Skip the Instagram Hotspots—These 8 Alt European Destinations Are Where You’ll Find the In-the-Know Crowd
10 min readI’ll have what they’re not having. At least, that’s the mindset driving the summer travel plans of a certain in-the-know set. Let’s face it: Everyone wants to have a Euro summer, but no one wants to deal with the crowds, tourist traps, and expenses that come with vacationing in the usual well-trafficked spots, especially during peak season. The alternatives? You can opt to travel in the shoulder seasons of April to May or September to October to get a much calmer experience. But if, like most of us, you’re itching for a true summer getaway and have the coastlines of the Mediterranean on your mind, you’ll want to go a little further off the beaten path to one of several on-the-rise destinations across Spain, Italy, France, or Greece.
As a travel-obsessed editor, I study the fashion-person lifestyle like it’s my job (well, it basically is), so I’m low-key an expert on where they’re going, staying, and discussing right now and let me tell you, it’s not to any of the famous spot in the Amalfi Coast, French Riviera, or Balearic Islands that you’d expect. Instead, they’re turning to under-the-radar destinations that offer the same coastal charm but at a much more relaxed pace. “We’ve seen an increase in the desire from travelers to take the path less taken,” Henley Vazquez, co-founder of the travel agency Fora, shares. “For example, for those who are interested in popular spots like Spain, Italy, or Greece on our 2025 Hot List, we recommend Sardinia, Folegandros, and Formentera. You’re still getting Spain, Italy, Greece vibes, but more laid-back and with smaller crowds.”
While perennially popular spots like Capri, Santorini, and Ibiza are getting even more crowded and expensive as travel continues to explode, the savvier move is to uncover destinations that deliver the same experience without all the hassle. “Rather than sticking to well-worn bucket lists, travelers are finding new inspiration in documentaries, books, beloved films, and recommendations from friends and family,” global luxury travel network Virtuoso shared in its 2025 report. Up ahead, we’re diving into eight of these alt destinations—including everything you need to know about where to stay and what to expect.
There’s one destination in Italy that’s heating up this summer, and no, it’s not along the Amalfi Coast or in Puglia or Sicily. The island of Sardinia, whose mesmerizingly turquoise water makes the beaches unlike any other, is shaping up to be the backdrop to many fashion-insider vacations. “Sardinia’s profile really picked up last summer, when we saw an almost 6% increase in the number of dollars (ahem, euros) spent by Fora travelers on bookings,” shared Vazquez. “But 2025 is already putting 2024 in the backseat. We’ve already seen a 60% increase in bookings YOY, and it’s not even June.”
What sets Sardinia apart is that it’s still relatively undiscovered. Without many major cities and development, the island has remained quite wild, which gives it a much more laid-back feel than its neighboring Sicily. The one exception is the Costa Smeralda on the north side of the island, where the yachting set drops anchor in July and August, especially the glamorous town of Porto Cervo.
“The White Lotus brought travelers to Sicily in droves, but for those seeking the country’s best beaches, it’s time to board a flight to a different island. Sardinia’s trending hard for delivering the white sand and turquoise water you might associate with the Caribbean, but with excellent culinary options, serious mountain trekking, and an increasing number of luxury stays popping up as they take over older hotels,” she explained. This summer, you’ll find her there checking out 7Pines and Romazzino, or sneaking away for mountain time at Su Gologne.
Where to skip: Sicily can wait. Skip the throngs of tourists and head to Sardinia’s calmer shores.
Where to stay: Romazzino, a Belmond Hotel; Hotel Pitrizza; Forte Village Resort
Go for: Breathtaking beaches, rigorous hiking, and a touch of Capri-esque glamour along the Emerald Coast.
