Your favorite "off the beaten path" destinations
 

What are some of your favorite hard to get to, off the beaten path, hidden gems that you've come across in your travels? I'll start off with a few of my favorites:

Railay, Thailand - gorgeous scenery of sheer cliffs coming straight up out of the ocean, good rock climbing, cheap accommodation, fun nightlife, and great food made this my favorite beach area in Thailand.

Pai, Thailand - a nice little artsy town in the mountains of northern Thailand where you can rent a scooter for the day for $5 and go explore the rural mountain roads in search of hot springs, elephant camps, waterfalls, and mountain treks.

Isla Mujeres, Mexico - minutes away from Cancun via ferry, it's a world away in character. No chain restaurants or bars, a nice main street with friendly bars and cheap beer leading to a pristine white-sand beach with crystal clear, cobalt blue water.

West End, Roatan, Honduras - One of the best and cheapest places in the world to go scuba diving, no luxury resorts, just modest hotels and guest houses. Everyone in town convenes at Sundowner's to watch the sunset each night.

Glenorchy & Arrowtown, New Zealand - spectacularly beautiful little towns not far from Queenstown but very friendly and quaint. I spent 6 months traveling in New Zealand and could list so many favorite towns in this category...Hanmer Springs, Milford Sound, Nelson, Wanaka, Motueka, etc.

A few favorites in the US - Ouray, Colorado, Springdale, UT, Lava Hot Springs, ID

I'd love to hear some of your favorites

The Orkney Islands. Vermont's Northeast Kingdom area. The northwest coastline of Australia. The desert on the periphery of Area 51 northwest of Las Vegas.

I spent all of 2 hours in Roatan's west end (family cruise). It looked delightful, the beach and accommodations along, even on a dark, rainy afternoon. I look forward to my next, hopefully longer visit, with a shorty, BC and regulator. ^

Not to be confused with West Bay which is where all the cruise ship passengers go. West Bay has a beautiful beach but is definitely too touristy to be off the beaten path.

I'll add San Martin de los Andes in Argentina for a picturesque lakeside mountain village and Rarotonga, Cook Islands for an idyllic island paradise as well.

We're visiting ZION NP next weekend for the first time..

Weather forecast is a big ^.

Skagen, Denmark... we spent ten or so days there recovering from a month of taking ferries, planes, trains and automobiles to and fro across Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and, of course, Denmark. Very much a "local" midsummer's destination (i.e., not an American to be heard, and actually, very few non-Scandinavians in general). Low key, slow pace, good food, gorgeous scenery (especially the dunes and the point where the two seas crash into each other! wow!) and the always-gracious Scandinavian hospitality.

One of our most lovely and memorable travel experiences of all time. Definitely will return!

Serifos Greece was my fantasy of what a greek island should be. No kitchy shops, no cruise ships, no tours,sweet chora, nice beaches... We felt we were seeing where the greeks would go, not the general tourists.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Serifos

Polebridge, MT

1 store that carries all of the necessities (and which was for sale for $1.2MM last year...): Beer, coffee, cigarettes, and unbelievable baked goods. It also happens to be perfectly situated to access the NW side of Glacier. They also have some cabins for rent.

:) I'll actually be back there again this weekend! Make sure you hike Angel's Landing and get a permit to the Left Fork (Subway) or the narrows if you can swing it.

Tarifa, Spain. Cute little town that seems to be the European epicenter of windsurfing.

Go during the spring before windsurfers show up and it is quiet, charming and the beaches are awesome. Seeing Morocco across the the water is pretty cool. Great seafood. Whale watching and ferries to Morocco provide plenty of diversions. Gibraltar is about 1 hour away, and there are some outstanding Roman ruins just up the road.

I just asked the DW for her thoughts on the best out of the way destinations and without hesitating she too said Tarifa.

What is DW?

Google says Drum Workshop, Deutsch Welle, DW Stadium... I was expecting a d-bag reference. :)

Perouges, France-beautiful little heavily cobblestoned pedestrian village. Wear heavy soled shoes.

Ouray, CO- Small Victorian town set directly beneath the rugged Rockies.

Gruyeres, Switzerland-hilltop postcard pedestrian village. Fantastic raclette with Gruyeres, of course. You do see some tourists here but it is off the beaten path.


Bobette

dear wife?

Meroe, Sudan. A great collection of pyramids that we were able to camp right next to and have the site entirely to ourselves.

DW=Dear Wife.