country to visit in 2023

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The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2023

Where to go in 2023, according to T+L editors — for a breath of fresh air, a big-city adventure, or a glimpse at the future of travel.

Since 1971, Travel + Leisure editors have followed one mission: to inform, inspire, and guide travelers to have deeper, more meaningful experiences. T+L's editors have traveled to countries all over the world, having flown, sailed, road tripped, and taken the train countless miles. They've visited small towns and big cities, hidden gems and popular destinations, beaches and mountains, and everything in between. With a breadth of knowledge about destinations around the globe, air travel, cruises, hotels, food and drinks, outdoor adventure, and more, they are able to take their real-world experience and provide readers with tried-and-tested trip ideas, in-depth intel, and inspiration at every point of a journey.

With much of the world reopened, 2023 is shaping up to be the year travel officially bounces back. We made our list of the 50 best destinations for 2023 a little differently this year: We asked Travel + Leisure's editors where they want to go in the months ahead. Some are raring to get back to Japan, while others have the Trans-Bhutan Trail on their lists. Still more are planning a sail around Greenland, a wine-tasting trip on California’s central coast, and a visit to France’s next big wine region (which is, as it happens, tiny).

A few up-and-coming culinary destinations made our list, as did a remarkable piece of art, the size and scale of which boggles the imagination. While many of the team’s picks are remote, breathe-in-that-fresh-air kinds of places, our list doesn’t skimp on cities where the hustle and bustle is part of the fun.

But with so many choices now back on the map, there are as many styles of trips as there are places to explore. That’s why, for the first time in recent memory, we’ve broken our list of best places to go into categories.

The hope is that, whatever it is you’re after in the year ahead, you’ll find it in one of these 50 places. And who knows? We may just see you there.

— Edited by Paul Brady and Maya Kachroo-Levine

Destination by Category

For cultural riches, alexandria, virginia.

K. Summerer for Visit Alexandria

With postcard-perfect cobblestone streets and quick access to the wineries of northern Virginia , Alexandria is an easy city to love. But these days, the reason to go is to see how effectively the city is confronting its own history, as destinations across the American South grapple with the legacy of the Confederacy . Alexandria, which was founded as a tobacco port in 1749, was for decades of the 19th century the site of the country’s largest domestic slave trade . Today, the Freedom House Museum has three new exhibitions honoring the people who were forcibly brought here. Meanwhile, the African American Heritage Trail, which opened in 2020, follows the Potomac River and encompasses nearly 200 years of history at 11 stops, such as the Torpedo Factory , where many Black men and women worked during World War II. An extension of the route will debut in February 2023 with 20 new stops, including Waterfront Park, the port from which enslaved people were trafficked to places like New Orleans. At Jones Point Park, visitors can learn about Benjamin Banneker , an inventor, mathematician, and free African American from Maryland who was instrumental in the 1791 surveying team that determined the border of the new U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. (For an even deeper look at the city’s Black experience, book with Manumission Tours , which is run by a fourth-generation Alexandrian .) The city’s most elegant stay is Morrison House Old Town Alexandria, Autograph Collection , which was recently voted one of the best city hotels in the continental U.S. in T+L’s 2022 World’s Best Awards. A new Hotel AKA is slated to open in Old Town in winter 2023. — Liz Cantrell

Cairo and the Nile

Emli Bendixen

It’s almost here: After more than a decade of construction — to say nothing of the hype — the Grand Egyptian Museum may finally open, just a stone’s throw from the Great Pyramids of Giza, this spring. What to expect? More than 1 million square feet of exhibition space, treasures including a 40-foot-high statue of Ramses II, outdoor gardens, and an expansive plaza from which visitors can take in the desert surroundings. Meanwhile, a number of new and luxurious ships have started sailing the Nile: Among the best choices are the Viking Osiris , an all-veranda vessel carrying 82 passengers, and the opulent Sphinx from Uniworld Boutique River Cruises , which has 42 cabins swathed in marble and hand-carved wood, with beds dressed in fine Egyptian cotton sheets. The hotel scene is also, thankfully, getting a refresh with a new Mandarin Oriental slated for downtown Cairo in 2024; the forthcoming 200-room Four Seasons Hotel Luxor is scheduled to debut in 2025 — not that you should wait that long to see the ancient Valley of the Kings. — John Wogan

“City,” Nevada

City, 1970 – 2022 © Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Eric Piasecki

Even in a state known for its vast, empty landscapes, Basin and Range National Monument , about a two-hour drive north of Las Vegas, takes “remote” to a new level. The 704,000-acre preserve, created in 2015, provides endless opportunities for hiking, climbing, camping, and cycling; its desert valleys and mountain ranges are also dotted with Indigenous rock art sites. But the reason to go now is “City,” the single largest contemporary artwork in the world, which opened to visitors in September 2022. Made from dirt, rock, and concrete, the monumental open-air sculpture was more than 50 years in the making, a collection of mounds, depressions, and stelae conceived by the artist Michael Heizer . The endeavor — which was made possible by joint contributions from art institutions around the country, including LACMA and MoMA — will open to the public for the 2023 season by reservation only . The mile-and-a-half-long sculpture feels at once ancient and futuristic, a destination just as awe-inspiring as the natural one surrounding it. — John Wogan

Havana, Cuba

Brad Ogbonna

The can-you, can’t-you continues, but the Biden administration has made it a touch easier to visit Cuba as a result of its May 2022 relaxation of some restrictions on travel to the island. These days, Americans can go as part of a group tour or visit individually on a "support for the Cuban people" license, travel advisor Molly Layman told T+L. “It’s one of 12 authorized categories of travel to the island,” she said, adding that “it requires citizens to have a full-time schedule of activities that support the Cuban people, which is easily fulfilled through buying services from Cuban entrepreneurs, staying in local homes, dining in private restaurants, and booking cultural activities.” Those ready to take to the vibrant streets of Havana will also need a visa, said Layman, who works as director of operations at tour company Cuba Candela . Travelers can handle that, she said, “on the day of travel at the airport check-in desk or from a tour provider.” (The cost varies depending on where a visa is purchased but rarely exceeds $100.) While the hoops are undeniable, they may well be worth jumping through in the year ahead. — Christine Burroni

Tangier, Morocco

Issam Elhafti/Getty Images

For decades, this northern Moroccan city has attracted a stream of bohemian expats including, most famously, beat-generation writers Paul Bowles and William S. Burroughs. That’s how it cultivated a reputation as a place where foreigners went to live, rather than simply visit. But Tangier’s reputation could change this spring, thanks in part to the opening of Villa Mabrouka — British designer Jasper Conran’s second Moroccan property, which follows the 2018 opening of L'Hôtel Marrakech . The one-time private residence of fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, the hillside property has gorgeous views over the Bay of Tangier within walking distance to the city’s frenetic medina. Villa Mabrouka joins other newcomers, like the Museum of Contemporary Art , a space displaying work by regional artists, also called the Kasbah Museum, as it's housed in the renovated, 17th-century Kasbah prison. Also new on the proverbial block is the just-opened Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier , set on a refurbished, century-old estate near the old city. Anticipation is already growing for a recently announced Waldorf Astoria, a 115-room and 21-villa resort set to open in 2025. — John Wogan

Lakes Region, Turkey

Istanbul and Bodrum are both rightly popular, but U.S. travelers will find much to love in other pockets of this diverse country — including this inland part of southwestern Anatolia, which travel advisor Engin Kadaster predicts “will be very popular in the years to come.” Kadaster has been including the Lakes Region on more and more itineraries for her clients, and helped coordinate a story in T+L’s August 2022 issue that included destinations such as Isparta, the region’s largest city and a center of rose and lavender production, and the ancient hilltop city of Sagalassos. The region’s most famous feature — naturally — is a series of tectonic lakes, created by ancient earthquakes, in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains, but it also holds many ancient Greek and Roman archaeological sites. A blessed lack of mass tourism means that this isn’t a hot spot for luxury hotels, but cozy places like Eskiciler Konaği , a renovated century-old mansion near Lake Eğirdir, or Aliya Konak , a seasonal farmstay on a working lavender operation in Isparta, are warm and welcoming. Intrepid travelers can ditch the hotels altogether by camping along the new Pisidia Heritage Trail , a waymarked route that unites the Lakes Region’s splendid nature and unique history as it passes through ancient sites like Kremna, Adada, and Yazılı Canyon. — Hannah Walhout

The United Kingdom

Courtesy of Peninsula London

T+L’s Destination of the Year may be undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime period of transition, but some things never change. For one, the country’s historic cities will always be home to hotels that mix stately grandeur and affable service. This past summer saw the opening of Gleneagles Townhouse , a chic, urban outpost of the iconic Gleneagles resort, in the heart of Edinburgh; next year London will welcome the cool glam of the Peter Marino–designed Peninsula London . Of the U.K.’s many world-class museums, two have recently gotten upgrades: Glasgow’s Burrell Collection , a stunning assortment of international art and artifacts, and the Manchester Museum , which is dedicated to the natural sciences. The Factory , Manchester’s new cultural center, pays tribute to the famous record label behind '80s rock bands the Happy Mondays and New Order. Gourmands (and the just plain hungry) will want to sample the broad range of culinary delights at London’s new Arcade Food Hall at Battersea Power Station, the latest stage in the rehabilitation of the historic building. No visit to the U.K. is complete without venturing out into its peerless countryside, and Scotland’s first rewilding center, Dundreggan , is one noteworthy place to take it all in: Managed by charitable organization Trees for Life , this 10,000-acre estate on the shores of Scotland’s Loch Ness plans to open a visitor’s center by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the new Two Toms Trail in Lancashire covers 25 miles and features some of England’s most stunning scenery. — Peter Terzian

Getty Images

The perennially popular city made headlines in 2022 for its day-trip entrance fee , which takes effect in January 2023. But why only go for the day? The Venice Architecture Biennale runs May 20, 2023 to Nov. 26, 2023, with global exhibits curated by Lesley Lokko, the first Black architect to organize the event. Architecture lovers will also want to visit the Procuratie Vecchie, the 16th-century building along St. Mark's Square. Though its façade is one of Italy’s most photographed, the public has only recently been allowed inside, after the completion of a five-year refurbishment led by David Chipperfield Architects . Those looking for nostalgic luxury should plan to arrive in the second half of the year, with their bags packed for a train trip: Belmond’s iconic Venice Simplon-Orient Express will unveil two newly restored carriages from the 1920s and ‘30s in June, with opulent suites modeled to mirror the landscapes of Europe. — Nina Ruggiero

For the Food — and Wine

Courtesy of Four Seasons

It may have a reputation as a stopover city, but Athens deserves a closer look — and at least a few nights — in the year ahead. Not far from the Piraeus port , where travelers hop both domestic ferries and cruise ships that criss-cross the Mediterranean, the Athens Riviera has seen a surge of development. Four Seasons Astir Palace , which opened amid the pandemic, has a private beach on the sparkling Saronic Sea and two spaces designed by Swedish architect Martin Brudnizki, including a midcentury modern cocktail bar and Pelagos restaurant, which has already earned its first Michelin star. In the spring of 2023, One&Only Aesthesis will open just a few miles away, also along the waterfront. Next door is the brand-new Experience Park, with trails, fitness classes, fountains, a Zen garden, and bountiful native plants and flowers; it’s part of an $8-billion waterfront green space called The Ellinikon , on the former site of the city’s international airport, that’s still under development. In central Athens, the 2022 opening of the 43-room Xenodocheio Milos hotel in the Pláka neighborhood brings a bit of cosmopolitan verve, from the team behind international restaurant brand Estiatorio Milos . And while the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the Acropolis isn’t new — the ancient amphitheater first opened about 1,900 years ago — it will bring back a full schedule of shows in 2023 after a pandemic-era slowdown. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

Central Florida

Courtesy of Small World Vacations

This fall, Hurricane Ian took 81 lives and caused $60 billion in damage across Florida. While the hard-hit southwestern part of the state continues to recover, Visit Florida president and CEO Dana Young said in October that other regions are ready to welcome travelers back. Central Florida in particular is worth a closer look, thanks to its ever-growing hospitality scene. Orlando and Tampa recently won a combined 14 Michelin accolades in 2022, when the guidebook publisher released its first-ever guide to Florida restaurants. The area’s family-friendly draws are better than ever: Disney’s recently opened, highly immersive Star Wars : Galactic Starcruiser is a two-night adventure that takes themed entertainment to the next level by allowing guests to eat, sleep, and breathe Star Wars with lightsaber training, out-of-this-world dining (blue shrimp, anyone?), and a trip to Batuu at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Meantime, Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebrations continue through March 2023, with limited-time eats, nighttime spectaculars, and festive décor. In Tampa, the latest Edition Hotel just opened with a sprawling rooftop pool club and restaurant from chef John Fraser. And getting both to and around Central Florida is easier than ever, with the recent opening of Orlando International Airport’s new 15-gate Terminal C and Brightline rail service connecting Orlando to South Florida destinations including Miami and West Palm Beach beginning in 2023. — Elizabeth Rhodes

The Jura, France

Guillaume Megevand

There’s a tiny French region just west of the border with Switzerland that’s producing some big, big wines. Thing is, only a tiny fraction of those bottles ever make it to the U.S., as T+L recently reported . That means you’ve got to go to the Jura — preferably before everyone gets wise to the area’s seven Appellations of Controlled Origin (AOCs) . Among serious oenophiles, word is already spreading about the vin jaune, “yellow wine,” made from native savagnin grapes and aged in the Jura’s distinct sous voile style, in which the wine matures “under a veil.” Not that wine is the only draw. The Jura also boasts a comté cheese trail — as if the région weren’t French enough — that connects no fewer than 150 fromageries and dairy farms. Hiking in the Jura Mountains, through Baume-les-Messieurs village and to the Hérisson waterfalls , is equally enticing, particularly as an antidote to all the wine- and cheese-focused sightseeing. Most surprising, perhaps, is just how accessible this under-the-radar area can be. Getting to the Jura takes two hours from the French capital by high-speed train , departing from Paris’s Gare de Lyon. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

San Luis Obispo County, California

Courtesy of Visit SLO CAL/Acacia Productions

It’s time to stop sleeping on “SLO.” Once considered a quick Pacific Coast Highway stopover for those visiting Hearst Castle — which reopened this past spring 2022 after a two-year closure — the central coast county is now a draw in its own right. SLO’s seven cities, including Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, and San Luis Obispo, are all buzzing, and the area just earned official American Viticulture Area (AVA) recognition in 2022, thanks to more than 200 wineries, many of which are family owned . Two new Nomada Hotel Group properties opening in 2023 will welcome the inevitable influx of oenophiles: Farmhouse, a collection of 26 rustic-chic cottages with fire pits and hammocks, arrives in January; while River Lodge, a mile from the Paso Robles wine trail, is slated for May. Also being reimagined under Nomada is the Gold Rush–era Pozo Saloon , reopening in the town of Santa Margarita in August with outdoor soaking tubs, live music, trails for hiking and horseback riding, and a glamping site. Paso Robles just notched its first Michelin star ( Six Test Kitchen ), while San Luis Obispo’s SLO Public Market will welcome two new restaurants, All Good Grill and Todo Bueno , in 2023. Nature lovers should make a beeline for the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove : The insects were recently put on the endangered list, but this spot still draws over 10,000 annually. — Nina Ruggiero

Victoria, Australia

Matteo Colombo/Getty Images

Australia has reopened, and this southern state is a particularly appealing corner of the country these days, thanks to hot springs resorts that are poised to make it the next big wine-and-wellness destination: Alba Thermal Springs and Spa on the Mornington Peninsula was the first to open in September 2022, with pools powered by solar and a commitment to achieving climate-positive operations. Metung Hot Springs in East Gippsland is set to follow in late 2022, with updated facilities in an area long known for its thermal waters. Phillip Island Hot Springs , which distinguishes itself with several saltwater features, plans to open in early 2023. Out on the Mornington Peninsula — a destination long popular for its world-class wineries — the InterContinental Sorrento began accepting reservations this past August 2022. Melbourne, Victoria’s appealing capital city, is also expecting new openings, including the intimate, seven-suite Hotel Vera Ballarat by year’s end, followed by the highly anticipated Ritz-Carlton Melbourne , set to open in 2023 in Australia’s tallest tower. Qantas is making it easier to get there, too: By December 2022, the airline will have four nonstop flights a week connecting Dallas and Melbourne, a welcome bridge between Victoria and the middle of the U.S. — Sarah Bruning

For Big-city Thrills

Jonathan Filskov/Getty Images

The eternally cool city will highlight its prowess with all things design, as the official UNESCO World Capital of Architecture in 2023. Venues across Copenhagen — contemporary parks, starchitect-designed skyscrapers, even typically humdrum infrastructure like playgrounds — will host events and visitors for a look at the future of the urban environment. One highlight will be the Copenhill Power Plant, the cleanest waste-to-energy plant in the world — that’s also the site of an artificial ski slope. “We’re going to do a lot of open-house events where 50 different venues are going to be open to the public that are usually closed to visitors,” said Copenhagen’s city architect Camilla van Deurs, who mentioned as examples churches; bridges; and the Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank building planned in part by Danish design legend Arne Jacobsen. “Superkilen,” van Deurs said, “is a playground for kids and adults — and a cultural hub in the middle of Nørrebro, the most ethnically mixed neighborhood in Copenhagen.” New places to stay in the city also deliver a signature blend of modernism and hygge: Find it at the single-suite Kaj Hotel , which floats on a canal near Copenhagen Opera House, or the colorful new 25 Hours Hotel Copenhagen . — Tim Latterner

Lance Childers/Houston First

The 2020 opening of the Kinder Building, the latest addition to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston , cemented the city’s spot among true international arts destinations. The recent reopening of the Rothko Chapel , after a $35-million renovation, has only reinforced that reputation. Today, a wealth of new ventures is poised to raise the profile of Texas’s largest city in other categories as well. Opening next year, the JMK5 Arena will transform a disused racetrack into a 12,500-seat concert stadium poised to rival the venues of Vegas. It arrives on the heels of the relatively more intimate 713 Music Hall , which has attracted artists ranging from Judas Priest to Lil Nas X. The Houston Zoo is undergoing a much-delayed expansion that will include a Galápagos Islands–themed exhibit, which will feature an underwater tunnel and a penguin habitat. And the Houston Botanic Gardens , which opened in 2020, features 132 acres of diverse ecosystems, from wetlands to prairie. — Peter Terzian

Courtesy of Rosewood Villa Magna

The Spanish capital may finally, thankfully, be shaking off its reputation as the country’s somewhat stuffy business hub. A flurry of tony hotel openings throughout the city has helped, by bringing plenty of personality to what had been a staid scene. It began in 2021 with the arrival of the Mandarin Oriental Ritz ; Rosewood Villa Magna ; and Santo Mauro, a Luxury Collection Hotel . Then came the Edition in April 2022 . Breathing new life into the former Monte de Piedad de Madrid building, the hotel has 177 rooms, 21 suites, and two penthouses, plus two restaurants with food from chef Enrique Olvera and the culinary team behind Mexico City’s acclaimed Pujol . Elsewhere in Madrid, an already electric food scene has only gotten better — particularly in the glamorous Salamanca neighborhood and architecture-rich Chamberi district — with new offerings representing everything from Middle Eastern falafel and Argentinian asado to Spanish-Indian fusion and globally inflected vegan fare. — Sarah Bruning

Taylor McIntyre/Travel + Leisure

Welcome to the new Nashville. The city’s tourism renaissance is being fueled, in part, by a slew of just-opened hotels, including a Conrad , 1 Hotel , and a Soho House . (A Four Seasons just popped up in the bustling SoBro neighborhood, too.) The newly redesigned Hermitage Hotel , meanwhile, now has the first Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant in the South. The Fifth + Broadway complex has new outposts of old favorites, like fried chicken staple Hattie B’s , and the expansive Assembly Food Hall has dozens of choices, including bars, plural. That inimitable Nashville energy can still be found on Broadway, at honky-tonk bars that go until all hours, but there’s also Justin Timberlake’s sexy Twelve Thirty Club or live events like CMA Fest , which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. Getting there has never been easier, thanks to low-cost carriers such as Breeze Airways and Southwest, both of which have recently added more flights from both coasts, not to mention places like Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Ohio’s Akron-Canton Airport. — Elizabeth Rhodes

Forget the notion that Steel City is just a town for football and factories. The metropolis is working on new cultural destinations that can’t be missed: While the next lunar lander is currently being built in Pittsburgh, the Moonshot Museum , which opened in October 2022, is putting on display mankind’s history of getting to and exploring the lunar surface. The Carnegie Museum of Art is hosting its 58th Carnegie International Exhibition, a huge temporary show of both historical and contemporary art which runs through April 2, 2023. The childhood home of playwright August Wilson has been restored and turned into a museum, complete with studios for arts programming. The city also has a new spate of hotels and bars drawing crowds, like the modern-chic Joinery Hotel Pittsburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton and The Industrialist, Autograph Collection in the Arrott building, one of the city’s first skyscrapers. Across the river in Allentown, Bottlerocket Social Hall is the perfect place to post up with locals and, yes, watch the game. — Tim Latterner

San Francisco

Ryan White/Parks Conservancy

Despite the so-called national conversation, the apocalypse has not yet come to San Francisco. True, this city had the most extreme wealth divide of any in California in 2020, and the seams here can be especially visible. But all the reasons SF shines — the arts, the nature, the dim sum, the sourdough — haven’t gone anywhere. And a slate of recent infrastructure and cultural projects show that many in the city are working to make it a better place to live and a more compelling destination to visit. The new Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco walks the walk of its focus on equity: the museum is completely free and has opted against a permanent collection in order to direct more funds to artists and staff. The city’s urban national park unit, the Presidio of San Francisco , recently gained 14 acres with the opening of the Presidio Tunnel Tops , a green space designed by James Corner Field Operations, the lead firm for New York City’s High Line, which incorporated input from more than 10,000 residents. Another massive community-led park and mixed-use development is underway in India Basin , with sustainability and affordable housing as stated core values. The hospitality scene is also on the come up: 1 Hotel San Francisco , The Line SF , and Beacon Grand (formerly the Sir Francis Drake) have all opened in the past six months, and Auberge Resorts Collection is slated to debut a new hotel in the Hearst Building in 2023. — Hannah Walhout

Don Eim/Travel + Leisure

American travelers can finally get back to the South Korean capital after years of pandemic restrictions — and there’s plenty to catch up on. The city’s arts scene is buzzing, thanks to new venues such as Konig Gallery , not to mention the announcement from Seoul Museum of Art that three new wings will launch by 2024. (An added boost came from Seoul hosting its first edition of Frieze this past September, during which many commenters asked if K-art may well be the next K-pop.) Meanwhile the destination has seen a number of new hotels open, including the surprisingly trendy Fairmont Ambassador Seoul and Josun Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seoul Gangnam , with its sweeping views of the globally famous district and stunning public spaces, including 1914 Lounge & Bar. — Tim Latterner

For Moments on the Water

Cape verde, the gambia, ghana, and guinea-bissau.

