Five Overtourism Alternative Destinations Around World
Venice, Paris, Amsterdam, some US National Parks, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and even the West Coast of Scotland are suffering from over tourism at times.
The choice to visit or not to visit such popular destinations around the globe. This is a decision that we all have to start thinking about making now.
Many of these tourism hot-spots are feeling the pressure. Should that be from vehicles and people swamping them at times. Therefore, are there any overtourism alternatives?
Well I have come up with a few ideas of my own. Alternatives from the list above. And I think they are well worth thinking about?
1.Venice and Paris
For these two destinations my overtourism alternative would be the elegant city of Vienna in Austria.
Its full of interesting architecture, art and culture, the Danube river provides a chance to explore around it too. You can get your fix of opera and music in the city similar to what Venice could offer with far less people rubbing your shoulders in the streets, canals and squares.
Schonbrunn Palace, the former imperial 1,400-room Rococo summer residence, Vienna, Austria.
The Vienna woods and districts surrounding the city where the vineyards abound and its wines that are produced there. Art galleries and leading museums and the shopping streets of Kartner Strasse and Graben areas abound with designer high end outlets.
Europe Can Be Too Popular As Well
Their very drinkable Gruner Veltiner’s is found in many places. Even a continent away in South Carolina in the US.
The giant ferris wheel Prater, Vienna.
Transport around Vienna is so easy with its underground, trams and buses all working together to make it simple for tourists to travel. And get to all the major sites easily and with Austrian efficiency.
2. Amsterdam
My choice as an alternative would be to head slightly north up to the Baltic. With a chance to try the delightful and small city of Tallinn the capital of Estonia. The other Countries in the region of Latvia and Lithuania are also feasible options with their capital’s. However, all being quite small these too could join the list but do go sooner, rather than later.
Tallinn where English is widely spoken so like Amsterdam you can certainly leave your phrase book at home.
One of the medieval gates of Tallinn, Estonia.
Summer or winter the city has plenty to see and experience. This medieval walled city which may have great age but it is also at the cutting edge when it comes to technology and communications. It has a young arty vibe with an improving food culture.
Skype was developed there. Computing and programming and other high-tech companies are all over the country.
A perfect overtourism alternative the towers, walls and churches of Tallinn Estonia.
With many interesting historical buildings and museums to visit. It even has a KBG museum which was created when the Soviet Union left the country after the singing revolution gave its people their freedom in 1990.
A Baltic Option
The airport is close to the city with direct tram access. It’s an easy walk around city with its Old Town Hall, orthodox cathedrals, the city walls and towers to explore. As well as an excellent maritime museum. Complete with a full size submarine to clamber in.
3.USA National Parks
Although huge, many of the national parks in the US are having large numbers of tourists heading and tending concentrate in certain areas around them.
Be that the Grand Canyon or parks like Yosemite that have issues. Certainly with what are mainly day visitors who need and want easy access roads, parking and toilets. For example huge lines of people wanting to view Old Faithfull geyser in Yellowstone. However, it is not a solitary experience even at the quiet times.
The steam paddle boats at Lake George Adirondacks part of New York State an ideal overtourism alternative.
Although on a different coast from these parks what about the Adirondacks . In Up State New York?
I came across this wild area some years ago and have likened it to the English Lake district. But on drugs.
The Adirondacks is part of New York State.
Larger mountains, bigger lakes and rivers plus many more of them too. With importantly just a fraction of the traffic around it compared with its English equivalent.
Exploring the area on foot, bike or canoe. Steam powered paddle steamers on the lakes. Former British and American forts to check out. Waterfalls and forested walks are what the Adirondacks are about. Simple classic wild woods and mountains. Add in some historical train journeys and all of this is within relatively easy distance of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
4.West Coast Scotland
Many tourists have the desire to head immediately to Scotland’s west coast often leaving the East coast totally alone. However, in my opinion the east has loads to see and do as well.
Head For The Highlands But On The Eastern Side
Any visit to Scotland and its almost compulsory to visit a whisky distillery. And along the Spey Valley near Elgin there is a perfect location for their whisky trail. Numerous distilleries are to be found hugging the snaking river.
Alladale Wilderness Resort in the Scottish Highlands a perfect overtourism alternative.
Inverness can offer boat trips spotting dolphins that hunt for fish where the fresh water from the rivers meet the sea.
The wilderness of places like Alladale Reserve that offer top class accommodation and the chance to explore the highlands. This reserve is a place that the owner wants to fully restore the 23,000 acres of countryside to how it was. They even breed Scottish Wildcats there. In those days before farming, hunting and fishing estates took over much of the place.
Casks of aged whisky at the Tomantin distillery near to Inverness.
Delightful fishing villages and sandy beaches along both coasts of the Moray Firth to check out. Perhaps take an additional 60mile trip further north to the very top of the country and you can find yourself at John O’Groats.
5. Cambodia Angkor Wat
I had a memorable time visiting Cambodia and the temple complex’s at Angkor Wat. But even though that was a few years ago huge numbers of people were there at those choice times of sunset and sunrise.
Myanmar Rather Than Cambodia
That has got even worse from recent accounts but what could be an alternative in the Far East?
Over 2,000 temples in and around Bagan, Myanmar.
My choice would be Bagan in central Myanmar a stunning complex of 2,200 temples in an area of around 30 square miles.
This is the country’s equivalent of Angkor Wat the 9th to 13th century. Temples are spread out over the landscape and when viewed from a high point on a temple or from soaring hot air balloon then it is a spectacular sight indeed.
A perfect overtourism alternative the Temples in many styles at Bagan, Myanmar.
Access by air from the capital Yangon and also by rail using an overnight sleeper train. Another option by cruise boats on the Arrawaddy River as it skirts around part of the complex.
Overtourism Alternative Who’s Problem ?
In the England a row recently erupted where a local tourism chief made a comment about several resorts in Cornwall being in effect full. So much so that they would stop be publicising them outside the county.
Several newspapers and other medias took it that the whole county of Cornwall, a very popular UK holiday destination was full, which was not the case!
Malcolm Bell, from Visit Cornwall, said: “Nobody wants to see this sort of mass tourism in the area affecting the tourist experience and clogging up the roads”.
Even Places Like Cornwall have Problems
Where I live at Portland, UK we have regular visits from cruise ships sometimes bringing in several thousand visitors at once. However, here they get distributed on various coaches over a wide area of Southern England and they are not just all descending into one tiny town.
This is not the case in places like Venice and Dubrovnik. I have seen it in the Caribbean too. Giant floating apartment blocks disgorging thousands of tourists swamping the towns for 6 or 8 hours. Then only to disappear until the next ship arrives the following day. Often it’s not just one cruise ship but multiple numbers of them visiting at the same time.
Giant cruise ship which seems to dwarf St George’s harbour and town in Grenada.
Dubrovnik has now had to limit the ships to just two per day and a maximum of 5,000 passengers in all. Giant cruise ships up to 6 at a time moored adjacent to Venice are flooding the city with tens of thousands of tourists almost at one go. And that cannot be a good experience for the city dwellers or the visitors from the ships either?
The question has to be asked whom is at fault? Is it tourism destinations themselves?
Or indeed us travellers for just being lazy and not using our imaginations in terms of the holiday choices we are making.
To me it looks like we all now have a responsibility to steer clear of these places. Then actively search out alternatives to these now numerous and an expanding list of overtourism destinations around the world.
