 The deserted beach. The pristine nature trail. The hushed art gallery. The view of a spectacular landmark unspoiled by crowds. It’s something many travelers dream of having: a magnificent travel experience all to oneself.
Considering that more than one billion tourists traveled internationally last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), it’s a lot more likely that you’ll find yourself standing in long lines, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the beach and jostling fellow travelers at overcrowded museums — unless you travel to one of these 25 countries.
Gunnar Garfors, globetrotter and CEO of Norwegian Mobile TV Co., used UNWTO data to compile a list of the 25 least visited countries in the world. While the most popular destination for tourism, France, sees some 79.5 million visitors a year, the countries on Garfors’ list see numbers in the thousands, or even hundreds. Taking home the honors as the least traveled spot is the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, which was visited by a measly 200 people in 2011.
 Sweet Spots to Stay in Paris
Like Nauru, many of the countries on the list are there because they’re small and difficult to get to (Tuvalu, Kiribati). Others have faced recent violence and are generally considered unsafe for tourists (Somalia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone). Still others aren’t so much difficult to get to as difficult to get into (Bhutan and North Korea, where visas are required and travelers must arrange for a guide rather than touring independently). Yet Garfors has visited 21 of the 25, and returned with fascinating tips and stories to share.
Personally, I’m only one for 25. I’ve been to No. 25, Dominica, the sleepy Caribbean island that’s better known for its lush rain forest trails and waterfalls than for its beaches. It was worth the trip — my partner and I took several hikes without seeing another soul. As for the other 24 countries … well, I’d better get traveling.
9 Places You Haven’t Visited — But Should
How many of the least visited countries have you been to?
– written by Sarah Schlichter
Suffering from the Monday doldrums? For everyone out there facing the beginning of another work week, here’s a little jolt of wanderlust to brighten up your morning. Each Monday, we offer a photo of a spectacular place to spark ideas for your future travels.
This week brings a shot of lupines flowering on the banks of Lake Tekapo, on the South Island of New Zealand.
25 Ways to Save on New Zealand Travel
Send us your best travel shot! E-mail your most beautiful or captivating travel photo to feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put Monday Inspiration in the subject line.)
Our Favorite Auckland Hotels
– written by Sarah Schlichter
Kick off your weekend with another edition of our Friday Travel Puzzle! You can solve it by tying the photos together to make words. For example, a photo of an eye, combined with a photo of a full glass of water would be eye + full = Eiffel. Get it? (For another example, check out last week’s puzzle.)
This week’s puzzle is two words (one per line) and represents a famous landmark.
Once you think you know the answer, post it below. You have until Monday, April 1, at 11:59 p.m. ET to post your response. We’ll keep all comments private until then. On Tuesday morning we’ll choose one winner at random to receive an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug. Note: Although all are welcome to play, we can only ship prizes to the Continental U.S.
Editor’s Note: This contest has ended. The winner is Catherine Eck, who correctly guessed that the pictogram spelled “Brandenburg Gate.” Catherine has won an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug. Congratulations! Stay tuned for further opportunities to win.
– written and created by Dori Saltzman
 Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this post, Arthur Frommer has purchased his company back from Google, ensuring that Frommer’s guidebooks will continue to be printed. Learn more in 56 Years Later: Europe on 5 Dollars a Day.
I wasn’t yet alive, let alone traveling, when Arthur Frommer wrote his very first travel guide, “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day,” back in 1957. But after years of toting more recent Frommer’s publications around the globe, I found myself mourning just a little bit when I read that the company has ceased publication of print guidebooks.
The death knell was sounded last week by Skift.com, who reported that many of the authors contracted for 29 upcoming Frommer’s titles were told by editors that the books they were working on would not be published. Extensive destination information is still available online at Frommers.com, and a limited number of “Day by Day” guides can be purchased as e-editions on Inkling.com. Frommer’s was bought by Google in August 2012.
The 5 Worst Trip Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
On this very blog, we once asked, “Are guidebooks dying out?” I wrote then that I still used guidebooks — along with online resources — to plan every trip, and dozens of readers commented in agreement. Three years later, my position hasn’t changed: “The combination of maps, recommended itineraries, comprehensive reviews and historical context is something I haven’t found in any other single source, so I’ll continue to use guidebooks as long as they continue to be printed.”
