My biggest surprises where Plovdiv, Bulgaria (which is the oldest inhabited city in Europe, and here you can find ancient roman ruins) and Sibiu, Romania (a romantic city with lovely central European architecture)
My biggest travel surprise was Spain. I really didn't think much of the country; however, I was blown away by how beautiful the culture was and how relaxing the people were. It became one of my favorite European countries.
Got a cheap flight from HNL to Barcelona and popped over to Portugal! Amazing country! City of Lisbon, castles in Sintra, beaches of Nazare, Basillica in Fatima, port wine in Porto and so much more!
Dari Mae I’m so glad you loved Portugal! And it looks like you saw so much more than just Lisboa, that’s so cool!! People usually stick to Lisbon or Porto. Come visit us more often!
I definitely plan to revisit Portugal once day! I have to visit the Algarve, the Azores and my grandmother’s family immigrated from Madeira so I must go back to Lisbon!!
Super agree on 789 art district, I went there for the DJI shop and was in hurry and I was leaving Beijing that day, wish I had more time there to observe the art... Have been to Antalya as well but was just a hitchhiking rest city, will check it out next time I'm in Turkey... Other videos we'd like to see: let's do a collaboration 🙄😛
Turkey in general was a big surprise for me. I was traveling for a year and I'd been relaxing in Barcelona for a couple weeks. I decided I wanted to go to Greece so I started looking at cheap flights. The cheapest option was to Istanbul. I figured I'd bus over to Athens and travel along the way. When I got to my hostel in Istanbul, I started talking with the owners and looking at the brochures and saw so many beautiful pictures from around the country. I then decided to spend a couple weeks traveling around Turkey before heading to Greece. I was so glad I did. I've been to 70 something countries and Turkey is definitely a highlight!
Totally agree agree about Asturias. When you consider what a big destination that Spain is for tourists, then it's really surprising to see that such a fantastic part of Spain is left almost untouched.
@@heynadine, disability doesn't allow a lot; however, I do try to save about 20% of my income. After the medical stuff is taken care of, I might be able to find a niche and get some travel in.
1, How Beautiful and fun Melbourne Australia is. 2. That as much as i love Nature it doesn't impress me much when i just have to look at it vs experiencing it. For example we travelled 3 hours to see the 12 apostles in Australia, it was beautiful and all but i had waaay more fun doing the Yara valley chocolate and wine tour. 3. That i had way more fun in cambodia vs Bangkok. 4. How Magical times square (new york) was. 5. How nice San Diego is. I guess when you don't have expectations for a place it just blows your mind.
I can relate to Valparaiso, and I have been there twice. However, I have to say my biggest surprise, was Bucharest (Romania). I felt in love with the city! And my most recent surprise, is Montevideo (Uruguay). The architecture of the city is marvellous!
Ibiza was my biggest travel surprise. I went during off season in April and was blown away by how peaceful, historic, and magical it is. Totally not like the party island it’s portrayed. Vlog in my channel to see for yourself 🎥
I agree! Went there to check out the parties but i had one day to discover the other parts of the island, i even went to the mountain and there's a town on it. it was amazing and sooo charming!
Austria probably because Austria lives in the shadow of Switzerland and Germany but it's so beautiful it has so many amazing opportunities Vienna is a beautiful place
I have never heard of those mountains in Spain, but they are breathtaking! Wow, it's definitely going on my bucket list. And I'm pretty sure every area of New Zealand is beautiful!
Biggest travel surprise hands down is Udine, Italy. The mountains in the little town I was staying (Amaro) were breathtaking and the family that was hosting me during my 2 weeks there actually lived on top of a mountain. They took me to these beautiful rivers that had mountains surrounding us and the water was so blue and so fresh. Biggest surprise for me definitely.
Mine was in Italy. I was traveling with my father at that time and we got caught in one of the great European black outs. We were on a train on our way back up to Rome after seeing some of the east coast of Sicily. The train died about 1/2 mile shy of Salerno. We lugged our bags to this area that was post WWII reconstruction and not much to see. We found a place to stay the night and went to find a place to eat. We both still speak about the best meal we ever had at a place called Pinnochios, believe it or not. They cooked with gas. Then we explored. This place was magnificent. The people there were so friendly (knowing our plight). We got to explore archeological sites up close, one inside of this little church that was sooooo old and had so much history going back before the Romans. It was featured in a big magazine right at that time so they were so proud of it. I would love to go back one day to see it again. We were there for a day and half and booked a bus to head back north. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to stop there. I learned never to judge a town by the railroad station or surrounding area.
I was really surprised by Italy on my travels. Everyone always pumps it up and I kinda always took it as untrue or movie goggles. After going, then accidentally booking place in a small town, it was just amazing and highlight of the whole trip.