Arnau Ferrer

Though Ghana has, in recent years, surged in popularity as a destination for American visitors , particularly Black Americans , West Africa remains unfamiliar to many. One solution may be the innovative West Africa Archipelago cruises that Hurtigruten Expeditions aims to launch in November 2023. These two-week trips, aboard the line’s 180-passenger Spitsbergen , will stop in ports in four countries, with a huge array of activities on the expedition schedule: visits to historically important sites including Gorée Island ; wildlife-watching forays to spot hippos and manatees; and adventures such as scaling volcanoes and scrambling across lava fields. Though some cruise lines occasionally stop in West African ports, Hurtigruten’s deep focus on the region represents a step change — one that’s driven by passenger demand, said Asta Lassesen, the CEO of Hurtigruten Expeditions. “These islands are not as known as our other destinations, but they are teeming with unique wildlife, different cultures, and offer completely different experiences than you’d find in a traditional cruise destination,” Lassesen told T+L. — Paul Brady

Coastal Ecuador

Courtesy of Kontiki Expeditions

Many travelers know the historic capital city of Quito and the incredibly biodiverse Galápagos Islands , but now's the time to visit Ecuador’s stunning Pacific coastline. From surf towns like Montañita to the preserved beaches and cloud forest of Machalilla National Park, coastal Ecuador is packed with outdoor adventures and stunning scenery. Kontiki Expeditions unlocks the region with eight-day yacht cruises that visit five of the country’s 24 provinces, hitting destinations including Isla de la Plata and Salinas. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Kontiki Expeditions operates an intimate ship with just nine staterooms, refined outdoor and indoor spaces, and a nearly 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio. (Guests can book an individual room, or charter the entire 18-passenger yacht.) Getting there has gotten smoother, too: U.S. airlines including American, JetBlue, and Spirit now offer direct flights to Guayaquil, from which Kontiki Expeditions trips depart. — Elizabeth Rhodes

The Explora I

Courtesy of EXPLORA I

Just don’t call it a cruise: Upstart travel company Explora Journeys describes its itineraries as “ocean journeys,” nevermind the fact they’re aboard the newly built, 461-suite Explora I . The vessel is slated to hit the water in July 2023, with trips in the Mediterranean that visit popular cruise destinations such as Barcelona and Civitavecchia, near Rome, as well as lesser-visited ports including Patmos, Greece, and St.-Tropez, France. “It’s a new style of ocean travel that connects you with the things that are important,” Explora CEO Michael Ungerer told T+L. “There’s a craving to learn something new and make authentic connections without leaving your tried and tested luxury environment and services behind.” Indeed, life aboard won’t be monastic: Explora I will have 18 restaurants and bars and a massive spa, among other luxuries. Still, should all that ocean journeying become a bit too wearying, guests can always retreat to their suites, all of which have private verandas. In fact, when it debuts, Explora I will have the most space per passenger of any vessel anywhere. — Paul Brady

Antarctica is so last year. While Greenland may not have penguins, it does promise plenty of beautiful landscapes and seemingly endless horizons. The newly christened National Geographic Resolution will sail the Eastern shore of Greenland in June 2023, with opportunities to explore the Rømer Fjord depending on conditions. Ponant has a dozen distinct itineraries scheduled for 2023, including a number of round trips from Kangerlussuaq, in Western Greenland, that explore Baffin Bay. The brand-new Seabourn Venture, the line’s first expedition ship, will also be there in 2023; one particularly compelling August itinerary starts in Iceland, spends nearly three weeks along Greenland’s coast, then continues through the Northwest Passage before wrapping in Anchorage, Alaska. More conventional operators, such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, are making the polar destination a fixture, too. The Seven Seas Navigator will visit Prince Christian Sound and make calls in Nuuk and Paamiut on a June 2023 sailing between New York City and Reykjavik. — Paul Brady

Hvar, Croatia

Goran Stimac/Getty Images

Those seeking a brighter 2023 will find it on Hvar: This Dalmatian Coast island calls itself the sunniest in Croatia. That means plenty of time for cycling more than 100 miles of bikeable terrain or kayak trips to secluded beaches. At night, those clear skies make for incredible stargazing: Jesla, on the island’s north shore, was named the first International Dark Sky Community in Southern Europe in 2022; and Moeesy , the island’s newest luxury hotel, has one room with an over-the-bed skylight for bedtime viewing. The town of Velo Grablje’s 14th-century charm peaks in July, when the lavender festival blooms with food, drink, and family-friendly activities all centered around the fragrant Mediterranean plant. And in Hvar proper, the harborside Riva Marina hotel reopened in June 2022 with refreshed waterfront terrace suites and a new restaurant and bar concept focused on local ingredients. Just down the block is the island’s first sustainable hotel , Beach Bay , which opened this past summer 2022 with an off-grid solar power system and a commitment to honor UNESCO’s Sustainable Travel Pledge . — Nina Ruggiero

The Path of Totality

©StudioPonant/Laure Patricot

A total solar eclipse, in which the moon blocks the sun and plunges the Earth into momentary darkness, is a “relatively common” phenomenon, NASA heliophysicist Dr. Michael Kirk told T+L. The trick is that most eclipses happen over water or in extremely remote places — which is why spotting the next one, on April 20, 2023, will be all about the chase. The upcoming path of totality will cross the Indian Ocean, graze Western Australia, then sweep across Indonesia and East Timor into the Pacific; astro-enthusiasts can chart its full course with the Totality app . That means the best way to catch the show will be to board a ship , such as the 188-passenger Le Lapérouse, for a Ponant and Smithsonian Journeys cruise from Bali, Indonesia, to Broome, Australia. The new Indonesia-based charter yacht Celestia will also be sailing around the edges of totality, making visits to the islands of Komodo National Park, the Moluccas, and Raja Ampat. The very best odds for viewing, said NASA’s Kirk, will be in Western Australia, where “the Exmouth Peninsula, Barrow Island, and the sea in between should have clear skies.” Eclipse chasers could drive the 750 miles from Perth to Cape Range National Park on the Ningaloo Reef–fringed Exmouth, but Tropical Sails Corp’s Pacific Explorer , which can take you there from Perth on a five-day Indian Ocean sail, seems a far more pleasant journey. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

For Fresh Air and Nature

Courtesy of Pal-Arinsal Ski Resort

This tiny European country, which at 181 square miles is smaller than Chicago, could soon turn into one of the world’s biggest ski destinations. The mountainous country, situated between France and Spain, has long been known for its reliable December-to-April conditions thanks to its high-altitude perch in the Pyrenees. But now, for the first time, three Andorra ski areas have been added to the Ikon Pass , putting a collective 7,600 acres of downhill terrain across 215 runs and 123 lifts into play for holders of the global lift ticket. At the same time, the three destinations of Grandvalira , Ordino Arcalís , and Pal-Arinsal (or, collectively, the Grandvalira Resorts Andorra ) will be available on a single local Andorra Pass , which starts at about $50 a day, a bargain by any big-mountain standards. Alternatively, visitors can opt for a newly launched Nord Pass, a multi-day ticket that works at both Ordino Arcalís and Pal-Arinsal for less than $40 per day. So, while these affordable mountains remain a bit of a challenge to reach — Grandvalira can be a four-hour drive from Barcelona — the days of smaller crowds may soon be a thing of the past. — Jamie Aranoff

Asheville, North Carolina

Tim Robison

This flannel-clad city in the Blue Ridge Mountains checks all the boxes, with year-round outdoor activities, sophisticated dining, and easy access, whether you’re driving or flying. (Asheville Regional Airport is on pace for a record-breaking 2022 , with service from 25 destinations.) But the year ahead offers more reasons to visit, starting with some cool new places to stay: Wrong Way River Lodge has a collection of A-frame cabins along the French Broad River that are perfect for white-water rafters. AutoCamp Asheville , another glamping-esque abode with Airstream campers, is slated to open by mid-2023. Downtown, the new Restoration Hotel promises a properly plush stay; its sister property in Charleston consistently ranks in T+L's World's Best Awards . (For those who’d rather be even closer to nature, The Glamping Collective is a newly opened, 160-acre site with domed pods and glass cabins situated a short drive from the city.) Asheville’s food scene has fresh energy from S&W Market , Asheville’s first food hall and the brainchild of award-winning chef Meherwan Irani. For all that’s new, visitors shouldn’t skip the old standbys: French Broad Chocolates is a local fave that’s since gone national, and Battery Park Book Exchange is the prime spot for a late-night glass of Champagne amid dusty bookshelves. — Samantha Falewée

Aysén, Chile

Stefan Ruiz

Chile’s Aysén region lies between two popular destinations — Torres del Paine National Park and the Lake District — with a captivating landscape of hanging glaciers, magnificent fjords, pristine lakes, and jagged peaks. Yet this 41,000-square-mile swath in northern Patagonia — the least populated in Chile — remains largely unexplored by visitors, in part because of its topography. But now, several outfitters and organizations, including Chile’s Route of Parks , are developing more itineraries and ecotourism routes for the non-mountain-scaling adventure traveler, with less-daunting activities like kayaking, hiking, and biking. Not long ago, travel company Explora opened a lodge in Aysén’s Patagonia National Park (working with nonprofit Rewilding Chile to support conservation and educational efforts) and launched eight- to 12-day trips that make travel across the region convenient, with flights, accommodations, and activities included. Factor in loosened COVID-19 restrictions and a newly elected president (the country’s youngest in history) as additional reasons to go now. Then there’s the continually growing partnership between Delta Air Lines and Latam, which allows for mutual lounge access and easy nonstop flights from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City to Santiago, which is just a short connecting hop from Coyhaique, the gateway to Aysén. — Alisha Prakash

The Hudson Valley, New York

Andre Maier

Yes, the stretch north of New York City and south of Albany, along the banks of the lordly Hudson River, has been attracting enterprising former urbanites — as well as savvy travelers in search of charming towns and idyllic countryside — for the past century or so. But its transition from quasi-rustic to quietly glam marks a new and intriguing chapter. Next summer, The Ranch Hudson Valley , an offshoot of the West Coast’s rigorous retreat The Ranch Malibu, will open on a grand estate built by financier J.P. Morgan (as a gift for his daughter’s marriage to Alexander Hamilton’s great-grandson) and will offer multi-day programs to revive weary New Yorkers. Meanwhile, Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection , a property with 60 freestanding cabins and cottages, will highlight the pastoral side of the region, with a farm-to-table restaurant and 140 acres of orchards and wildflower gardens. The region’s reputation for top-notch cuisine continues with the upscale tavern fare at Merchants Social in Hudson and Stissing House in Pine Plains, the Southern-inflected Darlings in Tilson, and the sweet fantasia of the Catskills Chocolate Co. in Catskill. (Longtime cheesemongers Talbott and Arding have recently moved to a beautiful new space in Hudson, too.) But don’t forget to leave room for culture. In Catskill, Foreland is a self-billed kunsthalle that extends across three 19th-century mills with exhibition spaces and artist studios. And the beloved sculpture park Storm King Art Center is getting a $45-million overhaul that includes an extensive new visitors center. — Peter Terzian

Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia

Thomas Retterath/Getty Images

“Zambia is a destination so many people miss,” said travel advisor Leora Rothschild . “The country’s Lower Zambezi National Park is one of my favorite destinations anywhere. Having a safari on a river adds a dynamic element,” she notes, since being on the water offers a different perspective than travelers get while on a game drive or in camp. Among the best places to take in this wildlife-rich destination is at one of its newest lodges , the luxurious eight-suite Lolebezi , which African Bush Camps opened inside the park and on the banks of the river this past June. It’s an ideal base from which to explore Lower Zambezi, which sits opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to what the agency calls its “ dramatic landscape ” and “huge herds of elephant and buffalo.” Though remote, this corner of Zambia has recently gotten a bit easier to access, as pandemic-era travel regulations have loosened. Air Botswana announced in May 2022 that, following a two-year hiatus, it would relaunch flights from Gaborone, Botswana to Lusaka, Zambia. — Samantha Falewée

Prince Edward Island, Canada

Tourism PEI/Sander Meurs

As Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island might get overlooked in favor of the country’s bigger, badder destinations for outdoor thrills. But this tiny island — known to many as the setting of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved “Anne of Green Gables” series — packs a punch. Here, you’ll find rugged cliffs, red-sand beaches , and a surprisingly robust golf scene, with 27 courses. Perhaps the biggest draw for adventurous travelers right now is the Island Walk , a 435-mile trail that opened in 2021 . Tracing the entire coastline, it passes through dozens of small towns and fishing villages. Walkers can start and end at any point, but the entire loop would take about 32 days, assuming a pace of 12-15 miles a day. Not that you’ve got to be hardcore to enjoy the trail: Towns and villages along the route have plenty to offer even non-hikers, such as the relatively new Slaymaker & Nichols , a cozy inn and gastropub in Charlottetown, the provincial capital. Classic PEI experiences endure, such as the seafood-focused, multi-course “ culinary experience ” from celebrity chef Michael Smith at the Inn at Bay Fortune . — Liz Cantrell

Stephanie Vermillion

When high-speed internet was installed at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak, this past August, it was just the latest example of the new era dawning in Tanzania. The leader of the country’s changing face is President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first woman of color and the first Muslim to lead this country, who took office in 2021. “I never expected that one day I would be president,” President Hassan told PBS . Not that she’s wasting any time. Since taking power, she’s devoted herself to strengthening infrastructure, women’s businesses, education, health care — she received her COVID-19 vaccine on live television to encourage others to get immunized — and sustainable travel. This summer, the Usangu Expedition Camp in Ruaha National Park opened in partnership with the Tanzania National Parks Authority , and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute ; Selous Safari Company recently refreshed its six-suite private reserve on Fanjove Island, a jumping off point for “marine safaris” by dive boat or kayak. — Samantha Falewée

Uttar Pradesh, India

Luis Dafos/Getty Images

Pummeled by the pandemic, India suffered through a grim 20-month closure, only reopening to travelers at the end of 2021. However, at long last — and with COVID-19 cases now under control thanks to large-scale vaccination programs that have delivered more than 2 billion doses — 2023 is primed to be the year visitors return to this soul-stirring country in full force. While many travelers will opt for Rajasthan’s royal palaces and desert jewels, there’s good reason to discover Uttar Pradesh on your next trip. India’s fourth-largest state is home to classic attractions including the Taj Mahal, in Agra, and the Ganges River ghats of Varanasi, the nation’s holiest city. But the new draws here include Vana, a wellness retreat in the Himalayan foothills of Dehradun. The resort, which is now managed by the World’s Best Award–winning hospitality company Six Senses, has rooms and suites that prioritize the lush landscape with balconies and terraces overlooking the surrounding forest and gardens, offering a true breath of fresh air. — Alisha Prakash

For Beach Vibes

Patrick Michael Chin

Already a favorite weekend getaway for East Coasters, Bermuda will become even easier to get to in 2023. American Airlines resumed flights to the island from New York City's John F. Kennedy International in November, which the carrier had paused in the early days of the pandemic. Upon arrival at L.F. Wade International, travelers are now greeted in a new $400-million terminal with automated immigration gates and preclearance for U.S.-bound passengers — plus unexpected extras like a putting green and an outdoor nature trail. Bermuda’s resort stock is on the rise, too: Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa recently debuted a top-to-bottom renovation, adding villas and a Bermudian outpost of Sunken Harbor Club, the tropical cocktail bar above Brooklyn, New York’s wildly popular steakhouse Gage & Tollner. The St. Regis Bermuda is another high-end hotel option, which opened in 2021 with the nation’s first casino and incredible views of Fort St. Catherine. The island recently rolled back all COVID-19 entry requirements, but the Atlantic country’s  remote work program  — which launched in July 2020 and allows for stays up to one year — is still running for anyone looking to make its pink-sand beaches a new home base. — Liz Cantrell

Cayman Islands

Warren Fleming-Hollinger/Getty Images

It just keeps getting easier to visit the Caymans. As of fall 2022, Cayman Airways flies nonstop from Los Angeles International to Grand Cayman, the first direct route from the West Coast to the British territory. “Getting to Hawaii takes longer,” said Kenneth Bryan, Cayman Islands honorable minister for tourism and transport, in an interview with T+L. Wherever they’re flying in from, visitors will find plenty of new offerings along Seven Mile Beach, on Grand Cayman’s west shore. Chief among them is the freshly renovated Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman , which is now outfitted with a La Prairie Spa and Saint June restaurant, complete with a beachfront bar. (The property is thankfully still home to the long-running, annual Cayman Cookout .) For travelers who prefer heart-pumping adventure to pool- or beachside relaxation, the Caymans can deliver: Hiking reserves like the 100-year-old Mastic Trail on Grand Cayman or the Bluff on Cayman Brac may not be as well known as the islands’ beaches — but they should be. Meanwhile a growing art scene is beginning to draw international attention, thanks to shows at the well-established National Gallery of the Cayman Islands as well as the vibey, creative atmosphere at new hotels such as Palm Heights , as T+L recently reported . — Christine Burroni

Coastal Uruguay

© Tali Kimelman/Posada Ayana

The vast skies, empty beaches, and delicious food of Uruguay remain as alluring as they’ve ever been. Still, 2023 promises to be a breakout year for the country’s lowkey coastal destinations, thanks to an ever-growing art scene that adds a layer of culture to this already inviting stretch along the Southern Atlantic. Among the newest must-sees is the Atchugarry Museum of Contemporary Art in Punta del Este, a 90-acre campus which opened in early 2022. Also nearby is artist James Turrell’s “Ta Khut,” an experiential Skyspace that opened in late 2021 at Posada Ayana, a small hotel in José Ignacio. (The seaside village is also home to intriguing contemporary collections at three Vik Retreats properties, including Bahia Vik , with its oceanfront bungalows.) A short drive from José Ignacio, the village of Garzón has lately become a hub for multidisciplinary artists thanks to Campo , an incubator and non-profit that brings creatives to this still-rural corner of Uruguay. — Paul Brady

Lush mountains, bustling beach towns , and idyllic resorts make Guadeloupe the perfect place for adventurous travelers looking for something Caribbean but different. In recent years, though, it’s been difficult for U.S. travelers to reach this French overseas department — particularly after Norwegian ceased its nonstop flights to the destination in 2019. Now, things are looking up again, as JetBlue has relaunched its nonstop service from New York City to the gateway city of Pointe-à-Pitre in November 2022. SkyTeam faithfuls can also now get there on Air France, on nonstops from either Miami or New York; American Airlines also serves the archipelago from Miami. First-timers tend to focus on two of the islands, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, the latter of which is home to Guadeloupe National Park. (A local tour company such as Vert Intense can help with the logistics of seeing Carbet Falls and La Grande Soufrière volcano.) Accommodations tend away from big brand names, though — this being France — there is an all-inclusive, beachfront Club Med La Caravelle . Other well-regarded options include the remote, hillside Le Jardin Malanga Hotel , with its dramatic ocean views, or the cliffside villas of the boutique-y La Toubana Hotel & Spa , along the southern shore of Grande-Terre. — Christine Burroni

The Jersey Shore, New Jersey

William Laird

“The real thing is quite different from TV,” George Distefano told T+L. Now a hotelier, Distefano grew up on the Jersey Shore — and today is doing his part to change the narrative around the beloved summer destination. His latest project, The James Bradley , is a 17-room inn that opened in Bradley Beach in August 2022 and is aimed at a crowd that’s perhaps quieter, chicer, and altogether less interesting to MTV producers. In nearby Asbury Park , which has long been a barometer of development, openings of The Asbury Hotel and the Asbury Ocean Club and Residences signal the start of a bougier era. Even Atlantic City is now substantially more chic, after many casino resorts, including Bally’s , Caesars , and Ocean , used the pandemic-induced dip in visitors to undertake hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations. “The area as a whole has had a bit of a renaissance,” Distefano said. One telling indicator of where the Shore is headed next? A Nobu Hotel is slated to open on the boardwalk any day now. — Hannah Walhout

Maui, Hawaii

Hawaii has been in the midst of a multi-year rethink about how tourism impacts the state . “We seek to balance the economic vitality of our industry with the health of our natural environment and the well-being of our communities,” is how Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries put it this past summer . On Maui, that balance has been struck recently in efforts to renovate and reimagine some of the island’s most popular resorts. The 54-acre Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua , to take one example, is finishing up a major overhaul that includes a reimagined aquatic complex (with three “zero-edge” swimming pools), an expanded Club Lounge , and programming that will include not just cocktail classes and cooking demonstrations but also lei making and musical performances by Hawaiian artists. On the southwest coast of the island, The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort is in the midst of its own refresh of all 776 guest rooms and suites; some are, happily, already good to go. There’s other progress beyond hotels: e-bikes are now plentiful on Maui, thanks to a recent rule change that allows them on island roads. Companies like RideSmart Maui lend out wheels that make exploring a breeze, whether your interest lies in the historic sites of Lahaina or the beautiful beaches around Wailea. — John Wogan

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Courtesy of Chablé Hotels

This picturesque stretch of the Yucatán peninsula is in the midst of welcoming four marquee hotels. The Waldorf Astoria Cancun just opened, a brand-new build with 173 rooms and five dining venues all overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Casa Chablé and The St. Regis Kanai Resort are slated to open in early 2023, followed by the Riviera Maya Edition at Kanai in spring 2023. Not new but refreshed is Maroma, a Belmond Hotel , which will reopen in May 2023 after a year-long closure with 10 new oceanfront suites and Latin America's first Guerlain spa. Farther south, closer to Tulum, the ultra-luxurious Hotel Esencia has added a posh new 10,000-square-foot, four-bedroom mansion tricked out with fitness and screening rooms, an underground speakeasy, and three pools — the perfect thing for a friends’ getaway. Not that hotels are the only draw: The last section of the new Maya Train project, which connects Cancun and Tulum, is expected to open by the end of 2023 after delays to address environmental and archeological concerns . The route will make several cultural and historic sites , including Chichén Itzá, more accessible and connect travelers to other destinations in the state of Quintana Roo, including Bacalar, Playa del Carmen, and Puerto Morelos. Also on the horizon is the opening of the long-awaited Tulum airport, which Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said will be completed by the end of 2023. — Sarah Bruning

Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

Courtesy of Auberge Resorts Collection

Long a vacationer’s paradise, this section of Mexico’s Pacific coast between Puerto Vallarta and the beach town of San Blas is only getting better in the year ahead. The 59-room Susurros del Corazón , Auberge Resorts Collection, began welcoming guests in November 2022 with experiences that include an introduction to raicilla , a lesser-known agave spirit, and boating excursions in Islas Marietas, a national park known for its biodiversity. On its heels, Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort , which is the second tented camp property from the brand , will open in December 2022. Accommodating just 30 people at a time, the lush 48-acre property is making wellness a key focus, so guests can expect to unwind with options like a temascal ceremony and nocturnal forest bathing sessions. An extra incentive to go? JetBlue launched new nonstop flights from JFK to Puerto Vallarta International, which serves as the gateway to the region. — Sarah Bruning

U.S. Virgin Islands

Courtesy of USVI Department of Tourism; Jamie Aranoff

With no pandemic restrictions, no passport needed, and plenty of inbound flights, the U.S. Virgin Islands are challenging Bermuda for the title of easiest warm-weather getaway for East Coasters. What’s more, the islands just established a Territorial Park System Trust Fund Board which will protect and preserve attractions like St. Croix’s Great Salt Pond and St. John’s Oppenheimer Beach. Caribbean flavors are, once again, another reason to go: The King of the Wing competition on St. Thomas, which celebrates creative chicken cookery, is back after a two-year hiatus; the 23rd annual Taste of St. Croix festival, one of the largest culinary events in the region, happens in April. Carnival , which returned in 2022, will be another event to watch in the year ahead. St. Thomas celebrates from late April through early May with food fairs, pageants, and parades; St. John fetes from late June through July 4, concluding with an Independence Day bash; and St. Croix sparkles from mid-December through Three Kings Day with more traditional, Christmas-centric fanfare. — Jamie Aranoff

For a Look at the Future

This past September, Bhutan, the impossibly scenic country between India and China, reopened to tourists after 30 months. But that’s nothing compared to the 60 years it’s taken to redevelop the 250-mile Trans-Bhutan Trail , which also reopened that month. Once the only way to travel across the Himalayan kingdom, the ancient pilgrimage route is now one of Bhutan’s biggest draws, a must-see for hikers, bikers, and other outdoorsy types. The trail connects 400 historic sites, with museums, fortresses, and temples along the way — plus stunning natural scenery and seemingly endless views. As part of its reopening, Bhutan has ended its policy requiring visitors to be accompanied 24/7 by a guide; instead, the nation has implemented an increased tourism tax, or Sustainable Development Fee, which is intended to fund social and cultural programs, infrastructure improvements, and environmental conservation. (The $200-a-day charge, up from $65, is also deliberately expensive, in an effort to keep visitor numbers low.) On the hotel front, Six Senses opened its fifth and final Bhutan lodge, Six Senses Bumthang , in March 2020, but the eco hideaway tucked in a pine forest in the town of Jakar, of course, has only just become accessible to foreigners. — Alisha Prakash

Boten–Vientiane Railway, Laos

Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua via Getty Images

It’s not every day the world gets a new cross-country railroad. The ambitious Boten–Vientiane railway that stretches across Laos may have opened for business in late 2021, but now’s the time to jump aboard, as travel to Asia reopens to American visitors. The remarkable engineering project is one of many financed by China as part of the country’s Belt and Road Initiative that builds heavy infrastructure across Africa and Asia. In this case, the train has dramatically slashed travel times across the difficult-to-drive if strikingly beautiful landscapes of Laos: Trips that would’ve taken a full day by road can now be done in just a couple hours of train-carriage comfort, as T+L recently reported . The route runs from the northern border town of Boten to Luang Prabang, which is known for its many temples. It then continues on to Vang Vieng, a gateway to some of the country’s most dramatic landscapes, before arriving in the capital, Vientiane, on the border with Thailand. Intermediate stations will help open up to visitors parts of the country that haven’t historically benefited from tourism, as Ruben Derksen, director of product and digital at Bangkok-based tour operator Exo Travel , told T+L. In the years ahead, the 257-mile railway may become even more critical, as just one segment of a Singapore to Shanghai route that will make continent-spanning journeys not just possible, but pleasant. — Paul Brady

Kyoto, Japan

Rudy Sulgan/Getty Images

Kyoto is often thought of as the serene, slowed-down complement to go-go Tokyo. And, certainly, the former Japanese capital has its historic temples, gardens, and teahouses. But since Japan’s October 2022 reopening to independent travelers , this destination and its new draws demand fresh eyes. The city’s famous Gion Matsuri , or festival, is set to return in full force in July 2023 following a pandemic pause, with enormous floats and a wealth of food and drink offerings; the event, which was first held in 869, is said to be Japan’s biggest festival. In August, Kyoto celebrates Gozan Okuribi , a bonfire celebration visible across the city that marks the close of Obon, a festival honoring ancestors. New hotels abound, including hospitality group Banyan Tree’s 138-room Dhawa Yura Kyoto , located in the heart of the city. Another new option is Garrya Nijo Castle Kyoto , with 25 rooms set amid lush greenery in front of Nijo Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also new — yet firmly rooted in the city’s history — is the recently opened Maana Kiyomizu , where visitors can spend the night in restored machiya , traditional wooden townhouses. Though Japan has only just reopened, it’s already getting even easier to get there, thanks to Delta Air Lines’ brand-new routes from Hawaii to Tokyo plus flights that resumed this fall from Los Angeles. — Alisha Prakash

New Zealand

Barry Tobin; Courtesy of Tourism New Zealand

After a stringent lockdown, New Zealand has at last dropped all travel restrictions. Happily, the country is becoming more accessible than ever, thanks to the nonstop flights between New York and Auckland that Air New Zealand launched in September. (That long haul has also gotten comfier, thanks to the airline’s Economy Skycouch seats.) Wondering if those 17 hours in the air will be worth it? Auckland continues to evolve with no shortage of dazzling new places to stay. The 99-room Hotel Britomart , lined in timber and exuding Zen calm, is at the heart of Auckland’s Britomart District, nine blocks of historic warehouses converted into shops and restaurants. Mawhiti Walheke is a luxurious modern guest pavilion on a vineyard-covered island a short ferry ride from the city. And New Zealand’s spectacular landscape finally has a showstopper of a property to match it: Flock Hill , a fully serviced four-bedroom villa on a sheep ranching station in the Southern Alps region of South Island. — Peter Terzian

Teahupo’o,Tahiti

© Gre goire Le Bacon

The village of Teahupo’o, on the southwestern coast of Tahiti, will take center stage during the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite being 9,800 miles from the French capital. But unless you’re planning to compete, the year ahead is the ideal time for a closer look at this part of French Polynesia, before the world’s attention turns to the South Pacific. Some of the incredible waves here rate among the most fearsome on the planet — hence the name Teahupo’o, which essentially means “wall of skulls” — while others are more rideable for those with some surfing experience. Accommodations such as Tahurai can organize coaching sessions, including some hosted by local surf icon Tereva David. Those more comfortable watching the waves than riding them can get on the water with tour companies such as Teahupo’o Tahiti Surfari , which takes visitors by boat to see the famous Teahupo’o swell, one of the highest and heaviest waves in the world, as well as waterfalls, lagoons, lava tubes, and cliff-diving spots around the island. Meanwhile, it’s gotten easier than ever to reach Tahiti, thanks to Delta Air Lines’ new nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Fa'a'ā International Airport. Air Tahiti Nui has also added connectivity, with the only nonstop flights between Seattle and Tahiti, which took off in October. — Jamie Aranoff

Victoria, British Columbia

Carlina Teteris/Getty Images

What does it look like for a city to meaningfully prioritize “sustainability,” a word that often ends up more “feel-good” than actually “do-good?” Victoria is maximizing its green impact, aiming to make all new buildings carbon neutral by 2025 and halve landfill waste by 2040. Admittedly, few travelers pick destinations based on zero-waste initiatives, but it’s easy to take an environmentally minded trip to Victoria — the city even has suggested “green travel” itineraries , capitalizing on the outdoor beauty of places like Goldstream Provincial Park, one of many green spaces on Vancouver Island. Visitors have their choice of carbon-neutral hotels, such as Inn at Laurel Point and Parkside Hotel & Spa , and can even do carbon-neutral fast food at Big Wheel Burger , Canada’s first such restaurant. Other eco-minded activities include e-biking along the Saanich Peninsula to seaside towns like Sidney — with stops at picturesque wineries or the Butchart Gardens along the way — or hopping aboard an orca-watching cruise with Eagle Wing Tours , which is, of course, part of 1% for the Planet . — Liz Cantrell

JJ Farquitectos/Getty Images

Austria’s capital city may be old — like, Holy Roman Empire old — but 2023 will see neue life in this historic destination. The year ahead is the 150th anniversary of Vienna’s World’s Fair, and the celebrations include 12 months of cultural events. It’s also the 300th anniversary of the opening of the Belvedere , the palatial museum that’s mounting an art nouveau exhibit featuring 90 Gustav Klimt works in February. Adaptive reuse is also on trend here, and the recently opened Rosewood Vienna is but one example, set in a neoclassical building that was once a bank headquarters and, before that, an apartment building where Mozart lived. The now-reopened Reznicek is a contemporary gasthaus inside a 100-year-old inn; Grace ’s Michelin-starred fare is served in a refurbished wood-paneled café reminiscent of the ‘70s. Not that Vienna is only looking to the past: New initiatives have added 1,000 miles of bike paths, carsharing via WienMobil , a robust network of electric buses, and new development in the fast-growing Aspern neighborhood where every public space and street is named after a woman . Other new additions include Hotel Josefine , with its sultry Roaring ‘20s energy and Hotel Gilbert , with a greenery-cloaked façade and Scandi-inspired design. Nonstop flights from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Newark, New York City, and Washington, D.C. are always an option but the most au courant way in may be the new Paris to Vienna Nightjet train , which runs three days a week, with private cabins with lie-flat beds and breakfast in the morning. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

52 Places to Go in 2023

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London  Copied to clipboard!

