Check Worldmapper and avoid tourist crowds
When you travel during the peak season, not only would you have to pay more, it also means that famous tourist spots are full, there are long lines and you will not get the feel of being with the locals as tourists far outnumber them.
One way to avoid this is to travel during the low or shoulder season. Avoid the obvious holidays and school breaks.
The problem with this solution, though, is that you may have to travel when the weather is crappy. And off-season travel almost always means that you will not be seeing the BEST of what the destination has to offer, obviously. Otherwise, everyone else would be travelling during low season.
Another option would be to travel to areas that the general tourism public has yet to discover. Some of these places or countries could just be underrated or have yet to be discovered by the national tourism board in most countries.
Look at the Worldmapper, which I discovered through Geeky Traveller, and check where the concentration of International tourists is.
Western Europe is the most popular destination for international tourists, the region receives 46% of world tourist trips. At the other extreme 0.1% of world tourist trips are made to Central African territories. As a tourist destination Andorra receives 45 visits per person in the population, per year. The equivalent figures for Monaco and the Bahamas are 7 and 5, respectively.
Of course, if you do decide to go to any of those countries where you wouldn't be elbowing your way around each and every spot, do your research. Some countries may not be just underrated; they could be dangerous, too.
April 15th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
I think the Canary Isles are a bit too small…