Tired of crowds, overpriced tours, and the same old vacation photos? You’re not alone.
That’s why we’ve compiled a guide to the places in the U.S. that are often overlooked, but offer much more than you’d expect. These spots fly under the radar but provide unforgettable experiences.
Using data from Google, Tripadvisor, Instagram, and Numbeo, the team at Wander has ranked spots based on how often they're searched and posted about on Instagram. Destinations with lower search and social media engagement were considered more underrated. We then looked into how exciting their food and culture scenes are and how safe and clean they are. The result? A list of destinations that offer big adventures with fewer crowds.
Williamsburg, Virginia, is the most underrated U.S. destination this year, scoring 9.29. With over 150 museums and galleries per 100,000 people and 265 sights and landmarks, it’s a dream for curious travelers.
This location is slept on online, with just over 31,000 searches each year and under 3,000 Instagram posts, meaning you’re likely to have a quiet vacation there.
It will not only be a quiet trip, but a comfortable one too. The city has a 100 out of 100 rating from people who have been there for how at ease they felt walking around and how clean the city was.
Bozeman, Montana, combines the peaceful pace of a mountain town with next-level food. It has the highest-rated restaurants in our top 10 (64.4% hit four stars or above) and tops the city comfort scale.
Google searches and Instagram posts for this gem are low at 23,260 and 210 respectively, which means more room to explore its bookstores, scenic drives, and wide-open skies. If you want to guarantee an even quieter trip, head there during its low seasons from March to May and September to November.
Staying in Montana, Missoula is a place that doesn’t shout about how great it is, making discovering it feel even better. While the number of Google searches is higher than Bozeman and Williamsburg, at 129,030, only two Instagram posts use the hashtag ‘#visitmissoulamt’.
It has strong cultural credentials, 33 museums and galleries per 100,000 people, an excellent safety and comfort score, and a respectable nightlife scene for a small mountain town.
Asheville, North Carolina: 48.4 nightlife venues rated four stars or higher per 100,000 people
While Charlotte is one of the most popular party spots in North Carolina, Asheville is there for the people who want to have fun without the crowds. There are under 55,000 annual Google searches for the location.
There are almost 49 venues rated four stars or more per 100,000 people. There are music venues like The Orange Peel, which has hosted acts like Of Mice & Men and Larkin Poe, as well as breweries and wine bars.
After something a bit different? There’s also the five-star Axeville Axe Throwing, where you can enjoy craft beer, cider, and hard seltzer while throwing an axe or two.
Williamsburg, Virginia: 151.4 museums and 265 sights per 100,000 people
Even though there are plenty of cultural spots to visit in the city, there are only four posts using the hashtag ‘#williamsburgmuseums’ on Instagram — 178% fewer than posts for Richmond’s museums. This means that Williamsburg is top for people who love wandering around galleries or historical sights without being rushed by crowds.
A particularly interesting spot is the Jamestown Glasshouse, where you can learn about the art of glass blowing and even watch bottles being made.
Bozeman, Montana: 64.4% of restaurants rated four stars or higher
Do you plan your trips around the eateries you want to visit, but would prefer a low-key meal? If yes, we’re sure you’ll enjoy Bozeman. The city has just 100 annual searches for ‘Bozeman restaurant’, compared to the 490 for ‘Missoula restaurant’.
Don’t let the low number of posts fool you. This destination offers everything from fine dining at Open Range to affordable — but still delicious — eats at Burger Bob’s.
Not only will you have plenty of places to choose from, but you can be pretty sure they’ll be good, too, with almost two-thirds achieving four stars or more.
We used sources such as CNN, Cosmopolitan, and Yahoo to create a list of hidden gems and underrated US vacation spots.
We then used Google Ads Keyword Planner to collect the number of US Google searches for each location between April 1st, 2024, and March 31st, 2025, using search terms like "vacation in [location, state]."
For the least searched locations, we collected the following data from Tripadvisor:
The number of restaurants per 100,000 people
The percentage of restaurants rated four stars or higher
The number of sights and landmarks per 100,000 people
The number of nightlife venues rated four stars or higher per 100,000 people
The number of museums and galleries per 100,000 people
The following data from Numbeo:
Safety score (taking the average of safety walking alone during the day and night)
Rating for "comfortable to spend time in the city"
Rating for being "clean and tidy"
Lastly, we took the number of Instagram posts using the hashtag "visit[location]"
We then combined all factors into a single score and ranked them.
All data was collected in May 2025 and was correct at the time of collection.
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