Exposing Travel Hype: Overrated vs. Underrated Destinations - Are They Worth The Hype? 

I think there is a close relationship between 'overrated' and 'over-touristed'. Rome is amazing, you could go back to Rome every year of your life and not see and experience everything that's there. However, there are a bazillion tourists there (for good reason) and hence you have all the related problems - more crime, more garbage, higher prices, less authentic experiences, etc, etc. Generally, these things are more true of larger population centers as opposed to smaller, more rural areas as well. Expectations, as stated, play a large role too. Just go and experience it all and gravitate to those things that make you happier. An expectation not met while traveling is way better than a great day at work in the grind! There's no cure like travel! 😁

Portugal is getting more expensive. Prices have skyrocketed in the past year. It’s no longer a budget destination.

The food in Mexico will exceed your highest expectations - SO GOOD - the people are so friendly and there is so much history AND beautiful scenery. You will have a great time!

I went to Paris for 3 days and felt it was highly overrated. Nothing wrong about providing your opinion, these are your experiences. Thanks for the great content.

Great podcast team. Thanks v much. Cheers

Brian n Carrie - thank you for the inputs and knowledge. happy travels to both of you.

I watched several RU-vidrs who moved to Portugal plus a couple I’d known from CA who real recently moved there. It’s the thing to do I’ve heard. You two provide such great information. Thank you!!

So excited to learn more about all your travels. Thank you for the post. Loving them.

Great video! Added some places to my future itineraries! Can't wait to see your videos on South America!

I’ve been to almost all of the places you mentioned. Your reviews are spot on. Not that I didn’t trust you before, but I will be trusting you more in the future! 😊

Another great video, love your honesty, thank you and safe travels

If u get off the beaten path and drive small town Ireland u will realize how underrated it is. The large cities are such a different experience from rural Ireland. Big time underrated!

First time commenter, long time fan! Love your honesty. Please keep keeping it real, by your opinion 😊 Love your new format with education and showing us the places you visit. I really enjoy your content!

Love you guys and am excited for every video! I just turned 30 and started my slow travel journey as I'm lucky enough to have had a remote job since the pandemic. Currently balancing hopping around and making sure I'm back in NY for things like my mom's birthday. Spent two months in Vienna and two months in Seoul so far, and am excited to spend another month in Vienna and a month in Warsaw this summer! Your videos make me excited to spend more time in so many other countries. ❤

I apreciate your honest opinion 👏😘 thanks for sharing such a good content and love your podcast, you put so much effort in your videos/podcast❤

Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts & opinions. These types of videos provide a great deal of value to people such as my wife & I who are always looking for the next non-typical place to visit. Happy to hear that you're visiting Mexico City this fall. I will bet my left arm that it will end up making your top-five list for places that you've ever experienced while slow travelling. I highly recommend that you consider staying in the La Condesa area...as that neighbourhood will check off all of the boxes that you have shared are important to the lifestyle that you both enjoy. Keep up the amazing content...your efforts are very much appreciated!

Thanks for all your advice and recommendations! You definitely made me look into Romania, and we took a two week trip there last year. We loved it! I agree with you about Italy. We flew to Rome for spring break with our two teenage daughters. We scooted right around the city and went straight to the small town of Tivoli. The small towns are better! We have still have not been to Rome and may never. Our friends think that’s crazy but we know what we like and that’s the small town vibe with friendly people and amazing sites not overrun by tourists. This video has moved Turkey and Vietnam up my list, and Malaysia down. I value your opinions. Keep on traveling I look forward to following you for many years to come!

Great video.I use your travel experiences for planning my next travels

Thank you for giving your opinions despite knowing they would be unpopular with some. As someone with limited time for international travel, your honesty is quite helpful. I randomly booked a trip through Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey for this summer knowing nothing about the region. I'm more excited than ever to go after hearing your comments!

Excellent overview, thanks so much!

Thank you for your honest videos. I really appreciate your straightforward and open commentaries as you share your experiences.

I love your videos. Thank you for the information. My husband and I have been traveling for about a year and we have Greece and Turkey on our list for the fall.

You're spot on with the underrated locations. I haven't been to Romania(hope to go this summer) but Portugal and Vietnam were awesome. Personally I love Malaysia and wanted to retire there but Covid ended that. But different strokes for different folks. On a side note congratulations on your 50K subscribers!

