If you are thinking of a trip between nature, sport, fitness but you are afraid of being in the crowd, we are here 10 perfect destinations, because they are not crowded for a holiday in Europe.
Let’s say you are trying to book your flight (or travel), hotel and excursions but you are not sure which one you know is the right place to really relax.
10 uncrowded destinations in Europe for an outdoor holiday
Leaving for a holiday in the middle of summer often means to be found easily in beaches-carnaioqueuing up to buy a bottle of water, finding it difficult to take a picture on a mountain due to the excess of tourists.
So it makes sense to go in search of destinations that are still little traveled, where if you want you can even not meet a soul for a few kilometers, where feeling (almost) the first or one of the few.
Despite everything, Europe still has many areas to explore, wild and exciting, in which to rediscover the taste for adventure, the thrill of immersion in nature, sport in the middle of nowhere, true relaxation.
Here are 10 European destinations that respond to these characteristics, perhaps close to more crowded areas, to be taken into consideration for an original holiday without too many people around.
Here you will also find the section of Amazon travel guidesto read up on your destination.
1. Cies Islands – Spain
Here the crowd is really limited for three reasons: few know of their existence, few have any idea of how to reach them, and above all there is limited entry. They can enter a maximum of 2,000 people a day and no more than 800 staying overnight.
The Cies Islands are a piece of tropical paradise transplanted to Europe along the Atlantic coast of Spain.
We’ve been there and we’ve talked about it here: the sea is incredibly transparent, you can take beautiful walks from one side of the main island to the other, you can do diving and water sports.
They can be reached by taking a Ryanair flight to Vigo (rather cheap) and then the ferry (better to book it with Mar de Ons, children under 12 travel for free). in 40 minutes it lands you on the Ila do Faro.
Here is the campsite where you can pitch your tent or rent it (sleeping bag included). Then it’s all peace, nature, relaxation.
2. Rota Vicentina – Portugal
Before it becomes a mainstream destination, it is worth taking the Rota Vicentina, the most beautiful path in Portugal and one of the most exciting in Europe. We did and we talked about it here.
It unrolls in the Alentejo region, south of Lisbon and divides into two sections. There is the Camino Historico, 241 km winding inland, passable on foot or by bike, an immersion in the real Portugal, made up of countryside, villages, vineyards, some overlooking the coast and a warm and welcoming humanity.
There are 12 stages from Santiago dio Cacem to Cabo de Sao Vicente: without proceeding away from the crowds, sleeping in private houses, in boarding houses (pousadas) or turning to the network of white housesthe association of rural houses in the area that focuses heavily on walking tourism.
The other route is the Trilho dos Pescadores, an incredible 120 kilometers along the coast. You go from Porto Covo to Odeceixe among jagged cliffs, definitive panoramas, the roaring ocean and fishing villages that seem out of time.
The two paths they touch at various points, so you can vary landscapes and cultures.
The best way to do the Rota Vicentina is to land in Lisbon and reach the starting point by car or public transport (slower).
3. Balkan tour
You say Balkans and a little bit of everything comes to mind.
That’s it, as we told you on our bike trip between Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia. From Durres to Split, two naval landings, we pass through the Albanian countryside, the rivers of Bosnia, the Balkan valleys, wild Montenegro with the coast of Kotor.
It’s a journey back in time where you meet a few tourists, all enthusiastic and intending to keep the secret on these places that touch the eyes and the heart.
In those parts you can also follow the Via Dinarica, which leads from Slovenia to Kosovo.
4. Svanezia – Georgia
The adventure of Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece took place here, among these valleys of Georgia.
We are in the most beautiful and deepest Caucasus, where to go trekking through national parks rich in forests and almost unexplored villages under the peaks of Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe.
You walk (or cycle) between 3,000 and 5,000 metres, cared for by the very welcoming and proud local population, keeping Activity (in the photo), the city of spiers which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and recalls certain settings from the film The Lord of the Rings.
Getting there is easier than it might seem: you fly at acceptable prices (150 euros if you book in advance) to Kutaisi with Wizzair starting from Bergamo Orio al Serio.
Then we move to the center of the Svaneti National Park with a jeep
5. Donegal – Ireland
Leave Dublin, Galway and the Ring of Kerry alone.
Or rather, visit them, but then move on north of Ireland to the DonegaL. As far as possible, it is a frontier and adventure land, rarely traveled and wonderful. National Geographic ranked it first place in the list of the coolest places of 2017 but there is still room for a holiday away from the crowds.
