The 25 Most Exciting, Crowd-Free Places to Visit in 2025

Unpacked by AFAR

Mark our words: 2025 will be the year of crowd-free travel. That’s why our editors and contributors spent months seeking out 25 incredible, undertouristed destinations to explore next year. Our annual Where to Go list spotlights under-the-radar escapes, alternatives to popular hotspots, and interesting places around the world you may have been overlooking for too long. And in this episode of Unpacked by Afar, four editors share how they chose those places, where they're most excited to visit, and how to make a positive impact when you travel. This episode will help you plan an epic travel year—and feel good while doing it.

Overtourism No More

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What travelers need to know about the changing travel landscape in 2025.
• How Afar editors are combating overtourism and promoting travel as a force for good.
• The places our editors can’t wait to visit, including the beaches of Denmark’s Riviera, a scenic road trip along Maine’s coast, dark-sky sites on New Zealand's Aotea Great Barrier Island, a remote, wildlife-packed part of Patagonia where few people have ever set foot, and more.

Where Should I Go Next?

Don’t miss these moments:

[01:57] What makes this “Where to Go” list different from the rest.

[07:48] The destinations these travel experts can’t wait to visit.

[15:08] How to get off the tourist trails and make a positive impact on a place.

[19:17] What you need to know about travel in 2025.

Our Editors Guide You to the Places That Want Tourists

Each Afar editor brings unique expertise to this roundtable discussion. Sarika Bansal has lived on five continents and is the editorial director of Afar magazine, as well as the editor of the book, Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel. Billie Cohen, Afar’s executive editor, spent more than three years as a digital nomad and has a soft spot for nerd travel. Tim Chester focuses on destination inspiration and sustainable travel as deputy editor. And when it comes to info and breaking news about the air, cruise, and consumer travel spaces, deputy editor Michelle Baran is our go-to travel expert.

In this episode, they take us behind the scenes of this year’s Where To Go list, share what excites them as travelers, and reveal how their work inspires readers to go out into the world and use travel as a force for good.

Resources

Read the transcript of this episode.

Explore the Where To Go in 2025 list.

Still want to go to a popular tourist destination? Here’s how to get off the tourist trail.

How to get your Real ID, and keep up with updates on traveling to Europe and the UK.

Follow Afar on Instagram, to see these destinations come to life in a new way.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.