Watching your videos made me look at slow travel when I retire (instead of staying long term and getting a visa). You also made me looked at Romania to travel to. And after watching other vloggers, rewatching your videos and researching more on Romania, I will definitely add it to my of cities/towns I will visit.

Great insights and appreciate your honesty! Travel experiences are always personal and your overrated countries sharing is very helpful as they make us think about countries that we may go to, but have a more realistic expectation if we go there. The more I hear about Vietnam and Thailand, the more I want to go and being in Australia, its on our doorstep - so will visit there soon. Thanks for your great videos.

I personally like Italy. It is the history and museums. Since they are mostly indoor activities, we chose to go off season, November. It is cheaper and the line is much shorter. We are also from rainy Pacific Northwest so we don’t mind the rain. All popular European cities have the same over rated problem. Expensive and crowded in season.

Looking forward to your hearing about your experiences in Mexico this Fall. I’ve spent ten months over the last few years exploring the old colonial towns of central Mexico and found it much more rewarding than the coastal resort cities we always hear about. And near perfect, mild weather throughout the year. Hope you enjoy!

Great video! I actually loved Italy but I'm so excited to try some of your underated destinations! Can you please do a video on how to get started on selecting an itinerary for a trip? I'm so overwhelmed with picking things to see and selecting where to stay for my next destination which is Portugal. Thanks guys!

Loved this one, definitely have your underrated places high up on the list now - Romania, Turkey, and Vietnam are a priority. I will say that I don't think Portugal is under the radar anymore at all -- the word is out and it's quite busy in Lisbon/Porto. We rented such a cool apartment in Porto years ago and I definitely had some daydreams about staying :). Where would you put Krakow and Budapest -- properly rated?

We under-rated Malta and Albania, for sure. We had no idea we'd enjoy those places so much! Super excited to hear about your experiences in Mexico. We're thinking of adding that to The List for the end of 2025 and so we'll definitely be watching those videos.

Thank you for your opinions on your experiences.

Thank you for the honesty and for being so authentic. Cant wait to watch the Mexico videos. Hoping you go hit up Scandinavian countries in the future. More expensive but their values are so what the U.S. needs. Bragging is looked down upon, being showy, flaunting wealth, and so much more responsible of society. Enjoy your Mexico travels!

Great video (as always)! Any plans to see South America in the near future?

I really appreciate your opinions, thank you! And I completely understand how you reached them. Unfortunately I think quite a few places were AMAZING and are now overrated due to out of control tourism as well. Either way, always great to hear from experienced, recent travelers!

Thanks for the list….will think of some new ones you suggested

Love your honesty and content. I look foward each week to your video. I cant wait to start traveling in 2025.

Wow, y’all are really cranking out the videos. Interesting perspectives but revealing for the types of experiences that are important to you. I love Italy but some of the points you make are absolutely true. Just got back from Vietnam, you can have it. Because of your video on Antalya I’ve started researching Airbnb for October. Can’t figure out exactly on the map the location of the marina area you suggested. Any tips appreciated. Romania is on the radar. Another job well done.

Hi Brian and Carrie. I’m from Vancouver and thought your accents were from up here. Glad to see some RU-vidrs from my region and close to my age as well. Thanks for all the useful information and for inspiring me to travel more. -Evan

We used Sail Croatia two years ago for a private catamaran tour with our adult children - one of the best vacations ever! We are going back this year for a wine tour also with Sail Croatia.

Great info! We are going to Italy and Greece in September. We fly into Rome and to be honest I would be quite happy to just train straight down to Puglia where we will spend 2 weeks. But the pressure from everyone else …”oh you have to see this this and this in Rome”. Well researching “this this and this” in Rome is making me not want to go there even more! Easier to do skip the line tours they say…which cost a fortune…especially for us Aussies! But when you look at the horrendous lines if you don’t book one of these tours it makes my feet hurt before even standing in that line for hours lol. I think I am like you…prefer the smaller towns. At least when we go to Greece we are just doing a Greek Islands cruise and we can relax somewhat. I have seen those Croatia sail cruises….definitely on my list to do one day! Thanks again for your content!

