Intrepid’s Not Hot List is all about the lesser-known spots that deserve more attention. From under-explored places in popular destinations to entire countries few travellers ever venture to, it’s the list that should be on your travel radar for 2026.
Did you know 80 per cent of travellers visit just 10 per cent of the world? A lot of the time, it’s for good reason – those few places are incredible! But they’re not the only incredible parts of the world, and, in fact, this overconcentration of tourism in so few destinations has taken its toll – on the travel experience, the people who call these places home and the environment.
So it’s time for travellers to explore the lesser-known corners of the world and for more local communities to reap the benefits of tourism. Getting deliberate and mindful about not just how we travel but where and why we travel can make for better experiences for you and the places you visit. Here’s why:
Travel hits harder when you really connect
We’re more connected online than ever before, but somehow still less connected to the people around us. Going to places like the highlands of Mexico, where indigenous mountain culture leads tourism efforts, or hiking through Romania, staying in rural communities along the way, connects you with local people in a way you won’t get in big cities.
Intrepid’s general manager of experiences Erica Kritikides says, ‘Pushing further – from a geographical standpoint or from a cultural standpoint – just really helps you broaden your view about what it means to live in the world and realise that really, we’re all just the same, no matter where we live.’
It feels good to give back
Spreading those tourism dollars more widely means you’re contributing to communities that actually need it. Where you spend your time and money has real power (and a ripple effect).
On Tiwai Island in Sierra Leone, a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can explore one of the last pockets of ancient rainforest in West Africa and spend the night at a wildlife sanctuary research centre. All revenue from tourism on the island is reinvested in the island’s eight communities.
For 30 years, the Pueblos Mancomunados in Mexico’s Sierra Norte de Oaxaca have been building an indigenous cooperative tourism project that unites eight Zapotec communities, maintains hiking trails through the heavily forested mountain terrain and runs eco-lodges for through-hikers. Profits are shared equally among the communities and travellers get an authentic peek into Zapotecan mountain life.
It’s a calmer way to travel
It’s no secret that avoiding crowds tends to make everything except crowdsurfing better. Giving yourself the space and time to get away from it all can make for a way better adventure than herding yourself through packed streets in peak season.
The island of Vis in Croatia is one such spot. Close enough to cities like Split and Dubrovnik so you can get a taste of city life but then ferry off to a quiet island without an airport or cruise ships. Two nights on Vis have just been added to Intrepid’s Explore Croatia trip, giving travellers a bit more time to enjoy the island’s slower pace of life.
Kyrgyzstan has just opened up a thousand more kilometres of trails in the southwestern Tien Shan Mountain Range – even more opportunity to really get away from it all. On the new Kyrgyzstan: Trekking the Tien Shan Trails trip, you can spend 10 days following nomad trails and sleeping in yurts with the support of a full trekking crew.
It fuels your curiosity
Going places your friends haven’t been yet isn’t just for bragging rights, it’s really about taking the opportunity to let your curiosity (and not your buddy’s photos) guide you. Going somewhere a little unexpected not only feeds that little travel bug that set you off on your first adventure way back when, it gives you the chance to really learn, see, taste, smell some totally new-to-you things.
El Salvador’s Ruta de las Flores is well inland from the country’s bustling surf beaches on the Pacific coast but packs nature, culture and connection into a 36-kilometre scenic drive between five villages. This up-and-coming region of the country’s western highlands is known for its coffee, waterfalls, street art, markets and breath of fresh mountain air.
Meanwhile, eastern Turkey is quietly hoarding way more than its fair share of history, culture and food. Within about 48 hours on Intrepid’s new Eastern Turkey Explorer, you can visit nearly 12,000-year-old megaliths at Gobekli Tepe (Stonehenge, by comparison is a sprightly four to five thousand years old), spend the night in a guesthouse run by a women’s cooperative, head out for some traditional dancing and music in Sanliurfa and fill your gills on a street food crawl in Gaziantep, Turkey’s undisputed culinary capital and a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Learn more about Intrepid’s top picks for the lesser-known places that should be on your radar for 2026 in our Not Hot List.
