Traveling can be such a commitment. And it can be so stressful! You’re constantly outwitting the airlines to get the best rates (thank you Google Chrome Incognito mode). Deciding if an AirBnB, hotel, or hostel is going to give you the vacation that you want for a price that you can afford. Then we’ve got the art of packing like you’re Marie Kondo in a suitcase. And that long walk of shame to your manager’s office to take off work, or the discomfort of asking him/her if they saw your vacation request yet. It’s all so stressful.

…. Oh, and by the way, none of that includes the most important part…. picking the right destination.

After all, it’s your hard-earned money we’re talking about here! You can’t waste a red cent on a flop destination. So that’s why we’ve created this post series of what we are calling the Same Same but Different locations - places that remind us of other places! We want to help you go somewhere that you’ll enjoy. There is no science behind the selection process so it’s all subjective. This list, and future ones to come, are all places where we’ve been and said to ourselves “ya know what? This really reminds me of [insert place].” So we thought that would make for a neat idea to help you, our wonderful readers, narrow your search for your next location.

EUROPE

If you liked Croatia, then you’ll love Sicily

Croatian tourism is going crazy right now! Over the last ten years or so tourism in this eastern Mediterranean nation has been reaching historical highs, in part due to the success of the famed HBO series, Game of Thrones, but also due to the recently discovered beauty of the nation, so much so that some Croatian cities developed a memorandum of understanding with cruise ship operators for sustainable tourism to stop the heavy flow of tourists into many of its cities. The reason Croatia is just hitting the radar of so many people over the last decade lies mainly in the fact that Croatia wasn’t even a country until the mid-90s, when it came to be after a bloody war for independence between the Croats and Serbians.

Croatia is widely known for its archipelago of islands like Hvar, Brac, Vis, Rab, Dugi Otok, and so many more, but people often don’t realize that those islands only account for about 10% of Croatia’s total mass. There is so much more to see of Croatia - there’s the amazing Plitvice Lakes National Park, the famous Game of Thrones coastal city of Dubrovnik, Pula, Split, and the capital city of Zagreb! It’s such an incredible adventure destination with a very unique and diverse history.

If you’ve found that you love Croatia but want to break away from the crowds then we would encourage you to try another one of the Mediterraneans gems, Sicily. Sicily is an old world gem and much of it has still yet to be overrun with foreign tourists. The island has beaches that are second to none, coupled with infrastructure and architecture that have been untouched for centuries. Despite being an Italian province you’ll find influence from all over the Mediterranean on the island; there are Roman castles and amphitheaters, Greek temples and ruins, and even Islamic roots as the island was under its control from 831-1091.

Sicily is a hodgepodge of cultural influence and structures on a desert island paradise but don’t get it twisted, despite having such a diverse group of ruling influences in its past, Sicily is as Italian as it gets.

If you liked Bordeaux, France, then you’ll love Porto, Portugal

Bordeaux, France is the world famous escape to the French wine region, often referred to as the wine capital of the world. There are plenty of reasons to visit Bordeaux; like its old world charm, the historical value that it represents, and its beautiful stone architecture that has made the entire city a UNESCO Heritage site for the amazing urban and architectural ensemble. But let’s not mince words here, you’re visiting Bordeaux first and foremost for the wine. There are a staggering 8,500+ wine producers in the region known for growing grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere - it’s like Disney World for viticulture. Touring the incredible chateaus of the Saint-Émilion, The Médoc, Canon Fronsac, Sauternes and Graves regions will have you feeling like medieval royalty, it’s an experience that nobody should miss.

However, there is one prominent wine variation that you will not find in Bordeaux: Port.

Port wine is the ultra sweet cousin to your traditional wine types and is only grown in the Douro Valley region of northern Portugal. Port wine comes in several varieties but the most common are; tawny, white, ruby, vintage, colheita, and rose. The Douro Valley wine region has a tremendous amount of history behind it, dating back to the 1300s when the Treaty of Windsor opened the doors of trade between Portugal and England. However, the region owes its modern prominence, ironically, to the French when France placed a trade blockade on English goods in 1667, which included wine. With the wine trade all but at a complete stop, the English were desperate to come up with a solution to their booze and found it in the Portuguese foothills of the Douro Valley.

The Douro Valley is about two hours from the city of Porto and is a day trip not to be missed. You’ll find options to take boat rides on the Douro River and stop at different vineyards and wineries along the way. What we found most enjoyable about to Douro Valley, in contrast to Bordeaux, was its less formal and more unassuming demeanor. You won’t be sipping Port on a massive stone chateau but you might be able to dine in the home of the wine makers and get to spend a full supper and afternoon getting to know them and their family history on a personal level, which is what we got to do!

Caribbean

If you liked the Bahamas, then you’ll love St Lucia

For anyone who loves vacationing in the Caribbean, odds are that you’ve visited the Bahamas at least once. The Bahamas are a great destination for laissez faire travelers, anyone who wants to leave planning and thinking behind, kick their feet up with a pina colada, and enjoy crystal clear warm waters at an all-inclusive resort. And who doesn’t love that?

For many, the Bahamas are an annual summer vacation destination. They’re made up of over 700 islands of varying size and shape with the main tourist islands being (starting from the north) Grand Bahama/Freeport, Nassau and Paradise Island, and The Exumas. There are so many other smaller islands that attract tourists but those are your big time resort islands.