A buzzing city ready for a coronation, a brand-new airport link and a prehistoric colossus read more.

Tom Jamieson for The New York Times

Between an altered post-lockdown landscape, sensational changeovers at 10 Downing Street and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there is no doubt that London is in transition. But the city continues to juxtapose old traditions and new possibilities, offering something for everyone who loves culture, history, art and nightlife.

For fans of the royal family, and maybe a few naysayers, the crowning of King Charles III , Britain’s first coronation in seven decades, will be the main event in May. There’s also the revamping of Battersea Power Station , an iconic former coal-fired power plant, into a shopping and leisure hub, and a new line on the Underground will directly connect Heathrow Airport to the central boroughs. A cast of a titanosaur, the largest creature ever to walk the planet, will make its European debut at the Natural History Museum , and late-night obsessives can head to newly opened dance clubs like the Beams . Big changes, yes, but a wealth of new choices, too.

— Isabella Kwai

Morioka  Copied to clipboard!

A walkable gem without the crowds, just a short bullet train ride from tokyo read more.

Andrew Faulk for The New York Times

Morioka, Japan

Until this past October, Japan maintained some of the most stringent travel restrictions of any major country. Now, travelers are beginning to stream back to popular destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

The city of Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture, however, is often passed over or outright ignored. Circumscribed by mountains, it lies a few hours north of Tokyo by Shinkansen, the Japanese high-speed rail lines. Morioka’s downtown is eminently walkable. The city is filled with Taisho-era buildings that mix Western and Eastern architectural aesthetics as well as modern hotels, a few old ryokan (traditional inns) and winding rivers. One draw is an ancient castle site turned into a park.

There’s also fantastic coffee, including one of Japan’s third-wave originators: Nagasawa Coffee, whose owner, Kazuhiro Nagasawa, is so committed to his beans that he uses a vintage German-made Probat roaster, which he personally imported and restored. Azumaya serves up all-you-can-eat wanko soba , which comes served in dozens of tiny bowls; Booknerd offers classic Japanese art books; and Johnny’s, a jazz cafe, has been open for over 40 years. An hour west by car: Lake Tazawa and dozens of world-class hot springs.

— Craig Mod

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park  Copied to clipboard!

The majesty and awe of towering buttes in a setting fit for hollywood read more.

Rachael Wright

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park,

Americans have been flocking to national parks, many of which were overrun with visitors during the peak of pandemic-related international border closures. Amid the bustle, peacefully taking in the majesty of nature can be a challenge.

Monument Valley offers a less crowded alternative. The site, known as Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii in Navajo, has been a popular insignia for the American West ever since John Wayne rode in to film “Stagecoach” in 1939, and the grandeur of its cinematic sandstone buttes, towering above a copper-red desert vastness, elicits a feeling of reverence and awe.

The tribal park, which features a 17-mile driving loop, is open to visitors under the stewardship of the Navajo Nation. Its relatively basic infrastructure — in contrast to sites governed by the National Park Service — and its out-of-the-way location on the Arizona-Utah state line help create a more serene experience compared with other awe-inspiring U.S. destinations.

— Rachael Wright

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A misty scottish stonehenge, with all of the mystery and far fewer visitors read more.

Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Kilmartin Glen, Scotland

The sun rises over Kilmartin Glen as it has for thousands of years, illuminating an ancient landscape of more than 800 archaeological monuments sprouting in the mist. This verdant valley on Scotland’s wild west coast is one of the most significant prehistoric sites in Britain, yet it’s largely off the visitor circuit; imagine Stonehenge without the crowds.

Wander among majestic stone circles, standing slabs that jut from the earth, burial cairns and rock carvings of concentric rings, expanding like ripples from a drop of water. And now the past is getting a refresh: The Kilmartin Museum is reopening with expanded exhibits and new experiences that delve into the region’s relics and flourishing natural life, including Moine Mhor (Great Moss), one of the few remaining raised bogs in Europe, above which looms the Iron Age hill fort of Dunadd.

For full immersion into the Scotland of yore, stay at the moody 16th-century Kilmartin Castle , which was recently transformed into a boutique hotel, with vaulted ceilings, copper tubs and a wild swimming pond.

— AnneLise Sorensen

Auckland  Copied to clipboard!

New Zealand

Pastries that rival France’s best, with a side of adventure tourism on the North Island Read more

Susan Wright for The New York Times

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is usually considered the entry point for the rest of New Zealand’s natural attractions, but travelers just passing through can miss that it’s also the culinary capital (sorry, Wellington).

Restaurants that have been germinating while the country’s borders were closed are now ready to be sampled by all. Just 10 minutes on foot from the newly renovated downtown, for instance, takes you to Hugo’s Bistro , where a regular clientele, including many lawyers, dines on unfussy French-inspired food that takes advantage of New Zealand’s fertility: Saffron, wasabi and truffles, among other delicacies, are grown in the country. Cazador , a longtime staple of the residential neighborhood Mt. Eden, serves local game in its restaurant and house-cured meats in its delicatessen.

The city’s famous multiculturalism also plays a part: Omni , which opened in 2020 and whose head chef worked at Hong Kong’s Yardbird, makes high-end yakitori, and Little French Pastry ’s founders, originally from France, serve up mille-feuille rivaling Paris’s best.

Palm Springs  Copied to clipboard!

Spotting stars in the streets and counting galaxies in the sky read more.

Beth Coller for The New York Times

Palm Springs, California

Yes, this is the land of midcentury nostalgia, with its low-slung Modernist architecture and the recent return of the 26-foot-tall “ Forever Marilyn ” statue. But these days, there’s another headliner: the surrounding desert, and the dark skies above.

Astrotourism is on the rise, with a constellation of ways to explore the cosmos, including at the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory , which offers tours and monthly “Swoon at the Moon” events. Unfurl a blanket on the desert floor and gaze up at the starry sky at Joshua Tree National Park . This designated International Dark Sky Park has one of the darkest skies in California, with stargazing treks and the annual Night Sky Festival .

The desert nature and history that flourish around Palm Springs are also shaping the city’s landscape, including the new Palm Springs Downtown Park , designed to reflect Indian Canyons , ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and Museum , which, when it opens later this year, will be one of the largest Native American cultural centers on the West Coast; and new desert-inspired hotels like Azure Sky .

Kangaroo Island  Copied to clipboard!

A haven for koalas and other wild creatures, healing after devastating wildfires read more, kangaroo island, australia.

A short trip from Adelaide, South Australia’s capital, the nearly 1,700-square-mile Kangaroo Island is known for incredible wildlife, breathtaking ocean views and its status as an ecological haven — like a zoo without fences.

Three years ago, devastating fires consumed the island, wiping out wildlife and destroying a famous luxury hotel, the Southern Ocean Lodge . Efforts to rebuild are continuing, and the island is more compelling than ever to visit. New organizations that sprang up to help with the wildlife recovery offer visitors a chance to play a part in funding that regeneration.

At the Kangaroo Island Koala and Wildlife Rescue Centre , you can book a private tour to see the animal hospital facilities, or bottle-feed a joey (a baby kangaroo). At the long-established Seal Bay Conservation Park , you can watch one of Australia’s largest colonies of sea lions frolic on the beach. And in 2023 the Southern Ocean Lodge will reopen, grander and better than before.

— Besha Rodell

Vjosa River  Copied to clipboard!

Cycling through the canyons and valleys of one of europe’s last untamed waterways read more.

Shutterstock

Vjosa River, Albania

Protecting the Vjosa , one of Europe’s last undammed rivers, hasn’t been easy. After a decade of proposed projects that threatened to alter the waterway’s wild flow, its innumerable ecosystems and its valleys strewn with ancient communities, the Albanian government signed a commitment last June to create the Vjosa Wild River National Park .

Making good on that pledge, scheduled to become reality in 2023, will establish a global conservation model while preserving the country’s canyon-lined, 120-mile stretch of the 169-mile waterway, which runs from the Pindus Mountains in Greece to the Adriatic Sea, as well as including around 60 miles of tributaries.

For travelers — on trails like Albania’s new UNESCO Cycling Route (opening January 2023), which runs along the river and visits World Heritage sites like the city of Gjirokastra — safeguarding the Vjosa and its river system, with over 1,100 animal species, encourages responsible discovery of alpine settlements, where locals welcome adventurers for coffee, raki (local fruit brandy) and a chance to imbibe oft-overlooked Balkan culture.

— Alex Crevar

Accra  Copied to clipboard!

Feast first, dance later, in a hub of innovative west african cuisine read more.

Jessica Sarkodie for The New York Times

Accra, Ghana

Accra’s food scene typically consists of two schools: “chop bars” that serve traditional, cheap meals like fufu (made from pounded cassava, green plantains or yams) with tomato-based spicy soup, and pricier restaurants serving foreign fare.

Travelers to Accra, Ghana’s capital, can now see a new wave of chefs and entrepreneurs bridging this gap by emphasizing and innovating with local produce. At the Mix, a new restaurant and design hub, the West African staple gari (granulated cassava root) is dyed pink with beetroot and accompanies squid in a passion fruit sauce.

The sustainable food space in Accra is also one to watch; Ghana Food Movement , an educational group, hosts events throughout the year, including a signature Dine & Dance series in which underutilized indigenous ingredients like millet, eaten by Ghanaians almost exclusively as porridge, are made into stars over three courses. The meal is followed by a dance party, of course, in true Ghanaian fashion.

— Jessica Sarkodie

Tromso  Copied to clipboard!

A clear-skied hot spot where aurora seekers are likely to spy their dazzling prize read more.

Nerd Nomads Travel Blog

Tromso, Norway

After years of low solar activity, projections are looking up for travelers hoping to experience the aurora borealis, or northern lights. As the sun’s volatility increases, with more coronal mass ejections and solar flares, so, too, will the frequency and intensity of the aurora. Experts predict solar activity to peak in 2025, explained Trond S. Trondsen, an aurora expert at Keo Scientific , a designer of specialized optical instruments for space research in Calgary, Alberta. Already, he said, “the number of sunspots are climbing faster than predicted .”

One of the best places to see the northern lights, Tromso, Norway, is more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and is relatively accessible, as far as reliable viewing locations go. Travelers can get there either by plane or by a combination of train and bus. Cruise ships and ferries are also a possibility.

Most important, the town’s surrounding landscape, near the sea but with mountains nearby, offers enough distinct weather zones to make it likely that there will be clear skies most nights — a must for seeing the lights when they do appear.

— Ingrid Williams

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park  Copied to clipboard!

Blinding white dunes and aquamarine pools in an otherworldly natural water park read more.

Scott Baker

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

Want to feel like you’ve traveled so far that you’re only vaguely tethered to Earth? Welcome to Lençóis Maranhenses , a horizon of rolling, blindingly white sand dunes rising into the sun and descending into otherworldly green and blue lagoons filled with rainwater.

Forget your cell signal or trappings of comfort: There are few if any structures, people or even trees around, and the park’s location near the Equator means it’s blazingly hot during the day. Yet almost all Brazilians will tell you they want to visit this remote area to experience the sensation of playing in a lunar water park.

Logroll down the dunes, splashing into the natural pools. Traverse the area on horseback, stopping at “oases” along the way. Or be mesmerized by its immensity via helicopter tour. It’s the antidote to that claustrophobic Covid-era feeling — a vast, borderless moonscape where you can roam wild and free.

— Shannon Sims

Bhutan  Copied to clipboard!

Cliff-top fortresses and rhododendron forests on a revived trekking trail read more.

Marcus Westberg

After two and a half years of pandemic isolation, Bhutan reopened in September with changes to its longstanding “high value, low volume” tourism policy. Visitors are no longer required to travel on package tours, but Bhutan’s mandatory “sustainable development fee” increased to $200 from $65 per day.

At the same time, the 250-mile Trans Bhutan Trail, a path used for centuries as a pilgrimage and communications route, reopened after a three-year restoration that mended suspension bridges, stone stairs and long-overgrown temples. The trail stretches east to west across nearly the entire country, passing through cities, villages, farmlands and wilderness. Depending on the route and time of year, trekkers might spy the snowcapped Himalayas, visit cliff-top fortresses, scale sacred mountain passes or pass through blooming rhododendron forests.

Official guides are required, and itineraries range from half a day to more than a month. Accommodations include guesthouses, home stays, luxury hotels and well-appointed campsites on each of the trail’s 28 sections. Proceeds from trips booked with Trans Bhutan Trail , the nonprofit that led the restoration, go toward trail maintenance, educational programs, guide training and other community causes.

— Sara Clemence

Kerala  Copied to clipboard!

Learn to climb a palm tree, visit a temple during an annual festival and get a sustainable taste of village life read more.

Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

Kerala, India

We travel to immerse ourselves in other cultures, but some forms of community tourism put residents on display without offering benefits. Not so in Kerala — a southern Indian state celebrated for its beaches, backwater lagoons, cuisine and rich cultural traditions like the Vaikathashtami festival — where the government has adopted an award-winning approach that allows visitors to experience village life while supporting the communities that host them.

In Kumarakom, one of several “ responsible tourism destinations ” in the state, visitors can paddle through jungly canals, weave rope from coconut fiber and even learn to climb a palm tree. In Maravanthuruthu, visitors can follow a storytelling trail and enjoy village street art before taking in an evening performance of a traditional temple dance.

— Paige McClanahan

Greenville  Copied to clipboard!

South Carolina

Adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and on dinner plates downtown Read more

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Greenville, South Carolina

Set in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville has established itself on the culinary scene. The quaint city of about 70,000 has more than 200 restaurants — 85 percent of which are local, without a tie to a national chain — in its strollable downtown area alone. Visitors may come for the access to outdoor adventures, but they’ll most likely leave having been introduced to flavors from around the world.

Even as the renowned Soby’s celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and two food festivals — euphoria and Fall for Greenville — attract tens of thousands of people annually, restaurants continue to crop up around the city. The second location of Charleston’s acclaimed Lewis Barbecue opened to long lines in September. Mr. Crisp , with Greg McPhee as executive chef, highlights seafood, especially its crisp-yet-tender hand-battered fish and chips. Keipi celebrates Georgian khachapuri and the country’s ancient wines; Aryana delivers a taste of Afghanistan; and Califas has brought Mexican birria tacos to Greenville.

“The real heartbeat of Greenville is a creative and diverse food community that keeps reinventing itself,” said Sid Evans, the editor in chief of Southern Living. “The food here is adventurous, and the chefs have embraced the global influences shaping the modern South.”

— Ari Bendersky

Tucson  Copied to clipboard!

A rebounding center of art and adobe with centuries-old ties to mexico read more.

John Burcham for The New York Times

Tucson, Arizona

Barrio Viejo, an area of more than 150 acres in Tucson, is the largest barrio in the United States and exemplifies Tucson’s connection to Mexico, with centuries-old Sonoran adobe architecture.

This year, the neighborhood, which has one of the most diverse racial, cultural, religious and ethnic populations in the country, will receive National Historic Landmark designation . Revival projects include the restoration of the 300-seat Teatro Carmen , built in 1915 and later converted into the Black Elks Club , and female-owned boutique hotels, like the Citizen in the former home of the Tucson Citizen newspaper and the Downtown Clifton in a once-faded motel.

Take the Tucson Origins Tour by Borderlandia , which specializes in tours of the U.S.-Mexico border area, for a deep dive into history. Then explore the famed Etherton Gallery and Andrew Smith Gallery , both in new spaces. Don’t forget Barrio restaurants like the local coffee drinkers’ favorite EXO Roast , housed in an 1885 adobe home, and the Coronet , which moved to the neighborhood in 2019.

— Daniel Scheffler

Martinique  Copied to clipboard!

Creole culture, giant ferns and hummingbirds that don’t back down from a staring contest read more.

Martinique,

While travel was frozen in 2020, Martinique celebrated the induction of its traditional yole sailboat — a lightweight craft kept upright by crew members, who use their body weight as ballast by sitting on poles that extend over the sides of the hulls — on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In the fall of 2021, the entire island was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve , recognizing the destination’s commitment to sustainable economic and social development.

Islanders are awaiting yet another decision from UNESCO, which they hope will name the nearly 4,600-foot volcano Mount Pelée and the Pitons du Carbet range to the World Heritage List. The region represents “the diversity of Martinique,” said Alex Dobat, who owns Natiyabel , a scuba diving and hiking outfitter (whose name means “nature is beautiful” in Creole), who described ferns the size of trees, wild begonias and hummingbirds “staring at you quietly.”

Tourism officials are counting on the UNESCO certifications to attract ecotourists to its peaks, rainforests, reefs and Creole culture.

— Elaine Glusac

The Namib Desert  Copied to clipboard!

Southern Africa

1,000-foot dunes and crashing waves along a nearly uninhabited coastline Read more

The Namib Desert, Southern Africa

Along the desolate coast of Namibia, 1,000-foot-tall sand dunes descend into the sea. During low tide, intrepid adventurers can drive along the beach, past towering yellow dunes on one side and the South Atlantic’s churning waters on the other. This is the Namib, the world’s oldest desert, and the perfect place for a long road trip . After almost three years of Covid-19 restrictions, it’s hard to imagine a place where you can feel more free.

“Namib” means “vast place” in Khoekhoegowab, a language spoken in many parts of Namibia. It’s astonishingly easy to get lost in this almost entirely uninhabited expanse of sand, where you might travel for days without seeing another human being.

In the Namib-Naukluft National Park, travelers can go back in time at the Deadvlei, where 600-year-old trees stand eerily lifeless, preserved by the dry air; challenge themselves to climb the 100-story Big Daddy Dune; observe desert-adapted wildlife like oryx and springbok; and even see mysterious fairy circles .

— Jen Guyton

The Alaska Railroad  Copied to clipboard!

470 miles of mountains, glaciers and grizzlies from the comfort of a glass dome read more.

Christopher Miller for The New York Times

The Alaska Railroad,

Since 1923, the Alaska Railroad — the last railroad in the United States to carry both people and freight — has connected millions of passengers and trade goods over 470 miles of track, from Seward to Fairbanks. This year is the centennial of its operation and a celebration is planned in Nenana, where President Warren G. Harding drove in the golden spike on July 15, 1923, completing the railroad.

Operational well before Alaska became a state, in 1959, the railroad is an environmentally friendly way for passengers to see wilderness, and even the aurora borealis, without sacrificing comfort: Glass-domed rail cars make viewing easy. It is also the only remaining flag-stop major railroad in the country. Passengers can wave a flag to embark or disembark, gaining access to more remote locations, including harder-to-reach areas of the Chugach National Forest, through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.

Sights along the way include Denali, North America’s tallest peak, and Kenai Fjords National Park. History buffs can view a special exhibit at the Anchorage Museum that runs from May to February 2024, chronicling the railroad’s history.

— Charu Suri

Fukuoka  Copied to clipboard!

Savoring an endangered street-food tradition on the often overlooked island of kyushu read more.

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka, a subtropical city perched on the northern shore of Kyushu, is one of the few remaining places in Japan where you will see rows of yatai — open-air street-food stalls resembling boxes of neon light. Many sell traditional foods like ramen, yakitori and oden, but if you stroll along the riverfront on Nakasu, a small island that is Fukuoka’s red-light district, you’ll find some diversity with wine, coffee, and even French sausages and garlic toast.

Yatai were a common sight across Japan in the 1950s, but during the 1964 Summer Olympics, the authorities had them removed to project an image of economic recovery. In the present, Fukuoka is the only city left that’s fighting this bureaucracy. The government has acknowledged the cultural significance of yatai by increasing the safety and quality of the food and by offering more licenses in 2022. Even so, the number of yatai has fallen drastically to around 100 stalls today from more than 400 in the ’60s. Pull up a seat while you can and enjoy rubbing shoulders with strangers over supper again.

— Harvard Wang

Flores  Copied to clipboard!

An island paradise where crater lakes change color and nine-foot dragons roam read more.

Lauryn Ishak for The New York Times

Flores, Indonesia

The term “fairy-tale getaway” is overused, but what else do you call a far-off, unspoiled, Southeast Asian island with nine-foot Komodo dragons, active volcanoes, white-sand beaches, coral gardens, rushing waterfalls and color-shifting crater lakes reputed to house departed spirits?

Such are the allures of Flores, one of the roughly 17,500 islands of the Republic of Indonesia. An hour’s flight from Bali and far less visited, Flores may be seeing more visitors with the scheduled opening late this year of Kodi Bajo , a luxury resort in the fishing town of Labuan Bajo. Operated by the group behind the NIHI hotel on Sumba, a nearby Indonesian island, Kodi Bajo will offer sumptuous hillside accommodations and views of the nearby Komodo National Park archipelago — the only place in the world inhabited by the famous giant lizards.

— Seth Sherwood

Guadalajara  Copied to clipboard!

Celebrating queer culture’s diversity and l.g.b.t.q. athletes from around the globe read more.

Adrian Wilson for The New York Times

Guadalajara, Mexico

Travel has always been a way to experience diversity, and in 2023 you’ll find a variety of sexual expression and shifts in traditional gender roles in Jalisco’s capital. This fall, the city will co-host (with Hong Kong) the 11th annual Gay Games . Athletes from around the world — of varying ages, sexual orientations and levels of athletic experience — will participate in 20 sports.

The city is also home to the annual Prohibido festival , during which an abandoned theater is transformed into a celebration of sexual diversity through art installations, interactive experiences, live music and talks about polyamorous and nonbinary culture. In Guadalajara, too, women take on nontraditional performance roles. On most nights, you can hear one of almost a dozen female mariachi bands from the area at Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara or El Patio, a restaurant. There are also local performances by female cowboys, known as escaramuzas, who present their choreography on horseback.

The city is considered by some to be Mexico’s drag capital, with numerous performers and shows. Guadalajara has also developed “antiturista” maps, including one for L.G.B.T.Q. travelers, that provide a local’s perspective on places to see and stay.

— Maggie Jones

Tassili n’Ajjer  Copied to clipboard!

Rock art, sandstone pillars and a glimpse at a lost saharan history read more.

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

Often overshadowed by its neighbor, the tourism giant Morocco, Algeria — a stone’s throw from Mediterranean Europe and a mere three-hour flight from London — has recently relaxed its visa policies, allowing for much easier exploration of the country. While most visitors tend to stick to the coastal north, which contains some of the region’s best preserved Roman ruins, Africa’s largest country also contains its largest national park.

Virtually unknown to the outside world, Tassili n’Ajjer is eight times the size of Yellowstone. At the heart of the vast landscape of Saharan sand and stone lie the deep red dunes and pillars of Tadrart Rouge. Accessible only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, this astonishingly striking national park is home to thousands of ancient works of rock art, stretching back to when the desert was a thriving savanna, as well as to a very much living nomadic Tuareg culture.

— Marcus Westberg

Kakheti  Copied to clipboard!

New flavors and ancient winemaking traditions in tiny hilltop towns and green valleys read more.

Irma Laghadze

Kakheti, Georgia

The mountainous nation of Georgia’s 8,000-year-old winemaking tradition is at the center of several new trends in the wine world, including skin-contact (a.k.a. orange ) wines, amphora fermentation and charismatic grape varieties like saperavi. As a result, Georgian wine exports to the United States recently topped one million bottles and are growing at almost 29 percent annually, as Wine Enthusiast recently reported .

For wine lovers, a tasting trip to estates like Vazisubani and Kardanakhi in Kakheti offers a chance to discover new wines in a landscape of tiny hilltop towns and verdant valleys framed by the Caucasus. Many wines are made in traditional pointed qvevri clay vessels that are buried in the earth.

To complement the experience, local chefs have started offering cooking classes where gastronomes can learn how to make the meaty dumplings known as khinkali and other dishes from what Saveur magazine called “Europe’s great unsung cuisine.”

— Evan Rail

Nîmes  Copied to clipboard!

A sunny mediterranean morsel whose charming streets are studded with roman monuments read more.