I highly recommend Bilbao & Basque Country if you want to come back to Northern Spain! I've traveled all over Europe and North America and it is my favorite place! It's on the other side of the Picos de Europa from Asturias and the city of Bilbao is breathtaking!
Having done the Camino De Santiago pilgrimage in Spain I know first hand about hiking in that beautiful country. Nice to see your perspectives on the rest.
Beijing and Mexico City are mine, everyone just chalked them up to be big cities that are so dirty and busy but they both have SO MUCH BEAUTY!! Ancient structures, culture, landscapes, food, they’re amazing.
Really enjoyed this video nadine :) my biggest travel surprise to date was Albania , particularly the alps in the north of the country !!! I had zero expectations for the country and went due to some recommendations from other travellers in a hostel and my oh my !!! Absolutely stunning ! Genuinely felt like I could be in Switzerland but on a massive budget! Outside of the mountains you have crystal clear waters and medieval villages, plus a ton of history ! Highly recommend if you haven’t been yet , in fact the whole region of the Balkans is amazing, cannot wait to go back and explore more!
Those places look really awesome especially Antalya! Turkey is one country I would love to visit someday! One of my big travel surprises I had happened last year when I did a road trip from where I live in Michigan to Ontario and Quebec when I visited Ottawa. I knew Ottawa would be a very interesting city to visit, but I was so amazed with how beautiful it was and all the great scenery along both the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. Although your recent Ottawa video was done in the wintertime, it brought back great memories from last year!
Gran Canary was my biggest surprise, wasn't expecting much because of the reputation as this super touristy charter holiday destination but found out that it's actually SPECTACULAR when you rent a car and drive inland to the beautiful mountain villages (not many tourists there at all)! The views are so amazing and there's a lot to see even though the island isn't that big! One of my favorites was also a natural rock pool in the Northern part of the island, we were the only tourists there and it was a stunning place! Also totally agree about North Island, there's incredibly beautiful places and every time you go somewhere you see such beauty just on the side of the roads! Driving on the 90 mile beach, sand dune sliding, mountain biking and glowworm caves were just some of my favorites there :)
Not so much a surprise to anyone these days, but 10 years ago when I arrived in Ljubljana in Slovenia I loved it because I had no preconceived ideas. Also Lucca in Italy, an absolute gem of a town and such a nice change of pace from Florence -and the Aeolian Islands off Sicily
My biggest travel surprise was Austria. Well its quite a famous country to visit but its not talked about as much as Switzerland and other countries. The mountains in Austria are so diverse and beautiful and the lakes are out of the world stunning. And Vienna is one of my favourite cities. I love Austria
My biggest travel surprise was Pula, in Croatia. There was a medieval festival going on, a pretty big intact Roman amfitheatre, a medieval fort with a great view over the city with all the houses with orange roofs. Just a really cool overall vibe with some great things to go see! 😊
NYC was my big surprise. I had no ambition to visit the big apple, I only went because it was my moms dream (how could i say no to that). Damn, I now understand why so many people love that city. I wish we could have stayed longer, 8 days was not enough.
Rome: I knew about a few historic places but I didn’t know that it would be landmark after landmark; WAY too many to even just take a look at Petra: WAY bigger than I expected and soo cool how it’s all a historic pathway Jerash: again, bigger than I expected and filled with interesting parts that I didn’t know about (ex there was a pillar that was constantly moving and another pillar that makes music) Bath: definitely worth it going to visit bath; you should stop there if you’re ever in the UK Fujairah: I live in the UAE and it’s very deserty so to find a place in the UAE that’s mountainous was very different
My biggest travel suprised was visiting Tallinn in Estonia. Booked a flight with literally no knowledge of the country or city. Blown away by the old town! City had a lovely mix of modernism & history
Iceland just takes your breath away😍Also Albania was really different and interesting👌Singapore, even though being really small is really beautiful and lush🌸
You know that Greeks made everything in Antalya right? The reason why ruins are in a much better condition is because Antalya was never a cultural center so no one really cared about building anything over it
@@sannefolgerts4716 Aspendos is part Greek, part Roman. And when we say Greek, we are not talking about moderne day Greece, but the plethora of city states around the Mediterranean that we call ancient Greece today. But Ancient Greece actually consisted of dozens of independant city states and was not a country as such.
What? this is one the funniest comments i've ever seen. So many ancient cities in Antalya were cultural centers. Everything is not in great condition, some are. Like Aspendos as she shows in the video. Also everything is not made by Greeks. Romanians built things too. Get your facts straight, people...
