Experts name 4 surprising cities as the best summer destinations in Asia

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Asia is challenging to summarize in a few words, especially given its vastness and diversity.

Sometimes it can seem impossible to tackle or even narrow down where to go.

The easy route is to follow the crowd to Tokyo, Phuket and Bali, but as we all know: some of the best travel memories you’ll make will come from forging your own path to the lesser known.

Experts at Lonely planet have unveiled a monthly guide to the summer, with a number of destinations that ring a bell.

The Travel Off Path team was fascinated by Asia’s biggest summer surprises, ranging from South Korea to India, but not where you would expect.

Without further ado, here are 4 surprising cities you should explore as your next summer adventure:

Busan: the best place in Asia to start the summer

South Korea may have Seoul, but they are not a Seoul animal.

I tried…

In Busan, the country’s K-Pop craze meets vibrant beaches, without sacrificing Korean barbecue hotness and Seoul’s mesmerizing neon streetscape.

Any globetrotter knows that city beaches are at best 50/50 in terms of quality and match the postcards we’ve all seen.

Busan is on the right side of 50/50, where the scenic coastline stretches past golden beaches, rocky cliffs and glassy high-rises – and you can get an even better view on one of the city’s quirky train carts, known as the Celestial capsule.

Haeundae is known as Busan’s must-see beach Gamcheon Culture Village is a popular photo destination for its pastel-colored maze of hilltop houses, striking murals and alleys with sea views.

However you plan your trip, June feels absolutely gorgeous with average temperatures of 22°C.

Travelers currently rate South Korea’s safety level at 85/100 on our Safety Index tool:

Be sure to double check travel warnings and entry requirements before your trip.

Shimla: India’s best kept secret

Is there a country more wonderful than India?

Sometimes wonderfully chaotic, sometimes wonderfully tasty and sometimes wonderfully unpleasant – at least according to my street food algorithm.

Yet wonderful, with no better time to visit than July, with weather ranging from 81-88°F.

You know New Delhi, Mumbai and maybe Udaipur if you’re a travel nerd like us, but a place that at first glance is more reminiscent of Valparaíso or Guanajuato is little-known Shimla, with a kaleidoscopic cityscape stretching across the foothills of the Himalayas.

This once colonized city by Britain still reflects its history, especially for travelers ready to be amazed.

Take the Hogwarts-esque Viceroyal Lodge And the Rothney Castlefor example – truly breathtaking to see.

Shimla is full of surprises across the board, and is especially good at that. Because it’s well maintained, it’s a great place to enjoy Indian cuisine without having to worry about travelers’ nemesis, ‘Delhi belly’, but just beware of pesky local thieves and rhesus monkeys.

Travelers currently rate India’s safety level at 70/100 on our Safety Index tool:

Sendai: the best of Japan packed into one underrated city

You think to have Visiting Tokyo and/or Osaka?

That’s because you don’t know anything about Sendai.

Lonely Planet recommends this virtually unknown city as the “best alternative to well-known cities”, with “everything you came to Japan for – fresh sushi, crazy karaoke, ancient temples”.

I’m already sold.

Japan is fascinating from start to finish. That is why more and more airlines are launching new flights to the country’s remote cities, because they are worth it.

Sendai is just an hour and a half from Tokyo by bullet train, definitely a bucket list item.

Few places make you feel more like a local than Sendai, a city that has yet to be swallowed up by mainstream tourism.

August is said to be a perfect time to visit, with highs reaching just 80°F due to the cooler mountain climate, earning the nickname “City of Trees.”

Travelers currently score Japan’s safety level at 89/100 on our Safety Index tool:

Chengdu: China’s Panda-monium Power Station

China is such a global power that it’s hard to keep up with its vast metropolises in more ways than one.

Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong are the obvious headliners, but Chengdu is perhaps the one that draws the most interest from Americans.

After all, travelers flock to my hometown of San Diego to watch pandas sleep and gnaw on bamboo like puppies with a new toy.

In Chengdu, however, you can see the real thing in China’s beloved ‘panda capital’, where visitors can see babies in the Research base for breeding giant pandas.

There are no direct flights from the US, but there are easy connections from other Chinese cities.

Although the weather is August, with an average temperature of just 27°C, the real heat comes from the region’s notoriously spicy Sichuan cuisine.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Travelers currently rate China’s safety level at 91/100 on our Safety Index tool:

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Sam Sears

Sam, our Senior Lead Writer & Journalist based in San Diego, has visited 44 countries and written more than 1,500 articles with an emphasis on sharing his own travel experiences and highlighting lesser-known gems.