These 9 destination dupes feel like the real deal

Have you ever visited a bucket-list destination—the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Yellowstone National Park—only to find that a million other travelers had the same idea on the same day? Overtourism is real, and while it shouldn’t keep you from seeing some of the world’s classic landmarks, it’s what inspired the new National Geographic book Here Not There: 100 Unexpected Travel Destinations, out April 2, 2024. The book provides alternatives for dozens of popular destinations—but with some of the same history, culture, or natural wonder, and without the high costs and crowds. Here are nine picks.

Dupe for Napa Valley: Western Cape, South Africa

Near Cape Town, South African viticultural regions such as Stellenbosch and the Swartland are, like California’s Napa Valley, warmed by a Mediterranean climate and awash with rows of vines. Amid dramatic mountains and rolling hills, visitors find wineries pouring shiraz, chenin blanc, and pinot noir. In Franschhoek, open-air Wine Trams offer hop-on, hop-off transport between tasting rooms. Or decamp and decant at Babylonstoren, a working farm with a vineyard, ornamental gardens, and plush guest suites.

(Why this little known California wine region might be the next Napa.)

Dupe for Iceland: Western Colorado 

In Colorado, the 800-mile Historic Hot Springs Loop in the Rocky Mountains leads to the sort of volcanic landscapes and hot springs you might find in Iceland (home to social media darling the Blue Lagoon). Indigenous Ute and Arapaho peoples have long bathed in Colorado’s mineral pools for their reputed restorative powers. Contemporary wellness seekers can take the steamy plunge at spa hotels such as Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort and Pagosa Hot Springs or natural spots including Nathan’s Hippy Dip Hot Spring.

Dupe for Angkor Wat: Borobudur, Indonesia

Pre-COVID pandemic, the monumental ruins of Cambodia’s 12th-century Angkor Wat temples received more than six million tourists a year. But you can visit the lesser known remains of another vanished civilization at Borobudur Temple, on Indonesia’s island of Java. Built in the eighth century as a Buddhist sacred site, it consists of a great, three-tiered stupa (constructed with two million stones) surrounded by 72 smaller, bell-shaped shrines. The best time to visit? At sunrise or sunset, when the stones glow orange and pink against the surrounding mountains.

Dupe for Scandinavia: Tasmania

The northern lights of Scandinavian countries draw the crowds, but for a glimpse of the subtler southern lights (aurora australis), go to Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state. Come in the winter (June-August) for the best chance of spotting the luminous phenomenon amid the island’s diverse ecosystems, from temperate rainforests to snowy mountain ranges. Head to a national park like Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair or Tasman National Park, where dark skies promote aurora and star gazing.

(Why the northern lights are showing up in unexpected places.)

Dupe for the Grand Canyon: Letchworth State Park, New York

The forested shale and sandstone cliffs of western New York’s Letchworth State Park tower as high as 600 feet above the banks of the Genesee River, giving the area the nickname “Grand Canyon of the East.” The gorge draws about a million visitors a year to the narrow 14,350-acre park. (The Grand Canyon saw 4.5 million tourists in 2023.) Letchworth has 50 waterfalls and 66 miles of hiking paths, including the popular seven-mile Gorge Trail and a one-mile Autism Nature Trail, the first of its kind in the U.S. Overnight at the Glen Iris Inn, with guestrooms in a 19th-century mansion, or at one of the 81 campsites scattered around the park.

Dupe for Maine: Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick

Grand Manan is a New Brunswick island in the Bay of Fundy that boasts lighthouses, quaint towns, and lobster rolls—without neighboring Maine’s summer crowds. Reachable by a 90-minute ferry ride from Blacks Harbor, Grand Manan has a cultural heritage that includes the Passamaquoddy people, 1800s French traders, and British loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. Today the serene island is popular for coastal hikes, kayaking, and spotting whales, dolphins, and 360 bird species, including puffins, loons, and warblers.

(See Canada’s top natural wonders, from icebergs to the world’s highest tides.)

Dupe for the Taj Mahal: Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad, India

In the Indian state of Agra, up to eight million people a year visit the Taj Mahal, the grand 1631 marble mausoleum Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned for his beloved wife, who died young. About a six-hour drive south, the Bibi Ka Maqbara is another domed marble tomb, built three decades later by Jahan’s son, who was also widowed early. Nicknamed “the poor man’s Taj” due to its smaller size and humbler building materials (stone and plaster), the Bibi still impresses with its charbagh (Mughal garden representing paradise), reflective pools, and enclosed mosque.

Dupe for Croatia: Montenegro

Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast is world famous for its pretty coastline and historic architecture. It’s also famous for summer hordes, which is why savvy Europeans end up in Montenegro next door. The small country’s Adriatic coastline is dotted with picturesque medieval towns and beach resorts. Particularly charming villages include Budva and Kotor, with their orange-tiled roofs, twisting streets, and ages-old churches.

Dupe for Lake Como: Lake Atitlán, Guatemala

Lacking Lake Como’s celebrity prices, but with a similarly memorable mountain-and-water setting, Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán sits in an enormous volcanic caldera formed 84,000 years ago. It’s fringed by small Mayan-speaking towns and dominated by the escarpments of three volcanoes (one still active). Travelers climb trails to the volcanic peaks, kayak, or explore lakeside villages by water taxi. Top stops include hippie-cool San Marcos, for yoga studios and probiotic eateries, or Santa Catarina Palopó, for colorful murals based on the designs of traditional huipil blouses woven by local women.