know the prices, so they won’t upcharge me.
7. No need for sites or activities – just run an errand, or wander around
I’ve been to Côte d’Ivoire for 10 days. Most of the time in Abidjan, the capital of 4.5 million people. My main activity was getting visas for Mali and Burkina Faso. Sounds terrible, right? I have visited a country just to get something done. Well, not really. It was fantastic, actually! Let me explain… It takes 1.5 hours from my guesthouse to the nice neighborhood with the embassies. I had to walk, take a shared taxi, take a boat, then walk, then another bus, then walk again. With street food stops, coffee stops, and coconut stops, it’s been a 3-hour journey. So going there and coming back is a full-day activity full of culture and lifestyle experiences!
8. The health risk is not greater (it’s likely to be smaller)
I travel non-stop for about 5 months. Mainly in less developed countries. However, I rarely get cold or am never poisoned by food. It’s simply because the street food I enjoy didn’t come from industries. Therefore, it’s not processed. The food I eat is prepared from some “grandma’s backyard” or “neighbor’s farm”.
You have more chances of getting poisoned by eating in touristy Western-style restaurants than on a street market. Anthony Bourdain feels the same. In this YouTube video, he says that in India, he never got poisoned from eating on the street, but he did get poisoned from the catered pasta bolognese from a restaurant. I also recommend checking out my post about The Best Countries to visit for Street Food.
9. You’ll get better at languages
In touristy Costa Rica, there are plenty of people who can speak English, especially in hotels and at tourist sites. Not really, in next-door, underrated Nicaragua. It sounds intimidating, but after spending one week in Nicaragua, you would learn more Spanish than if you spent the same amount of time in Costa Rica. It happens naturally, whether you are interested in learning or not.
10. You will learn more about the country you visit
If you’ve been to a Kenyan Safari, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been to Kenya. Safaris are protected areas, isolated from the country and its people. Other than experiencing wildlife, any experience of Africa inside the safari is gonna be artificial. Also, if you’ve hiked Kilimanjaro, that doesn’t mean you’ve been to Tanzania. Even the city in the footsteps of Kilimanjaro doesn’t have a feel of real Tanzania. If you go to the rave festival in Goa, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have visited India… Or the Taj Mahal.
Bottom line is, tourist activities are actually distancing tourists from the country they are visiting
In highly touristy areas, there are Western accommodations, restaurants, and facilities. Not really a cultural experience, is it? Don’t even wanna talk about the resorts, where you are physically separated with a gate, from the country you have visited. What a waste of visa…
Guided tours, museums, and similar activities do provide some sort of learning about the culture, but that is an artificial learning environment. I prefer learning by taking public transport or getting street food. And most importantly, it’s more fun that way!
Bonus: You are spending your money in the right place!
When you visit a certain country, you will definitely leave some of your money there, no matter how cheaply you travel. The money you leave in a poor country will have a greater impact than if you leave it in, for instance, Spain… Especially if you stay in local guesthouses and shop at the street markets…
On top of that, when you come back and tell everybody how great time you had, and post some photos on social media, you are promoting actively tourism of the Underrated destination!
Is there a downside to traveling to underrated countries? There’s gotta be… I recommend checking out my post 10 Challenges of Traveling Underrated Countries
Touristy countries can definitely be fun. I love Cuba, Peru, the Philippines, Zanzibar, South Africa, Belize, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, the Maldives, the Seychelles… However, while traveling in those countries, it is important to know how to avoid commercial tourism to get an authentic experience. I will have that topic covered for you soon as well!