Joann Pai for The New York Times

Nîmes, France

Nîmes is that rarest of Gallic delicacies — a sunny southern French city with great charm and fascinating architecture and museums that hasn’t yet become thronged with tourists like Arles or Avignon.

The city has a growing word-of-mouth reputation for the excellence of its dining options, which include everything from Michelin two-star restaurants like the chef Pierre Gagnaire’s Duende at the recently renovated Hotel Imperator to exceptionally good lunchtime dining in Les Halles de Nîmes, a covered food market, where the Halles Auberge and La Pie Qui Couette offer first-come first-serve counter service at noon. The latest local buzz is about the chef Georgiana Viou, originally from Benin, who serves up her personal and very delicate Afro-Provençal cooking at Rouge , the restaurant of the elegant new 10-room Margaret-Hôtel Chouleur in a landmarked mansion in the heart of the Écusson, or Old City. Le Coin and Menna, two excellent cosmopolitan modern French bistros — a type of restaurant that’s new to Nîmes — are not far away.

Shed some calories after a meal by taking in the sights of the Rome of France, a sobriquet explained by the most spectacular collection of Roman monuments in Europe outside of Italy.

— Alexander Lobrano

Ha Giang  Copied to clipboard!

A two-wheeled thrill ride leads to mountainside settlements where hmong and tay culture lives read more.

Ha Giang, Vietnam

The several-day loop by motorbike through the Ha Giang highlands in northern Vietnam is not for the timid. Getting to the city of Ha Giang takes six hours by road from Hanoi, and the loop’s steep roads, serpentine passes and recurring switchbacks can make the journey both treacherous and exhilarating.

This remote tableau of soaring peaks and cavernous valleys inspires a deep connection to the landscape and its inhabitants. Veer off the main road onto the narrow ribbons of concrete streaking the mountainsides and into the Hmong and Tay settlements dotting the hillsides and hollows. To learn more about their cultures, you can hire a guide from QT Motorbikes and Tours .

Road improvement projects and new high-end accommodations have made the loop more accessible and inviting. Don’t miss a boat ride through the canyon on the emerald river at Ma Pi Leng Pass.

— Patrick Scott

Salalah  Copied to clipboard!

A historic frankincense-trading center where the desert erupts in waterfalls read more.

Salalah, Oman

With last year’s World Cup drawing attention to the built environment elsewhere in the Persian Gulf states, seaside Salalah, Oman, offers visitors a chance to see the region’s natural beauty. Depending on when you go, the area is either lush and green and blanketed in thick fog, or basking in sunlight and a warm breeze.

During the khareef (monsoon), the valleys and riverbeds are flooded with fresh water, and the mountains flow with waterfalls. The city is also home to Al Baleed Archaeological Park and the Museum of the Frankincense Land , which provides a visual history of the ancient incense trade and the associated export routes to the rest of the world. (A nearby collection of sites, known as the Land of Frankincense , is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.) Another draw is the collection of historical ports spread along the coast.

The population of Salalah, one of Oman’s largest cities, is around 330,000, so it’s easy to find oneself alone in the crystal clear waters of the area’s many tranquil beaches, including Mugsail, Fazayah and Haffa.

— Noa Avishag Schnall

Cuba  Copied to clipboard!

An island of music and white-sand beaches ripe for rediscovery as the united states eases travel restrictions read more.

Robert Rausch for The New York Times

With its sea-sprayed, pastel facades, white-sand beaches and tobacco-rich valleys, Cuba sits tantalizingly close to the United States, though it often feels out of reach — especially in recent years, when the Trump administration reinstated strict rules for American citizens hoping to visit.

But a confluence of factors just made travel to the island nation a bit easier. Last spring, President Biden relaxed many of the restrictions imposed by his predecessor. And in November, American Airlines resumed flights beyond Havana, adding departures to the beach town Varadero and the interior city Santa Clara, a regional capital steeped in revolutionary history. More flights from other carriers are set to begin in the coming months.

Cuba’s people are as generous with their stories — of history, family, even politics and protest — as they are with their music, an omnipresent, joyful soundtrack thrumming through the island’s cities and towns. Less than two years after historic protests were met with harsh repression, and as the country rebuilds from Hurricane Ian, travel to Cuba and support of its people may never be more valuable.

— Lauren Prestileo

Odense  Copied to clipboard!

A mystical new museum and garden with all you need to write your own fairy tale read more.

Andreas Meichsner for The New York Times

Odense, Denmark

Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma & Associates, the new Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, on the island of Funen, is more than a museum. It’s a mystical land, featuring labyrinthine gardens that double as a public park.

The museum explores Andersen’s literary interplay between real and imaginary: You can gaze up at the sky through a glass dome and feel like the Little Mermaid; roam sunken courtyards, illuminated by sunlight splintering through trees; and engage with exhibits by contemporary artists in cylindrical spaces wrapped in latticed timber that suggest the city’s traditional thatched-roof houses. The museum is as much about telling stories as it is about imagining your own: Creativity is encouraged at the magical Ville Vau children’s center, where children can paint, draw, write and play dress-up amid colorful scenes from Andersen’s fairy tales.

Time your visit with Odense’s summertime H.C. Andersen Festivals , and then find artistic inspiration, as Andersen did, by venturing across his home island of Funen, the “garden of Denmark,” with its storybook castles (the moated Egeskov is the stuff of dreams), heather-coated hillsides and misty coastline.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park  Copied to clipboard!

The shape-shifting sandstone heart of a continent and its indigenous heritage read more.

Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia

At Uluru, time stretches, dissolves. Over 500 million years old, the 1,142-foot sandstone monolith in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a shape-shifter: aflame in pink, orange and violet through the day; its crevices gush with the rain, its surroundings erupt with wildflowers.

Now, Uluru is a symbol of urgency. In 2017, it was the site of the Uluru Statement From the Heart , which calls for an Indigenous “voice to Parliament” to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced there would be a national referendum on the issue in 2023.

Uluru is sacred to the Anangu people, who protect and manage the land, and for decades tourists climbed the rock against their wishes. Climbing was banned in 2019, and now visitors can take a 5.8-mile walk around Uluru’s base to experience its splendor. The ban was a rare victory for Indigenous rights and cultural respect, and evidence that even deep-rooted attitudes can change.

— Tacey Rychter

Boquete  Copied to clipboard!

A slope-side nirvana for coffee geeks, waterfall hikers and white-water rafters read more.

Paul Castillero

Boquete, Panama

Geisha, among the world’s most expensive coffee varietals, thrives on the slopes of the Barú Volcano, near Panama’s western border. In recent years, specialty coffee geeks the world over have gravitated here, encouraging coffee farms around the highland town of Boquete to act more like Bordeaux vineyards. New cupping rooms and bodega tours have been added at farms like Lamastus Family Estates , Chevas Coffee Estate and Finca Altieri , while coffee-themed hotels — including Finca Lérida and Panamonte — have updated their facilities.

In Boquete’s town center, which acts as a base for adventure activities like waterfall hikes and white-water rafting, the noted Panama City chef Mario Castrellón has opened a branch of the coffee roaster Café Unido , as well as a restaurant and bar with seasonal menus and Geisha-infused cocktails, in the new Selina hostel . The bold, 60-room property straddles a small river, with rooms ranging from beds in concrete cylinders to luxe suites.

— Nicholas Gill

Tarragona  Copied to clipboard!

An unsung artsy seaport rich in well-preserved roman ruins, and delicious tapas read more.

Tarragona, Spain

Long upstaged by the flash of Barcelona, this unsung waterfront city on the Costa Daurada is a culturally rich alternative, with thriving Catalan traditions, from the famous castells (human towers, formed by people standing on one another’s shoulders) to earthy Romesco sauce, often served with grilled fish and vegetables, and best enjoyed in El Serrallo, a maritime neighborhood.

But what elevates the Tarragona experience is the past: This is one of the oldest Roman settlements in the Iberian Peninsula. The impressively preserved Tarraco ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, transform the city into an open-air museum, from the mighty Roman walls to the amphitheater framed by the Mediterranean.

Against this ancient backdrop, the city is in the midst of change: a revitalized port, new low-cost fast trains to the region and a growing contemporary arts scene. Perhaps the best way to savor it is to partake in a paseo: Stroll the Rambla Nova, grazing on tapas along the way, to the aptly named Balcó del Mediterrani observation point, where touching the iron railing is said to bring good luck.

Charleston  Copied to clipboard!

A powerful space will examine a city’s past and honor the african american legacy read more, charleston, south carolina.

Charleston’s brutal history of slavery can be overshadowed by a romanticized portrait of a city with charm, award-winning restaurants and plantation gardens. The planned opening of the $100 million International African American Museum this year will help comprehensively display the city’s complicated past.

The I.A.A.M. occupies the former Gadsden’s Wharf, where an estimated 30,000 African captives landed during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, more than at any other site. The sleek, single-story building floats atop 18 pillars clad in tabby, a kind of concrete made from oyster shells, and houses a genealogy center, a social justice action lab and 10 exhibit galleries that include stories of slavery and the Great Migration. A public outdoor space offers an African Ancestors Memorial Garden featuring indigenous plants like Lowcountry sweet grass and Canary Island palm trees.

This spring, the Charleston tourism board will debut a comprehensive guide to Black-owned businesses to elevate the overlooked successes of creative locals.

— Lauren Matison

Cayos Cochinos  Copied to clipboard!

Planting coral and counting sea turtles where there are no cars or roads read more.

Cayos Cochinos, Honduras

Off the northern coast of Honduras, the Cayos Cochinos archipelago, part of a marine preserve where commercial fishing is banned, encompasses about 300,000 acres, two main islands and 13 small cays, with a collective population of about 200 Indigenous Garifuna residents.

Before the pandemic, the nonprofit Cayos Cochinos Foundation, which manages the reserve, derived much of its funding to study and protect its biodiversity from the fees paid by day-trippers to snorkel there. Now, the nongovernmental organization is gently opening itself to tourism, allowing visitors to stay in basic cabins (from $45 a night) that previously hosted exclusively scientists.

Between scuba dives and hikes to see pink boa constrictors and black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas, travelers can volunteer to propagate new coral or count sea turtles. Travel to the islands, which are roadless and free of cars, also supports the Garifuna community, which offers guide services, restaurants and tastings of the local root-infused spirit, guifiti.

Burgundy Beer Trail  Copied to clipboard!

Paying homage to hops and yeast in a region where wine has long reigned read more.

Burgundy Beer Trail, France

Wine lovers have long revered the great vintages of Burgundy. Now, beer lovers have their eyes on the Burgundy region, following the arrival of head-turning new breweries like Ammonite , Vif , Independent House and 90 BPM , all within 90 minutes of one another, and all rated among the best in France by fans on sites like Untappd and RateBeer .

Winemaking influences these new brewers, some of which employ solera barrel systems (like those used to age and blend sherry and Madeira wines), natural yeast, small oak barrels and other tools and techniques most often used by vintners.

For years, France has been a laggard in the global craft beer revolution, running far behind neighboring countries like Spain and Italy. The emerging beer trail in Burgundy’s wine region shows how France might soon develop an enviable beer culture of its own.

Istanbul  Copied to clipboard!

Reviving a city’s historic architecture just in time for modern turkey’s centennial read more.

Maria Mavropoulou for The New York Times

This October, the Turkish Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, Istanbul’s local government has invested millions in giving historic structures new life.

Among them: Feshane, a factory that manufactured the iconic Turkish hats and one of Istanbul’s first steel buildings, will become one of its largest art centers; west of the old city, a comprehensive restoration of the stone-and-brick Mevlanakapi city walls with their 22 towers dating back to the fifth century, will transform them into a four-and-a-half-mile walking path; and the Botter Apartment, one of Istanbul’s earliest Art Nouveau buildings, whose bottom floor was originally a studio for the sultan’s private tailor, will be turned into a fashion design center.

There’s more. Art museums are planned for the former Yedikule gasworks and the Halic Shipyard, one of the world’s oldest still in operation. And most notably, the newly built Istanbul Modern museum, designed by the architect Renzo Piano, will open its doors along the Bosporus in Karakoy, showcasing the works of notable Turkish artists such as Fahrelnissa Zeid and Erol Akyavas.

— Nora Walsh

Taipei  Copied to clipboard!

Floating sky lanterns and soaring skyscrapers in a sprawling, thrumming capital read more.

Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is a glorious assault on the senses, a capital with stunning natural beauty, low crime, and clear air despite its immense urban sprawl. From its neon-lit night markets to its Qing Dynasty temples, visitors can feel the quiet drum of independent pride, however fragile its future.

Beijing, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as an unruly child, continues to assert its desire to reunify with Taiwan and put the island firmly back under its control. But for now, a visit to this city offers a riot of culinary and cultural pleasures. In 2023, the island’s third-tallest skyscraper will open, and the Taiwan Lantern Festival , a beloved tradition in which thousands of glowing lanterns float skyward in tandem, will return to Taipei after more than two decades.

Taipei’s future is uncertain. But in 2023, it remains an ideal place to gape at the sheer power of human innovation.

— Debra Kamin

El Poblado  Copied to clipboard!

Medellín, Colombia

A chic shopping district, pulsing nightlife and rainbow-colored macaws Read more

Federico Rios for The New York Times

El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia

In the 1600s, Spanish settlers established El Poblado, “the village,” along the Medellín River. Eventually, the larger city of Medellín grew to the north, and El Poblado became a rural getaway for wealthy Colombians.

Today, it is once again a center of activity. The grid of two- or three-story homes has blossomed with shops and restaurants, interspersed with boutique hotels rising above the treetops. Nearby, gushing waterfalls and rainbow-colored macaws add to the lush tropical vibe.

An afternoon roaming the neighborhood, popping into Mon y Velarde for menswear or Makeno for artisanal home goods, followed by coffee at Pergamino or modern Colombian cuisine at Oci.Mde , is a worthy entry on any South American traveler’s bucket list. Stay out late enough to see the area transform into the pulsing heart of the city’s nightlife, with D.J.s on the rooftops and dance parties in the streets.

Lausanne  Copied to clipboard!

Switzerland

Spectacular views of Lake Geneva and an exploding architectural and artistic scene Read more

Clara Tuma for The New York Times

Lausanne, Switzerland

Already blessed with a sublime Lake Geneva location and dramatic mountain views, Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth-largest city, has been adding architectural and artistic beauty to its repertoire as well.

Known as Plateform 10 , the city’s three-year-old arts district recently inaugurated a bold new building that resembles an artfully cracked block of white stone for a pair of museums. Photo Elysée is dedicated to exhibiting photography in all its forms, while MUDAC is a haven of five creative outlets: design, glasswork, ceramics, jewelry and graphic art. The two institutions join the new home of the city’s international art museum, the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts , which moved into its ridged, rectangular building in 2019.

Methana  Copied to clipboard!

A hike, a stroll or a run into the bronze age followed by a soak in an ancient tub read more.

Methana, Greece

Athens’s nearest active volcano, Methana, sits on a peninsula of the same name some 30 miles southwest of the Greek capital. Though largely unknown to tourists, the area is slowly evolving, in part because of its increasing popularity as a hiking destination.

In recent years, groups of locals have managed to reopen and map old walking paths, some of which date back to the Mycenaean Era, creating hiking trails that attract visitors from around the world. (So far, more than 18 miles have been cleared and marked.) The Methana Volcano Challenge , first organized in 2021, offers a trail run across the peninsula’s sloping landscape.

Visitors to this volcanic peninsula can also enjoy several hot springs, the most interesting of which is an ancient (and recently renovated) tub known as the Pausanias Baths near the village of Agios Nikolaos.

— Demetrios Ioannou

Louisville  Copied to clipboard!

A rising l.g.b.t.q. scene with quilts, drag shows, the derby and, of course, bourbon read more, louisville, kentucky.

One of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains, and arguably among the most beautiful, Louisville somehow flies under the radar. This despite its graceful 19th-century park system , designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and its bourbon-fueled convivial spirit.

Today, its L.G.B.T.Q. scene is also thriving, with hot spots like Chill Bar and Play Dance Bar , which hosts regular drag nights featuring touring artists. (The city has also earned top marks from the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index for seven years running and is home to two new L.G.B.T.Q. community centers.) This spring brings Hotel Genevieve , from the Texas-based Bunkhouse Group, which offers Louisville-inspired touches like décor that pays homage to the city’s rich quilting heritage, an on-site market selling work from local artists and bourbon selections from neighboring Rabbit Hole Distillery .

Make plans for 2023, because the city might not stay below the radar much longer: 2024 will draw the masses for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

— Paul L. Underwood

Manaus  Copied to clipboard!

River-to-table cuisine and ancestral recipes in the heart of the amazon read more.

Manaus, Brazil

Michelin-starred restaurants in São Paulo use Amazonian ingredients to appear exotic, but in Manaus, where you can sip steamy gourds of tacacá from a stand in front of the Teatro Amazonas or wander past plastic bottles of tucupi, the juice squeezed from grated cassava, in Adolpho Lisboa Municipal Market, Amazonian ingredients are a fact of life.

At the Indigenous-owned Biatüwi , a restaurant that pays homage to ancestral recipes and cooking techniques, drinks are made from fermented purple yams, and chiles are used to purify river fish in piquant stews like quinhampira.

Then there’s the chef Felipe Schaedler, who has helped threatened Yanomami communities commercialize their native mushrooms and runs two restaurants of his own: Banzeiro and Moquém do Banzeiro . Steering away from traditional preparations, Mr. Schaedler reimagines ingredients like lemon-grass-flavored ants and tambaqui ribs in a modern format, as do the bistros Caxiri , set in a colonial building overlooking Largo de São Sebastião, a grand plaza, and Fitz Carraldo, in the boutique hotel Villa Amazonia .

Vilnius  Copied to clipboard!

A 700-year-old survivor ready to party like there’s no tomorrow read more.

Gordon Welters for The New York Times

Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuania’s cobblestoned capital has a long history of bootstrap survival. Occupied once by the Nazis and twice by the Soviets, Vilnius has a story that is complex and fascinating to explore. Its architectural riches span from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque; grand churches rub shoulders with quaint timber homes on leafy streets.

In 2023, the resilient city celebrates its 700th birthday with a full year of revelry. A light festival , free music performances and the first Vilnius International Biennial are all on the calendar. Artificial intelligence will resurrect one of the city’s first operas from the 17th century, and an exhibition space will allow visitors to virtually explore Vilnius’s streets as they looked more than 200 years ago.

Ringing in its eighth century, Vilnius reminds travelers that, when viewed through the long lens of history, our own uncertain times are fleeting.

Macon  Copied to clipboard!

1,100-year-old native american mounds and deep rock ’n’ roll roots read more.

Macon, Georgia

The area around Macon has been home to multiple Native American tribes for 12,000 years. That history will be acknowledged this year, when Georgia is expected to get its first national park: The Ocmulgee Mounds, some of the most significant prehistoric Indigenous mounds in North America, date to the year 900, and are now a national historical park .

The national park will include the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge , for a total of 50,000 acres, and offer a network of exquisite hiking trails and artifacts from American Indian culture. Management will be shared by the Muscogee Nation and the National Park Service.

Additionally, the city, whose musical roots run deep — Little Richard, the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding all got their start here — is celebrating its 200th anniversary with a new 10,000-seat amphitheater . Visitors can check out the Hotel Forty Five , a boutique hotel that opened downtown last year and that was named both for the angle of the street on which it sits and as a nod to musical history.

— Ondine Cohane

Madrid  Copied to clipboard!

Kicking off a worldwide tribute to picasso in a place that’s a masterpiece unto itself read more.

Emilio Parra Doiztua for The New York Times

If art is a universal language, as travel often reveals, Pablo Picasso’s antiwar “ Guernica ” may be one of its most potent symbols.

The Spanish and French governments recently announced the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 in front of the famous painting at the Reina Sofia museum, kicking off a transnational commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. The worldwide tribute, from Madrid to Paris to New York City, includes some 50 exhibitions, many of which explore the artist through the lens of the present day. Madrid leads the way, with tributes throughout the year, including “Picasso. The Sacred and the Profane” at the Thyssen-Bornemisza ; “Picasso 1906. The Turning Point” at the Reina Sofia ; and an exhibition exploring Picasso and El Greco at the Prado .

During Picasso’s anniversary year, it’s worth noting that the city’s artistry isn’t just within its museums, but outside as well: Madrid’s cultural core is an urban masterpiece of art, nature and light, and in 2021, the entire area of the Paseo del Prado and verdant Parque del Buen Retiro, called “Landscape of Light,” was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Grand Junction  Copied to clipboard!

A bonanza of canyons, arches and cliffs, without the hordes of tourists read more.

Grand Junction, Colorado

On Colorado’s Western Slope, arid Grand Junction offers attractions similar to those of Moab, Utah, the gateway to Arches National Park, without the throngs.

The area around the Colorado alternative has the second-largest concentration of natural arches in the country in Rattlesnake Canyon, where some 35 sandstone spans are part of the roughly 123,700-acre McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area , reachable via off-road vehicle or a strenuous 14-mile round-trip trek. More convenient hiking trails in the Colorado National Monument — where geologic uplift and erosion formed monoliths of the same Entrada sandstone found at Arches — lie within about 10 minutes of town.

The 2021 opening of the Palisade Plunge adds a 32-mile descent — from the world’s largest flat-topped mountain, 10,000-foot Grand Mesa, down to the Colorado River — to the area’s biking challenges. All trails lead back to downtown Grand Junction, filled with shops, craft breweries, locavore restaurants and wine-tasting rooms from area vineyards.

La Guajira  Copied to clipboard!

An unspoiled land of orange-sand beaches and flamingo-lined lagoons read more.

La Guajira, Colombia

The remote and arid La Guajira peninsula, straddling Colombia’s border with Venezuela, remains largely unknown to international tourists — in spite of its dramatic salt flats, flamingo-lined lagoons and orange-sand beaches.

Terrorist activity made this area mostly off limits until 2016, but eco-minded hotels, including La Casa del Pavo Real and Hotel Waya Guajira , have spread along the peninsula, relying on increased flights to Riohacha, the regional capital, and nearby Santa Marta.

This region is the home of the Indigenous Wayúu people, who have expressed concerns that giant development projects may irreparably alter their ancestral lands. Tour operators visit Wayúu weavers known for their chinchorros, the colorful hammocks that take months to make, and their rustic kitchens, where cooks like Zaida Cotes showcase traditional cuisine based on salted fish, goat meat and purple corn.

Bergamo and Brescia  Copied to clipboard!

Open-air theater, art, music and a plateful of local delicacies in a cultural crossroads read more.

Andrea Wyner for The New York Times

Bergamo and Brescia, Italy

Milan may outshine Bergamo and Brescia , but in 2023 a spotlight will fall on these two Lombardy cities after they were jointly named the Italian Capital of Culture . More than 100 art projects, music and theater events (some open-air), nature walks and new bike routes are ​meant to map a way forward after the tragic headlines this northern region generated in 2020, when it was more ravaged by the coronavirus than anyplace else in Italy.

Bergamo is distinctive for its ancient, walled Città Alta (Upper Town) and modern Città Bassa (Lower Town), the two connected by ​narrow roads, a funicular and a footpath. Brescia, around 30 miles southeast , is a handsome crossroads of Roman, medieval and Renaissance sites .

Outstanding food is another draw — it’s Italy, after all — with menus in both areas featuring creamy, nutty polenta taragna and variously stuffed crescents of casoncelli swirled with butter and sage — little pasta miracles that prove how good life can still be.

— Julie Besonen

American Prairie  Copied to clipboard!

A vast, and growing, swath of nature where you can still feel tiny read more.

Janie Osborne

American Prairie, Montana

With its wide-open skies and boundless horizons, American Prairie is ideal for visitors seeking a respite from the fast pace of modern life. A vast nature preserve founded by a Montana nonprofit, A.P. has been accumulating grasslands since 2004. It currently consists of 455,840 acres — and the preserve continues to expand by acquiring private properties that connect to surrounding public lands. The goal: to create a contiguous, three-million-acre reserve and restore a disappearing ecosystem.

A.P. offers a broad range of activities, including leisurely walks, cross-country skiing and expert-level hiking, biking and paddling. Paved roads lead to Antelope Creek Campground, which features an interpretive trail and distant views of the Little Rockies. Buffalo Camp, accessible by gravel roads and situated among the reserve’s largest bison herd, is a little farther off the beaten path and provides a chance to see a buffalo jump, a cliff traditionally used by Indigenous peoples to harvest bison.

— Janie Osborne

Eastern Townships  Copied to clipboard!

A leisurely journey through the countryside with stops for wine, cheese and poutine read more.

Eastern Townships, Quebec

This is slow travel at its best: Pedal across the quiet Quebec countryside, refueling on local cheese, wine and, yes, poutine. Montreal and Quebec City are the stars of the region, but the bucolic, lake-laced terrain between them is often relegated to fleeting glimpses from the windows of a rental car.

The Eastern Townships — Canada’s New England, with French flair — deserves a visit all its own, and especially now, with the recent debut of the Véloroute Gourmande . The 150-mile cycle route traces the Route Verte and Trans Canada Trail across this charming region dotted with flower-festooned villages, and features more than 100 epicurean stops along the way, from farmers’ markets to maple groves to fromageries to vineyards.

Try the lush, sweet vin de glace (ice wine), made from ripe grapes that have frozen naturally on the vine, at Le Cep d’Argent , and the buttery Brise des Vignerons at the family-run Fromagerie des Cantons , one of the first in the area to develop cheese exclusively from Jersey cows, a nod to the region’s British influences.

New Haven  Copied to clipboard!

Connecticut

A home to tinkerers and rebels, and a treasure trove of contemporary art and architecture Read more

New haven, connecticut.

Connecticut’s third-largest city is a historic, mostly walkable and bikeable seaside town with distinctive neighborhoods, an encyclopedic collection of great American architecture, a thriving cultural life and one of the best food scenes in the country for a city of its size (134,000).

Founded in 1638, it’s a place where people have always tinkered with, mused about and challenged the status quo, which is why the New Haven Preservation Trust is now looking at saving the modernist buildings of the 1970s, which many see as disastrous examples of urban renewal. Discover one of the best of these brutalist concrete buildings by checking into the new Hotel Marcel , named for its architect, Marcel Breuer. Recently renovated, it’s become the first completely solar-powered, energy-neutral hotel in the United States.