Great podcast thanks to you both. We are planning a four month trip to Thailand and Vietnam (Da Nang) in June to September this year so we were pleased to see Vietnam featured in this podcast. We have watched your Thailand and Vietnam videos (some twice) and have found them very helpful. We are a similar age to you guys and have similar interests and/budget. We also love to walk everywhere and I love beer 😆so I can relate to that as well. We realise the time of year (wet season) isn’t perfect for Thailand and some of Vietnam however I see that Da Nang is ‘dry season’ due to the mountains so we are hopeful to get some nice weather there. Being the off season also has some cost benefits. We are from New Zealand so we are escaping our winter months. We usually go to Bali this time of year (dry season) but we wanted to try something different and Bali has gotten very busy and not as ‘affordable’ as it used to be. Cheers.

As an experienced solo traveler, I appreciate your sensible, broader approach, away from the better known, stereotypical locations. Your videos are helping me immensely to narrow down, and plan my itineraries. Many thanks, again!

My wife and I really loved Portugal (visited cities like Tavira and Vila Real because of ur recommendation) and found Spain as we expected. Definitely moving Italy down and moving Turkey and Croatia up. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

We agree about your opinion of Greece. We keep on going back to the Cyclades. We originally set an itinerary to explore Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Delphi and Meteora. Santorini was our first stop but we loved it so much that we made as our only stop. We explored and hiked beautiful places during the day, eat delicious food and drink beautiful wine in the evening, and join the busy, touristy areas during our non-hiking days…such a beautiful place.

Thank you for your time and posting. Boy, I'm sure glad you said Vietnam. ;) Have you ever had Russian River Beer from Santa Rosa CA? Named the best in the world multiple times. :)

Teresa and I completely agree on Portugal (we are there now) - loved the Algarve and Lisbon and can’t wait to return. Türkiye is on the list based on your recommendations! Although I get your comments on Italy, Rome has a special place in our hearts - no hate here! Can’t thank you enough for your views. We really depend on them to help set our future itinerary.

Great video. Its funny what you say about Spanish people not being friendly. My mom went to Spain for the first time recently and had a similar experience. She loved the place, but the people were not friendly. And she is a huge fan of Spanish TV and Spanish shows, so that surprised me. Brian, it is MAlaga (stress on the first A) :) I know you aren't there yet, but you can start practicing early LOL

Loved the video as always. Heard that Turkey costs are increasing. For attractions, minimum wage, taxis. Did you notice it this year.

I agree with you both regarding Italy, especially the known tourist destinations. Whilst we spent an incredible 12 weeks driving the loop north to the south. The off the beaten paths in Italy we enjoyed the most and the most authentic. Two things that were near impossible to find in Italy... public toilets and picnic tables 😂

As a romanian I just cant thank you enough for the good impression you make about the country...and watching your vlogs are a joy : simply realistic and enjoyable ! Salutari from Black Sea Costs of Romania - Constanta

Good to hear that Spain is clean. Wait till you get to Japan. We were blow away at how clean Tokyo is. We definitely want to go back to Japan.

Great insights! I hope you get to central Mexico like Morelia, Puebla, or even better San Miguel de Allende!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts😉. Cheers 🍻

