Travel Channel host Samantha Brown shares the underrated trips she's excited to take this year, from China to Illinois

• Business Insider asked Travel Channel host Samantha Brown to share her top picks for 2024 trips.
• The travel expert highlighted China, Northern Ireland, and Illinois as underrated destinations.

Ahead of the new season of PBS' "Samantha Brown's Places to Love," Business Insider asked Travel Channel host Samantha Brown to share the underrated trips she's most excited about this year.

After over 20 years of hosting shows like "Passport to Europe" and "Passport to China," here's what the seasoned traveler said.

China is at the top of Brown's list for 2024

It's been difficult to travel to China the past few years because of the country's COVID-19 restrictions. But those policies have been lifted as of November 2023.

One of Brown's favorite places in China is Xi'an, a city that's thousands of years old and surrounded by walls created during the Ming Dynasty.

"The main thing that you do in Xi'an is see the Terracotta Warriors, where 8,000 terracotta soldiers were buried underneath the earth," she said.

The travel expert called the UNESCO World Heritage Site "an absolute architectural marvel to go see."

Additionally, Brown highlighted Xi'an's great food history, especially in the city's Muslim Quarter.

If you want to travel to Europe, Brown suggests Belfast

"Everyone's going to Ireland — the place is packed. But Northern Ireland still has room, and that's what I love," Brown told BI. "You can get everything that Ireland has already, but without the crowds, and it's a lot cheaper as well."

In Belfast, Brown suggested touring the Titanic Museum. The iconic ship was built in the city, and the interactive attraction tells the Titanic's story from conception to her maiden voyage.

When you're done in Belfast, the travel host said to explore the coastline, especially the famous Giant's Causeway.

The destination features intricate columns naturally formed from volcanic rock that stretch out into the sea.

Her top US pick is road-tripping across Illinois

"I think we as Americans love road trips, and the most underrated road trip there is is through the state of Illinois," Brown told BI.

She suggested beginning the trip in Chicago, the starting point of Route 66.

Hot spots on the road trip down the iconic highway include Old Joliet Prison in Joliet, where "The Blues Brothers" was filmed, and historic Springfield, where you can visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

But Brown's favorite stretch of the trip is driving through McLean, Illinois.

"This one man has acquired all the old historic buildings, and when you walk inside, it's basically a museum for vintage classic video games," she said.

Brown said train travel is the underrated way to see the world in 2024

"Trains are becoming even more in fashion now because there are so many travelers and you don't want to deal with traffic jams," the travel host said.

One of Brown's dream trips is exploring Switzerland by train.

"It's completely doable, so enjoyable, so beautiful. And you just get to enjoy the ride, quite literally," she told BI.

US train travel is also becoming more enjoyable, according to Brown. One trip she said is worth trying out is the Rocky Mountaineer train between Denver, Colorado, and Moab, Utah.

"You can go into a train car and you go through this landscape that is basically out of a Western," Brown told BI.

She also said cog railroad lines — like the ones that travel up Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Pikes Peak in Colorado — are especially fun.