Check out NXTHVN , a cutting-edge, community-focused arts center founded in 2019 in two abandoned factory buildings in the Dixwell neighborhood that has become the heart of a vibrant African American artists’ community. And then treat yourself to a great meal — maybe crispy artichokes with Parmesan aioli and pork belly with Tuscan cabbage and apple mostarda — at the recently opened Villa Lulu .

The Black Hills  Copied to clipboard!

South Dakota

Pine forests, powwows and a climb up to Crazy Horse’s giant granite face Read more

Benjamin Rasmussen

The Black Hills, South Dakota

The Lakota people trace their creation to the He Sapa, or Black Hills, a mountain range of dramatic peaks and pine forests in an area that is South Dakota’s chief tourism attraction.

Now, representatives of all nine tribes in the state — working as the South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance — are having a say in how to experience Native American sites with the publication of a new tribal nations’ visitors guide , including destination suggestions and tips on visitor etiquette. The assembly helped identify the Great 8 , eight sites and experiences — among them powwows, or dance celebrations — that are significant to Indigenous culture, with a concentration in the Black Hills. These include Bear Butte State Park where hiking trails may lead past prayer cloths tied to trees, 7,244-foot Black Elk Peak, the state’s highest, and the Crazy Horse Memorial .

The massive sculpture of the Lakota warrior turns 75 next summer, when the biannual Volksmarch will allow hikers to ascend the carving, still under construction, and stand beneath Crazy Horse’s more than 87-foot-tall granite face.

Sarajevo  Copied to clipboard!

Bosnia and Herzegovina

A living museum of resilience where empires and cultures have long intersected Read more

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo’s history lives in the present. There is the Latin Bridge, where a certain archduke was assassinated, catalyzing World War I. There are buildings still pockmarked by shells from the siege three decades ago. And there is the intricate interplay of empires, from the Ottoman to the Austro-Hungarian, that allows visitors to tour a mosque, a cathedral, an Orthodox church and a synagogue all within a few blocks.

These layers of history, of course, can detonate as easily as they can coexist. Bosnia’s multiethnic capital remains on edge. Look up to the hills, and there are the artillery positions built on the grounds of the 1984 Winter Olympics. But Sarajevo’s splendor comes from this intrusion of the past. It remains a living museum that hints at how a Ukraine or a Syria cannot only survive but perhaps one day flourish anew.

— Hannah Beech

Design and Production

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Corrections

A photograph with an earlier version of this article misidentified the city shown in the image. The photograph depicted the province of Tarragona, Spain, not the city itself. The image has been replaced.

The article also misstated the size of the Barrio Viejo neighborhood of Tucson, Ariz. It is more than 150 acres, not 150 blocks.

A photograph with an earlier version of this article misidentified the location in the image. It is Keelung, Taiwan, not Taipei.

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Lonely Planet releases top 30 destinations to visit in 2023

Latest list divides destinations up for foodies, adventurers and those wanting to learn something, article bookmarked.

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Lonely Planet has unveiled its pick of the best cities, countries and regions to travel to in 2023.

Thirty destinations made the annual “Best in Travel” list, which this year is divided up into five categories: eat, learn, journey, unwind and connect.

Designed to spark holiday inspiration for the year ahead, the list’s “Learn” category included a city break in Manchester , as well as the borderlands of southern Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Peruvian capital of Lima led the “Eat” list as a “gastronomical delight centuries in the making”, followed by the Umbria region of Italy and the Japanese city of Fukuoka.

In the “Unwind” list, the Caribbean island of Dominica is in the spotlight, along with the Raja Ampat region of Indonesia - most famous for its diving - and Halkidiki in Greece.

The “Journey” list, aimed at adventurers, showcases recently reopened Bhutan along with Colombia’s Parques Nacionales Naturales (protected national parks), calling them “some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world”.

The recently restored overnight Istanbul to Sofia train also got a shout-out in the Journey catgeory.

The “Connect” destinations - recommended for meeting locals and exchanging knowledge - included the underrated Mediterranean country of Albania , as well as the city of Accra, Ghana and the off-the-tourist-map city of Boise, Idaho.

Boise was recommended for its “year-round natural beauty, combined with terroir and culinary scene” as well as its adventure activities.

Latin America provided some of the most off-the-beaten-track choices: as well as Lima and Guyana ( a new route for British Airways from spring ), Montevideo in Uruguay was listed for its “laid-back beaches and under-the-radar food and wine scene”, while El Salvador cropped up for its “stunning volcanoes, colourful handicrafts, low prices and arguably the finest cuisine in Central America”.

“This year, we really wanted to try something new and we wanted to reflect the way that we saw travellers looking for travel, which was about the destination, but also about the experience,” said executive editor Nitya Chambers.

Vice president Tom Hall added: “2023 is shaping up to be the year to get out and explore. With much of the world firmly on the road to recovery, travellers are looking for different locations and experiences.”

Lonely Planet’s best in travel 2023

• Umbria, Italy
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Fukuoka, Japan
• South Africa
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Nova Scotia, Canada
• Western Australia
• Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia
• Istanbul to Sofia Train
• Halkidiki, Greece
• Raja Ampat, Indonesia
• Accra, Ghana
• New Mexico, USA
• Marseille, France
• Manchester, UK
• Dresden, Germany
• El Salvador
• South Scotland, UK

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23 of the best places to travel to around the world in 2023

• Most countries have opened their borders after pandemic closures.
• See the world again in 2023 with big events, hotel openings, and new air routes planned.
• No matter your budget and travel style, here's where to go around the world in 2023.

If you've been putting international travel off, the new year is a great time to get back out into the world.

Many of the the last countries to open their borders amid the pandemic such as Japan , Thailand , and Bhutan , have done so at last, meaning travelers can put those passports to good use all around the world.

And booking data shows travelers are doing just that; travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth reported that nearly 90 percent of insured travel was for international destinations , marking the first time since COVID-19 that international travel matched pre-pandemic levels, per its data. Though, there's plenty to see at home in the US , too.

As more travelers take vacations, ongoing trends of wellness-focused travel  and extended-stay travel as a function of continuing remote work are expected to continue to drive those booking decisions.

As a travel writer, I stay on top of industry trends and newsworthy events happening at destinations all over the world. And as a frequent traveler — with a particular affinity for stamping up my passport — I have my own personal favorite locations and dream destinations that make compelling reasons to board planes in the coming year. 

In 2023 we'll see a slate of big cultural happenings and events, from the new International African American Museum that will open domestically to the expected arrival of the Grand Egyptian Museum right next to the pyramids.

With these references as inspiration, I put together recommendations for the best places to travel to around the world in 2023, no matter your style or budget.

Bhutan has reopened to tourists, now with renovations made to one of the greatest walks in the world.

High in the Himalayas, Bhutan reopened its border after a pandemic closure in early 2020.

Along with that, the 250-mile historic Trans-Bhutan Trail reopened for the first time in 60 years after years of extensive restoration. Spanning from Haa in the west of Bhutan to Trashigang in the east, the trail dates back to the 16th century , and was once the only way to travel across Bhutan.

It's a bucket list dream of mine to get a chance to traverse this path, recognized by many travel outlets such as Lonely Planet as one of the world's greatest walks in the world. It passes through stunning landscapes, 21 temples, 12 mountain passes, five suspension bridges, ancient fortresses, monasteries, and more than 400 historic sites .

In 2023, Western Australia will be the site of a spectacular celestial event.

On April 20, 2023, a total solar eclipse will be visible just off Western Australia's coast in Exmouth.

This special lunar event — when the moon obscures the face of the sun — usually happens out at sea , so spring will bring a rare opportunity to see this natural phenomenon by land.

The World Heritage-listed Ningaloo region is the most accessible land-based place on earth to view the spectacle. Plus, this lunar event will coincide with the start of whale shark season , and it's long been a dream of mine to swim with these gorgeous creatures.

Cayman Islands will become the only Caribbean destination served by nonstop flights from the West Coast.

Although the Caribbean isn't too far from the US West Coast geographically, I find it so daunting to plan trips there for my family from our home in Los Angeles, California.

That's because there have been a lack of direct flights to the region, which means a long and potentially arduous trip.

But that's now changed with the arrival of nonstop service on Cayman Airways from LAX to Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman.

It will be the Caribbean islands' only direct flight to service Los Angeles travelers and I think introductory fares are quite well priced, starting from $399 .

Home to the famous Seven Mile Beach , the Cayman Islands are on my list to visit in 2023. 

Several over-the-top, ultra-luxury resorts will open in Dubai.

I haven't been to Dubai yet, but as a fan of luxury hotels I am eager to join its robust traveler ranks.

Dubai is hardly under the radar. In fact, in 2022 it was the most-viewed destination on TikTok, with 82 billion views, according to the TikTok Travel Index 2022 . 

In 2023, I think it will only earn more interest as Emirates invests more than $2 billion to enhance its air service there, including revamping aircrafts, serving new menus, and more.

Additionally, the ultra-luxury resort Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab is planned to open in 2023, and comes from the same brand behind the world-famous sailboat-inspired Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. The new hotel will take inspiration from a futuristic superyacht, according to its developer .

The five-star luxury hotel brand One&Only will also open a new property in Dubai with One Za'abeel that will have the world's longest cantilever building, a panoramic sky concourse that connects two towers floating 100 meters above the ground, as well as celebrity-chef restaurants, a statement swimming pool, and retail and entertainment, according to its website .

The new year will also bring the full opening of Atlantis, The Royal , a 43-story luxury resort spread across six towers with 17 on-site restaurants curated by celebrity and Michelin-starred chefs including three-Michelin-starred Björn Frantzén , and more than 90 swimming pools, including one on the 22nd floor with views of the Palm crescent. 

For an indulgent escape, Loire Valley, France, beckons with five-star chateaux.

One of my best friends now lives in France, and this is going to be a good year to plan a visit to see them, and the country.

That's because the new year marks the 600th anniversary of the birth of Louis XI , and many of the historic landmark chateaux across this UNESCO World Heritage Site region will commemorate with special exhibitions and activities. 

I particularly want to visit this area to check out recent hotel openings that include Château Louise de La Vallière , a new five-star Relais & Chateaux collection hotel nestled in a forest in the Loire Valley region, only a few minutes from Tours and Amboise.

Additionally, Fleur de Loire in the town of Blois, has five-star hotel and dining helmed by two-Michelin-starred Chef Christophe Hay. It's on my travel bucket list for its forthcoming expansion with spacious, contemporary rooms.

Japan is finally open after two years of pandemic closure.

After two years of border closure amid the pandemic, Japan reopened to travelers in late 2022.

Visitors will find an array of properties that opened while borders were closed, which have yet to be discovered by US travelers, including beachfront HOSHINOYA Okinawa , the traditional ryokan hot spring resorts KAI Yufuin and KAI Beppu designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, and family-friendly resort  RISONARE Osaka .

One that has yet to open but is expected to be Japan's largest hotel and entertainment complex, is the massive Tokyo Kabukicho Tower . It will have a cinema, two luxury hotels, a concert venue, an entertainment food hall, and more when it opens in 2023.

For foodies, Ace Hotel Kyoto will bring a Noma residency from March to May. Noma is a restaurant that has been named the best in the world by a panel of critics.

Las Vegas is one of my favorite cities in the world, and big events will take place here in 2023.

One of my absolute favorite cities in the world for its round-the-clock energy, great pools, and readily available craps and roulette, Las Vegas always dazzles me with a new schedule of spectacles every year. 

In November 2023, Sin City will go over the top when the Las Vegas Strip will transform into a racetrack as Formula 1 returns to the city for the first time in nearly 40 years. Race cars will drive along Las Vegas Boulevard as part of the race, and some of Sin City's most iconic landmarks — such as the Bellagio fountains — will become seating and viewpoints for guests to watch it all happen.

Travel to Bali, Indonesia, for a wellness-focused vacation.

I love Bali for its natural beauty, spiritual atmosphere, vegetarian-friendly food, and impeccable hospitality at some of the most incredible hotels I've ever seen.

In 2023, Bali will continue to be a go-to destination for wellness seekers, especially when it welcomes travelers from around the world in the spring for the Bali Spirit Festival , a four-day celebration of yoga, music, and dance.

While there, I suggest a visit to the island's cultural landmarks like Pura Gegar, one of the island's Hindu temples, or the Pasifika Museum , known for its extensive collection of art and cultural artifacts.

Travelers can book their own private villa at one of Bali's newest resorts, Marriott Vacation Club Bali Nusa Dua Terrace , which will soon open with apartment-style lodgings that I think are harder to come by in the area, and great for larger families and groups.

Mérida, Mexico, will soon have new green spaces and flight service.

I was charmed by Mérida in Mexico during a brief visit as part of a Yucatan Peninsula road trip, and am definitely due to go back to explore it further.

In 2023, I think it will be easier to travel to the area with a new daily flight to Mérida from Mexico City via Viva Aerobus . Once there, visit  La Plancha , a centrally-located park that will become a recreational space for Merida residents and visitors, that will work to purify Mérida's air while providing a pleasant green space, alongside the city's many other parks .

Just 15 minutes from Merida, the 18th-century Hacienda Xcanatun by Angsana is my choice of where to stay, which has 36 new suites, a poolside snack bar, and an Olympic-length swimming pool. And in 2023, the hotel will open a fully-equipped fitness center and spa, too. 

I think the small Caribbean island of Canouan is under the radar — but not for long.

Even though I'm a career travel writer with a particular interest in luxurious, tropical destinations, I had never even heard of Canouan before this past summer.

Now that I've been, it's hard to imagine it will stay a secret much longer.

This small island is located within the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and it seems to me that it's somehow still off most US travelers' radar, but with major international brands' new presence , that may soon change.

For instance, on the island of just five square miles , there is now a luxury Mandarin Oriental resort , which recently took over the former Pink Sands Club, in addition to the exclusive, members-only Soho House , which opened a location on this remote island just over a year ago. I visited Soho House and loved it for an upscale getaway including a date night at the on-site restaurant with flavorful dishes and a breezy, beachy atmosphere.

Plan a visit to Istanbul in 2023 when Turkey celebrates a major milestone.

I love Istanbul, Turkey. I'm a fan of the heavily-spiced vegetarian food, and as a shopper, I've spent hours browsing the markets and shops.

Turkey saw record tourism in 2022 , and 2023 is gearing up to be even bigger as the country will celebrate its 100th anniversary of becoming a republic .

Istanbul is also the only city to span two continents , and the monthlong Istanbul Tulip Festival will take place in April across parks, events, and exhibitions. Just in time for the country's centennial, Istanbul's Maiden Tower — once a watchtower on a tiny Bosphorous island on the Asian side — is undergoing renovation and conversion as a museum with a 2023 opening. 

Thailand is finally reopen, with a schedule of cool festivals coming up in 2023.

With all COVID-19 border restrictions lifted in Thailand as of October 2022, the country is on my shortlist for a visit this coming year.

And the relaxed travel rules aren't the only reason I want to visit. 

Coming to Thailand for the first time in 2023 is America's hip-hop music festival, Rolling Loud , which will be held at the Legend Siam Amusement Park in Pattaya in April. At the same time is Songkranm , the festival of water that symbolizes the cleansing of spirit and body.

I'm also continually impressed by the number of luxury hotels in Bangkok, and Rosewood Bangkok recently reopened in the prime business and retail district of Ploenchit, which I think is an ideal destination for shoppers and foodies .

Digital nomads looking to make a move in 2023 should consider Portugal.

We loved our family tour of Portugal four years ago when we made our home base at the residential-like Martinhal luxury apartments in Lisbon, which I'd recommend to any families, groups, or individuals on a long-term stay. We also took side trips to magical, castle-filled places like Sintra , and I'd love to go back.

Recently, Portugal announced requirements for its highly anticipated "digital-nomad visa," which allows remote workers who make four times the national minimum wage (approximately $800 per month ) to live and work in the country. I think that makes the beautiful European nation an ideal destination for working remotely.

Go for an extended visit in 2023 and stay where I did, or look into  Rentyl Resorts , which offers the long-term comfort of a vacation home, such as kitchens and dining areas, with the services and amenities of a resort, like housekeeping service.

New trains and cable cars in Switzerland will bring incredible, must-see views.

Several events are scheduled to take place in Switzerland in 2023 that I think make it worth a visit.

For example, the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing is due to be completed in early 2023, and I would love to experience the cable car crossing for the incredible views from 4,000 meters of altitude . The new Matterhorn Glacier Ride II will form the last section of the crossing, connecting Zermatt and the Italian resort of Cervinia, and will operate year-round — not just in the ski resorts' popular snow seasons.

Also just opened is the GoldenPass Express , the realization of a 150-year-old idea to link Lake Geneva and the lakes of Thun and Brienz. It marks the first nonstop train route between Interlaken and Montreux. In the most elevated seating class, travelers sit in rotating seats for 360-degree views.

It's now also easier to get there. As part of Delta's recent expansion of service to European destinations, the airline will reinstate its service to Geneva , Switzerland. Previously paused in 1993, the new service will start in April 2023. 

"White Lotus" fans should go to Sicily to check into the real hotel where the TV show filmed.

HBO's "White Lotus" filmed its first season at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea when the resort was closed due to COVID-19. I was obsessed with the show, and had so much fun comparing the on-screen scenery with my real-life experience of the resort when I visited during a subsequent stay.

Next, I want to check into the White Lotus from the second season in Sicily, Italy.

Filming for the latest installment of the show shut down San Domenico Palace in Taormina, a Four Seasons Hotel , and now Hotels.com reports that searches for the resort increased over 300 percent even before the season approached the dramatic finale that had my friends and I totally rapt.

I hope to check into this Four Seasons in 2023 to listen to piano music, dip into the infinity pool, and take way too many meals solely at the hotel restaurant.

I also think the hotel is well positioned to explore the area's culinary experiences and vineyards such as Gambino Winery and Cantine Florio , plus a spot of shopping in Noto, of course.

Glasgow, Scotland, will host a major cycling event in 2023.

I'm not a cycler, but since I love a great international spectacle, I'd consider a trip to Glasgow in Scotland in 2023 for the UCI Cycling World Championships , which will take place in the city.

It's the first event of its kind , where the world's greatest riders will come together to compete, with five venues in the city staging eight of the 13 world championship events.

Glasgow will also have several major hotel, restaurant, and museum openings in the coming year. I'm particularly excited about the boutique hotel and cocktail bar, House of Gods Glasgow ; Virgin Hotel Glasgow , which I think will be an ideal base for exploring the city; and Gotham Hotel , a luxury hotel planned for Blythswood Square that will have historic features of Glasgow's Georgian architecture intact.

Egypt's new, long-delayed museum is scheduled to open at long last.

After much anticipation and years of delay , the Grand Egyptian Museum , located on the Giza Plateau next to the Great Pyramids of Egypt is at last expected to open in 2023.

Seeing the pyramids and learning about their history in this museum is a longtime dream and travel bucket list item of mine. With an estimated 100,000 artifacts and jaw-dropping spectacles such as the 83-ton, 3,200-year-old statue of Ramses II , the museum alone is worthy of a trip across the globe, in my opinion.

The US dollar will go far in Croatia, and a new bridge eases travel.

My family's last major trip before COVID-19 was an unforgettable road trip around Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast where we enjoyed boat charters, beach clubs, and endless ice cream.

It was an absolute dream that I can't recommend enough, especially now that the country is adopting the euro in January . And with the currency now at parity with the US dollar , that means Americans' money will go far when visiting. 

Additionally, the new Pelješac Bridge connects the region of Southern Dalmatia with the rest of the country's mainland, cutting travel time down significantly along the Adriatic coastline. When we visited, we rented a car and enjoyed how much we could see of the Dalmatian Coast in short bursts from our home base of Dubrovnik, but we encountered tons of traffic, and I imagine the route is much easier with this new addition.

The bridge will also give easier access to Dubrovnik, ancient port city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its crystal blue waters and stunning coastline. 

In AlUla, ancient human history meets luxurious modern hospitality.

The desert area of AlUla is nestled in the unexplored northwestern deserts of Saudi Arabia, and its intrigue beckons me. Here, 200,000 years of human history meet modern arts and culture , exploration, adventure , and luxury hotels. 

The latter excites me, in particular. The new year brings luxury hotel openings from global brands, including Banyan Tree AlUla , which will be a luxury tented resort set against rock formations in the art-filled region of Ashar Valley for a vibe that blends the natural landscape with elevated service and amenities.

When you visit, check out heritage sites including Hegra, the sister city to Petra, Jordan, which is known for tombs and temples carved into sandstone cliffs .

And festival season takes place from December through March, with experiences focused on art, culture, wellness. A-list performances will take place at Maraya Concert Hall , which is the world's largest mirrored building that I think seems to blends into the desert sand.

One of my favorite destinations in the South, Charleston, South Carolina, will introduce a highly-anticipated new museum.

One of my favorite places in the US is Charleston, South Carolina, and the city will introduce new hotels, restaurants, and cultural destinations in 2023.

Most notably, the International African American Museum is scheduled for a January opening on Charleston's Gadsden's Wharf, with exhibits honoring the stories of the African American journey. It will explore culture and knowledge kept and adapted by Africans in the Americas, as well as their achievements throughout the state and country.

During your visit, I suggest a stay at the historic district's The Charleston Place hotel, which is revealing a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2023, and will also have complimentary guest shuttles to and from the new museum. 

The Phoenix and Scottsdale area is getting the Super Bowl, along with many other events and openings.

While my home city of Los Angeles had the Super Bowl this year, next year's big game will head to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in February.

But I'd say that's far from the only reason to visit Phoenix. Beyond the game, the Greater Phoenix area is also hosting the MLB Cactus League Spring Training , as well as the Waste Management Phoenix Open , the best-attended golf tournament in the world with more than 700,000 fans in attendance.

Adding to the region's world-class hotel and resorts, Moxy Phoenix Downtown will open in the spring, and The Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley, The Palmeraie will open in the fall on 20 acres with a view of Camelback Mountain and a 400-foot swimming pool.

I think Paris is a good value for Americans right now.

If you ask me, Paris is always a good idea, especially now that the euro is at parity with the US dollar . At the time of my last visit, it was closer to 1.4 dollars to a euro, and that made my travel budget feel quite tight.

But that's not the only reason I suggest a visit soon. In 2023, Paris will allow visitors the chance to stay at hotels such as The Hôtel de la Marine on Place de la Concorde, which opened to the public for the first time since The Revolution. It also served as the headquarters of France's navy ministry for over 200 years, and now its stately reception rooms and restaurant take over fully restored spaces.

Paris visitors may also view the recently-opened private art collection at the Bourse de Commerce , which houses contemporary works from the collection of the French billionaire François Pinault.

As an added reason to visit, French Bee now flies a cheap $217 nonstop route from Miami to Paris , according to the airline's site.

San Francisco just got its own equivalent of NYC's High Line.

I lived in San Francisco with friends around the Y2K era and always look for any reason to return.

In 2023 though, the city will mark a few milestones and celebrations that will be especially good reasons to plan a visit.

Key city landmarks will celebrate anniversaries, including the San Francisco Opera at 100 years, and the Ferry Building , which will mark 125 years. Visitors can also expect special programming and events throughout the year, such as the opera's grand finale concert and centennial anniversary dinner .

Elsewhere in the city, Presidio Tunnel Tops recently opened, comprising 14 acres of new national parkland . Designed by the same firm behind NYC's High Line , I think it's an ideal spot to take in views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Additionally, the newly opened Line Hotel San Francisco is an outpost of one of my favorite cool hotel brands and comes with a landscaped rooftop solarium that I think is worth a look.

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The best travel destinations around the world for 2023, according to National Geographic

Got the travel itch? National Geographic has suggested 25 top destinations throughout the world for those looking to explore in 2023.

The recommendations, released Oct. 26, range from traditional U.S. destinations such as San Francisco and global travel hot spots including Egypt to ecotourism locations and lesser-known sites such as Choquequirao, Peru, the sister city to historic Machu Picchu.

“With our team of travel experts and editors, we took a deeper dive into places all over the globe that are providing experiences that are unique and beneficial for both locals and travelers: locations where visitors ultimately sustain and support – not damage – the destination’s environment and community," said Amy Alipio, senior editor at National Geographic Travel, in a statement announcing the destinations .

"We also worked hard to provide lesser-known gems on the list, equally inspiring alternatives to destinations that have become overcrowded," she said.

What US sites made National Geographic's Best of the World 2023 list?

San Francisco made the list as a top family destination. (National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler's editorial teams broke down their recommendations into five categories – family, adventure, culture, nature, and community – with five destinations in each category.)

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Utah was listed as a site notable for adventure; Charleston, South Carolina, was chosen for its cultural efforts. Big Bend National Park in Texas earned its spot for natural scenery; and Milwaukee was included as one of five places with extraordinary conservation, sustainability and ecotourism initiatives.

Ready for a chilly vacation?  Here are the best national parks for families to visit this winter

'Understand your limits, take care': These are America's 20 deadliest national parks

Switzerland, Colombia among recommended family trips

Switzerland, with a public transport network that includes a cookie train and a chocolate train, is among National Geographic's five best destinations to "educate and illuminate" travelers .

Colombia was chosen for its rich biodiversity, which lends itself to birdwatching and wildlife watching. The Manchester Museum helped the English city, home of the Manchester United Football Club, make the list. Turtles abound in Trinidad and Tobago – making the Caribbean nation a mecca for turtle tourism.

Among the highlights that landed  San Francisco  a spot: a new Crosstown Trail, created by volunteers, covering 17 miles of the city. 

Disneyland vs. Disney World: What is the difference? How to choose which one to visit.

Primitive camping: What is it, why do it and what gear do you need to do it right?

For adventure, Austria, New Zealand and Peru are places to go

For those seeking "adrenaline-soaked adventures in 2023 and beyond," the magazine suggested the remote Inca ruins of Choquequirao in southern Peru.

Peruvian officials are spending $260 million to build a cable car making it easier to access the ruins. But tourists who want to see them now can make the journey over 18 miles of walking paths.

Other sites for "your next big adventure" on the list included the western states of Austria, which have created the Bergsteigerdörfer, a network of mountaineering villages where travelers get a more authentic Alpine experience.

Closer to home, Utah has five national parks and eight national monuments making it "an adventurer's dream destination," National Geographic said.  