The most comfortable flight is Ryanair Bergamo-Knock (also much cheaper than other Irish routes of the company). Then you can opt for trekking (keeping Donegal Town as a reference) or a rental car, the important thing is to travel the last part of the Wild Atlantic Way (2500 kilometers along the west coast) from Donegal Town to Dunfanaghy.
You will see granite cliffs, bird colonies, dazzling greenery, old lighthouses, seals, deserted islands, lively pubs (sometimes a little life doesn’t hurt). And the northern lights, that is irish aurora borealis, an increasingly frequent phenomenon in these parts (photo above).
6. Baltic Sea coast – Estonia
The most hi-tech country in Europe is also a paradise for the outdoors, trekking and cycling holidays that is still little known. Thanks to a surface come on limited height differences, Estonia is ideal for walking and cycling without too much effort. Woods and coast are wild and rejuvenating and there is a beautiful cycle route of 980 kilometers on the Baltic Sea, the Baltic Sea Route, (which is part of Eurovelo 10).
Estonia has only 1.3 million inhabitants, mainly concentrated in Tallinn (easy to reach with flights from Ryanair and various other companies). The rest is a kind of state-reserve where pristine forests dominate where you can see animals in the wild such as bears, wolves, lynxes. But also lakes and marshes equipped to do bog walkingbogs to explore on foot.
And 1500 islands where you can swim in the summer (it often reaches 30 degrees) but also windsurfing and diving.
Then you relax in the typical saunas of Vorumaa, so characteristic that they have been included in the Unesco Heritage.
7. Desert des Agriates – Corsica
If the beaches between Bastia and Calvi can be crowded in summer, give them a try to move 40 km inland and you will seem to be the last beings on Earth.
The Desert des Agriates is an uninhabited and wild region, with windswept rocky ridges, valleys of impenetrable Mediterranean scrub and white sandy beaches mostly deserted.
The Path of the coast, or of the Customs officers) extends into the space between the sea and the rocks starting from the Roya beach in Saint-Florent.
Who wants to go through it all in total must walk 35 kilometers (it took us 15 hours).
Not to be missed is the Saleccia beach, considered one of the most beautiful in the world, where you can also sleep in the campsite.
8. Lake Lucerne and Canton Grisons – Switzerland
Switzerland is full of corners to explore, cycle paths, MTB routes, trekking in the alpine valleys. Around Lucerne there is the Via Svizzera, one of the most beautiful trekking of the Old Continent: 140 paths around Lake Lucerne to go on walk or bike passing by fjords and inlets that will make you feel like an eighteenth-century explorer rather than a tourist a stone’s throw from Geneva and Milan.
It is an alternative choice that offers unthinkable surprises, such as looking at the city from the Morschach plateau, admiring the lake from Mount Rigi, climbing Mount Pilatus with the steepest cogwheel railway in the world (yes, you can find some people here).
Close to the Canton of Lucerne is the Canton of Grisons, a real playground for MTB.
7 thousand square kilometers and 17,000 km of trails dedicated to cycling, from downhill to more ‘normal’ cross country. With many bike hotels where to stay.
9. South Karelia – Finland
It’s not just Lapland with Rovaniemi, Santa Claus tourism and cross-country skiing.
Finland is a perfect summer playground for exploration and nature lovers. And the region of Karelia, relatively easy to reach (there is a direct flight from Italy to Lappeenranta) offers a lot.
We are in the lake region, where the days pass between trekking, fishing, sailing, walking in the woods to pick mushrooms (here all the rules you need to know) and berries of incomparable goodness.
The ideal is to rent a house between Lappeenranta and Mikkeli, moving with a rental car to reach valleys and lakes to be discovered on foot or by bike. It’s easy not to meet a living soul: if you miss it, in 3 hours you arrive in Helsinki, which in summer becomes hot, full of life and music and parties.
10. Camargue – France
Ok, places like Arles, Aigues Mortes and Saintes Marie de la Mer can become a pit in the summer, but the Camargue countryside it remains one of the havens of Europe with many tourist attractions close at hand but where it is also possible to get away from it all.
Horse riding, trekking, cycling, canoeing and river sports are the sporting activities par excellence of this area of the Rhône Delta.
But also visit the Parc Naturel Règional de Camargue, go birdwatching in the marshes and go on photographic hunts to discover the pastures where white horses and pink flamingos roam free (in the photo by Xtian DuGirard Pixabay).
A plus: the beaches of the Delta are so long and deep that even in the middle of August, walking a little, you can find a place to stay at a great distance from neighbors.
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