Great comments, guys. I'm glad that you just put it out there as your opinions of places which is fine with me as we're all different. Thumbs up! As for the your minus places: Malaysia and Italy. Malaysia: I've been there many times since 2001 due to going to the S.E. Asia region almost annually since late 1990s. I'm fine in Malaysia for a certain amount of time. I tend to be more of a Penang person than a KL person and always fly down to Penang after having spent at least three weeks in my beloved Bangkok. I've also been in areas south of KL. As for Penang, I find Penang relaxing. I seriously considered the MM2H visa back in 2014/2015, but to strategically position myself in the region and be able to go to Thailand and other places more easily. The long-term visa situation in Thailand has always been a mess. But, with MM2H, I would have been granted 10 years to come and go and then I could have continued spending time and working some months here at home, but also would have been able to leave home and easily be in the region for months. Italy: It's a big country with a lot of regions and a lot depends on where one is as far as one's experience. I've been going there since a young traveler in the 1970s and basically enjoy certain parts. I was last there in 2017. I've been from the north to as far down as Napoli. I've found it easier to travel there as I've gotten older as opposed to when I was a young female solo traveler as I travel the world solo. Your plus-rated destinations: Vietnam: I still haven't been. I have had it on the list for decades, but somehow end up in other places in the region. When in the region, I go to my 2-3 go-to places and then try to add one extra country destination to check it out for a few days. My rule of thumb is to only do 3-4 nights in a new place in case I don't like the place. If I like it, I can extend the stay or go back the following year. Instead of Vietnam on one trip, I ended up back in Indonesia. I've been both on Bali, not my favorite, but glad I went back in the late 1990s, and Jakarta (which I really liked) around 2018, I think it was. Hopefully, I'll get back to Jakarta. And everyone that I personally know didn't like Jakarta. But, I was fine with it. Turkey: I agree with you. I also loved it and need to spend more time there. Romania: I have put it on my list due to your reports on it. Thanks. Croatia: It's been on my list for years as my now unfortunately late best male friend had been going there regularly for 2 decades and loved it. He was living in Italy permanently after early retirement in his mid-50s and he and wife would vacation in Croatia. But, he had also vacationed in Croatia solo before he got married 20 years prior to his passing a few years ago. Spain: I definitely want to spend more time there. I was only in Seville which I loved. I think that was around summer 2016 or maybe 2017. Thailand: My heart has been there since the late 1990s and that's where I spend most of my overseas time. Portugal: I still haven't made it there although I spent whole summers in Europe for a couple decades. But, it's so far away from the country where I spent/spend whole summers, partial, summers, and 2-3 weeks in summer that I never made it down to Portugal. But, in the 1980s, my now late best male friend and I and two of our best ex-pat friends from here, who have now lived in Europe for over 50 years, had a sit down to discuss buying a house there. He and I even went to the Portuguese consulate in the country where we were and were shown on a huge map areas where to buy. Now, I can kick myself for not having bought back then as a house and even a restorable villa and land cost about what a luxury car cost here. I had a lot of friends from here who were going to Portugal in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The bottom line is to try a variety of places and various regions in the same country. Everyone I knew loved Bali, but I didn't. And they didn't like Jakarta at all, but I went anyway and really liked it. Just be adventurous! Greetings from Los Angeles

Italy, perhaps visit Capri island but stay in Anacapri. Much less tourist and lots to do. There's also an airbnb host who's able to pick you up and drop you off right in front of the ferry/dock. Positano, have good walking shoes and expect to take 1k + step per day. No car needed. Lots to do. Amalfi, no car needed. To stay away from crowds, consider Pontone. In between Amalfi and Ravena. You're able to walk to both locations from Pontone. Lots of walking, public transportation very good. No car needed. Cinque Terre, fast train service between all 5 villages. Lots of walking. Train ride to Portofino to the north. Porto Venere to the south. Many town in between, quick train ride. No car needed, great public transportation. Lake Como. Stay in Vernazza, less crowded. Short ferry ride to all major villages on Lake Como. Boat rent is very affordable. 8 hours will feel like 3 hours. No car needed. Lots of walking. Close to Switzerland. Take the Bernina Express for a great experience. Stay in Pontresina. Explore the area. Lastly, Venice. What's not to like (other than crowds). Take taxi from airport. Expensive but what the heck, why not. Get away from St. Marks Square when the rush comes in. Explore surrounding areas. Return early evening for dinner. Late evening, you'll have the places basically to yourself. Try to go early summer for better weather. Springtime can be very cloudy. Lots of other places but those will be a good start. Once again. Good shoe such as Hoka, Altra, Topo, On Cloud, ect... Your gonna get miles in, at least 10+ on average day.

Travel is very personal. Your education background, your lifestyle, your taste, your travel experiences, your sense of arts , Are you culture traveller or nature lovers etc . Just like shopping clothings, everyone has the uniqueness. 😅😊 As your guys mentioned multiple times, this is YOUR OWN OPINIONS. I like that.❤ Vietnam is POULAR in the states for a long time. Not just the tourism media didn't promoted TOO MUCH . In Asia , Chinese ,Koreans, Japanese etc all of southeast Asian states are their backyards. 😂 So as audience ,we don't have to take yours unique opinions as our choices. We shuold have always find our own uniqueness. But you yuys experiences just add a little bit of seasongs in our travels. Thanks for your humble podcasts ! 🎉🎉🎉

Not yet been to Romania but totally agree with all of the other places on your under rated list. Vietnam in particular is one of our very favourite places and we have been there many times. Also agree on Italy. Have been there and enjoyed it several times but would much rather go back to Turkey. Malaysia is on our list for next year but after hearing your views we just might shorten our planned stay, so thanks for the insight.