Fortunately for those of us who wouldn’t plan a trip without them, other guidebook series such as Fodor’s, Lonely Planet and Eyewitness Guides can still be found on the shelves. But for how much longer?
– written by Sarah Schlichter
 Do you weigh a lot? You could end up paying a lot (more) for flights if airlines take a new “pay as you weigh” proposal seriously. The essay, written by a professor at a university in Norway, proposes three options for charging overweight passengers more money, explaining that the heavier a passenger is, the higher the fuel cost for the airline to transport that person. The author argues that said changes would benefit not only the airlines, but also consumers, both in terms of in-flight comfort (passengers would sit in seats of appropriate sizes) and overall health (it could be an incentive to lose weight).
More Obese Fliers, Smaller Airplane Seats?
Option 1
This option would involve a straightforward per-pound model, where passengers pay a fixed price per pound. Skinnier and/or shorter passengers would obviously pay less than taller, heavier ones.
Option 2
Under this scenario, each passenger would pay a base fare, and adjustments would be made from there — heavier passengers would be charged more, or lighter passengers would be charged less.
Option 3
In this model, three separate fares would be offered, based on body weight: one fare for underweight passengers, one fare for average passengers and one fare for overweight passengers. For the sake of his argument, the author uses the following as ballpark figures, which include the total weight of both the passenger and his or her luggage: underweight = less than or equal to 75 kg (165 pounds), average weight = 76 – 125 kg (167.5 – 275.5 pounds) and overweight = 126 kg (278 pounds) or more.
Poll: Should Obese Passengers Be Required to Buy a Second Seat?
The proposal, which seems logistically impossible, is unlikely to be adopted by airlines anytime soon, but the essay does address several bones of contention that might arise if it’s put into practice in the future. Won’t it discriminate against overweight/muscular/tall/pregnant people? How will it be enforced? How will it affect things like check-in time if airline personnel have to weigh luggage AND passengers?
“Weigh in” with your thoughts below.
– written by Ashley Kosciolek
 If I can offer you only one piece of advice for traveling to Seattle it would be this — dress in layers.
While never too cold or too warm, and, of course, famous for an almost daily drizzle, the weather in Seattle is nevertheless hard to predict, especially in late winter/early spring. And weather forecasts aren’t always helpful.
Prior to jetting off to Seattle for a recent four-night visit, I checked Weather.com to see what I should expect. Heavy rain storms and cool weather were predicted, so into the suitcase went several cold-weather items. But then my overpacking gene took over and, despite the ugly forecast, I threw a few warm-weather options in as well. Thank goodness I did.
As it turned out, three out of four days started out foggy and cold, but then turned warm and sunny, before ending crisp and cold again. Because I had thrown in some tees, a light sweater and a zip-up sweatshirt, I was able to put on and take off layers as needed.
The Ultimate Guide to Travel Packing
Care for a second piece of Seattle travel advice? Rent a house or apartment.
I was in Seattle for a cousin’s bat mitzvah; with me and my husband were my parents, and my sister and her family, including my 3-year-old niece. We looked at hotels at first, but the cheapest rates we could find (in a decent hotel) started at about $140. That wasn’t bad, but the necessity of eating out would add to the cost. Then my dad looked on VRBO.com for short-term rentals. Prices, when split three ways, were slightly less than the per-night hotel rates, plus we would all be together and could cook meals in the house and share grocery expenses.
Not only did renting a house bring down the overall trip price, but we got a great location right on Green Lake, within a 20-minute drive of everywhere we wanted to go.
The last tidbit I picked up during my short stay in Seattle involves parking near Pike Place Market. If you’re planning to drive to the Market, try and wait until Sunday. Parking on 1st and 2nd Avenues is free that day, though you’ve got to get there pretty early to snag a spot. Otherwise, don’t park in a lot within three or four blocks. The first lot we pulled into on 2nd Avenue would have cost about $40. A lot just two blocks farther away, on the corner of 3rd Avenue, cost $12.
