An Irish town has been named among the top 25 ‘most underrated’ travel destinations in the world.
Time Out magazine has been a staple in travel journalism, anointing the best areas to visit worldwide with a team of experts on hand to pick out the best restaurants, cafés, bars and everything in between—and for the second year in a row, an Irish town has made the top 25.
Minutes from Dublin and known for its sought-after coastal location, the town has made the list in Time Out’s hunt for the world’s ‘most underrated travel destinations’.
Have you guessed it? Yes! Wicklow’s most popular seaside town has made the top 25, with Bray coming in 24th place of the world’s most underrated travel destinations and the only Irish place to make the list.
Rankings were determined by Time Out’s ‘network of expert editors and globetrotting travel writers,’ who were entrusted with identifying ‘overlooked spots’ that provide a unique travel experience.
Taking pride in place in the top 25, the Irish town features alongside unique locations such as Brown Station in Antarctica, Prince Edward Island in Canada and the ‘most underrated’ travel destination in the world, Filandia, Colombia.
“Your Bangkoks or your Balis, your Amalfis or your Amsterdams,” the article claims, are nowhere to be found on the list. Instead, what you will discover is a Yosemite dupe, Morocco’s forgotten neighbour, a location where penguins outnumber people, and a tonne of further travel inspiration.
Appearing to be a fan of the coastal haven, Time Out magazine had this to say about Bray.
‘It was the arrival of the railway in 1854 that made Bray, just twelve miles south of Dublin, so popular it became known as the Brighton of Ireland.’
‘After years of decline, its mile-long Victorian seafront now buzzes with cafés and restaurants.’
‘Stroll from the harbour along the esplanade to the 800-foot high Bray Head, worth the hour’s climb for panoramic views from its rocky summit. Refuel at Butler and Barry on the beach before a Guinness at the ace local institution, the Harbour Bar.
If you’ve already experienced everything the Irish town offers, why not check out some of the other ‘underrated’ locations—some of them are going straight on our list!
24. Bray, Ireland
23. Lombok, Indonesia
22. Turku, Finland
21. Plymouth, England
20. Gippsland, Australia
19. Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe
18. Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
17. São Tomé and Príncipe
16. Srebrenik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Lake Bacalar, Mexico
14. Karpathos, Greece
13. Cuenca, Ecuador
12. Mongolia
11. Brown Station, Antarctica
10. Bentonville, Arkansas, USA
9. Newcastle, Australia
8. Cochamó Valley, Chile
7. Tasmania, Australia
6. Sibiu, Romania
5. Prince Edward Island, Canada
4. Côn Đảo, Vietnam
3. São Sebastião, Brazil
2. Southern Tunisia
1. Filandia, Colombia
