These Tiny Countries Became Some Of The Biggest Tourist Hotspots In The World

There's a slight paradox when it comes to searching for that perfect getaway. The more popular the destination, the larger the influx, the larger the influx, the less desirable said location becomes. Sure, there are tips for avoiding Europe's most popular hotspots, places you should visit once the crowds have left, and some out-of-the-way spots kept on a deliberate downlow. Sometimes such tactics work, sometimes they do not.

But there is another subsection of the travel industry that lives with one foot in both camps: Locations so small that they are at once half-forgotten and desperately popular at the same time. In some cases, they suffer from the most dreadful overcrowding. In others, a genuine feeling of exclusivity permeates. True, there are places that might feel overpopulated with only a few hundred people present. But there are also forgotten locations that never see half that many gathered at any one time.

This list details some of the smallest countries in the world, yes, but it does so with an eye on those locations that are well worth a visit. Where overcrowding is an issue, steps have been taken to offer guidance on how to navigate such headwinds. Where it is more of a question of the country simply being a lesser-known gem, time has been taken to explain why such locales hit so far above their weight.