Landlocked Countries

Afghanistan

Asia

Afghanistan holds the Minaret of Jam, the Band-e-Amir lakes, and the ghosts of the Bamiyan Buddhas along the old Silk Road. Conventional tourism is currently very limited; most governments advise against all travel.

Andorra

Europe

Andorra is a small Pyrenean country built around mountain roads, ski resorts, Romanesque churches, and thermal baths. It works best as a high-altitude stop between France and Spain, with easy access to Grandvalira, Ordino, and Andorra la Vella.

Armenia

Asia

Armenia is monasteries balanced on gorges (Tatev, Geghard, Noravank), Yerevan's café energy under Mount Ararat's silhouette, and one of the world's oldest wine cultures, with cave evidence going back 6,100 years.

Austria

Europe

Austria blends Vienna's imperial palaces, Salzburg's Mozart and Alps, the Wachau Valley, Hallstatt's lakeside postcard, and some of Europe's best ski infrastructure.

Azerbaijan

Asia

Azerbaijan runs from Baku's Flame Towers and UNESCO-listed walled old city to mud volcanoes, the burning hillside of Yanar Dag, and mountain villages like Khinalig sitting above 2,000 m in the Caucasus.

Belarus

Europe

Belarus centers on Minsk's broad Soviet-era avenues, Mir and Nesvizh castles, and the ancient forest of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It is strongest for travelers interested in architecture, history, and quiet countryside rather than resort travel.

Bhutan

Asia

Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness, caps tourism with a daily levy, and rewards those who come with Tiger's Nest monastery, dzong fortresses, and Himalayan trails without crowds.

Bolivia

South America

Bolivia is Salar de Uyuni's mirror-salt flats, La Paz at 3,600 m, Lake Titicaca, Sucre's white colonial capital, and the Amazon at Rurrenabaque.

Botswana

Africa

Botswana is the Okavango Delta, Chobe's elephant herds, and the Makgadikgadi salt pans. It deliberately runs low-volume, high-value safari tourism, so camps are remote and wildlife densities are exceptional.

Burkina Faso

Africa

Burkina Faso is known for the Gorom-Gorom market, the painted houses of Tiebele, and FESPACO in Ouagadougou, Africa's biggest film festival. Security conditions have curtailed most travel in recent years; check current conditions carefully.

Burundi

Africa

Burundi sits on the northeast shore of Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-deepest lake. Drumming is the cultural signature: the ritual dance of the royal drum is UNESCO-listed. Tourism remains small-scale.

Central African Republic

Africa

The Central African Republic holds Dzanga-Sangha, where forest elephants and western lowland gorillas gather at jungle clearings. Ongoing instability means the few visitors who come fly directly into the reserve with specialist operators.

Chad

Africa

Chad's far north hides the Ennedi Plateau, a sandstone labyrinth of arches and gueltas, and the Lakes of Ounianga, a UNESCO chain of desert lakes. Zakouma National Park in the south has staged one of Africa's great elephant recoveries.

Czechia

Europe

Czechia is Prague's Old Town and castle, Český Krumlov's UNESCO village, Karlovy Vary spa culture, and one of the world's strongest beer traditions.

Eswatini

Africa

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) packs rhino tracking in Hlane, the Malolotja highlands, and a living monarchy's ceremonial calendar into one of Africa's smallest countries. It slots neatly into a South Africa road trip.

Ethiopia

Africa

Ethiopia is a rare destination where culture travel still feels like discovery. Rock-hewn churches at Lalibela, the Danakil Depression, the Simien mountains, and a food scene centered on injera and coffee ceremonies.

Hungary

Europe

Hungary is Budapest's Danube panorama, thermal baths, ruin bars, and the most underrated food scene in Central Europe. Countryside wine regions add a Tokaj detour.

Kazakhstan

Asia

Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country: the Charyn Canyon, Big Almaty Lake, singing dunes in Altyn-Emel, and Almaty's leafy, mountain-backed boulevards. Winter adds cheap, empty skiing at Shymbulak.

Kosovo

Europe

Kosovo is young, mountainous, and easy to combine with Albania, North Macedonia, or Montenegro. Pristina brings cafe culture and contemporary history, while Prizren, Rugova Canyon, and Ottoman bridges give the trip depth.

Kyrgyzstan

Asia

Kyrgyzstan is the budget Switzerland of Central Asia: Song-Kul's summer yurt camps, Ala-Archa's glacier valleys, and the world's second-largest alpine lake at Issyk-Kul, all organized through a strong community-based tourism network.

Laos

Asia

Laos is the slow boat down the Mekong, Luang Prabang's gilded monasteries and morning alms, the Plain of Jars, and Vang Vieng's karst country, now more about kayaking and hot-air balloons than its old party reputation.

Lesotho

Africa

Lesotho is the only country on earth entirely above 1,000 m. Pony treks between mountain villages, the Sani Pass switchbacks from South Africa, and Afriski, one of Africa's two ski resorts.

