Middle Eastern Alternatives to the World’s Most Popular Travel Spots
Planning your next trip? Forget the usual tourist traps. If you’re chasing coastal charm, desert peace, or mosaic-covered wonderlands, this guide’s for you. Here’s where to go in the Middle East that gives off the same aesthetic energy as your fave global hotspots. Same vibe, more depth, way less chaos.
Instead of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Go to Batroun or Byblos, Lebanon
Colorful seaside towns with ancient ruins, sunsets over the Mediterranean, and seafood by the port? That’s not just Positano. Lebanon’s Batroun and Byblos give full-on coastal goddess energy — minus the crowds, and yeah, your wallet will thank you too.
Old stones, local food by the sea, and cliffside photo ops? Yes please.
Instead of Andalusia, Spain, Go to Marrakesh or Chefchaouen, Morocco
If you love arches, mosaics, and that warm golden light, Morocco is calling. Marrakesh’s tiled courtyards and Chefchaouen’s blue-painted streets feel like stepping into a Spanish-Moorish dream, because… that’s literally the shared history.
It’s bold, textured, and poetic, just like Spain’s architecture.
Instead of Atacama Desert, Chile, Go to Petra, Jordan
While the Atacama Desert is known for its stillness and Mars-like aesthetic, Petra brings that same otherworldly vibe — but with a plot twist. Think: ancient temples carved straight into rose-red cliffs, narrow canyons that feel like portals, and a silence that carries centuries of stories.
It’s not just a desert — it’s a lost world. The kind of place that makes you feel small in the best way. Cinematic, spiritual, and unlike anywhere else.
Instead of Singapore, Go to Dubai, UAE
Massive skyline? Check. High-tech everything? Check. Cultural neighborhoods tucked between futuristic towers? Double check. The UAE is where tradition and innovation vibe together, and it’s giving global city — but in the desert.
It’s luxe, dramatic, and designed to impress.
Instead of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, Go to Siwa Oasis, Egypt
Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat — a vast, white desert left behind by prehistoric lakes that evaporated thousands of years ago. It’s famous for its mirror-like surface that reflects the sky and creates otherworldly views.
But if you’re looking for that same dreamy stillness without the long-haul flight, Siwa is where you need to go. Dreamy salt lakes, palm groves, mudbrick houses — Siwa is a total reset. It’s quiet, sacred, and feels untouched in the best way.
Honestly? Because the Middle East doesn’t get enough love. We’re so used to the beauty around us, the coastlines, the desert skies, the ancient streets, that sometimes we stop noticing it. But it’s all there. And it hits different when you really slow down and take it in.
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