Our 6 Favorite Seattle Hotels
– written by Dori Saltzman
Suffering from the Monday doldrums? For everyone out there facing the beginning of another work week, here’s a little jolt of wanderlust to brighten up your morning. Each Monday, we offer a photo of a spectacular place to spark ideas for your future travels.
This week brings a shot of locals in Delhi, India, celebrating the Holi Festival, which marks the arrival of spring and involves the exuberant throwing of colored powder and water. This year’s festival will be held on March 27.
Read Trip Reviews About India
Send us your best travel shot! E-mail your most beautiful or captivating travel photo to feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put Monday Inspiration in the subject line.)
Our 5 Favorite Mumbai Hotels
– written by Sarah Schlichter
Kick off your weekend with another edition of our Friday Travel Puzzle! You can solve it by tying the photos together to make words. For example, a photo of an eye, combined with a photo of a full glass of water would be eye + full = Eiffel. Get it? (For another example, check out last week’s puzzle.)
This week’s puzzle is two words (one per line) and represents a famous landmark.
Once you think you know the answer, post it below. You have until Monday, March 25, at 11:59 p.m. ET to post your response. We’ll keep all comments private until then. On Tuesday morning we’ll choose one winner at random to receive an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug. Note: Although all are welcome to play, we can only ship prizes to the Continental U.S.
Editor’s Note: This contest has ended. The winner is Patti Merritt, who correctly guessed that the pictogram spelled “Sacre Coeur.” Patti has won an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug. Congratulations! Stay tuned for further opportunities to win.
– written and created by Dori Saltzman
 Each month, we’ll highlight one new trip review submitted by an IndependentTraveler.com reader. If your review is featured, you’ll win an IndependentTraveler.com logo item!
In this month’s featured review, reader Lara G writes about a half-day spent cruising along China‘s scenic Li River. “The 83-km-long waterway from Guilin to Yangshuo is like an artist’s masterpiece,” Lara wrote. “The landscape is decorated with rolling hills, steep cliffs, fantastic caves.
“Once in a while we [passed] by little villages, where women were washing clothes in the river; water buffalo wandered in the greenery; sometimes ducks — entire families with little baby ducks were gracefully crossing the river from the one bank to another; flocks of cormorant birds were resting (or fishing?) on the floating wooden pieces; little fishermen boats or bamboo rafts were scurrying around doing their business as usual…”
Read the rest of Lara’s review here: From Guilin to Yangshuo, The Li River Cruise – China. Lara has won an IndependentTraveler.com duffel bag!
Feeling inspired? Write your own trip review!
– written by Sarah Schlichter
 The United Nations General Assembly may have had something a little bit more noble than hawking tours in mind when it declared March 20, 2013, the first ever International Day of Happiness. But that didn’t stop adventure tour operator G Adventures from sponsoring an International Day of Happiness “Happiness & Wanderlust” survey.
Perhaps the U.N. should take note, because it sure looks like the ability to travel has a real impact on people’s happiness. According to the survey, 83 percent of global respondents said travel is a very important component of what makes them happy.
For many respondents (a whopping 71 percent), traveling is more vital to their happiness than getting married, having a baby or even retiring. Travel even dominates many people’s daydreams, with exactly half of respondents admitting to dreaming about travel at work for at least one hour every day. Nineteen percent even said they daydream about travel for “a few hours” a day.
As an avid traveler myself, I can’t really say I’m surprised by the results. Survey respondents were members of G Adventures’ social media network (as well as actual friends and family), who, of course, are going to be more passionate about travel than the general population.
The Six Qualities of Highly Effective Travelers
As it does for these respondents, travel fulfills me in a way that few things do, whether I’m flying halfway around the world or driving out of state. Like 68 percent of respondents, having new experiences is the one aspect of travel that brings me the most happiness — though I must admit walking into a really nice hotel or cozy B&B for the first time also fills me with a childlike glee I find hard to contain.
Like 32 percent of survey takers, I am happiest when I am traveling with my partner. But others are happiest when traveling with friends (35 percent) or solo (25 percent). Traveling with family ranks at the bottom, with only 11 percent saying they find happiness in traveling with their family.
What do you think of the results? How important is travel to your happiness? And what about traveling excites you the most?
Poll: How Do You Feel After a Trip?
– written by Dori Saltzman
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