If you like the world class beaches of the Bahamas, then we think that you’ll love beautiful island nation of St. Lucia, located about 1,300 miles south. Everything that the Bahamas does best, St Lucia does just as well, if not better, with incredible landscapes that you won’t find there. The Bahamas, for the most part, are flat. For everything it has in serene beaches, it lacks in landscapes, which is where St Lucia comes in. Not a ton of the Caribbean islands are filled with lush tropical forests - St Lucia is one of the exceptions. It also has world class accommodations, like the world famous Jade Mountain Resort. Beaches that can’t be missed are Reduit Beach, Marigot Bay, and Sugar Beach.

Southeast Asia

If you liked Chiang Mai, Thailand, then you’ll love Hoi An, Vietnam

Chiang Mai is the backpacker mecca of northern Thailand - chances are that if you’re not in Phuket or Bangkok, you’re in Chiang Mai. The city is located in the mountainous part of northern Thailand (about 450 miles north of Bangkok), which makes it ideal for outdoor activities like nature hikes or whitewater rafting. There are also several hill tribes of which you can do overnight hikes and camp on the mountain tops in bamboo thatch bungalows for the night. The city has an old world charm about it that makes it a perfect destination for any cultural travelers; in fact, many view Chiang Mai as the religious and cultural center Thailand. As you walk through the city, you’ll discover ruins and temples. Most notably are the historic city walls that were originally constructed over 800 years ago and many segments still exist today, surrounding a part of the city known as the Old City because it contains the original city limits when Chiang Mai was first constructed. It’s within the Old City that you’ll find many of the amazing temples and Buddhist statues that you may have seen in other blogs and on Instagram.

Now if you like the old world charm of Chiang Mai but are looking for something a bit more quaint with less of a city atmosphere, we' think you’d fall in the love with a small Vietnamese fishing village about 900 miles east: Hoi An.

Hoi An is one of the most peaceful places on the planet and is one of the best cities to eat in Vietnam. Famed Chef turned TV/travel legend, Anthony Bourdain, once raved about the Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches from Hoi An to the point that one of the stands where he ate is now a three story establishments that all but guarantees a wait.

The other thing that Hoi An is known for is being the epicenter of the original Silk Road. The town is filled with some of the most talented professional tailors in the world. Tourists travel to Hoi An to get fitted for everything from a custom suit, dresses, shoes - you name it, they can craft it. My belly has gotten a bit larger since my first trip to Hoi An but I refuse to get rid of the awesome light blue with bright pink interior custom suit that I had made there - all for about $100 USD. We walked in, got sized up, and then got taken into a back room with every piece of material in every color you can imagine for us to design our own. It was a memory that will stay with me until the day I die.

North America

If you liked Austin, TX then you’ll love Tucson, AZ

Austin is a friggen awesome city. It’s young, vibrant, and trendy with great food, great outdoors experiences, and great culture. Over the last 15 years or so Austin has absolutely blown up with big city goers from the east coast and California flocking there to try and lower their cost of living and slow down the pace of life. Now with so many people moving there, the cost of living part isn’t exactly what it was 15 years ago but as far as the quality of life goes, it’s still about the same. Austin also has some of the best festivals in the US with South by Southwest and Austin City Limits taking over the entire city. It’s also a young city with the large central campus of the University of Texas located here.

Hands down our favorite elements of Austin are the outdoors lifestyle and the food. Outdoors-wise, the river area is filled with opportunities to exercise and picnic. Despite being land-locked, there is actually a strong water culture here in the many surrounding lakes, like Lake Travis, and other Instagram-worthy places like the famous Jacobs Well. In regard to food, the Austin food truck scene is so cool and unique. You’ll find several undeveloped lots that have been taken over by trucks and picnic benches, not to mention that the Mexican food here is incredible, probably only second to one….

Which brings us to Tucson…

The best Mexican food we’ve ever had (outside of Mexico) is here in Tucson, AZ. It’s absolutely incredible. Our favorite was at Los Tacos Apson, which is an off-road indoor/outdoor diner that stays open and packed late into the evening. Everything that Austin has Tucson has, just on a smaller scale. If you’re from Austin, have been there a bunch of times, or are looking for somewhere a little less expensive, then we are offering Tucson as your next destination. Austin’s motto is “keep Austin weird” but you’d be forgiven for adopting that here in Tucson as well. Tattoos and dive bars abound here. Even the main streets of Tucson and Austin are the same: 6th Street. And, much like Austin, you can’t turn a corner without running into a brewery to wet your whistle.

When it comes to an outdoor lifestyle, Tucson and Austin offer similar benefits. Both have great walking and running trails. Both have yearlong warm, sometimes unbearably hot, weather. But where Austin might have the advantage in terms of water based activities, Tucson has Austins number in terms of hikes and trails, mainly due to the Amazing Saguaro National National park, which surrounds it on both sides.

Take your pick, you can’t go wrong. But if you like one, then we guarantee you’ll love the other.

Image credits

Saguaro National Park: Unsplash/Dylan Saurwein
Hoi An Boats: Colin Jones

Same Same but Different