Looking for travel experiences that are truly different? These destinations offer sights and experiences you won’t find anywhere else.
These most unique countries to visit will completely change what you expect from a vacation.
The 15 Most Unique Countries to Visit
These are the most interesting countries to visit for travelers looking for something different.
1. Myanmar
Myanmar offers a rare glimpse into Southeast Asia largely untouched by Western influence and chain restaurants.
The landscape of Bagan is filled with over 2,000 ancient temples spread across a dusty plain unlike anything else in the world.
You can take hot air balloon rides over thousands of temples, stay in floating hotels on Inle Lake, and witness fishermen who have a unique way of catching fish.
2. Japan
Japan combines ancient traditions with futuristic technology in ways no other country does.
The cities have vending machines selling everything from live beetles to underwear, while bullet trains zip past centuries-old temples.
You can sleep in drawer-like capsule hotels, eat at restaurants where robots serve your food, see snow monkeys soaking in hot springs and watch sumo wrestles.
3. Iceland
Iceland has some of the most extreme natural features found anywhere on earth, all packed into one island.
The landscape switches rapidly between black sand beaches, blue ice caves, massive waterfalls, and fields of hardened lava.
You can stand between two continental plates at Thingvellir’s dramatic rift valley, watch the northern lights dance across winter skies, and relax in naturally heated lagoons.
4. Peru
Peru offers some of the most dramatic geographic diversity, from Amazonian rainforest to soaring Andean peaks to coastal desert.
The landscapes feature ancient ruins perched on mountaintops, terraced fields carved into hillsides, and the world’s deepest canyon.
You can explore Machu Picchu, fly over massive geoglyphs etched into the desert, and hike to Rainbow Mountain with its surreal candy-striped mineral layers.
5. Madagascar
Madagascar has evolved completely differently from the rest of the world, with plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet.
The island features forests of spiky limestone pinnacles, beaches with turquoise water, and the famous Avenue of Baobabs.
You can spot lemurs that “dance” across the ground, see chameleons smaller than your fingernail, and visit remote tribal areas.
6. Morocco
Morocco offers a mesmerizing journey through a land where ancient medinas, desert landscapes, and vibrant cultures collide.
The maze-like streets of Marrakech’s old city pulse with life, filled with artisan workshops, spice markets, and riads that have stood for centuries.
You can ride camels across the Sahara, sleep in Bedouin camps, and explore mountain villages where Berber traditions remain unchanged.
7. Bhutan
Bhutan offers a rare glimpse into the world’s last Himalayan Buddhist kingdom largely untouched by Western influence.
The landscape of Paro Valley is filled with ancient monasteries and snow-capped peaks, with the iconic Tiger’s Nest Monastery clinging to a sheer cliff face.
You can trek through pristine forests, witness monks, and experience a country that measures success through Gross National Happiness.
8. Greenland
Greenland is the world’s largest island that isn’t a continent, yet has fewer people than a small city spread across an area bigger than Mexico.
The landscape is 80% covered by ice, with colorful houses built on barren rock where nothing grows.
You can hear glaciers “calve” with thunderous cracks, travel only by boat or helicopter, and experience weeks without sunset in summer or sunrise in winter.
9. Jordan
Jordan packs more historical wonders into a small area than most countries many times its size.
The landscape ranges from the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth) to red desert landscapes that NASA uses to test Mars rovers.
Walk through a narrow canyon that opens to reveal Petra carved into red rock, float effortlessly in water so salty you can’t sink, and sleep in Bedouin camps the desert.
10. Mongolia
Mongolia is the world’s most sparsely populated country where nomadic life continues largely unchanged for centuries.
The landscape consists mostly of endless grass steppes and the Gobi Desert, without fences, buildings, or power lines for hundreds of miles.
You can stay with nomad families in round felt tents, drink fermented mare’s milk, and watch men hunt with trained golden eagles in winter.
11. Cuba
Cuba exists in a time bubble due to decades of isolation, creating a country unlike any other in the Caribbean.
The streets are filled with perfectly maintained 1950s American cars, and buildings painted in bright colors show their age with elegant decay.
You can ride in classic convertibles along Havana’s seafront, explore Viñales Valley with its limestone hills, and venture through the Caribbean’s largest cave systems.
12. Namibia
Namibia has the world’s oldest desert and some of the tallest sand dunes on the planet, creating landscapes that look more like Mars than Earth.
The country features actual shipwrecks sitting in the middle of desert, creating the eerily named Skeleton Coast.
You can climb giant orange sand dunes at dawn, track rhinos on foot in Etosha National Park, and visit Himba tribes where women coat their skin with red ochre.
13. Egypt
Egypt has the world’s most impressive ancient structures, with monuments that have stood for over 4,500 years.
The contrast between the narrow green strip along the Nile and the harsh desert just beyond creates a dramatic backdrop for temples and tombs.
You can stand beside pyramids, discover tombs with ancient hieroglyphics, and ride camels around monuments.
14. India
India offers more diversity in culture, food, language, and religion than any other country on earth.
The streets present constant contrasts – luxury cars next to camel carts, modern skyscrapers overlooking ancient temples, and extreme wealth alongside extreme poverty.
You can witness thousands of people bathing in the Ganges, get covered in colored powder during Holi, and explore cities that change from pink to blue to golden.
15. Malta
Malta packs 7,000 years of history into an area smaller than most cities, creating one of the most densely historic places on earth.
The landscape features honey-colored limestone buildings, dramatic sea cliffs, and harbors filled with traditional fishing boats painted in bright colors.
You can explore underground temples, walk streets too narrow for cars in walled medieval cities, and swim in perfect blue grottos formed by centuries of sea erosion.
Final Thoughts on the Most Interesting Countries to Visit
These countries show that our world still has places that can truly surprise even experienced travelers.
Each offers experiences you simply can’t get anywhere else, giving you stories you’ll tell for years.
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