Very interesting discussion. I pretty much agree with your views. We are looking forward to your Mexico trips. This year we did 2 trips to Mexico and 1 trip to Portugal. We loved Mexico, but the 'tourist pricing' in the resort areas will move us to central mexico next year. The 'strip' in Tulum will make you shake your head. Its more like the vegas strip than Vegas :) . The new train should be interesting, give it a whirl!

Spot on assessment of all the places you highlighted. Just back from Florence (meh). Malaysia, especially Penang was so disappointing. Not been to Vietnam so Mexico would be our No1 destination. Got to say, we love some of your city pronunciations. Keep up the good work guys.

I’m glad you mentioned Vietnam. I spent eight days solo-traveling there in late November 2023. HCMC, Hoi An, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi and others places have quite the infrastructure to handle tourists. It was very easy to travel. I’m going to spend 3-4 days in Romania in July 2024 (along with other nearby countries). Lastly, Mexico will be awesome. CDMX is my fav city and Puebla, Oaxaca and others are all great. The food is amazing everywhere. Happy travels!

You might consider San Miguel de Allende. It definitely exceeded our expectations. We are returning in February for our third visit. Thank you for another excellent video!

Awesome video. I've been to all of these countries and I couldn't agree more. I would add a couple of places to the underrated list: Bulgaria, Cambodia, Albania, Slovenia, and Indonesia.

How interesting. I actually was a bit let down by Portugal - I had super, super high expectations it didn't quite live up to - except Madiera, which I adored any day there wasn't a cruise ship in Funchal. Italy is my favorite country (out of 47 and counting..) I also didn't love Viet Nam - it pretty much just feels like China to me, and China was more interesting, and I was really excited to go to Ha Long Bay, but it was crowded and there was lots of trash floating. Loved Laos, however. That said - love your videos, hoping to go to Romania soon. (I love Turkey, too, have been waiting for years to go back but was a little scared off by the governmental changes since the last time I was there - but your experiences have put it back on my list.) But we don't stay super long in one town (2 weeks is pretty much the max) which might make a big difference in our favorites. (My overrated would be Greece. But I was in high tourist areas, like Athens in Mykonos.)

We have traveled a lot in Mexico and love real Mexican food! What is amazing is how different the food is in each region. Yum! I hope you can make it to the Yucatan (Mérida) someday for cochinita pibil and panuchos and their different specialties. Funny thing, but your KL video really made me want to go stay a month there. We actually don't mind there being nothing to do other than eat and drink and walk around in a perfect climate! We love finding an underrated location and have loved Thailand, Vietnam, Albania, Croatia, Spain, Istanbul and Romania as well as Italy. We'd go back to any of those locations. I think budget is a big part of that, when a place is so affordable. Too expensive is a big turnoff to budget travelers. There are a few destinations on my list that I really, really want to visit and they will probably be a bit disappointing: France, Germany and Switzerland, where there are some places we'll just dash through - like you did in Vienna, and others where we will look for smaller villages. Unfortunately, costs of living are rising everywhere.

Oh no ~ we're going back to Italy this summer (but only to Puglia) ha ha. Also, Vietnam is on our list! Can't wait for your videos in Greece. Enjoy!

I could sit and read maps all day, and I could watch you guys talk about places you've visited all day. When you were talking about meeting expectations, I was curious what you thought of Santorini, and there you go, answered that right there. If you ever have a long layover at DFW, I'd be happy to buy you some Mexican food. We do that pretty well around here. Tacos and burritos, even some more authentic fare and all the guac you can eat. 😀

I think the ratings are a good start, probably more valuable for the "underrated". Other comments make the good point that "overrated" largely depends on whether you are stuck in the heavily touristed areas. Rick Steves' video on Venice says to get away from St. Marks Square, go out into the neighborhoods, and the tourists drop off, it is surprisingly quiet. That's an example. The costing out of different places is helpful, but I think you should also work on developing an "adaptabilty rating" to places. Let's face it, we are Americans, and while we want to be flexible and fit in with the locals, there is a limit to that and that varies by country. For example, the Algarve vs Romania, which could you actually live in long term, if you were not doing slow travel? Many of us are looking for alternatives to the U.S.. Vietnam was cheap, the people friendly etc, but could you live there permanently? So I think an "adaptability rating" would also be helpful, something to consider. Great discussions for sure.