Barcelona’s popularity has never been a secret. The bustling city has many draws, but in the face of its over-tourism issues and battles against short-term rentals, it’s a good time to highlight Costa Brava, the collection of beach towns like Cadaqués and Begur scattered just outside the bustling city center that offer a quieter and much more local experience. Take a train from the city or rent a car to fully explore each town on your own—this is the kind of place that nudges you to unplug and go at your own pace. Think days spent sunning in one of the rocky cove beaches, wandering the local markets, and stopping in at little Spanish bistros for pan con jamón y tomate in the glistening sun. Costa Brava is also known for its wine production, so if you fancy yourself a budding somm, you’ll want to sip, swirl, and savor its unique local variations (and maybe even leave room in your suitcase to bring home a few bottles, too).
Where to skip: Barcelona is currently facing an over-tourism crisis—beeline to the smaller towns that dot the Costa Brava just outside the city instead.
Where to stay: Book an Airbnb for a local experience, or try a wellness retreat at Zel Costa Brava, which is currently on our wish list.
Go for: Winding roads, cliffside views, and quiet coves.
As anyone who’s visited knows, there’s just a certain energy that permeates the air in Greece, and it’s intoxicating and addicting, pulling many visitors back summer after summer. The country as a whole will always be a hotspot this time of year (Fora reported a whopping 171% increase in bookings from last summer to this summer), but with hundreds of islands to choose from, it can be daunting to know where to even begin. If you’re looking to get off the beaten path of islands like Santorini, Ios, or Mykonos, I have a strong feeling that Folegandros is what you’re looking for
“It’s a small Greek island with an untamed beauty difficult to find on more well-visited islands,” Vazquez remarks. “The main town, Chora, sits perched on a cliff, with white-washed buildings and bougainvillea-lined pathways, and you can spend your days following the island’s network of ancient paths to empty beaches, hilltop vistas, and family-run tavernas. Travelers looking for incredible landscapes, walking paths, and Greek culture (without the crowds)—this is the island for you.”
Where to skip: Santorini and its endless crowds—all vying for the same Instagram shot of the white domes—will always be there. For a Greek town with similarly white-washed architecture that you’ll have all to yourself, Folegandros is the way to go.
Where to stay: Gundari; Anemi Folegandros
Go for: Near-empty beaches, hilltop vistas, and family-run tavernas.
In the dead of summer, Parisians escape the heat of the city and flock south en masse. The French Riviera may be the obvious choice, but where you’ll find a much higher ratio of locals to tourists isn’t along the Mediterranean but instead on the Atlantic Coast, specifically Biarritz. The resort town was once the summer destination of choice for royals like British monarchs Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, and it happens to be the birthplace of surfing in Europe, a culture that’s very much alive and well today. It sits in the heart of the Basque Country, just across the border from San Sebastian. It’s also the region where Anthony Bourdain once wrote about the fresh oysters and provincial cuisine that would go on to shape his culinary career.
Where to skip: The French Riviera may be the obvious choice, but skip the Mediterranean altogether and head instead to Biarritz—the much more laid-back and quintessentially French alternative to the crowded Côte d’Azur.
Where to stay: Villa Magnan; Regina Experimental Biarritz; Hôtel du Palais
Go for: Fresh seafood, epic surfing, and traditional Basque culture.
Travel roughly 50 miles north of mainland Sicily, and you’ll land on a cluster of islands in a corner of the Tyrrhenian Sea where the crowds of camera-happy tourists of Taormina and Palermo thin out dramatically, and in their place lies the very picture of Italian coastal bliss—the Aeolian Islands. The archipelago of seven volcanic islands sits just off the northeast coast of mainland Sicily but somehow feels worlds away. The bigger islands that serve as a gateway to the archipelago are more straightforward to get to, but go the extra mile to transfer to the slightly more remote Filicudi and you’ll be well-rewarded.