Mexico's Revillagigedo National Park – nicknamed "the Galapagos of Mexico," National Geographic says – is a haven for divers. 

Skiing, hiking and bicycling make New Zealand's South Island a year-round adventure destination. 

For culture, look to Egypt, Italy, and South Carolina

Italy is always a desired destination for tourists seeking to christen themselves in culture – some go for the food alone. One of the recent developments cited by National Geographic to make it a 2023 travel consideration: Italian officials are restoring the Appian Way, which runs 360 miles from Rome to southern Italy. 

Egypt, too, remains an exotic place to travel; a timely consideration: the upcoming opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which houses King Tut's tomb.

"It's going to become a destination museum and will change the way people visit Egypt," said Fredrik Hiebert, the National Geographic Society's archaeologist-in-residence, in the article.

What's everyone talking about?  Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

Other cultural hotspots designated by National Geographic : South Korea's second-largest city, Busan, which has an annual film festival and a burgeoning craft beer and artisan coffee scene; and the Henan Province of central China, where the Longmen Grottoes house scores of Buddhist sculptures – the largest is more than 56 feet high – dating back to the 5th century. 

A cultural highlight helping earn Charleston, South Carolina  a spot on the list: the International African American Museum , opening in January. The museum is located near the city's harbor, which served as a slave trading port.

Connect with nature in Big Bend, Botswana and Scotland

Big Bend National Park in west Texas provides visitors with epic vistas, plus "more cactus species than any other national park," as well as birds and other wildlife, said the magazine in including the park among its "under-the-radar treasures."

"Big Bend National Park brings to life the frontier legend of Texas – but the landscape will also surprise you," the magazine said. 

"We Texans knew it, but it seems the rest of the world is tuning in," noted the Austin American-Statesman on the park's designation.

There's also various cultures found in the 118-mile park, which sits just north of the Texas-Mexico border and south of towns such as Marfa and Alpine.

Other "wild escapes for nature lovers" National Geographic recommended included Botswana, where overtourism is being replaced with voluntourism. The southern African country is home to many game reserves and national parks. Slovenia, known for its eco-friendly tours, has a new Green Gourmet Route, an 11-day bicycling trail for foodies, the magazine said.

In the Scottish highlands, travelers can see how the country's northwest region is "rewilding" its landscapes with more trees and reintroduced wildlife. And the Azores – nine islands off the coast of Portugal – are "an oasis for 28 whale and dolphin species … (that) takes sustainable tourism seriously," Nat Geo said. 

No time to waste!  Here's what it takes to transform Disney World for the holidays overnight

What is glamping?  Get to know the new frontier of outdoor vacations.

Milwaukee and Greece among smart tourist spots

Milwaukee was included in the list's community category , for less-visited destinations "that stand out for community-led conservation efforts; groundbreaking work in ecotourism, sustainability, and inclusive travel; and meaningful ways for travelers to give back."

The article calls Milwaukee "a Great Lakes city to watch," wrote the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , noting that Nat Geo complimented how it "combines a blue-collar, back-thumping energy with a close-knit creative community."

Destinations highlighted include the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Riverwalk, the Deer District (and the 2021 World Champion Milwaukee Bucks), neighborhoods like Bronzeville and the Historic Third Ward, the Public Market, the Art Museum and, of course, breweries.

The magazine's other less-visited destinations included Greece's Dodecanese islands where locals aim to involve locals in traditional trades such as fishing and winemaking that also serve as sustainable tourist diversions.

A new travel highlight for Laos? A recently-launched bullet train that connects 260 miles of the Southeast Asian country for domestic and international tourists.

Tourists continue to heed the call of Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo, who before the COVID-19 shutdown urged travelers to visit the West African country to connect with their African roots. And in Alberta, Canada, Indigenous tourism is a growing pursuit with parks such as Elk Island National Park offering guided hikes and Cree crafting workshops.

“From craft breweries and Asia’s top film festival in Busan, South Korea, to women-led Indigenous tourism in Alberta, Canada, and the densest leatherback turtle nesting ground in the world in Trinidad and Tobago, this year’s list reminds us that there is still so much out there to explore and experience.” said Nathan Lump, National Geographic’s editor-in-chief. 

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter:  @mikesnider .

The 20 Best Countries in the World: 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards

By Nicholas DeRenzo

For years, we've asked our readers to tell us their favorite countries in the world via our annual Readers’ Choice Awards . Now in its 36th iteration, the list continues to capture the travel experiences our readers love best, from the best hotels in the world to the top airlines , cruises , islands , and luggage . This year, you traveled farther and deeper; seeking out remote properties; sailing on smaller, more intimate ships; and prioritizing destinations you’ve been waiting years to visit. At least that’s what a staggering 526,518 of you told us in our annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Now, you can use the results to decide where you’re going next. Here are the 20 best countries in the world, as voted by Traveler readers.

View this gallery as a full list of the top 20 countries in the world with scores here .

All eyes will be on Paris this year, as the city prepares to host the Summer Olympics. Following the reconstruction of Notre-Dame and this year's much-publicized battle with bedbugs , the City of Light is embracing the spirit of reinvention. That means playful design hotel openings , Dominique Crenn’s first restaurant in her home country, renewed efforts to clean up the Seine (with the goal of making it swimmable, no less), and a slew of French Asian artisans and chefs shaking up the cultural scene. Well beyond the confines of the capital, there are new adventures to discover, from the low-key surf scene in Hossegor to a buzzy African-inspired restaurant in Nîmes to a wave of modernist-tinged openings in the perma-chic French Riviera . And much, much farther afield, the overseas territory of French Polynesia made our list of the 24 best places to go in 2024 . The 118-island archipelago, which is reinvesting in its native flora and restoring coral, will play host to the Olympic surfing competitions this year.

19. Sri Lanka

This South Asian nation packs a wallop into a single teardrop-shaped island only slightly larger than the state of West Virginia: Think high-elevation tea plantations that are eye-vibratingly green, national parks where sloth bears and endangered elephants roam, and friendly surf towns that, if you squint, might remind you of Costa Rica or Nicaragua some decades years ago. (May we suggest Ahangama , with its indie-music venues, locavore cafés, and eco-boutiques?) And then there’s the capital city of Colombo , where you can shop for local spices, fly kites along the waterfront, or even charter a yacht. As Sri Lanka has worked in recent years to secure its spot as a global tourism contender, it has faced quite a few challenges, from the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings to the pandemic. Now, it’s looking to regain the trust of visitors with its trademark hospitality and warm nature—not to mention an ever-expanding roster of new hotels and resorts .

18. Austria

Vienna has long been a favorite stop on European grand tours, but despite the city’s Hapsburg-era pomp and splendor, it’s far from a dusty museum piece. Leaders recently announced plans to be carbon neutral by 2040, led by a hyperlocal culinary scene that has welcomed such innovations as a city snail farm and an urban collective that uses grounds from the city’s famed coffee house scene to grow mushrooms. Outside the capital, visitors still flock to alpine ski villages and jewel-box-like Salzburg , but other destinations are bubbling to the surface. Making our Hot List recently is The Cōmodo , an artfully repurposed 1960s health resort on the edge of the country’s largest national park in the mountain village of Bad Gastein. And, this year, the country celebrated its third European Capital of Culture—following Graz in 2003 and Linz in 2009—the spa town of Bad Ischl, where the healing salt waters have been attracting royalty and other elites since the early 1800s.

17. South Africa

South Africa has always been a favorite first stop on the continent for international travelers, and it’s becoming increasingly accessible thanks to new direct routes. But even if you’ve visited before, you might not recognize the place: Joining the illustrious ranks of the country’s famed safari resorts and wineries are a slew of new openings , including a revitalized weekend market in Johannesburg and buzzy beach clubs in the heart of Cape Town. Beyond the wildlife watching that has made South Africa a favorite destination for generations of safari goers, new adventures await around every corner: Take lessons with the country’s first Black African free-diving instructor, the mermaid-esque Zandile Ndhlovu ; retrace Viola Davis’s footsteps in the filming locations from The Woman King (South Africa stood in for the former West African Kingdom of Dahomey); or collaborate on your own bespoke African-print bomber jacket with local Joburg fashion designer Sebo Marobela .

Olivia Morelli

Stacey Lastoe

Maresa Manara

16. United Kingdom

Thanks to Brexit and a new monarch, it’s safe to say that the United Kingdom hasn’t seen such an intense period of transition since perhaps the Margaret Thatcher era. But despite the changes, most of the things we all know and love about the country are still intact, such as London’s dazzlingly diverse restaurant scene and its wide array of free museums (the National Portrait Gallery reopened its doors last summer after a three-year renovation). History is always being reimagined and remixed in these parts: Take, for instance, the landmark Old War Office, which has been transformed into Raffles London at The OWO , or the renovated 1511 Thornbury Castle , where you can now make like a Tudor-era noble and book an overnight stay. Up in the north of England, Yorkshire made it onto our list of the best places to go in 2024, thanks to its emerging culinary scene, and adventures await beyond the borders of England as well—foraging for mushrooms in Wales , tapping into maritime history in Northern Ireland , or hopping between swimmable tidal pools on the coast of Scotland .

15. Germany

With its fairytale castles , charming small towns , and festive Christmas markets , Germany has always loomed large as a tourist magnet, whether you’re exploring it by train, river cruise, or road trip . While the country may seem tradition-bound, it’s also not afraid of trying something new, which might mean immersive art shows taking over unexpected spaces in Berlin or a $120 million, high-tech medi-spa opening in the pastoral North Frisian Islands. There are new contemporary-art-filled places to stay , buzzy neighborhoods (like Munich’s meatpacking district, Schlachthofviertel ), and even an expanding fleet of ultra-eco-friendly, hydrogen-powered passenger trains that emit only steam and condensed water. Of course, the classics are just as beautiful as they’ve always been: When, for instance, you enjoy the healing thermal springs of Baden-Baden , you’re taking part in a millennia-old tourist tradition that dates back to the pre-Roman Celts.

14. Croatia

The secret’s out: This Balkan country may have been off-the-beaten path a decade or so ago, but it’s rapidly gaining in popularity, thanks to increased direct flights, an influx of cruises, and especially the popularity of Game of Thrones . Croatia is feeling the growing pains of its success, with spots like Dubrovnik and Split becoming every bit as overtouristed as Venice or Amsterdam, but there are plenty of areas around the country that reward exploration: dining at family-farm restaurants and sampling local olive oil in Istria , zipping around by speedboat off the coastline of Trogir , road-tripping through vineyards and oyster farms on the Dalmatian Coast , or sailing among the restful Kornati Islands , which are dotted with oak forests, centuries-old churches, and fortified villages. The result? What local Dalmatians call fjaka —that sweet feeling of doing absolutely nothing.

13. Iceland

Long celebrated as a rugged adventure outpost, Iceland is the kind of edge-of-the-world place where your trip just might be interrupted or postponed by a volcanic eruption or mini-earthquakes—but is worth the wait. These days, urban life is just as alive and exciting as the geothermal activity bubbling underground: Think pilgrimage-worthy restaurants (like Ox , a speakeasy-style tasting-menu spot), see-and-be-seen design hotels ( The Reykjavík Edition ), and a robust roster of new natural wine bars, cocktail lounges, and innovative food halls.

As the Golden Circle becomes increasingly crowded with international visitors taking advantage of IcelandAir’s “stopover” program , the country is gently nudging travelers off the beaten path. The relatively new Diamond Circle , for instance, weaves a 155-mile loop through northeastern Iceland, stopping at waterfalls, mud pits, lava caves, and hot springs. And in 2023, the fan-favorite Blue Lagoon —which boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant of its own, Moss —expanded its footprint with the new Highland Base Kerlingarfjöll , a cozy retreat in a part of the country’s rugged interior that’s so remote even many Icelanders haven’t stepped foot there.

12. Australia

We’ll never stop loving Sydney and Melbourne and the Great Barrier Reef , but the overarching theme for Aussie tourism in the past few years has been a resounding: “But there’s so much more out there!” There’s almost a passing of the baton going on among the country’s creative-minded cities: Way out west, Perth enjoyed its status as the country’s fast-growing boomtown, followed by Hobart, Tasmania , which welcomed a game-changing art museum and design hotel . Ready for its big close-up is Queensland’s oft-ignored capital city of Brisbane , which is newly accessible thanks to direct routes from the United States and will see such skyline-transforming additions as the Queen’s Wharf entertainment precinct (with a six-star Rosewood) and a $100-million performing arts venue. And when the first World’s 50 Best Hotels list was released back in September, Brisbane’s modernist-tinged The Calile ranked the highest in the region. On the exact opposite side of the country, Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region made our list of the world’s best places to go in 2024 , thanks to increased cruise itineraries to the area and the newly launched Aboriginal Cultural Expedition.

Istanbul has always sat at the crossroads of the world, where the thin ribbon of the Bosphorus divides Asia from Europe, and East from West. It's taken its position to new heights with a game-changing international airport that opened in 2019 and gained fandom among our readers for its modern design and impressive duty-free shopping zone. Returning visitors will find all the things they love about Istanbul still intact, from its minaret-filled skyline to its thrilling food scene , but there are plenty of fresh offerings, including a burgeoning contemporary gallery scene in artsy Karaköy . Farther afield, the Turquoise Coast attracts jet setters with its traditional hammams and party-centric resorts alike, while the surrounding Aegean region has seen an explosion of modern wineries amid its ancient ruins. And speaking of antiquity, there’s a brand new (yet very old) reason to head out east into Anatolia: In 2021, UNESCO inscribed the 8,000-year-old Arslantepe Mound on its list of World Heritage Sites.

10. Switzerland

With its cow-studded green valleys, snow-capped peaks, and glitzy ski resorts, Switzerland is the kind of place that most people think they know. But this country in the heart of Europe is worth another look. Take, for instance, its notoriously expensive largest city, Zürich , which never seems to get enough credit for its progressive outlook , oft-overlooked art and music scenes , and a skyline shaped by staggeringly diverse architectural voices, including Le Corbusier, Santiago Calatrava, and Shigeru Ban. Its Alpine ski towns, with big names like Verbier, Davos, and Zermatt, meanwhile, are expanding their offerings beyond the snow season: The Engadin Valley , home to St. Moritz, has become a warm-weather hot spot, with hundreds of miles of hiking trails, electric mountain bikes for rent, and all manner of adventure sports, including paragliding, kitesurfing, and even class-4 whitewater-rapids rafting through Giarsun Gorge. But, of course, the classics still sing. After tackling the country’s rugged terrain, you’ve earned a stay in the new Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern , a stunningly remade Belle Epoque grande-dame hotel originally opened in 1906.

Oslo has spent the past several years getting out of the shadow of its grander Scandinavian peers, like Stockholm and Copenhagen, with attention-grabbing openings like the Sommerro hotel and the new National Museum and buzzy districts like harbor-side Bjørvika , home to the new Munch Museum. But the capital city is a mere gateway for exploring the country and its fjord-filled coastline—recently recalculated as the second-longest in the world after Canada. This year, a must-visit stop is Bodø , the first European Capital of Culture north of the Arctic Circle, which will see a lineup of cultural events celebrating Sámi culture and the opening of a new hotel made almost entirely out of wood. For the best way to get around these parts, you can’t beat Hurtigruten , a historic coastal ferry company that also doubles as a pleasure cruise line, a cargo vessel, a mail ship, and an expedition outfitter. The beloved institution celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2023 by partnering with renowned Norwegian chefs like Halvar Ellingsen for boundary-pushing onboard menus (think reindeer tartar and elk bone marrow) and introducing new itineraries to Svalbard and the North Cape.

With a war between Israel and Hamas plunging the area into chaos and uncertainty, the region looks quite different than it did during the Readers’ Choice Awards voting process—and depending on where you're traveling, may need to be avoided until the situation on the ground changes. But before the latest conflict, Israel had been attracting travelers by investing in future developments while keeping an eye firmly on its past: Archaeologists, for instance, recently uncovered a 2,000-year-old synagogue in the ancient city of Migdal,; Tel Ashkelon, the largest Roman-era basilica in the Middle East, has also been undergoing restoration. In Jerusalem , a vibrant dining scene emerged, including in the winding alleyways of Machane Yehuda Market, while Bauhaus-rich Tel Aviv has added a slew of new hotel properties to its design-forward repertoire. As experts recently told readers in our update on the region , it’s best to postpone trips, not cancel them: “Do not give up on visiting Israel,” said Susan Weissberg from Wyllys Professional Travel. “It is the most fascinating country in the world, no matter what your religion is, and this too shall pass.”

7. Portugal

This Iberian Peninsula country has spent the past decade transforming from a budget-minded underdog destination to a major player that can rival the likes of Spain and Italy. From the start, even as it suffered under a forty-year authoritarian regime and a flailing economy, Portugal was brimming with delights that bordered on sensory overload: the intricate blue-and-white patterns of azulejo tiles, the intoxicating aroma of oven-fresh pastéis de nata, the mournful chords of live fado music , the bracing chill of a crisp vinho verde or the nectary sweetness of a port. With its jaunty yellow trams and hilltop São Jorge Castle, Lisbon is an easy-to-adore starting point for first-timers, but an increasing number of direct flights to Porto are inviting travelers to explore the second city’s contemporary cultural scene and must-try restaurants . And then? Portugal rewards repeat visitors with a choose-your-own-adventure that might include the terraced hillsides of the Douro Valley, the underrated wineries and burgeoning beach towns of the Alentejo region , the surfer havens of the Algarve , and the absurdly scenic hamlets scattered throughout. Now, thanks to new direct flights from the U.S., even the Hawaii-like volcanic landscapes of the Azores are right at your fingertips.

When the World’s 50 Best Bars list was announced earlier this year, the top spot went to an innovative Barcelona cocktail lounge called Sips , and it shared the top five with fellow Barcelona speakeasy Paradiso , which is hidden inside a pastrami shop in the trendy El Born district. If you’ve spent any time in the country, especially after nightfall, you probably already know this obvious fact: The Spanish know how to party, and they love to do it in style, from the sherry and flamenco bars of Andalusia to the beach clubs of bohemian Formentera to the tapas bars of Barcelona . In an ironic twist, some of the country’s most notoriously party-hardy spots are moving in the opposite direction, shedding their reputations for debauchery to become serious cultural hubs. A new generation of creatives in Mallorca , for instance, are getting back to the land, with homey design hotels and natural wineries, while a host of boutique hotels and Michelin-star restaurants in Marbella is enticing visitors to explore beyond the (admittedly gorgeous) beachfront and into the previously underrated Old Town.

5. New Zealand

Ever since Peter Jackson cast his home country as Middle-earth in the Lord of the Rings film franchise, visitors have viewed this island nation as a place of almost mythical beauty, from the crystalline mountains lakes and sweeping fjords to misty rainforests and geothermal valleys. Culturally diverse Auckland remains the most popular point of entry for international travelers, but new lodges and trails are making it easier than ever before to venture far out into the country’s vast wilderness. Among the most dazzling openings in recent years is Flockhill Lodge , a 36,000-acre high-country sheep station in the Southern Alps that now doubles as an ultra-luxe retreat, while other properties are finding clever ways to honor the land (such as regenerative farming ) and especially the country’s Māori heritage. And for something wildly unique, consider a flight on the world’s first winery airline, Invivo Air , which flies between Auckland and Queenstown and includes an eight-step wine tasting at 18,000 feet.

For American travelers, Ireland has always felt a bit like an old cardigan: cozy, easy, and comfortable—the kind of place you can take multiple generations of family members to trace your genealogical roots or to scope out centuries-old castles and fireplace-warmed pubs. But there’s also a decidedly youthful wind whipping across the Emerald Isle . The capital city is emerging as one of Europe’s most forward-thinking tech hubs, nicknamed Silicon Docks for the prevalence of tech giants and startups headquartered along the Grand Canal Dock. This infusion of big thinkers (with big wallets) has blown the dust off the island’s traditionalist culture. Now, in addition to crossing Trinity College’s Long Room off your bucket list, you might also find yourself foraging for nettles and pears with Takingaleaf founder Miceal Murray or sipping whiskey at Teeling, the first new distillery to open within the city in more than 125 years. Beyond the capital, Ireland is dotted with remote hotels and Airbnbs that allow you to spend the night everywhere from an island lighthouse in County May to a Scandi-chic cabin in County Monaghan. And if you’re in the mood for something farther afield, it doesn’t get much more rugged than the Aran Islands, the filming location and inspiration for The Banshees of Inisherin .

Greece is attracting record-breaking tourist numbers, and the crystal Aegean waters are beckoning us back to some of your favorite islands in the world: postcard-perfect Santorini , mythology-steeped Mykonos , and massive Crete , with its reemerging viticultural scene. That roster of dreamy islands is ever-expanding, with more and more visitors venturing out to under-the-radar Paros , car-free Hydra , blissfully secluded Zakynthos , beach-filled Ios , and wild, windswept Tinos . And be sure not to ignore Athens . As it rebuilt itself after a paralyzing debt crisis, the ancient city leaned into a scrappy, creative energy that has yielded forward-thinking restaurants, avant-garde galleries, and hip hotels that rank Athens among Europe’s unexpectedly coolest capitals. And for those really looking for an adventure—albeit a slow one—consider a journey into Zagorohoria , a collection of 46 traditional stone villages scattered around the Pindus Mountains in Greece’s rugged northwest. Here, you’re likelier to encounter truffle hunters, bubbling hot springs, and monasteries with Orthodox frescoes than sun-seeking partiers.

As Stanley Tucci’s popular CNN travelogue proved, there aren’t enough days in the year to uncover all the dolce vita that Italy has to offer. Beyond the hotspots in Florence , Venice , Milan , and Rome , the country is blessed with seemingly infinite villages and underrated cities to explore and fall in love with. Palermo’s stunningly restored Villa Igiea , for instance, brought the glitterati back to Sicily , which is still riding high off its role in HBO’s The White Lotus , while Bergamo and Brescia —two former rivals who were epicenters of the early pandemic—put aside their differences to jointly hold the title of 2023 Italian Capital of Culture. Of course, one of Italy’s enduring legacies is its world-renowned cuisine, which the government has officially nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. And you don’t have to look far to see what all the fuss is about: Italy is a food lover’s paradise, where you can immerse yourself in the millennia-old Jewish cuisine of Rome, take part in a transformative cooking class in Tuscany , or try something completely new-to-you (like torta al testo ) in landlocked Umbria .

Japan was dealt a bad hand, when its turn at the Summer Olympics fell during an international pandemic. And though they were much-delayed, the Games reminded viewers worldwide what they loved—and missed—about the island nation: the traditions, the design culture, the futuristic innovation. Now that the country has reopened for visa-free tourism, you’ll still find the incredible restaurants , the ultra-relaxing onsens , the Shinto temples, the cherry blossoms, and the impeccably clean and efficient high-speed trains , which run along some of the most scenic rail routes in the world. But there’s always something new popping up in this whizz-bang nation of the future. A buzzy gin scene ? Sure. A hilltop castle from 1599 where you can book overnight stays? Check. Oh yeah, and new galleries and exhibits on Naoshima Island , ultra-stylish glamping resorts , and a growing roster of sushi bars helmed by female chefs —still a major rarity in this tradition-bound country. And now there are fantastic excuses to venture far out to the country’s extreme north and south: New UNESCO World Heritage designees include the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in the north and a chain of islands in the archipelago’s southwestern stretches that are entirely uninhabited by humans and filled with endangered species.

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The top travel destinations for 2023, according to experts

Italy will be hot again next year, along with a re-opened asia, sunny beaches and the mountain west.

At the beginning of 2022, the outlook for travel felt uncertain. A new coronavirus variant had tripped up society again, and it was still a roll of the dice to plan a vacation — let alone take one. But once the omicron wave waned, travel roared back with a vengeance: Testing requirements fell, borders opened and it seemed as if every other person you knew went to Europe.

As we begin 2023, all signs show the collective appetite for travel remains huge, despite inflation and recession concerns. Industry experts are forecasting certain 2022 trends will carry over in the new year, such as people taking longer trips, going on more of them and spending more to take them.

Julia Carter, founder of Craft Travel , says her typical client would usually book one big trip a year. Now, two or even three are the norm, with one person already locked in for four major trips: Morocco, Switzerland, Botswana and a tiger safari in India. For Brittany Campbell, owner of Bucket List Holidays , most clients are booking trips for at least 10 days, and some as long as 32.

Our 10 best City Guides, according to readers

A notable change in the new year is a willingness to book long in advance again, even as far out as 2024 for clients of Susan Blume at Personal Escape Travel . That may be because more people are interested in taking bucket-list trips, which require more planning. Or it could be because many people couldn’t get what they wanted in 2022 thanks to high demand for travel, says Liz Einbinder, spokesperson for the biking and hiking tour company Backroads .

So where are people going in 2023? We asked dozens of travel advisers, tour operators and booking platforms to find out. Some of our findings won’t surprise you — “Europe is still very hot,” says Alisa Cohen, founder of Luxe Traveler Club — while other breakout destinations might. Zambia, anyone?

The absolute, undisputed most popular destination for 2023 is Italy. And if you thought everyone went in 2022, buckle up.

Fulvio De Bonis, president and co-founder of Imago Artis Travel , says they’re bracing for “way more” business in 2023.

De Bonis puts Italy travel trends into three categories: people, nature and sports. Travelers want to meet interesting locals, such as chefs or fishermen. They want to see beautiful places by going foraging in the mountains near Lake Como, for example, or hitting the beach. And they want to have exciting sports experiences , maybe by catching a soccer game or touring a team’s training facilities.

Shayna Mizrahi, founder and CEO of Vive Voyage , says her clients are also highly interested in connecting with Italian culture through cooking classes, boat excursions and artisan workshops.

For private tour operator Access Italy , the Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, Tuscany, Puglia and Sicily are clients’ most requested destinations. These classics are also the most popular for Imago Artis, but De Bonis notes that travelers want off-the-beaten-path experiences within these well-known places. They don’t just want to see Tuscany’s highlights; “there is a world outside of Florence,” De Bonis says, and travelers want to explore it.

Other European destinations trailing behind Italy next year (but still in hot pursuit) are Greece, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Our best Italy travel advice:

• Everything to know about traveling to Italy
• 7 Italy vacations that check every travel style
• A local’s guide to Rome

As the last region in the world to reopen during the pandemic, East Asia is expected to have a banner year for tourism, with Japan poised to be the fan favorite.