Hi guys, great video, thanks for your insight :). Quick one. Are you planning a thorough travel experience through central and south America anytime soon? I heard you mentioned Mexico, but often RU-vidrs go to Mexico then off to somewhere else like Europe or south east Asia. Cheers from the UK :)

One very underrated destination I have been to is Guatemala - Lake Atitlan area is absolutely stunning (Santorini levels without the massive crowds) and I highly suggest you put it on your list. I also enjoyed the ancient ruins of Tikal in eastern Guatemala which are the best preserved Mayan ruins located in the middle of the jungle. Overall Guatemala isn't on anyone's radar but it is a stunningly beautiful country. BTW, i'll be in Vietnam for the first time in Spring 2025, it's been on my list forever :)

Hope people take your advice about Italy. The smaller towns are lovely but the popular ones were quite suffocating and we were pleased to move on. We stayed up near the university in Venice which was much quieter and nights walks over the bridges were beautiful and very peaceful.

Go to La Paz...its on the sea of Cortez...beautiful. great for a few days

I spent some time in Albania last year and loved it. I’m off to Romania in May and know I will love it. Over the last 12 years I have done all the touristy places in Europe plus Australia and New Zealand and now find I go where it is less popular. Loved Turkey so I am of the same mind as you. May hit Vietnam next year. Cheers from a subscriber in Nova Scotia Canada!

I was meant to go to Porto about 3 years ago but got covid. After watching your video I'm definitely putting it back on my list of places to go!

I think the key thing here is to try and have no expectations, but that's just not easy sometimes. Years ago i bought a cheap run down car in Ireland and travelled there, the UK and Europe. I visited 3 major cities to see the famous sights, I waited in lines and shuffled behind the crowds looking at the back of peoples heads just to get glimpses of the attractions. I wasn't getting the experience or feeling any connection that i had hoped for, it was hard work and tiring. It was when i decided to stope going to cities and major attractions and instead drove to smaller towns, villages and the countryside that i truely felt like i was having a genuine cultural experience. There are so many things to do and see if you just dare to taking the road less travelled. I begin my "free life" next year (55yrs old) and I'm excited to start my solo slow travels. I don't know if ill buy a car this time, but it will be interesting and an adventure to see how i manage to get out to the less travelled and unknown places, and maybe visit a major city during winter. Your channel is great! It will definitely come in handy in helping me with my travels. ❤Zeljka

Great to hear about Spain..up next.

I live in Prague so Italy is close but I love Portugal more. We also love Spain so I agree that if you are from the States you really don't have a ton of information about Turkey or the Balkans. Nice review 🎉

Great video thanks. We’re in New Zealand and have been lucky to visit many Asian countries. Vietnam is probably our favourite, with Laos a close second. We’re heading off for a three month trip in July. Pleased to hear that our choices of Romania and turkey are probably good ones. We’re also really looking forward to Sri Lanka.

I agree with most of your thoughts and totally agree about the best way to see Italy is to visit the off the beaten track and stay in smaller cities. I think the key to enjoying Italy is to go in late Oct or early November We have been to Portugal, much of Eastern Europe and pretty much everywhere in Vietnam and agree these are amazing holiday destination but Italy is pretty amazing too. We have been 3 times and while it's by no means our favourite country I think it's worth the hard work to see the historic sites and small communities but you do need to plan it well in advance to save money. It's not a great place to wing it. We have a few weeks in Bolonga later this year and I am looking forward to seeing how it stacks up as a longer stay destination. As for Malaysia, its definately not for everyone, but I have visited 7 times and covered most of the country and if anyone is looking for places to see Ipoh and the Cameron Highlands are fabulous, Malaka and Perhentian Islands are also favourite. Unlike you guys we love Penang and have considered an extended stay there. Visiting Albania and planning to spend more time in Turkey based on your experiences! Thanks for sharing.