With Mars-like landscapes and Photoshop-blue water, the main draw is their unfettered access to nature. This is where you go to swim all day, eat the freshest seafood of your life, and gain a deeper understanding of dolce far niente, or “the sweetness of doing nothing.” Stay at La Sirena, a charming boutique hotel that’s run by Italian gallerist Sergio Casoli. It features a restaurant and five rooms that boast panoramic views of Mount Etna and mainland Sicily, or Casa G, a stylish four-bedroom villa run by an Italian photographer.
Where to skip: Taormina can wait. Filicudi is one of the last undiscovered parts of Sicily that Italians like to keep all to themselves.
Where to stay: La Sirena; Casa G
Go for: All the highlights of a Sicilian vacation—family run businesses, glimmering blue water, and the freshest cannoli you’ll ever taste—with a distinctly off-grid feel.
The island of Formentera is so tiny it’s almost a blip on the map that you might just gloss over if you’re not looking for it. As the smallest of Spain’s Balearic islands and the least visited, being largely overlooked is kind of its appeal. Due to its size alone, it will never get as many travelers as its larger sister islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, but Vazquez says that her team at Fora has already seen rapid growth for it this summer compared to last, both in terms of the number of bookings and average trip value. “More people are going, and they’re spending more on hotels while they’re there,” she notes.
Although Ibiza’s party reputation hardly paints the full picture of the island, Vazquez admits that it has only gotten more and more of a scene over the past few years, which is why she adores Formentera, either as an alternative or as a place to split a trip. “Formentera is all about the sand and sea, a bikeable, beachy spot where you may never wear shoes, never get more dressed up than a bikini and a cover-up, and where the evenings are quiet as day trippers depart. It’s great to see the influx of new chic boutique hotels that have opened, and don’t forget to make a lunch reservation at Juan y Andrea—a classic.”
Where to skip: Formentera possesses the same bohemian spirit as Ibiza, but without the huge nightlife scene that gives the latter its party island reputation.
Where to stay: Teranka Formentera; Dunas de Formentera
Go for: Barefoot luxury, do-nothing itineraries, and blissful beaches.
Pantelleria may technically be part of Italy, but it’s situated 60 miles southwest of Sicily and just 30 from Tunisia, making it geographically more similar to North Africa than to Europe, and considering it was conquered several times over by the Romans and Arabs, it has a unique blend of Italian and North African culture that endures to this day. Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, the remake of the 1970 French film La Piscine, takes place in a sun-bleached villa on the island. The raw and rugged volcanic landscape of the island turns out to be the ideal backdrop to the drama starring Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson. Speaking of the film’s villa, it was one of the island’s traditional domed structures, called dammusi, that are marked by white domed roofs, thick stone-covered walls, and large, airy, reed-covered outdoor spaces—many of which are now available to rent as modernized private stays.
Where to skip: Puglia’s crowded beaches can no longer qualify it as off-the-beaten path, so for the same small-town feel and Arabic-influenced architecture, outsmart the Instagram set and head to Pantelleria instead.
Where to stay: Parco dei Sesi; Tenuta Borgia; Club Levante
Go for: Rugged volcanic landscape, tranquil villas, and unique architecture.
Greece will always be on the list of places fashion people like to spend their time off. Milos and Hydra are most often mentioned, but right now, Patmos is where many in-the-know travelers are setting their sights. The island sits on the eastern side of the Aegean, closer to Turkey than to the mainland, and is nicknamed Greece’s “holy island” for being a major Christian pilgrimage site. In fact, many artists and creatives continue to be drawn to the island’s spirituality and rich history, like Rainbowwave and Mouki Mou Founder Maria Lemos and her husband, Gregoris Kambouroglou, who opened the three-bedroom guesthouse Pagostas in 2022, or Montréal native Will Sapp and his partner, Tess Gruenberg, whose farm-to-table restaurant and natural wine bar, Éla, was born from their admiration for the island.
Where to skip: Skip Milos and Hydra and find the authentic and undiscovered side of Greece on Patmos.
Where to stay: Pagostas
Go for: Blissful scenery and barefoot-friendly beaches.
