We asked millennials and Gen Zers for their top hidden-gem travel destinations. Here’s what they said.

Individuals around New York City shared their favorite hidden-gem travel destinations.

Depending on where you’re reading this, you might have noticed a chill in the morning air or leaves turning a golden shade of brown.

But while summer is coming to an end, people’s travel plans are not — and that’s especially true for younger generations.

In May, consulting giant McKinsey reported that 41% of Gen Zers and 37% of millennials are more interested in travel now than they were before 2020, compared to just 28% of Gen Xers and 22% of baby boomers.

And while some Americans are choosing to cut down on expenses, an increasing number of Gen-Zers and millennials in the US are willing to sacrifice savings in favor of booking their next big trip abroad — some are electing to fund trips through “buy now, pay later” schemes, while others are turning to travel agents to plan their holiday adventures.

Fall travel costs have skyrocketed 36% compared to last year, according to travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth. But for those who missed splurging on a summer vacation, now may actually be the perfect time to book — Expedia reports plane tickets usually drop 10% in autumn.

B-17 took to the streets of New York City to meet members of these travel-obsessed generations and learn their favorite hidden-gem destinations. Here are their recommendations.

Kilby Bronstein, 32, entrepreneur

Bronstein told B-17 Alaçatı, Turkey, is a hidden gem.

“Alaçatı, it’s a hidden gem for Americans, not for people from Turkey. But it’s incredible,” Bronstein said of the coastal town by the Aegean Sea that she visited on a trip to Turkey this summer.

Winding cobblestone streets of cafés and restaurants, buildings laden with flowers, and beaches lined with crystal clear waters are just a few reasons she considers it one of the most beautiful places she’s ever visited.

J.J. Martinez, 42, state worker

Martinez recently traveled to Estonia.

Martinez credits his travel-obsessed partner with being behind their recent visit to Eastern Europe, where he fell in love with Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, a cultural hub known for its medieval churches, palaces, and castles.

“When you go to Estonia, it looks very similar to Ukraine, Russia — that type of architecture. It’s a hidden gem,” Martinez said.

As a Puerto Rican, he also noted that while the locals aren’t as “outspoken” or “lively” as the people he grew up with, they were warm.

“Even though at first glance, they may look very stoic and not as friendly if you need something, and if you ask them, they will help you,” he said.

Gregory Bratone, 33, teacher

Bratone enjoyed the beaches and food in Ko Lanta, an island off the coast of Thailand. 

Bratone couldn’t get enough of Ko Lanta, an island off the west coast of Thailand dotted with palm trees and golden sand beaches.

“Super peaceful, beautiful beaches, very friendly people, and the best Thai food, as you’d imagine,” he said.

“Also very cheap. It was like $3 for a full meal,” Bratone added. “That’s like the streetside cafés, not a fancy place, but it was still very good.”

Alice Wolf, 23, government worker

Wolf loved her time in Copenhagen.

Though Wolf concedes that “it’s not really hidden,” Copenhagen was her favorite place she visited last summer.

“I think it’s very clean,” she said. “Also, the people are very attractive, but not in a physical way only. They are just the kindest people ever to everyone. It makes you just feel so uplifted.”

Wolf added,”I went in May, so it was beginning to warm up.”

Tess Nguyen, 33, construction export executive

Nguyen recommended visiting Sơn Đoòng Cave in Thailand.

Nguyen is from Vietnam and recommended Sơn Đoòng Cave, nestled at the heart of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in the Quang Binh Province.

“It’s the biggest cave in the world,” she added of Sơn Đoòng, which stretches over 5 miles, encompassing vast caverns, underground rivers, and a plethora of stalagmites and stalactites.

Matthew Gutierrez, 30, city planner

Gutierrez told B-17 Berlin has a “messy-haired elegance to it.”

Gutierrez spent 11 days in Berlin, prefacing that some people may consider the city to be “a very obvious answer, but for others maybe not.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to a new city, and I felt so immediately infatuated by it,” he said. “I just feel like culturally, it’s so interesting. The history is amazing. It’s so international, amazing museums. It kind of has this messy-haired elegance to it. It’s rough around the edges, but there’s so much beauty.”

He added that while the city is often associated with club culture — “that’s definitely there, and that’s a cool thing to tap into” — there’s “so much more than just that.”

Fania Muthia, 23, interior designer

Muthia said Labuan Bajo in Indonesia is “really gorgeous.”

“It’s really gorgeous,” Muthia said of her time in Labuan Bajo, a city on the Island of Flores in Indonesia. “I really love it there.”

The port city is known for its natural attractions, like the marine cave Gua Rangko, as well as boutiques, hotels, and beach clubs. It’s also considered a jump-off point for those wanting to visit Komodo National Park, a collection of islands and coral reefs home to a wide variety of species, from sea turtles and dolphins, to — yes — Komodo Dragons.

Luis Miñano, 20, student

Miñano visited the Black Lake in Slovenia last April.

During a trip to Slovenia last April, Miñano — who’s from Spain — visited the Black Lake, one of 10 bodies of water nestled throughout the Triglav Lakes Valley. At the time, he remembers the mountains surrounding the lake being capped with powder-white snow.

“There is a church in the middle of the lake, and it’s so beautiful,” he said. “Not many people know it, I think at least here in America.”