Liechtenstein

Europe

Liechtenstein is a tiny Alpine principality between Switzerland and Austria, with Vaduz Castle above the Rhine valley and hiking trails rising quickly into the mountains. It suits travelers who like compact, precise, scenic side trips.

Luxembourg

Europe

Luxembourg turns a small country into layered travel: fortress casemates, old quarters, Moselle vineyards, Ardennes castles, and excellent public transport. It works well as a low-stress base between Belgium, France, and Germany.

Malawi

Africa

Malawi is built around its lake: a 580 km inland sea with clear water, cichlid fish found nowhere else, and beach lodges from backpacker to boutique. Liwonde and Majete parks have restocked into genuine safari destinations.

Mali

Africa

Mali carries some of Africa's most storied places: Timbuktu, Djenné's Great Mosque, and the Dogon escarpment. Security conditions have made most of the country off-limits to travelers for years; the heritage endures.

Moldova

Europe

Moldova is a quiet wine-country trip between Romania and Ukraine, centered on Chisinau, Orheiul Vechi, cave monasteries, and vast underground cellars. It rewards travelers who like food, rural life, and low-key discovery.

Mongolia

Asia

Mongolia is one of the last great open-space destinations. The Gobi, Lake Khövsgöl, ger stays, eagle hunters in Bayan-Ölgii, and skies that go forever.

Nepal

Asia

Nepal is the world's trekking capital. Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit, Langtang. Plus Kathmandu Valley temples and Chitwan National Park for wildlife.

Niger

Africa

Niger reaches across the Sahara to the Aïr Mountains and the Ténéré desert, with the W National Park complex in the green southwest. Agadez's mud-brick minaret marks the old caravan crossroads. Security limits most routes today.

North Macedonia

Europe

North Macedonia combines Lake Ohrid, Ottoman bazaars, monasteries, mountain parks, and Skopje's layered urban history. It is one of the Balkans' most compact cultural road trips.

Paraguay

South America

Paraguay is landlocked, subtropical, and little visited, with Asunción, Jesuit mission ruins, Guarani culture, the Chaco, and the Itaipu Dam on its eastern border. It rewards slow travelers who like overlooked places.

Rwanda

Africa

Rwanda is Volcanoes National Park, mountain-gorilla trekking, a remarkable Kigali, and Lake Kivu. A short, high-impact East Africa itinerary.

San Marino

Europe

San Marino is a hilltop microstate wrapped around Mount Titano, with medieval towers, steep lanes, and views across Emilia-Romagna to the Adriatic. It is easy to pair with Bologna, Rimini, or Ravenna.

Serbia

Europe

Serbia mixes Belgrade nightlife, Novi Sad and Petrovaradin Fortress, Orthodox monasteries, Danube gorges, and national parks such as Tara and Đerdap. It is strongest for travelers who like cities, music, food, and road trips.

Slovakia

Europe

Slovakia is a mountain-and-castle country: Bratislava on the Danube, High Tatras trails, Spiš Castle, limestone caves, and wooden churches in the northeast. It gives a lighter, easier alternative to bigger Central European itineraries.

South Sudan

Africa

South Sudan, the world's youngest country, sits on the Sudd, one of the planet's largest wetlands, and hosts an antelope migration rivaling the Serengeti's in scale. Instability keeps conventional tourism very limited.

Switzerland

Europe

Switzerland is Alpine travel at its most efficient. Zermatt and the Matterhorn, Grindelwald, Lucerne's lake, Zurich and Geneva cities. With trains that run exactly on time.

Tajikistan

Asia

Tajikistan is the Pamir Highway: the world's second-highest international road, running past 7,000 m peaks, Wakhan Valley forts facing Afghanistan, and homestays that define Central Asian hospitality.

Turkmenistan

Asia

Turkmenistan pairs the flaming Darvaza gas crater with Ashgabat, a white-marble capital of world-record eccentricity, and the Silk Road ruins of Merv. Travel is tightly organized, with most visits arranged through fixed itineraries.

Uganda

Africa

Uganda is gorilla trekking in Bwindi's Impenetrable Forest, chimpanzees in Kibale, tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth, and the Nile exploding out of Lake Victoria at Jinja, East Africa's adventure-sports base.

Uzbekistan

Asia

Uzbekistan is Silk Road travel. Samarkand's Registan, Bukhara's madrasas, Khiva's walled old town. All linked by fast train at reasonable prices.

Vatican City

Europe

Vatican City is the world's smallest state, but it contains St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and major archives of Catholic history. It is best treated as a focused Rome day, not a separate country trip.

Zambia

Africa

Zambia is the home of the walking safari. South Luangwa's leopards, the Lower Zambezi's canoe trips, and the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, where Devil's Pool lets you swim to the lip in low water.

Zimbabwe

Africa

Zimbabwe holds the main viewing side of Victoria Falls, the granite ruins of Great Zimbabwe that named the country, and Hwange's huge elephant herds. Guiding standards are among the best in Africa.