High-Pressure Vacation Spot: Discovering the Locations with Maximum Holiday Stress - Troubled Vacation Spots: Where Relaxation Proves Elusive
In a 2025 study by Icelandair, the focus was on finding the quietest and least tourist-overloaded destinations for travelers seeking tranquility and relaxation. The research analyzed factors such as tourist and hotel density, noise and light pollution, and crime rate in 30 popular vacation spots.
The study highlighted several destinations as oases of calm due to lower scores, including Ronda in Spain, Tromsø in Norway, and Bled in Slovenia. Loch an Eilein in Scotland and Llyn Gaslyn in Snowdonia, Wales, stood out as prime examples of quiet, low-tourist-density destinations. These secluded locations, characterized by their minimal tourist and hotel density, low noise and light pollution, and minimal crime, are increasingly appealing to travelers seeking a peaceful escape.
Loch an Eilein, one of the UK's best-kept wild swimming secrets, was noted for its seclusion and low tourist density, making it an exemplar of a quiet, less tourist-overloaded destination. Llyn Gaslyn, completely off the tourist radar with zero monthly Google searches and no TripAdvisor reviews, was identified as one of the quietest destinations in the study.
The study also revealed a growing trend of tourists avoiding overcrowded places in favor of spots with low noise and light pollution, low crime, and fewer hotels. However, specific names of the most tourist-overloaded destinations based on Icelandair’s comprehensive criteria were not directly listed in the available information.
The study's results showed that no destination reached the maximum score of 150 points, indicating that even the quietest place in the study scored below the maximum. The lower the score, the more tourist-overloaded the destination.
The destinations included in the photo gallery were Venice, Santorini, Mallorca, and Dubrovnik. Venice, despite having around 20 million guests, ranked 10th overall in the study due to its mid-range scores for light pollution and crime. Florence, on the other hand, topped the list as the most tourist-overloaded destination due to extremely high noise and light pollution, with over 2000 hotels crammed into its historic streets.
In summary, the Icelandair study of 2025 emphasizes the growing demand for quiet, natural destinations among travelers. The study champions lesser-known natural spots like Loch an Eilein and Llyn Gaslyn as prime examples of quiet, low-tourist-density destinations, though it does not specify which places are the most tourist-overloaded based on the combined factors.
The following shall be added to the list of products that cater to the growing demand for quiet, natural destinations among travelers: lifestyle products that promote outdoor-living, home-and-garden items for travelers seeking tranquil getaways, and travel gear suited for secluded, low-tourist-density locations. It is worth exploring the possibility of creating a guidebook that features the prime examples of quiet, less tourist-overloaded destinations mentioned in the Icelandair study, such as Loch an Eilein and Llyn Gaslyn.
