Have you ever felt that your travels lack meaning? That those big cities you’ve heard countless stories about just don’t give you that extraordinary experience you’ve been craving? 

Now, popular travel destinations are of course popular for a reason – they have endless tourist attractions and experiences that are on just about everyone’s bucket list. But I can almost guarantee, that oftentimes, you’ll find that these experiences lack meaning and that feeling of wonder you might not even realise you’re chasing. Maybe part of the reason is because you’ve watched people visiting these destinations on your phone more times than one can count. Maybe it’s the hoards of other tourists taking away the magic of the experience. Maybe it’s because you need to travel off the beaten path to discover the best things in this vast world. 

Travelling off the beaten path doesn’t mean avoiding bigger cities entirely – exploring popular destinations will still provide great experiences. It simply means approaching travel differently, with curiosity, respect, and connecting more deeply to local cultures. You’ll get to visit places you’ve never even heard of, and make unexpected discoveries, both about the world and yourself.

Travelling off the beaten path may sound a little daunting, but it definitely doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can be quite the opposite. Stepping out of a big city or popular destination even just for a day to explore a nearby town can be such a rejuvenating experience. And you may think that everything worth seeing in this world is widely known, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

So much of this world is largely untouched, and waiting for you to discover its beauty. I can almost guarantee that if you spent even a day walking around a city you’ve never heard of, you’d find something quite extraordinary. Follow your curiosity, and you’ll find meaning in the unexpected. Instead of having copy and paste experiences, create your own. When someone asks you about your travel experiences, enable yourself to find joy in teaching them something and inspiring them.

If you’d like to start exploring off the beaten path destinations, but are a little intimidated by the prospect, here are some destinations that I’ve loved, that aren’t too untouched, but still carry much of the charming energy of a truly of the beaten path destination:

• Vilnius, Lithuania  – whilst Vilnius is a capital city, it’s relatively underexplored and it will provide you with a very different cultural experience than more popular cities around Europe.

• Bratislava, Slovakia – also a capital city, Bratislava is intimate, charming and walkable. There’s plenty to be discovered here and it’s very accessible due to its extremely close proximity to Vienna (they are the closest capital cities in the world), and it’s not far from Budapest either.

• Malmo, Sweden – this is a smaller city than the two aforementioned, but being just a short train ride or car journey from Copenhagen, it’s so easy to take some time to explore its beauty.

If you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten path but still not too daunting, these are some great destinations to explore:

• Kaunas, Lithuania – Kaunas is just a train ride away from Lithuania’s capital Vilnius, but it’s often overlooked. It’s beautiful, artsy and waiting for its charm to be uncovered.

• Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria – located on the banks of Lake Wörthersee and near the Austrian Alps, you’ve probably never heard of Klagenfurt before. It’s an elegant, small city, boasting stunning natural beauty and architecture.

• Trieste, Italy – whilst Trieste is in Italy, it’s got a lot of Austro-Hungarian influence, making it notably different from other Italian cities, even nearby Venice. The city is absolutely stunning, and you most definitely won’t be disappointed if you choose to explore Trieste for yourself.

The above noted destinations are a great starting point for discovering your own favourite places, but the best places you’ll visit are likely places you’ll discover yourself. I’d love to hear about your best off the beaten path experiences and destinations you’ve visited.

I’m currently working on travel guides to help inspire you to visit new destinations that you may never have previously considered. Please subscribe to Trailverse to be notified when these are released. Let me know if you have any thoughts or feedback, and please share your best off the beaten path experiences and destinations. Thank you for reading!