Unusual Destinations API

Lightweight Node.js + HTTP server that serves a curated list of unusual travel destinations from an in-memory dataset.

• Production: https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com
• Local: http://localhost:8000 (default)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (ESM + top-level await support)

Install & Run Locally

1. Install deps (none beyond Node standard lib):

npm install

2. Start the server (defaults to port 8000):

npm start

3. Override port if needed:

PORT=4000 npm start

API

Base URL: use either the production URL above or your local host/port.

Endpoints

• GET /api — all destinations (with optional query parameters).
• GET /api/continent/:name — destinations filtered by continent. Hyphens are normalized to spaces so /api/continent/north-america matches "North America".
• GET /api/country/:name — destinations filtered by country. Hyphens are also normalized.

Query Parameters

Filter results using query parameters with /api:

• continent — filter by continent (e.g., ?continent=north-america)
• country — filter by country (e.g., ?country=usa)
• is_open_to_public — filter by public access status (e.g., ?is_open_to_public=true or ?is_open_to_public=false)

Parameters can be combined: ?continent=europe&is_open_to_public=true

Example Requests (Production)

• All: https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api
• By continent (path): https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api/continent/north-america
• By country (path): https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api/country/usa
• By continent (query): https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api?continent=europe
• By country (query): https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api?country=japan
• Public destinations only: https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api?is_open_to_public=true
• Combined filters: https://crazy-destinations-api-3e3957d54285.herokuapp.com/api?continent=south-america&is_open_to_public=true

Responses are JSON arrays of destination objects shaped like:

{
  "name": "Fly Geyser",
  "location": "Nevada",
  "country": "USA",
  "continent": "North America",
  "is_open_to_public": false,
  "uuid": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440005",
  "details": [
    { "fun_fact": "The geyser was accidentally created by well drilling in 1964." },
    { "description": "A colorful, continuously spouting geothermal formation with vibrant mineral deposits on a private Nevada ranch." }
  ]
}

Structure

• server.js — HTTP server and routing.
• database/db.js — fetches in-memory dataset.
• data/data.js — static destination data.
• utils/sendJSONResponse.js — helper for JSON responses.
• utils/getDataByPathParams.js — shared filter helper for continent/country routes.