Interesting video! My biggest travel surprise was definitely Slovakia as a whole - I went there mostly because I was visiting a friend, and before going to Europe I didn’t even know about the Tatra mountains - turns out, they are absolutely stunning (I only made it to Štrbské pleso). Košice was also one of my favorite cities, not that touristy and full of great sights. (Plus, you could eat 500g of bryndzove halusky for literally five euros)
Nadine, you did it for me! I couldn't decide where to go on my trip this fall, but after seeing your review of Antayla, Turkey is on the top of the list! Valparaiso looks amazing as well.
I was surprised by Antalya too, so much to see! Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda was another place that way exceeded my expectations, it was so peaceful and beautiful. Also Syros in Greece and Lijiang in China. All of these places were a necessary stop to get from a to b and I hadn't expected anything from them but they turned out to be incredible. Lastly Petra in Jordan. I always knew I'd love it but I was just expecting to see the treasury and a few more small caves etc... I was so surprised by the scale of the place and the amount of time you could spend exploring all of it, I had so much fun there!
I freaking love your videos, I've been watching them for years and I would love to do what you do one day ! it would be super helpful if you made a '' how i film my travel videos'' video, just to help those who are interested in this career! keep doing you xx
Omg SOO jealous of Tongariro in your video! Just did the hike a couple weeks ago and there was about 2500 people! Clearly the word has gotten out about how amazing it is 😂
Spain is by far my favourite destination and I've seen most of the regions but not all. Northern Spain looks SURPRISINGLY stunning. I have not been to this part so that is on my list. Off to South Africa next. Will watch your video on your trip!
I went on a 2 week trip to Greece and Italy when I was 17 and only knew that we were going to the main attractions and then were cutting through Greece from Athens to take a ferry to Italy later on. Along the way to the other coast however was a complete mystery to me. I guess I didn't really pay attention to the pamphlet but I did not expect to go to Delphi and Meteora which I was very fascinated to see as a surprise. Our tour guide even gave us a surprise stop and we were at a small Greek village that seemed just like any small town European village in the mountains. I mean literally there were no tourists there except us with a big fat tourist bus waiting in the middle of the village (lol) and to have the freedom to walk around anywhere there with green mountain views with a small park on the campus of a cute little church with a St.George picture was bettter than I could have asked for. If my friends were there and had more time there, I would have had no problem playing tag there.
Hey!! Could you do a video about what to pack for everyday bag to have on you when you're in a new place exploring about (with hacks and tips) ? Please and Thank you 😁 Cause I'm a newbie and was just wondering what to have on my person everyday though out or what I shouldn't have
This is going to sound strange, but Stonehenge! I had read a lot about it before going and the consensus seemed to be love it or hate it. I 100% didn't want to go and thought it was going to be a big touristy waste of time, but my husband wanted to see it. I was so pleasantly surprised by how amazing it was that it ended up being one of my favorite parts of visiting England!
For me it was New York! I’m not keen on big cities, and I can’t stand the likes of London or Rome, so I thought NYC would be kind of the same. However, when we got there I realized I was SO WRONG. It didn’t feel overcrowded, people were actually really nice and we found so many interesting places to visit, eat and relax. After two days there I could imagine myself living there.
Visit ChongQing, China. It’s a very popular spot for Chinese tourists just not well known yet for the foreigners. Just don’t go in summer, it’s too hot
I lived in Croatia for years and everyone recomands the south coast. Went for a long week end trip to the region of Istria and loved the architecture, the food and how Italian influence merged with the Croatian one. It's not like I never heard about the region but was really nicely surprised. Also went to Gand in Belgium and it's super cute. Closed to Bruxelles than Bruges if I'm not mistaken. Love travelling through your videos ! Cheers from Paris :)
Nadineeee, there’re lots of mountains in Spain! Hahaha, I understand that you may have just expected beaches and the Plain, but... even in the south, there are proper mountains :D
Ostia Antica was a surprise. Much like Pompeii, but with zero people. Another surprise was Kiev. Wonderful people, highly affordable and some of the best food we have eaten anywhere.
NADINE YOU ARE MY INSPIRITATION... and with every new video i love you more and more... i love to watch all your videos and travel with you... watcginh you made me wanna make my own channel... i would be greatfull if you take a look and give me some advice - I just started but you are my rolemodel so your opnion will mean alot :)
@@lindaabdulgalimova8232 Yes... i have watched all her videos from very beginning... thats my dream to travel as she does ... but while I cant... at least i can travel in my toughts with her
@@lindaabdulgalimova8232 thats what I am trying to do... I mean i started my own channel to kinda well at least start to move in that direction... i hope after few years I will be able make a good quality content as Nadine does