Can you post an overall rating list of countries you've been to so far along with maybe some quick comment on why they landed at a certain rank on your list? Interested in Montenegro for instance. Looking for overall ranking across your global list for places not just individual video reviews.

Your comments are your accurate opinion - don’t apologize. Personally I love Italy but I understand what you’re saying - we like to spend far more time in smaller, lesser known parts of Italy. Yes, Rome, Venice and Florence are wonderful places and everyone who can go there should (off season if at all possible), but it’s crowded and expensive for good reason. We were also underwhelmed by Malaysia, haven’t been to Vietnam and are about to go to Romania.

Good topic. Quite often we just hear about those "instgram" moments but find reality can be a bit different. 😉 As you travel through Mexico you should try these incredible and traditional foods. *Tacos al pastor ( must be carved off those round roasting thingamabobs. With a slice of pineapple. ) add salsas, cilantro, chopped raw onions and pico de gallo, to taste and spicy-ness. If brave ask for chopped habeneros and onions. *Pozole verde de pollo (a red version and can be made with chicken or pork.) Don't recommend getting the Texmex or Northern Mexico version made with cole instead of lettuce There's a stacking of lettuce, cilantro, onions, oregano, crushed red pepper seeds, and round toastados. Like a harty soup *Chiles en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish from Puebla where poblano chiles are stuffed with ground pork and pomegranates a little pineapple served with a walnut sauce. Normally around the fall and holiday season is when one can find it. * Tacos al vapor, also known as tacos de canasta or tacos sudados, are a popular Mexican street food made by steaming tortillas in baskets and serving them with sauce. The name refers to the basket the tacos sit in after steaming, not the filling. The tacos are typically made with fillings like beans, pork rinds, potato, or marinade, and then coated in oil or butter One of the best street foods around. You will see women walking or standing around with what looks like big picnic baskets down to the red and white checkered cloth covering them. For a burn 🔥 your mouth tongue and soul experience try Torta Ahogada (or drowned sandwich) is a savory sandwich made famous in the Mexican State of Jalisco. Filled with pork carnitas, pickled red onions, and refried beans then smothered in a spicy sauce made from chiles de arbol. Looking forward to seeing where you go in Mexico. If you like limes you can squeeze it over everything. Do a shot of lime juice and a spoon of honey to start the day right.😊👍🌞💪

Romania definitely on my list. My best friend here in Sicily is from there. Turkey I’ve always heard was great. Porto is def worth the trip, though got mild food poisoning from cabbage soup. I haven’t been elsewhere in Portugal.The crowds are abhorrent in Italy, otherwise I personally think it’s the overall prettiest and food by a loooong shot. It is dirty. The trains are better than most might think. Not always on time, but very comfortable and clean. Slovenia… next week, so I’ll let you know. Btw… I now have dual citizenship, and live in Sicily, near Palermo…. A place you particularly don’t like. Yes, it’s even dirtier than mainland Italy. However the food is sooo much better than mainland Italy.😊you guys are still OK!😊

I really love underrated spots, and I know there is crowded places with a lot of history but there's so much more to see in other places, I have heard Italy not being clean in areas that would turn me off , I like friendly ,affordable beautiful, clean safe spots to go I appreciate your opinions

Despite the following reaction, I love most of your videos and appreciate what you share. I am glad that you qualified it by emphasising that these are your opinions that, while subjective in nature, are personal to you and perfectly legitimate. Nevertheless, I have to most assuredly differ with you on Italy. After four visits there, I can only look back at the wonderful and varied experiences I have had encompassing its history, cuisine, and people, as well as the great surprises I encountered along my journeys that make for indelible and great memories.

You nailed Spain and Thailand. Fantastic places to visit.

So sorry to hear your Italy experience was underwhelming, but I'm a little biased. I made many port calls there with the Navy, and lived there for two years with the Navy, as well. ANNNND, I'm doing two weeks there with my art-nerd great niece in June. And thanks for the warning about Malaysia, but it's never been on my list anyway, so ... Are in Crete yet?

We visited Ho Chi Minh City because we had been to Thailand and Cambodia and said oh what the heck. We definitely want to go back to Da Nag, Hoi An maybe Hanoi. We were really surprised. Wished we had had more time to explore. Since I've seen yalls videos, I can't wait now.