Although people want to go to the “Golden Triangle” — Tokyo , Kyoto, Osaka — Mike Salvadore, a travel agent with Travel Leaders, recommends adding a stop to see Japan beyond its best-known cities, such as mountainous Sapporo in the north or beachy Okinawa in the south.

If you’d like to go during cherry blossom season, you may be out of luck. Jeff Krevitt, vice president of marketing for the Americas for Inside Travel Group, which owns InsideJapan Tours , notes that this will be the first spring since 2019 that the country will be open to international travelers, so big crowds can be expected.

For a cheaper alternative with more availability, Rani Cheema, chief executive and travel curator at Cheema’s Travel , recommends traveling to South Korea to see the flowering cherry blossoms this spring instead.

Our best Japan travel advice:

• We visited Studio Ghibli’s long-awaited theme park. It’s a sensory delight.
• Everything you need to know about traveling to Japan
• Staying in a historical Japanese temple is an extraordinary experience. Here’s how to do it .

Southeast Asia

Behind Japan, Southeast Asia is also high on travelers’ wish lists, with Thailand, Bali and Vietnam at the top.

The travel subscription service VIP Traveler has seen a 200 percent increase in interest in Bali, perhaps following Indonesia’s newly launched digital-nomad visa .

It could also be that Bali appeals to the growing number of travelers interested in trips focused on wellness. Salvadore says most of his clients want to go to Ubud, Bali’s lush jungle town near the center of the island. But some have been open to suggestions to try the lesser-visited eastern coast or northwestern Bali, “which is a little bit more secluded but also really beautiful,” Salvadore said.

Our best Asia travel advice:

• Asia is slowly reopening to travelers. Here’s where you can go.
• Traveling to a newly reopened Asia allowed me to be myself again
• Marijuana is now legal in Thailand. What does that mean for tourists?

The Caribbean

A perennial sunshine-filled favorite that tends to be easy for Americans to reach, the Caribbean will remain sought-after in 2023.

“A lot of people will go to the typical places like the Dominican Republic or Jamaica or the Bahamas,” Salvadore said, but eastern Caribbean countries are some of his favorites, such as Barbados, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, Antigua and Grenada.

Our best Caribbean travel advice:

• 6 Caribbean vacations that check every travel style
• Caribbean trips are expensive, so I went to the Caribbean of Maryland
• In Grenada, a.k.a. the Spice Isle, a foodie paradise blossoms

Jonathan Alder, owner of the luxury travel company Jonathan’s Travels , has booked more Egypt trips for clients in the past two years than he has over the entire decade, and requests are picking up speed in 2023. “We’ve had one after another after another after another,” he said.

Some of the renewed interest may be attributed to the anticipated opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, says Jasmine Padda, Egypt destination expert for Kensington Tours . She also pointed to the increase in major cruise lines adding sailings in the region.

Carolyn Addison, head of product for the luxury travel company Black Tomato , credits Egypt’s trending status to people who want to check classic trips off their bucket lists.

“We have lots of people who are like: ‘I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids. I’ve always wanted to cruise the Nile,’” she said.

The American West

Jen Moyse, VP of product for the travel app TripIt , says that although international travel is having a moment, Americans will continue to return to iconic cities at home that are still rebounding from the pandemic.

Of the Top 5 most booked domestic destinations on the travel booking platform Hopper , four are out west: Las Vegas, Denver, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

For Skyscanner bookings, Las Vegas and Los Angeles took the top spots for most booked flights in the new year, with San Francisco, Honolulu and Denver also making the Top 10.

The vacation rental platform Vrbo says demand for homes in western U.S. destinations is on the rise, as customers look for trips in the great outdoors.

Our best travel advice on the American West:

• How to do Montana like a local, beyond Glacier and Yellowstone
• A hater’s guide to Las Vegas
• UNESCO at 50: 24 World Heritage sites to see across America

Mexico has been breaking tourism records throughout the pandemic and will return as a powerhouse destination in 2023. Its most popular and easy-to-get-to beach destinations are major contributors to that success.

“People are welcoming that beach vacation,” Cohen said. “They want to go to Mexico and just relax.”

Cancún, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, is the most booked international destination next year for Hopper, Skyscanner and the airfare search engine Skiplagged . However, demand for cultural capitals will also continue to rise.

Oaxaca is the second-most popular destination for the travel company Modern Adventure, and Mexico City ranks high as well.

Our best Mexico travel advice:

• 6 Mexico vacations that check every travel style
• Where to drink natural wine in the heart of Mexico
• A local’s guide to Mexico City

Another carry-over from 2022, Costa Rica is attracting travelers — including families, honeymooners and retirees — with its abundance of affordable flights, outdoor adventures, wildlife and coastline.

For customers of travel planning company Zicasso , the most sought-after places to visit are Arenal, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Tortuguero and the Osa Peninsula, which lines up with our expert recommendations .

The most booked 2023 itinerary for Road Scholar, a group tour company for senior travelers, is a Costa Rica vacation that hits many of those places, as well as Punta Leona, on the central Pacific coast, and Sarapiqui, a renowned birdwatching region in Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands.

The Galápagos Islands

Another dream trip becoming a reality for travelers in 2023 is the Galápagos Islands. The biggest seller for Astonishing Travel owner Heidi Bocianowski, the Pacific Ocean archipelago appeals to people who want to see something new every day, including black lava rock, red sand and rare wildlife.

Brian Tan of Zicasso says customers are keen on combining a trip to the Galápagos with other South American highlights.

That may be Patagonia, which has been “by far one of the most popular destinations” for Craft Travel founder Carter. It helps that travelers can once again cross between Chile and Argentina by road. Carter has been planning combination trips for clients to Torres del Paine National Park on the Chilean side, with the charming villages of El Calafate and El Chaltén on the Argentinean side.

7 travel mistakes to avoid in 2023

African safaris

Keeping with the once-in-a-lifetime theme, Brian Pentek, owner of LuxeLife Travel , says “Africa is huge” for his clients.

Most are going in multigenerational groups who use the trip as graduation presents or family reunions. They may be going to Cape Town, South Africa, as well as Botswana (for game reserves) or Rwanda for gorilla trekking.

In addition to safaris, Salvadore incorporates ways for his clients in Africa to experience local culture, check out the food and drink scenes, and enjoy bush camping instead of staying in luxury lodges. In 2023, he’s sending travelers to Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, a country listed as one of the top up-and-coming travel spots in a summary compiled by Scott Dunn luxury travel planners.

The most booked destinations for Niarra Travel also include South Africa, Victoria Falls (which sits on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Kenya, while trips to the Serengeti in Tanzania dominate reservations for Deeper Africa . One of the company’s owners, Karen Zulauf, said she has noticed upcoming travelers are more interested in adding active excursions, such as “walking safaris, mountain biking, horseback riding, you name it.”

For those who have already done a traditional safari vacation, Carter recommends Namibia, a country seeing a resurgence in interest, where travelers can go on self-driving road trips (vs. ones with a guide) between eco-lodges or take small planes to some of the world’s most remote places, such as the Skeleton Coast and Hoanib Valley.

Gorillas are Rwanda’s main attraction. Dian Fossey would hate that.

Even before the North African country drew international attention in the World Cup, Morocco was emerging as a major travel hot spot. It’s the most booked country for Intrepid Travel , and “we expect Morocco to continue to be incredibly popular in 2023, given the increase in flights into the destination and the ability to get out and have great experiences in one-week, 10-day or two-week itineraries,” said the company’s CEO, James Thornton.

That’s also true for Modern Adventure. Liz Boudreau, vice president of experiences for the company, says it has had a 53 percent increase in bookings compared with 2022.

If you’re worried about your travel budget, consider visiting as a work exchange volunteer, like Washington Post reporter Andrea Sachs tried in Fez.

Small cruises

Cruises are making a strong comeback, even for travelers who might not consider themselves cruise people. But instead of taking megaships, they’re looking for smaller options operating expedition trips (think Antarctica and Alaska) or luxury voyages, mainly river cruising in Europe and Egypt.

For destinations with the highest interest, such as Portugal, Emma Cakmak, owner of the cruise-focused company A Passport to Travel , is warning clients that May through September is practically sold out across all the top cruise lines, although there’s some availability in low-end stateroom categories.

If you’re striking out, keep shopping around. As they notice demand climb, some cruise lines seem to be “bringing on significant capacity as they move into” 2023, said Priceline CEO Brett Keller.

Our best cruise advice:

• One side effect of cruise covid rules: Norovirus has plummeted
• CDC stops reporting coronavirus cases on cruise ships
• Virgin Voyages gets its sea legs

An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Susan Blume as Stephanie Blume. The error was updated.

More travel news

How we travel now: More people are taking booze-free trips — and airlines and hotels are taking note. Some couples are ditching the traditional honeymoon for a “buddymoon” with their pals. Interested? Here are the best tools for making a group trip work.

Bad behavior: Entitled tourists are running amok, defacing the Colosseum , getting rowdy in Bali and messing with wild animals in national parks. Some destinations are fighting back with public awareness campaigns — or just by telling out-of-control visitors to stay away .

Safety concerns: A door blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, leaving passengers traumatized — but without serious injuries. The ordeal led to widespread flight cancellations after the jet was grounded, and some travelers have taken steps to avoid the plane in the future. The incident has also sparked a fresh discussion about whether it’s safe to fly with a baby on your lap .

The Best Places to Travel in 2023

Start planning your 2023 travels to these 12 places—the most creative, delicious, and soul-reviving destinations of the year..

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It’s our favorite time of year: the Where to Go season, when AFAR reveals our list of the ultimate places to travel in the coming year. How to choose? Our editorial team reached out to writers, reporters, and correspondents around the world and curated 12 global destinations for 2023 that feel poised for a “moment": creative cities, seaside villages, national parks, and other places where wonder prevails. Read on and prepare to start wandering...

Located 150 miles south of Melbourne, Tasmania is teeming with adventure and beauty.

Sean Fennessy

1. Tasmania, Australia

Across this secluded and beautiful island state near Melbourne, irreverence and experimentation reign.

It was my first trip to Australia—my first trip abroad —in 2001, and I arrived in Melbourne a green-as-they-come university student, all nerves and adrenaline, ready to pounce on whatever adventure lay before me. Show me the city! I screamed silently at our study-abroad orientation leaders. Let me loose! We visited the Coney Island–like neighborhood of St. Kilda on the south shore, learned the finer points of Australian rules football, and ferried to nearby Phillip Island, site of a nightly parade of pint-size penguins that dashed from sea to land at dusk, prompting a chorus of “awwws” from everyone with a heart.

Those points of interest were lovely but ... safe. Introductory. What if I had realized that a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Melbourne was an island known for its irreverent art? For its stark and dramatic natural beauty, its world’s-best single-malt whisky, and seafood so fresh, it asks you about the catch of the day. What if I had visited Tasmania?

For the full story from Laura Redman, read Eclectic Art, Fresh Seafood, and Wild Landscapes—Why Your Next Trip Should Be to Tasmania .

Asilia camp administrator, Leena Lulandala, using telemetry to track collared animals in Ruaha National Park.

Photo by Greg Funnell.

2. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

In a remote corner of Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, travelers can find an abundance of wildlife without the crowds—and help with important conservation work.

Sprawled across 7,700 square miles in southern Tanzania, Ruaha is the country’s second-largest national park. Yet it draws only a tiny fraction of Tanzania’s safarigoers, who flock in much larger numbers to the more famous Serengeti in the north. But low visitation rates make biodiverse Ruaha a wildlife enthusiast’s dream: This vast landscape of habitats, ranging from savannas to wetlands, feels like a private game reserve, and travelers can go days without seeing another vehicle.

In one of the park’s less-visited corners, you’ll find the Usangu wetlands , site of a former hunting reserve and home to the Wasangu tribe for centuries. The wetlands feed the Great Ruaha River, a critical water source for people, animals, and hydroelectric dams that supply energy to much of the country. Wildlife audits have revealed populations of cheetahs, leopards, and lions. Topi antelope can exceed 1,000 animals in one herd.

In 2017, the Tanzania National Parks Authority , Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute , and safari lodge company Asilia Africa came together to introduce a tourism model where revenue from visitors helps fund research, management, and conservation. Asilia’s Usangu Expedition Camp , which opened in 2022, is the only place to stay for more than 30 miles in any direction. Its four high-ceilinged rooms feature enormous beds, rain showers, and wraparound mesh walls that provide views of acacia-dotted wilderness. The lodgings make a stylish base for exploration in two upcycled vehicles that run on ethanol created from the cane waste of a nearby sugar plantation. Guests pitch in on data collection from camera traps by day and thermal monocular cameras by night.

The area’s conservation story is brought to life by the mostly local staff, including Wasangu guide trainee Anderson Pakomyus Mesilla, whose family roots in Usangu run generations deep. “I’m helping to conserve my ancestral home, but this wetland also supplies electricity to a large part of the country, including my village,” he said. “We all benefit from conserving the source of the river.” —Jennifer Flowers

>> Watch the video: What it’s Like to Safari in Ruaha National Park

Vienna, Salzburg, Linz—take a trip to Austria’s best kept secret, Graz.

Photo by Felix Bruggemann

3. Graz, Austria

A DIY spirit brings a historic city to life in a riot of yoga, silent discos, and avant-garde music.

Just over 100 miles south of Vienna, amid the surprisingly Mediterranean climate of the Styrian wine region, sits Austria’s second-largest city. Here, a fairy-tale jumble of baroque and Renaissance buildings clusters at the base of the Schlossberg, the hill that was once Graz ’s ultimate defense. Back in medieval days, a daunting fortress stood at its summit; Napoleon had it destroyed, but the colorful facades and terracotta roofs that sprang up beneath it still shine brightly in the southern Austrian sun. On the east side of the river Mur, Graz’s past is a vivid presence.

On the west bank, however, you will find its future. What the districts of Lend and Gries lack in architecture they make up for in creativity and an entrepreneurial soul. At Bo Suppe , Arnd Hoffmann sells different flavors of homemade soup from his kitchen window (try the vegan pumpernickel Bolognese). At Managerie, Maria Reiner sells drinks and crocheted lampshades from the “kiosk shop” at the front of her apartment. Daily life revolves around the Lendplatz morning market , and small businesses thrive thanks to a fierce community spirit that manifests in a busy calendar of events and projects, such as backyard flea markets, walking tours, outdoor yoga, and knitting circles. Travelers can find out more through the Annenviertel project , which was launched by local campaigners in 2014 to breathe new life into the quarter (or “viertel”) around the shopping street of Annenstrasse. Live music at the 1930s bar Café Wolf ranges from Israeli space-rock to an improvisational autoharp trio. The Lendwirbel festival in May fills empty shop fronts with art installations, silent discos, workshops, and discussions.

The Kunsthaus Graz modern art museum , meanwhile, has inspired artists and designers to make their homes and livings here. Stroll along the main strip Mariahilferstrasse and you’ll find jewelers, fashion boutiques, and homeware shops. A spirit of social enterprise infuses the city: One of the trendiest accessory stores in town, tag.werk, has helped hundreds of young people find employment over the past two decades by teaching them crafts and life skills. Come to Graz for the history, for sure—but stay for its hopeful vision of the future. —Emma John

The Great Lakes are home to the largest fresh water ecosystem on the planet.

Photo by Christina Holmes

4. Great Lakes, USA

From charming lake towns to expedition cruises, there are many good reasons to explore the Greats.

A native of Michigan, I have a birthright bond to the Great Lakes, the magnificent five that span two countries and eight states, from New York in the east to Minnesota in the west. Michigan, which claims shoreline on four of the five lakes, always seemed like both the center of it all and a remote peninsula, buffered by its treasures. During high school, when my family had moved to a suburban Detroit home near a smaller lake that connects the Greats, I would fall asleep to the faint bass notes of freighters’ foghorns, the songs of vast waters you can’t see across, inland seas at once familiar and strange.

All these years later, they remain a place to splash in the calm shallows each summer or brave the waves by kayak. Winter brings ephemeral ice caves and adaptations such as iceboats, or sailboats on blades. “Great” describes not just their size but their influence on culture, history, and our climate future.

For the full story from Elaine Glusac, read The Great Lakes Offer Culture, History, and One of the Most Unique Ecosystems on the Planet .

Black sand beaches, big waves, and rushing rivers. There’s lots to love about Cambutal.

Photo by Hassen Salum

5. Cambutal, Panama

Adventure and community-centric tourism beckon on the southern coast of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula.

Few travelers who visit Los Santos, one of Panama’s least-touristed provinces, venture to the end of the only main road heading south. That’s where Cambutal awaits, 228 miles from Panama City—a beach town garnering much-deserved attention from Panamanians and intrepid international travelers alike.

The town sits on the shores of a never-crowded, volcanic black-sand beach with perfectly surfable waves. The surrounding jungles hold rivers, canyons, natural pools, and multitiered waterfalls.

Having spent a lot of time on the southern coast of the Azuero Peninsula during his childhood, Panama-born Bryan Goldner founded Azuero Adventures in November 2020 to help visitors safely explore the region. As Cambutal’s only registered tour operator, the company started small, with horseback rides through grassy hills to bring travelers to see petroglyphs carved by Indigenous people.

In 2022, Azuero Adventures introduced multiday trips to Cerro Hoya National Park , just west of Cambutal. Encompassing more than 80,000 acres with no direct road entry, Cerro Hoya can only be accessed by boat, on horseback, or in a 4x4 vehicle, making it one of the hardest-to-reach national parks in Panama. The mostly untouched land is known for its diverse wildlife, including the great green macaw and the Azuero spider monkey, both endangered species. Guests can stay in secluded oceanfront cabins or opt for full immersion with an overnight camping expedition that includes a hike through the cloud forest more than 4,200 feet above sea level.

With sustainable and equitable tourism at the heart of his operations, Goldner works closely with the people of Cambutal—a vision directly in line with the Panama Ministry of Tourism ’s efforts to strengthen rural and community-based tourism enterprises.

“We use local captains and local guides,” Goldner says. “The idea is not to hire people and bring resources from outside when we have such a rich community that’s already here.” —Jessica Poitevien

No vampires to worry about here.

Photo by Fundatia Adept

6. Transylvania, Romania

Nature and tradition thrive in one of Europe’s last wild regions.

It’s been 125 years since Bram Stoker wrote Dracula , branding Transylvania as a dark, forbidding land populated by bloodsucking counts with an aversion to holy water. And while perhaps no other book has clouded its readers’ impression of a place in quite the same way, Stoker was right when he wrote of the region’s wild side. North of Bucharest, in the heart of Romania, Transylvania is home to one of Europe’s last great wildernesses: a sprawl of alpine meadows, ragged limestone ridges, and old-growth forests that billow across the landscape in a thick quilt of juniper, spruce, beech, and fir.

These wild mountains harbor some of the highest numbers of large carnivores—brown bears, wolves, and lynx—on the continent. The nonprofit Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC) is in the process of creating a vast reserve to safeguard all this for future generations—a “European Yellowstone” as Christoph Promberger, FCC’s executive director, envisions it—that will stretch for nearly 618,000 untamed acres across Romania’s Southern Carpathian Mountains .

For the full story from Keith Drew, read This Misunderstood Romanian Region Is Known as “European Yellowstone.”

Prepare to be surprised on your next trip to Thailand’s most visited city.

Photos courtesy of The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakho and The Small Dinner Club

7. Bangkok, Thailand

Ambitious young Thais are driving a creative reawakening in one of the world’s most visited cities.

From the end of an L-shaped bar I watched three chefs in black caps delicately plate 11 dishes of what appeared to be snow. Loud music masked the sounds of the busy Bangkok street outside. “OK guys, this one is titled, ‘Daft Punk Is Playing in My Mouth,’” said chef Sareen Rojanametin, setting the intriguing dish before me. Marvelously on cue, the throbbing LCD Soundsystem song “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” burst onto the stereo.

The first bite rocked me to my core. At Small Dinner Club , which “pulls apart, questions, and reimagines Thai food,” you’re not handed a menu. The 12-course evenings are a delightful mystery accompanied by inspiration notes from the 32-year-old chef, who opened the hidden boîte in February 2022. “For me this dish represents the essence of Thai cuisine,” he wrote. I expected coconut or lime; instead I got an explosion of Thai green chile. My eyebrows started sweating. I swirled it all up: hot ice, tiny iridescent fish, watermelon, and a sumptuous black sesame sauce. These were the flavors of Thailand composed into an entirely new song. Rojanametin, who spent two years in a forest monastery before opening the restaurant, tells me, “The city has changed a lot in the last four years. People are much more daring.”

For the full story from Kathryn Romeyn, read Just When You Thought You Knew Bangkok, Thailand’s Most Visited City Changes .

Experience the intersection of history and culture in Salvador, Brazil.

Photo by Luisa Dorr

8. Salvador, Brazil

Engaging with Brazil’s Black history is essential—and easier than ever in the city of Salvador thanks to new cultural offerings.

In Salvador, a port city on the northeastern coast of Brazil, history isn’t relegated to textbooks. More than 4 million people were kidnapped from Africa and forced to harvest coffee beans and sugarcane in the country—a legacy that is most evident in the state of Bahia, where 80 percent of the population is Black or mixed race. Today the descendants of those enslaved people carry on traditions through Salvador’s food, culture, and music.

Tour company Guia Negro leads English-language histori- cal outings delving into Brazil’s Black heritage, including a walk through the streets where Michael Jackson and Spike Lee shot “They Don’t Care About Us,” the 1996 music video featuring the storied Afro-Brazilian drum team Olodum. The Casa do Carnaval da Bahia is a museum dedicated to the history of Brazil’s annual carnival celebration. The City of Music of Bahia museum, which opened in 2021, invites visitors to experience more than 800 hours of Bahian music, with the goal to educate them about specific styles such as pagode , a Brazilian subgenre of samba, and axe ́, an Afro-Caribbean mash-up that originated here.

The painful, racist history of Pelourinho, the city’s old town, is preserved in its name, which translates to “whipping post.” Once the site of slave auctions, it’s now home to brightly painted houses, cobblestoned streets, and numerous restaurants. At the rustic eatery Di Janela , chef Nara Amaral serves the food that brings her joy: roasted garlic with octopus, ruby-red lobster with heavily seasoned potatoes, and traditional fare such as moqueca, a seafood stew. At Ana Célia Santos’s Zanzibar restaurant, the moqueca takes numerous forms. A vegetarian version is prepared with rice and farofa (toasted cassava flour), while another is made with shrimp, stingray, and soft-shell crab.

For late-night entertainment, visitors should go to ABOCA Centro de Artes , a theater that hosts Afro-Brazilian musicians such as Mariene de Castro and Mateus Aleluia. After all, there’s no better way to end a day in Salvador than by listening to the residents who give the city its heartbeat. —Kayla Stewart

Sharjah is often overlooked by its glitzier neighbors, but this emirate has plenty to offer in terms of art, architecture, and culture.

Photo by Ieva Saudargaite

9. Sharjah, UAE

Thought-provoking art and architecture shine a light on an emirate often overshadowed by its glitzier neighbors.

Ever since I moved to the United Arab Emirates seven years ago, I’ve loved Sharjah . It may not have the biggest/tallest/highest superlatives of Dubai or the epic palaces of Abu Dhabi, but understated Sharjah is home to some of the region’s most exciting cultural institutions. And 2023 is a big year for the emirate, with headline events showcasing two of its greatest draws: art and architecture.

The 15th Sharjah Biennial runs from February to June, presenting the creations of more than 150 artists from 70-plus countries. Thirty newly commissioned pieces, including works by Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj and British Palestinian multimedia artist Mona Hatoum , will be featured in a program that spans 16 venues and explores the theme “Thinking Historically in the Present.” The exhibition spaces are as intriguing as the art: from traditional coral-stone houses to the Sharjah Art Foundation ’s recently acquired 1970s-era Flying Saucer, a UFO-shaped building that once housed a French patisserie and a fast-food chicken shop.

For the full story from Nicola Chilton, read Sharjah Is One of the Most Exciting—and Overlooked—Cities in the UAE .

Baltimore is quickly becoming an entertainment and foodie destination.

Photo by Irina Sitnikova/Unsplash (left) Scott Suchman (right)

10. Baltimore, USA

Long-overdue upgrades to major downtown attractions are turning Charm City into a veritable food- and-entertainment hub.

From its early days as a thriving seaport to its current status as a seafood paradise, Baltimore is ever evolving. A $45 million overhaul of Lexington Market —billed as the oldest continuously operating public market in the country, with roots dating to 1782—recently welcomed visitors to an airy, light-filled space enlivened by 16-foot murals from local artist Ernest Shaw Jr. and photographs by Shan Wallace depicting Baltimore’s Black food culture. (This is, after all, a majority Black city.)

The developer’s gut renovation of the old market reimagined the space as a fresh version of the com- munity gathering spot it had been before it fell into disrepair. Benches flank the central staircase and serve as prime people-watching spots, while an adjacent plaza hosts events and concerts. Input from residents informed the mix of more than 40 stalls, half of them Black-owned, including the coffee shop Black Acres Roastery and the husband-and-wife-run Sunnyside Café . The market also maintains its devotion to the ocean with Faidley’s Seafood , the famous crab cake spot, and the Korean family-owned Cho’s Sea Garden .

A few blocks away, the CFG Bank Arena will reopen in time to host college basketball tournaments in February and a nearly sold-out Bruce Springsteen show in April. Its $200 million revamp, backed by singer Pharrell Williams and an investment firm cofounded by NBA star Kevin Durant, gives the 60-year-old facility the updated concessions, audio, and lighting it needs to compete with other venues in the region.

Also notable for 2023: an exhibition of Baltimore native John Waters’s personal art collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art (through April 16) and the return of Artscape , a multiday cultural extravaganza in September that, in the past, has featured wildly decorated cars. Festivalgoers can stay in the Mount Vernon neighborhood’s new literary-themed boutique hotel, Ulysses , a 116-room property whose name pays homage to both the James Joyce novel and a ship that brought Bavarian immigrants to Baltimore. —Julekha Dash

Prince Edward Island’s new hike and bike trail offers travelers a new way to experience the coastal idyll.

Photo by Brendan George Ko

11. Prince Edward Island, Canada

A 435-mile hiking and biking route around Canada’s small but mighty province invites visitors to travel slowly and joyfully.

