Undiscovered Southeast Asia: 9 places to get off the tourist trail

If picturesque cycling, coastal walks and simple seaside pleasures float your boat, make the Isle of Wight your first port of call. Home to Queen Victoria’s summer retreat, Osborne House, the island has 20 beaches and a series of unspoilt coves. A network of cycle and walking trails covers 17 miles of coastline and countryside. Famous for the Cowes sailing regatta in July and August, the 147-square-mile island also offers every water sport going, from kayak surfing and windsurfing to paddle-boarding and parasailing.

St Lucia is a volcanic island and one of the more mountainous in the Caribbean. At only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, the island is small enough to get from one end to the other in less than two hours. 

Got a nut allergy? Fine, don’t eat the nuts.

A solar eclipse is a rare event—not just on Earth, where a total eclipse only occurs in the same location once every century or so, but also in the whole universe. Thanks to the relative size and distances of both the sun and the moon, the fact that we can experience an eclipse at all is a cosmically improbable coincidence. So, if you’re feeling bad for missing a chance to watch 2017’s solar eclipse that spanned across the U.S., I’m here to validate your FOMO.

Review and booking website Tripadvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) is out with its annual list of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. It’s dominated by iconic attractions, some of which you’re guaranteed to wait in a two-hour line for unless you can purchase skip-the-line passes. It’s also worth noting that almost every attraction on the list is in Europe.

The Spanish island of Mallorca is reeling from a video that appears to show a tourist defecating on a sleeping man in Playa de Palma, according to local news outlets.

Goa, India is a great place to visit for those who like to experience something unique and exciting. With its mix of beautiful beaches, lush green hills, stunning waterfalls and centuries-old Portuguese architecture, Goa offers an incredible mix of natural beauty and culture. These Airbnbs put you close to the best of Goa.

Charleston, South Carolina, may be known for its harborfront promenade lined with candy-colored, antebellum-style, million-dollar mansions. Or for its she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and other delicacies on the menus of the city’s famed restaurants.  

Ghost stories are fun. Though folk tales and flatout fabrications abound, the best of them prompt us to ponder the lives of those who inhabited the world before us.

Modern Bangkok, historical Hanoi and tourism-boom town Siem Reap — home to the world-famous Angkor Wat temples — are some of Southeast Asia's best drawcards, and see thousands of visitors every year.

With eternal summer, thousands of kilometres of beaches and affordable prices, Southeast Asia is the perfect destination if you're planning a trip around nightlife.

Ticked off New York City’s big sights and wondering where to go next? From sinking a pint in Brooklyn's Red Hook to sampling Italian delicacies in The Bronx, Stephen Keeling picks the city’s off-the-beaten track highlights.