It's always interesting to get other people's perspective about their travels. No need to apologize for offending anyone. You simply respectfully offered your opinions based on your own needs and expectations. BTW... We spent a year traveling through Mexico. If you need any recommendations for food or anything else, don't hesitate to ask

Next time you are in Croatia go to Korcula, nice Island, no big cruise ships. I also loved Türkiye, Istanbul was fascinating.

Very nice video, really interesting. I would recommend you to go to the North of Spain. This side of Spain it's very much ignored by international tourist. Go to Asturias, Galicia, Santander, the bask region. There are mountains and a beautiful coast line. June to September is the best time to visit.

Brian now you need to do the same list based on the beer in each country 🍻

Agree with almost everything in this video. Only disagree with Portugal, but I believe our expectations were too high so no surprise we were disappointed. We didn’t visit Algarve either- only Porto and Lisbon. Looking forward to visiting Romania someday!

Your comments are spot on for some over rated countries. We have found that many of the high rated tourist places have become undesirable to visit due to the fact that there are so many people and the areas have lost their lustre. Smaller towns in Italy are far nicer to explore. We always spend several months (4-5) in the shoulder seasons travelling about Europe and Asia and that makes it easier to see things. We drive everywhere when in Europe but haven't attempted driving in Asia. Keep up the great videos and travel safely:)

another great video, not sure that Turkey fits into the underrated category or off the beaten path, many sites rank it as the 4th most visited country on the globe. As an Eastern Canadian definitely a little underrated possibly from a North American perspective. Definitelyagree with Vietnam we loved it there and need to return soon.

I think it’s probably a mistake that everyone goes to Italy in the summer, especially July and August. And a lot of people are just checking boxes when deciding on vacation spots. I can completely imagine how Rome feels disappointing, despite its once-in-a-lifetime historic and cultural sites, which are key for me in any location (or even a home city). I spent a month in Madrid and found it very livable-loved it!

Also agree with you about Malaysia which totally surprised me. We spent 4 months there back in 2001 and a month in 2012 and loved it so were looking at the MM2H. But just went to Penang for a couple of weeks and really did not click at all. Too many changes or something. Loving Vietnam and before that Thailand much more. I hope you do like central Mexico. We did a long term rent for a year in San Miguel and enjoyed it:) No burritos. Tacos though.

I wish I could play the song "Is that all there is?" To accompany this comment. I'm stuck in my Puglia AirBNB for the rest of the month. The cities are rather dingy, the people look joyless. In mid April and wear my jacket inside 24 hours a day... brrrr... Sorry to say this. But compared to the other destinations that lost out to Puglia, I am reminded of the saying, "Twice the Price for half as nice." Oh, and Florence!!! As an aside...Graffiti Everywhere. Probably among the Top 5 Overtouristed destinations on Earth. Just my opinion. Thanks. Like many, disappointed what has become of Italy.

I understand what you are saying. My dad told me that Morocco was the most interesting country he had been to, so I went 2 years ago and was not impressed at all. I also loved seeing Egypt and the antiquities but the city of Cairo was shocking and not my cup of tea. That is the beauty of adventures, we find great places no one knows about and some of the hot spots are not for everyone. Andorra was a wonderful surprise for me and a relief from the heat of summer in Spain. FYI many Islamic countries around the world it is nearly impossible to find a beer. cheers!

Did you book a one-way plane ticket from the US when you started your long term continuous travel? Will immigration allow you to have a one-way tickets? Thank you.

Portugal is looking very expensive this year, so I am considering Türkiye instead .. Hope you are enjoying Greece , I have Greek Residency so will be back there soon .

Hey to both. You are entitled to your opinions, and you don't need to apologize for them. I agree with Portugal as a place that people need to go. It is affordable, it has great weather, food and beaches. Yes there is graffiti everywhere but there so much to like. I think that 2 months in a place allows you to provide negative commentary on it (re: Italy). You also rightfully point out in my opinion that having expectations too high can lead to disappointment. This is the same as movies or anything in life. Building up in your mind can lead to these situations. Your travels and videos have showed me that Turkey and Vietnam are places for me to add to my list. Romania too especially to get away from the Schengen Zone while still being in mainland Europe. I would return to Portugal. I would love to go to Spain and explore more. But travels await! I appreciate all that you do. Keep it up and enjoy Greece. Cheers