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Off the beaten path: How ‘detour destinations’ offer you a fresh take on classic trips

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Off the beaten path: How ‘detour destinations’ offer you a fresh take on classic trips

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  • “Detour destinations” are growing in popularity as travelers seek unique experiences near popular tourist spots.
  • These detours offer a chance to escape crowds, discover hidden gems, and engage with local culture.
  • From Reims, France to Canmore, Canada, detour destinations provide a diverse range of experiences within easy reach of major hubs.

Will Taylor thinks Santa Barbara is “the perfect antidote to Los Angeles.” 

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, the New York City-based content creator knew he wanted to tack on a few days to fit in a Kacey Musgraves concert. He weighed seeing her in the City of Angels, then decided to look a little outside of the city limits. 

“I know it’ll take me an hour to drive across town and it’ll be busy (with traffic),” he told USA TODAY. He noticed Musgraves was also performing in Santa Barbara, where he’s never been to. 

Less than two hours away by car, Santa Barbara felt like another world to Taylor. “It’s much more intimate, you walk or ride your bike almost everywhere, and it’s not that crowded,” he said. As a design blogger, walking around the neighborhoods to marvel at the beach city’s famous Spanish colonial architecture was particularly attractive. 

“Travel is restorative, but it can definitely be stressful and exhausting, especially when it’s a huge city and you have to plan a lot and factor in traffic,” he said. “It’s nice to have a few days in a quieter destination so you can relax.” 

Taylor’s experience is hardly unique. If the travel trend of 2024 was “dupe destinations,” places where visitors could catch similar vibes to popular tourist sites, according to Expedia, 2025 will be all about “detour destinations,” or places that are off the beaten path to help travelers get a variety of different experiences on the same trip. A detour doesn’t mean a traveler has to skip out on the main destination altogether, but it can open up opportunities to visit new places and unlock new experiences without having to stray too far from tourist hotspots.  

“Next year’s travelers aren’t just taking that dream vacation, they’re adding a trending side trip,” Melanie Fish, VP of Global Communications for Expedia Group told USA TODAY in an interview. “It’s a way to feel like you’re hitting that dream destination but you’re also doing something a little bit unexpected. A detour destination is not completely off the beaten path, it’s slightly to the side of the beaten path.” 

Why detour destinations are worth visiting 

For fellow traveler, Melissa Kruse, detour destinations offer an alternative for travelers tired of “seeing the same destinations over and over again” on social media. “Even if they haven’t been there, places have been saturated by seeing them on Instagram and TikTok,” she told USA TODAY. “It makes the experience a little bit less special, I suppose.” 

To kick off a month-long trip to Spain’s coast in October 2023, Kruse – who had been to Barcelona before – wanted somewhere with a more “local feel.” She chose Girona, a historic city with a thriving food scene and such well-preserved medieval architecture it was used as the backdrop in “Game of Thrones.” 

“It feels like a movie set,” she said. 

Kruse enjoyed wandering the city’s narrow cobblestone streets and how much more affordable it was compared to Barcelona. “For me personally, I prefer more of an authentic experience where you can go to more local hole-in-the-wall restaurants, wherein a lot of major tourist destinations those places are beginning to become harder and harder to find,” she said. 

Fish said going on a detour can be a great way to experience different aspects of a place. By getting out of the most popular tourist areas, travelers can use their detours to get a more authentic experience or try a new kind of adventure they might not have otherwise. 

“A detour destination can provide a completely different experience within reach of a traditional destination,” she said.  

Reims, France, is a detour destination that Fish said has seen a surge in search traffic on Expedia. 

“It’s about 45 minutes from Paris by train, so you can take a day trip, but once you get out there in Champagne country and you see how much there is to experience, there’s a gothic cathedral, there’s champagne houses, vineyard tours,” she said, a very different way to spend a day than a tourist would in the center of Paris. 

What are the most popular detour destinations? 

Here are the destinations Expedia said have received the most increased search attention in the last year: 

  • Reims, France (detour from Paris) 
  • Brescia, Italy (detour from Milan) 
  • Cozumel, Mexico (detour from Cancún) 
  • Santa Barbara, California (detour from Los Angeles) 
  • Waikato, New Zealand (detour from Auckland) 
  • Girona, Spain (detour from Barcelona) 
  • Fukuoka, Japan (detour from Tokyo) 
  • Abu Dhabi, UAE (detour from Dubai) 
  • Krabi, Thailand (detour from Phuket) 
  • Canmore, Alberta, Canada (detour from Calgary) 

Traveling alone?: I felt safe and sociable on this expedition, as a solo female traveler

How to plan a detour destination side trip 

Fish said there are plenty of ways to plan a detour, whether it’s finding and pursuing a special activity that interests you or consulting a travel guide. But, she said, you don’t need to feel beholden to pre-planned itineraries. 

For Taylor, a concert provided the perfect excuse to check out a detour destination that better “suits the way I like to travel.” 

“The trend is rooted in specific cities near very popular destinations,” Fish said. “Use it as inspiration. You don’t have to go on a detour that other travelers have already scoped out. Look at a map and design your own detour.” 

To Kruse, a little bit of research went a long way. She learned about Girona when looking up places around the Catalonian coastline of Costa Brava and was drawn to how accessible it was from Barcelona – about an hour by train, with departures almost hourly. Once in Girona, it was easy to get around without a rental car as most of the compact city can be explored by foot, which added to the allure.  

Fish also said taking a detour can be a great way to shake things up in a place you’ve visited before.  

“Even if you think you know an area, try a detour destination and you might just surprise yourself,” she said. 

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