What if we told you that ticking off landmarks in 2026 is not only no longer a travel trend but actually a travel ‘no-no’? The real adventure is pulling up a wooden chair in a village where the baker still measures time in loaves, and the air smells faintly of soil and supper.
Last month, UN Tourism named its Best Tourism Villages of 2025 – 52 character-filled communities across 29 countries that are changing what meaningful travel looks like. These villages are living proof that the world’s most extraordinary destinations are often its most humble ones.
For South Africans, this news hits differently. According to Flight Centre’s latest global travel survey, 61% of Saffas travel specifically to experience new cultures, while 81% say they’d happily choose a lesser-known destination if it meant avoiding crowds. Furthermore, 74% admit that major attractions now feel too overrun to truly enjoy, and 76% worry about the damage overtourism causes.
Maybe that’s why soulful travel is heading rural. A few years ago, “off the beaten track” meant a hotel slightly further from the city centre. Now it means swapping paid connectivity for real connection that comes with a side of home-cooked stews and muddy shoes.
“We’re seeing Saffas ditch the bucket list scramble for places that feel more meaningful. The kind where your best souvenir is the Sunday lunch invite from a local grandmother,” says Zay Ferguson-Nair, Flight Centre South Africa’s Customer Experience Leader.
6 Villages Changing the Way We Travel
1. Asolo, Italy
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
Perched in the Veneto hills, an hour from Venice, Asolo is basically Italy’s best-kept secret. Locals call it The City of a Hundred Horizons, which feels poetic until you climb its hilltop fortress and realise it’s just honest marketing.
Who it’s for
Anyone who thinks “aperitivo with a view” is a personality trait.
Why it’s special
Once the refuge of Queen Caterina Cornaro, Asolo’s past lingers in the scent of vines and the hush that follows church bells. Everything in this village hums with gentle artistry and quiet rebellion against modern chaos, from Renaissance villas to shaded piazzas that hosted poets like Robert Browning,
Guaranteed highlight
That first glass of Asolo Prosecco DOCG at the top of Rocca Braida, watching the light stretch across endless hilltops.
2. Digang, China
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
Down in Zhejiang Province, this 2,500-year-old water village is what happens when time forgets to modernise. Its canals wind between weathered wooden houses and mulberry groves, forming a living postcard that still pulses with daily life.
Who it’s for
Anyone whose ideal souvenir is photos of grandfathers teaching them how to farm fish.
Why it’s special
Digang’s secret lies in its Mulberry‑Dyke & Fish‑Pond System, a perfectly circular way of farming that keeps both people and the environment fed.
Guaranteed highlight
Joining the locals for a fishery celebration along the Grand Canal – there’s singing, laughter, stories, and zero need for an Instagram filter.
3. Lô Lô Chải, Vietnam
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
Tucked high in the Hà Giang mountains at Vietnam’s northernmost edge, this traditional Lô Lô ethnic village sits beneath the national flagpole, quite literally the top of the country. It takes some effort to reach, which is exactly the point.
Who it’s for
Anyone who thinks “Wi‑Fi optional; wonder guaranteed” sounds like a fair trade.
Why it’s special
Concrete is banned here; hand‑pressed mud bricks and rammed earth hold centuries of heritage. Visitors sleep in warm, golden houses and learn weaving from villagers.
Guaranteed highlight
Drumming and dancing under star‑filled skies during a forest worship festival.
4. Pont‑Croix, France
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
Hidden in Brittany’s coastal folds, Pont‑Croix is a medieval treasure near the rugged cliffs of Pointe du Raz.
Who it’s for
Anyone with an emotional attachment to bakeries.
Why it’s special
Its Gothic spire inspired entire cathedrals, but Pont‑Croix itself stayed wonderfully grounded, with cobbled streets, market mornings, and a pace so gentle you start syncing your heartbeat to church bells.
Guaranteed highlight
Crossing the ancient bridge at sunset, when the river Goyen turns to gold and you suddenly understand why painters lose their weekends here.
5. Kaštelir‑Labinci, Croatia
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
Roughly 10 kilometres north of Poreč on Croatia’s Istrian peninsula, this twin‑village wonder sits tucked between olive groves, vineyards, and the faint shimmer of the Adriatic.
Who it’s for
Anyone who believes life’s best itinerary is drawn in olive oil and wine stains.
Why it’s special
Kaštelir‑Labinci is a love letter to slow Istrian living. Locals still bottle their own olive oil and greet you like you’ve wandered into the family reunion you didn’t know you were invited to.
Guaranteed highlight
Cycling between vineyards before lunch, paragliding over them before sunset, and somehow ending off at a farmhouse table where nothing on your plate travelled further than you did that day.
6. Souf, Jerash Governorate, Jordan
Where it is (and why it’s off the beaten track)
An hour north of Jordan’s capital, Amman, lie the Roman Ruins of Jerash. And just beyond Jerash – often missed by visitors ticking off bucket-list sites like Petra, Jerash and the Dead Sea – is Souf, home to Beit Khairat Souf, a women-run cop-op, restaurant, and community hub that offers traditional Jordanian food, local products (like jam sweetened with honey), and a chance to immerse yourself in Jordanian culture.
Who it’s for
Anyone who wants their tourism dollar to make a real, sustained difference in the local community.
Why it’s special
The café’s cobbled courtyard and shady trees offer respite from Jordan’s heat, while the food gives you an authentic taste of the country’s rich history.
Guaranteed highlight
Listening to Sumia Krishan (founder of Beit Khairat Souf) share the co-op’s origin story – and ongoing significance – while eating mansaf, fatoush and kibbeh.
How to travel like a local without looking like you tried too hard
Ferguson-Nair shares her top tips below:
1. Slow down, then slow down some more
Rural communities run on a different clock – and that’s probably the reason you came, after all. So, skip the hour‑by‑hour itinerary and give yourself time to sit back and let the rhythm of the place dictate your day.
2. Learn at least three local words (and actually use them)
Even if it’s just “hello,” “thank you,” and “delicious,” making the effort counts. Villagers quickly warm to anyone who tries, even badly. Fluency isn’t the goal; connection is.
3. Stay where your money stays
Opt for homestays and family‑run guesthouses. Every rand (or euro, yen, or dong) you spend locally multiplies its impact. Eating, sleeping, and shopping small keeps communities strong and the experience richer.
“Real sustainable travel is knowing the person who made your breakfast also sends her kids to school with your support,” says Ferguson-Nair.
4. Pack respect (it weighs nothing)
Dress and behave with local norms in mind, even if the weather or your social feed suggests otherwise. Ask before photographing people and remember that some rituals or spaces aren’t meant for spectators.
5. Zero bars, but full connection
Sometimes the only Wi‑Fi signal you’ll find is between two conversations. Lean into it. Getting a bit lost here is often how you find what you didn’t know you were looking for.
“Village travel reminds us what holidays were always meant to be,” says Ferguson‑Nair. “Travelling this way may not earn you a million likes on Instagram, but it will earn you something far more valuable: a sense that you were part of a place rather than simply passing through it,” she concludes.
