A new list showcases 10 lesser-known destinations that deserve the spotlight for travel in 2025.
Travel company Intrepid released its annual Not Hot List this month. The list seeks to address overtourism, which has become an issue in popular places such as Rome or Paris. By choosing lesser-known places, travellers can save money and avoid crowds, and these communities can also benefit from more visitors.
In contrast to tourist taxes, crowded viewpoints, and frustrated locals, travellers to these Not Hot List destinations can expect trips that forge meaningful connections far beyond the typical tourist experience, Intrepid says.
“Our annual Not Hot List strives to bring travellers off the tourist track and inspire them to consider lesser-known destinations, while helping to spread the benefits of tourism to places where it can have an outsized positive impact on communities and local economies,”says Erica Kritikides, general manager of global product for Intrepid Travel.
“Developing tourism in concert and consultation with host communities is the best way to combat the negative effects of overtourism.”
Here are the 10 destinations for 2025:
Disko Island, Greenland:
- Disko Island, also known as Qeqertarsuaq showcases modern life above the polar circle. Qeqertarsuaq is one of Greenland’s oldest cities, founded in 1773.
- Travellers can see the country’s local culture including supermarkets, cafes, and craft galleries run by local artists. It is a volcanic island with diverse landscapes including stunning black sand beaches, waterfalls and basalt columns, great hiking and its own glaciers.
Accra, Ghana:
- Despite its rich culture and stunning scenery, less than one million people visit Ghana every year, less than half of that of South Africa. Ghana’s vibrant capital Accra offers a look into west Africa’s beloved art scene, bustling markets like Osu’s night market, historic districts like Jamestown and relaxing beaches like Labadi.
Sainshand, Mongolia:
- Tourist itineraries in Mongolia mainly go to the Southern and Middle Gobi provinces to visit the tourist highlights. Eastern Gobi offers unique insight into true Mongolian Buddhism and nomadic life.
Cape York, Australia
- The journey to Cape York (Pajinka), at the tip of Australia’s northern frontier is widely undiscovered by domestic and international travellers alike, with untouched landscapes and outdoor adventures such as fishing and camping.
Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
- While Nepal attracts around two million trekkers each year, fewer than 20,000 people come to Pakistan for adventure tourism, despite having three of the world’s greatest mountain ranges – Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush – including the second-highest mountain, K.
- With the most extensive glacier range in a single area, this region has four distinct climate zones and five ethnic groups. The destination offers more than most well-trodden regions, yet remains a secret to even the most adventurous travellers.
The Adirondacks, New York
- This six-million-acre natural playground in upstate New York is larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. It is just four hours from Manhattan and largely off the traveller radar.
- Coming in 2025, a new trail will link the Tri-Lakes communities of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, allowing cyclists, skiers and hikers to explore the 34-mile path at length. Amidst expansion, the area has remained committed to its strict conservation efforts, ensuring the wilderness remains protected for generations to come.
Anti-Atlas, Morocco
- More than seven million tourists travelled to Morocco during the first half of 2024, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2023, but unlike well-known areas, the Anti-Atlas region remains one of the least-visited parts of the country. Home to picturesque villages and lush oasis valleys, its unique landscape features granite boulders, red-lava flows and stunning palm groves, making it a hidden treasure worth exploring. The area is inhabited by nomadic Amazigh people, who lead a traditional way of life centred around agriculture and herding.
Rupununi Savannah, Guyana
- Despite its natural attractions and unique cultural heritage, Guyana remains one of South America’s least visited countries.
- A vast grassland region in the southwestern part of the country. The Rupununi Savannah in Guyana offers a combination of natural beauty, wildlife, cultural experiences, and adventure that is often overlooked by visitors to Guyana.
- Home to Kaieteur Falls which is the longest single-drop waterfall in the world, here travellers can also learn about Indigenous Macushi and Wapishana culture at community-run ecolodges.
Oslo, Norway
- Most travellers to the Nordics miss Oslo on their way to its famous Scandinavian siblings.
- Dubbed the ‘Newest Capital of Nordic Cool’, the quirky city offers unique character with floating saunas, artsy communities, diverse architecture, international cuisine, wild swimming spots, and a dynamic nightlife scene. Just 30 minutes from the city, travellers can reach the Nordmarka forest, offering opportunities for great hiking, biking, skiing and sailing.
Maldonado, Uruguay
- Artists, restaurateurs and winemakers are transforming the streets of Garzón, a once-forgotten village. Beyond the dunes toward Garzón, 30 minutes by car north of José Ignacio, lies a flourishing new wine region whose rolling hills are lined with olive groves and vineyards that hint at Tuscany. Wine tourism is becoming popular since a buzzy grape called tannat is helping tiny Uruguay become a big thing in the oenophile world.
- It offers art, gastronomy and culture, while also home to creative institute Campo, a residency program for artists. Each December, the art institute invites international artists to Garzón to create site-specific installations, turning the village of 170 residents into a dynamic creative playground.
For more information see the Not Hot List here.
Lead photo of Pakistan’s Nangma Valley: Intrepid Travel