Prince Edward Island, or PEI, off Canada’s eastern seaboard, is home to some of the country’s most enchanting pastoral scenery. You’ll find fields of potatoes and strawberries, beaches that stretch for miles, storybook villages (the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables was set here), red-and-white wooden lighthouses, and docks anchoring fishing boats. The Island Walk , a new 435-mile walking and cycling route circumnavigating “the Island,” as locals call it, gives travelers a unique opportunity to experience it up close.

My husband and I cycled 180 miles of the route in June 2022, starting in the compact capital city, Charlottetown, and spending six days working our way across a section in the central region of the province. From Charlottetown, we pedaled 35 miles along crushed-gravel trails, wide red-dirt roads lined with trees, and country lanes—all relatively flat. After checking into the Orient Hotel , a historic B&B in the tiny village of Victoria-by-the-Sea, we browsed in shops, talked with local anglers bringing in the day’s catch, and walked barefoot along an expansive beach with rose-colored sand at the edge of the village. The tide came in while I ate possibly the best lobster roll I’ve ever tasted—a buttery toasted roll loaded with chunks of tender fresh-caught crustacean and house-made mayo—at the Lobster Barn restaurant.

For the full story from Debbie Olsen, read Idyllic Villages, Fresh Lobster Rolls, and a New Trail—Why Now Is the Time to Visit Prince Edward Island .

In the heart of Bergamo near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the famous Colleoni Chapel.

Photo by Andrea Frazzetta

12. Brescia & Bergamo, Italy

Find venerable history and hip cocktails in two Italian cities connected by a cycling trail.

The key ingredients of la dolce vita? Golden light beaming across ancient stones, a piazza that bustles at aperitivo hour, and streets ripe for a passeggiata (stroll) to work it all off. Enter Brescia and Bergamo, two cities in the northern Italian region of Lombardy that have been named joint Italian Capitals of Culture for 2023. If you only know them from news reports in early 2020—the two were hit hard during the pandemic—prepare to be bowled over.

Bergamo is the better known of the two; its historic Città Alta (Upper City) crowns a ridge nearly 300 feet above its more modern section. The Bergamaschi love the outdoors, and they kick back in deck chairs at the 17th-century gardens of Palazzo Moroni, which opened to the public for the first time in 2020. New tuk-tuk rides wind around the Città Alta’s UNESCO-protected 16th-century city walls. The lion- and sphinx-surrounded fountain in the main square, Piazza Vecchia, has been restored, and new walking routes through Bergamo’s layers of history connect the old and new town. Travelers and locals alike can amble through the nearby Val d’Astino, a valley filled with vineyards, wildflower- strewn meadows, and a monastery that was founded in 1107.

With a ceremonial opening in early 2023, a 47-mile bicycling route will roll from Bergamo past Lake Iseo, then through Franciacorta wine country to Brescia, the most colorful Roman city north of the Italian capital.

While Bergamo life is mainly outdoors, Brescia is inside; you’ll find gourmet pizza tasting menus at Inedito and Roman- themed cocktails at Massenzio . Try the Domitilla at the latter. Named after the wife of Emperor Vespasian, it’s a mix of berry gin with grapefruit, rosemary syrup, and egg white. Spend the night at Areadocks Boutique Hotel , where all the modern art- work and vintage furnishings are for sale. Here in northern Italy, the sweet life just got an upgrade. —Julia Buckley

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

The Best Places to Travel in 2023

From Madrid to Montenegro, Turkey to Transylvania, Vienna to Venice...our curated list of the best places to visit now.

Your next trip should be:

Madrid, la maxima….

Because four new five-star hotels can't be wrong.

Madrid may not have the sheer beauty of Paris or the antiquity of Athens or Rome. Its appeal has long been what writer Julia Reed once called its “elegant conservatism”—and unmatched nightlife. (“In Madrid,” Hemingway said, “nobody goes to bed until they have killed the night.”) It’s still true, but these days there’s a new temblor de emoción , a flutter of emotion (the closest Spanish comes to the word excitement ). “Remember, in the 1980s, after Franco died, how Madrid was the place to be?” says Virginia Irurita, of Made in Spain and Portugal, who lives in Madrid. “With La Movida, the painters, Almodóvar? That’s how Madrileños feel now.”

The city’s cultural cachet (not that it needed more) is building: A fifth UNESCO World Heritage Site has been anointed (the tree-lined Paseo del Prado and the adjoining El Retiro, a 17th-century palace garden). Next summer Madrid’s Royal Palace (the largest in Europe) will open a new annex for the Museum of the Royal Collections. And the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum has not one but two blockbuster shows planned for 2023: Picasso and Lucian Freud.

On Our Radar Spain's Balearic islands just get better. Everyone's abuzz about the April opening in Majorca of the new Son Net , a 17th-century estate in a bucolic setting 15 minutes by car from Palma that has been restored and transformed into a 31-room hotel by the masterminds behind Andalucia's Finca Cortesin . Enough said.

Royal Romania…

Because the king of England will open his home to you.

The king of England’s real estate portfolio is worth billions. There is the verdant paradise at Highgrove and 192 acres of bucolic bliss at Llwynywermod in Wales. Now he has Sandringham and Balmoral, too. But where does a sovereign go to really unplug? Romania, apparently, where King Charles owns two homes in Transylvania—yes, of Dracula fame. One of them he turned into a center for traditional crafts; the other, his private country residence in Valea Zalanului , becomes a seven-room B&B when he isn’t around.

A grand pile this is not, and that is by design—all local antiques and textiles. No TV, no WiFi, just horseback rides, nature walks, and convivial dinners during which you might drop in this fun fact: Charles is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler (so named for his preferred method of execution), who inspired Bram Stoker’s tale about history’s most famous vampire. By Leena Kim. To book a trip to Romania : Raluca Spiac , raluca@ beyonddracula.com

The Literary Maldives...

Because who says a tropical resort can't be the ultimate party school?

Sonu Shivdasani, the founder of Soneva resorts, was turning his properties into exemplars of environmental sustainability long before it was fashionable to do so. His latest stroke of genius: bringing the Jaipur Literary Festival to the lush, beach-ringed island of Kunfunadhoo, in Baa Atoll in the Maldives—home of Soneva Fushi .

The JLF in Jaipur attracts thousands of attendees and is streamed to 10 million viewers worldwide; at Soneva Fushi’s inaugural festival last May, there were 120 attendees, spread out over 10 days (minimum stay is four days). Which meant attendees had direct access to the 34 renowned writers and artists (including filmmaker Mira Nair, novelist André Aciman, and Oxford historian Peter Frankopan). We all resided in solitary splendor (Soneva Fushi has 64 private, butlered villas), but we had meals and gala dinners together (barefoot) as well as keynote lectures, panel discussions, and musical performances.

There were sunset champagne cruises to a sandbank, movie nights, and dancing. I left with new friends and a notebook full of ideas—about as vivifying as travel can get. JLF Soneva Fushi 2023 runs May 12–21.One speaker will be Priyamvada Natarajan, a professor in the departments of astronomy and physics at Yale whose specialty is the nature of dark matter and black holes. Just the thing to ponder in paradise. By Klara Glowczewska . To Book : Soneva.com

On Our Radar The Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavara has launched a trainee marine biologist program for teenagers. Six full-day modules are offered (you can choose as many as you like), working with scientists studying such topics as manta rays, turtles, coral, and the secret lives of plankton.

A Scottish Surprise…

Because you'll like the fresh takes—even on haggis.

The second haggis came as a surprise. On my first night in Scotland, ordering chef Mark Greenaway’s elegant version of the country’s most famous (and often derided) dish seemed like a leap into the gastronomic deep end, something to try to get the full experience of the place. On the next night it was just because I liked it. That kind of reconsideration of classics is what’s most exciting about Scotland right now. Sure, castles, lochs, and misty mountains abound. But Glasgow and Edinburgh are sophisticated cities with extraordinary dining and cutting-edge culture around every corner. Last summer Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe celebrated its 75th anniversary with 3,300 performances by artists from 63 countries;at the Edinburgh International Festival, Gabriel Byrne premiered his one-man show, Walking with Ghosts , which recently moved to Broadway. On leafy St. Andrew Square, Gleneagles has opened its first urban property, Gleneagles Townhouse , with a member’s club and rooftop bar.

Dean Banks, the MasterChef veteran who runs fine-dining destinations including the Pompadour at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh , is quick to call out other new favorites, such as the Finnieston in Glasgow, which specializes in sustainable seafood, and Monachyle Mhor , the boutique Highlands hotel known for its “whisky safari.” “In Scotland,”Banks says, “we are kings of touching back to our traditions.” Luckily, the rest of us are able to as well. By Adam Rathe . To book a trip to Scotland : Jonathan Epstein, Jonathan@ celebratedexperiences.com

Italy Off-Season…

Because at the end of the day, no one comes to Italy for a suntan.

Last summer Italy was, let’s be frank, almost loved to death, with congested roads, swamped sights, and sluggish service from overworked staff. Our suggestion? A do-over, but not in summer. “We are huge believers in low-season travel here,” says Andrea Grisdale, the Como-based founder of IC Bellagio . “It’s a totally different experience, and we are actively encouraging it.” No, you will not be forced to pitch a tent. For the first time, a number of hotels that used to shutter as soon as summer ended are pushing back closures. In Lake Como, the classic Villa d’Este is staying open until early January and reopening in March, as is the beautiful new Passalacqua .

Following suit in Puglia is the wildly pretty Borgo Egnazia . On the Amalfi Coast, Monastero Santa Rosa stayed open into November in 2022 and is considering December in 2023. There will be more. “After a year like this one,” says Elisa Pozzoli, of Essence of Italy, “hotels are changing their mentality. And Venice in January or February is magical. You’re alone, in a ghost city.”

Something else might help ease the travails of overtourism: a handful of new five-star hotels available year-round. Six Senses Rome (GM Francesca Tozzi comes from Capri’s Tiberio Palace) opens in the spring in a 15th-century palazzo a block from the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. In Milan the 73-suite Portrait Milano , a first foray there from the Ferragamo family, has just opened on Corso Venezia, close to the fashion district but not in the thick of it. Casa Baglioni Milano , a 30-room hotel with an interior that nods to Italy’s Modernist dolce vita era, is in the heart of the city’s artsy, “local” Brera district. Both offer a way to sidestep the visitor surge, even during Fashion Week. As for the summer? Grisdale cannot be more emphatic: “We are about to enter a new era. The famous summer tradition is on its way out. No one comes to Italy for a suntan, anyway. And do you know how amazing this country is with few tourists around?” By Mark Ellwood . To book a trip to Italy : Andrea Grisdale, andrea@ icbellagio.com

On Our Radar Hotel La Palma , Capri’s first hotel, built in 1822 and steps from the famous Piazzetta, is opening in July after a major renovation as the Oetker Collection’s first Masterpiece Hotel in Italy. One of many highlights: a private beach club at the Marina Piccola. (No word yet, though, on an extended season.)

Your Next Trip Should Be:

Africa in a private villa….

Because, let's face it, having the bush all to yourself is better.

OL JOGI , KENYA.

A 58,000-acre onetime cattle ranch on the Laikipia Plateau is now a private conservancy with serious game viewing. Owned by the art-dealing Wildenstein family, Ol Jogi can be booked for up to 22 people. Don’t let the thatched-hut-style exterior fool you: Inside it’s over-the-top French château luxury. Great perk: the underground hide, reached through a tunnel, which overlooks a rhino-luring salt lick.

SINGITA’S MALILANGWE HOUSE , ZIMBABWE.

This 5-bedroom villa in the 130,000-acre Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve is close enough to Singita’s Pamushana Lodge that you can walk to the main camp, but it’s isolated on a hilltop, with gorgeous views of huge boulders, red soil, and golden msasa trees. On offer: classic game drives as well as ancient cave rock art sites and “water safaris” to see fish eagles, hippos, and crocodiles.

COTTARS BUSH VILLA , KENYA.

Charles Cottar set up his safari business in the Mara back in 1919. Great-grandson Calvin and his wife Louise now run it, retro associations intact: canvas, Persian rugs, and dark wood furniture. The new 5-bedroom bush villa, built entirely by hand, sits on a hill like an old farmhouse, but it has all mod cons, including an 82-foot-long pool. Ask to be guided by the all-female ranger team, the only such in the Mara.

FARMHOUSE AT THE FARMSTEAD , SOUTH AFRICA.

Onetime fashion exec Liz Biden converted her country getaway in Greater Kruger into the Royal Malewane lodge 23 years ago and has since expanded her footprint. The nearby Farmstead now has a stand-alone 7,000-square-foot villa with a kids suite and a pool that sticks out right into the bush. Her background is evident in the exuberant decor; even the laundry comes packaged in scarlet netting, tied with a big red bow. Royal Malewane’s guides are standouts: Several have earned the title master tracker, a rarity in safari.

CHEETAH PLAINS, SOUTH AFRICA.

These three ultramodern 4-bedroom homes (booked individually or together) are remarkable for their especially game-rich location in private Sabi Sand reserve, adjacent to unfenced Kruger National Park. (The near-silent electric 4X4s help too.) As for the amenities: Each comes with a heated pool, wine gallery, chef, sommelier, and full-time spa therapist.

KATAZA HOUSE, SINGITA KWITONDA , RWANDA.

This 4-bedroom villa is the only luxe safari house close to Volcanoes National Park, home of the mountain gorillas. Building materials and decor were procured locally; there are ebonized tables, eucalyptus wood screens, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking three huge volcanoes. Deborah Calmeyer of Roar Africa calls it a “spiritual experience like nowhere else in Africa.” By Mark Ellwood. To book any of the above African villas : Deborah Calmeyer, deb@ roarafrica.com

La Belle Bourgogne…

Because of the wine, bien sur. And some fine new bolt holes.

They don’t call parts of Burgundy the Côte d’Or just for its fall foliage. “Anyone interested in wine will eventually end up here,” states Dennis Sherman, a 40-year resident who runs a wine brokerage business near Beaune. “It’s the simplicity of the single grape variety with the complexity of the soil—the wine has incredible depth and substance.” But ending up here hasn’t been all that easy: The higher-end accommodations have long been largely on barges on the region’s waterways. Now, however, two rival ultraluxe hoteliers are opening properties.

American expats Denise Dupré and Mark Nunnelly who run the five-star Royal Champagne hotel in that region, are reinventing the Clos de la Commarainen estate as a 23-room hotel in a 12th-century château (connected to the dukes of Burgundy) and anchored by its 10 acres of Pommard Premier Cru. It will form the basis of a revival of winemaking here, something that last took place 20 years ago. Arriving at the end of 2023 is COMO Le Montrachet , an albergo diffuso–style hotel nestled around a charming village square a few miles south of Beaune (Christina Ong’s fourth European site).

The lodging shortage solved, another issue persists. (Great pleasures are often hard won.) And that is access to Burgundy’s prized small-batch production. According to Philip Haslett, of Kairos , who organizes trips throughout France, “The winemakers here aren’t as visitor-ready as those in Champagne or even Bordeaux. The farmers are not turning up in a BMW—they’re the real deal, so it doesn’t matter who you are, because they don’t have anything extra to sell.”

Which is why Haslett works with guides who have deep roots here, such as Youri Lebault of Bourgogne Gold Tour, who specializes in opening near-impossible cellar doors (guiding is essential due to Burgundy’s fragmented, jigsaw-like terroir, which is carved into patches known as climats ). “Yesterday,” he said, “I ended my two-day wine tour in a private cellar in the Côte de Beaune, alone with my clients, smelling the wine from the barrel and tasting it with a pipette.” By Mark Ellwood. To book a trip top France : Philip Haslett, Philip @ kairos-travel.com

Your next trip should be...

Yes, panama….

Because it's about to pop and it has three attractions no other country in Central America or the Caribbean can claim.

1. The Old Town

One of the best-restored and most delightful historic districts in the region, dating back to 1673, with a sophisticated new hotel, La Compañia (a hot spot for locals and international travelers), and a real foodie scene: Peruvian-Panamanian, French-Panamanian, patisseries, and coffee and cigar bars.

2. The Canal

Human ingenuity is on full display along this 40-mile engineering marvel, which connects the Atlantic with the Pacific and divides North and South America. A must day trip from the Old Town, it’s also a good jumping-off point for hikes in the Anton Valley and visits to the Emberá indigenous community.

Nayara’s Bocas del Toro , in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, is a luxe perch from which to explore Panama’s astonishing biodiversity. Prep at the Frank Gehry–designed biodiversity museum in Panama City. By Michael Clinton . To book a trip to Panama : Pierre Gedeon, pierre@ costa-adventures.com

On Our Radar: An environmentally minded billionaire owner, Louis Bacon, has turned an archipelago of 14 islands off Panama’s Pacific coast into an a all-inclusive luxe retreat, Isla Secas . It guarantees total privacy (it sleeps just 24), real adventure, and untouched nature. Thirteen of the islands will remain undeveloped.

A Turkish Delight…

Because jetting to Bodrum is swell, but sailing to Kaunos in a gulet is better.

A couple of years ago Emily Morrison, a former New Orleans commodities trader, visited Turkey for the first time, suntanning in Bodrum and hot-air-ballooning over Cappadocia like a latter-day Jules Verne. At the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, that tortuous labyrinth from the 15th century, she had a career epiphany while sorting through textiles, so she left her job and started a lifestyle brand, Elysian by Emily Morrison , back home, collaborating with Turkish artisans on decorative wares, footwear, and clothing. “What I experienced was the people of Turkey,” she says. “The hospitality, the craftsmanship, the culture.”

Now she returns several times a year. And Morrison’s not alone: American travel to Turkey in the first half of 2022 skyrocketed 77 percent over the same period in 2019, according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Post-pandemic, the number is poised to climb in 2023, as the country marks its 100th anniversary as a republic.

“It took many years, but things have definitely changed,” says Karen Fedorko Sefer, founder of Sea Song Tours , who arrived in Turkey in 1998 and organized Morrison’s original visit. “The key was developing infrastructure to accommodate demanding luxury travelers.” Turkish Airlines invested in U.S. hubs (three daily flights out of JFK, two from LAX), and elite lodgings boomed: A Four Seasons and a Mandarin Oriental opened on the Bosporus, followed by the newly restored Four Seasons in historic Sultanahmet. The Peninsula Istanbul and Japan’s Okura Spa & Resort Cappadocia are expected in 2023.

And it’s not just cities that are thriving: Thanks to Turkish Airlines’ vast network of domestic flights, jetsetters are discovering the cradle of civilization in Asia Minor. Though why go by air to the ruins of Kaunos or the shipwrecks of Monastir Bay when a gulet is an option. A very posh option. Turkish sailing yachts are, Sefer says, “second to none.” By Erik Maza .

To book a trip to Turkey: Karen Fedorko Safer, fedorko@ seasong.com

On Our Radar: This past October, Michelin Guides published its first list of 53 Istanbul restaurants . Why it took this long, given the city’s Byzantine and Ottoman epicurean traditions, is a mystery. But never mind: It’s a whole new impetus to visit. The star of the list, with two stars, is Turk Fatih Tutak .

A Montenegro Odyssey…

Because it's the Med without the crowds.

Byron called the 182-mile stretch of Montenegro’s Adriatic coast “the most beautiful encounter between land and sea.” No wonder. Riven with fjords, dotted with tiny islands and ancient towns (such as Kotor, Budva, and Perast), and lined with 45 miles of beach, the little country has been quietly turning into a niche destination for yachting holidays, a Croatia without the crowds. “It’s Norway, but it’s warm!” proclaims Paola Scalabrino, a charter specialist with Monaco-based Yachtzoo . “And it’s for people who want beautiful anchorages but don’t need to be in port every night, out clubbing.” If you want a land perch, One&Only Portonovi , near a new marina, is the sole five-star resort option (ever since the Aman Sveti Stefan closed amid a local controversy over beach rights). And, opening this spring, in an 1850s Austro-Hungarian fortress, is the boutiquey 32-room Mamula Island , which comes with a fleet of boats you can use on demand. By Mark Ellwood . To book a trip to Montenegro: Ala Osmond, Ala@ exeterinternational.com

A Viennese Waltz...

Because the new museums are magnificent and you get to pack your dancing shoes.

Mention Vienna and what comes to mind are pastries and paintings, sacher-torte and Schiele—a place worth a pit stop between Prague and Budapest. But the grand onetime imperial capital is starting to shed its gilded cobwebbiness. A permanent home has just opened for the Austrian billionaire Heidi Goëss-Horten ’s 700-strong collection —of Picassos, Chagalls, Basquiats, Warhols, Richters, and Baselitzes. The two-year-old Albertina Modern , Austria’s answer to the Tate , will showcase in spring 2023 American artist Alex Katz in a major retrospective.

On the hotel front, the 150-year-old Sacher has some competition. Rosewood Vienna opened last summer in a former bank in the heart of the city’s pedestrian district. The onetime Ring Hotel, on the Ringstrasse, will reopen in early 2023 as the Amauris Vienna . The locally owned and operated Leo Grand is a pretty boutique spot a few steps from St. Stephen’s Cathedral. And a Mandarin Oriental is coming as well (to an Art Nouveau building on Riemergasse).

But there’s one tradition that Gwen Kozlowski, president of Exeter International , is keen to see preserved: the balls. “They are truly like nowhere else, and superformal.” Skip the ones around New Year’s and focus on the distinctly Viennese ones at Lent. The most prestigious are the Opera and Philharmonic balls. “They’re hard to wrangle tickets for, but if you’re serious, we can usually make it happen.” By Mark Ellwood. To book a trip to Austria: Gwen Kozlowski, Gwen@ exeterinternational.com

A Cool Cruise…

Because swanning around on a gorgeous ship is as good as it gets.

A JAMES BOND–IAN FANTASY (ON SCENIC ECLIPSE ).

The first ultraluxe expedition ship, Scenic Eclipse, from the Australian brand Scenic, turned heads for its megayacht style and 007-esque toys. Now comes Scenic Eclipse II . Both will go to the Arctic and Antarctic, but in 2023 Eclipse II will also visit Euro yachtie hangouts (Capri, Hvar, Ibiza, and more) and explore the Pacific—the gorges of Australia’s Kim- berley, Indonesia’s Spice Islands, and Raja Ampat.

AN ARCTIC ADVENTURE (ON COMMANDANT CHARCOT ).

Until now, reaching the North Pole has never been a breeze. But next summer Ponant’s hybrid-powered icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot , will make four 15-night trips there. Outside is a silent world of polar bears and pack ice; onboard it’s all expedition-chic (an Alain Ducasse restaurant, a dernier-cri spa, floor-to-ceiling windows). The best part: knowing you’re farther north than anyone else on earth.

AN ART TOUR OF THE BALTIC (ON VIKING OCEAN ).

Without St. Petersburg, a cruise around the Baltic might feel like seeing Athens without the Acropolis. Not so. Scandi-chic Viking has a fix for art lovers next summer: a series of 14-night ocean sailings between Bergen and Stockholm, with guided tours of major museums and works of architecture. One highlight: a private viewing in Oslo of Edvard Munch’s haunti ng masterpiece The Scream . By Sue Bryant. To book a cruise : Ashton Palmer, Ashton@ expeditiontrips.com ; Tom Baker, Tom.Baker@ cruisecenter.com ; Mary Jean Tully, travel@ tullyluxurytravel.com

On Our Radar : Other lines are plying the Baltic too: Silversea’s 14-night roundtrip from Copenhagen stops in Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, and Gdansk. Regent Seven Seas’ 10-night cruise sails June 30 from Copenhagen to Stockholm, with stops in Berlin, Gdansk, Tallinn, Helsinki, and Art Nouveau–rich Riga.

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• Top 24 Countries To Visit In 2024 Revealed! Take Your Pick

23 Mar 2023

While there are several sources from where you can get inspiration for your next vacation, not all sources can be relied upon. The travel experts at TravelTriangle have made the tedious process of shortlisting destinations easier for you by putting together a list of the top 24 countries to visit in 2023 . You can now plan your next trip from the comfort of your armchair. If you ever find yourself in a pickle, take advice from this list to plan your next vacation. Not only these destinations are trending right now but also ever-famous for cherishing experiences they provide to travelers.

Top 24 Countries To Visit in 2023

Planning ahead is extremely crucial when it comes to traveling. Make a beeline for these top 24 countries to visit in 2023 . These countries are affordably priced, easily accessible and must not be missed:

• Sri Lanka – Lush Greenery & Scenic Beaches
• Germany – Postcard-Perfect
• Zimbabwe – Hidden Gem
• Panama – Picturesque Coastline
• Kyrgyzstan – Semi-Nomadic Experience
• Jordan – Open Up To New Experiences
• Indonesia – Most Beautiful Of All
• Belarus – Europe’s Most Trending
• Sao Tome & Principe – Paradise Far Away
• Belize – Gateway To Mayan Culture
• Egypt – Desert Safari
• India – Spirituality & Adventure
• Oman – An Arabian Gem
• New Zealand – Overwhelming Landscapes
• Croatia – Treasure-trove of Experiences
• Bhutan – World’s Happiest Country
• Mexico – Architectural Wonder
• Spain – Vibrant Culture
• Ethiopia – Horn of Africa
• Peru – Live On The Edge
• Netherlands – Beautiful Canals & Museums
• Barbados – Sunny Beaches
• Israel – For Culture-Vultures
• Costa Rica – Grand Adventures

1. Sri Lanka

Golden beaches, wildlife-rich jungles, rolling tea plantations, and mist-shrouded mountains make Sri Lanka one of the best Asian countries to visit . Tourists marvel at the beauty and physical diversity of this island. The view from the top of Sri Lanka’s fourth highest peak, Adam’s peak, is known to be stunning. You can hike this world heritage site within 5-6 hours, depending on your degree of fitness.

You can also swim in the ocean with the world’s largest mammal i.e. blue whale. If you want to hit reset on your life, grab a shady spot at the largely untouched east coast beaches and soak up some vitamin D. It is one of the top countries to visit in 2023 .

Best Time To Visit:  December-March Things To Do: Hiking, train journey to Ella, Elephant Safari, Tea Plantation tour, Ramayana tour in Sri Lanka Tourist Attractions:  Sigiriya Rock, Adam’s Peak, Dambulla Cave Temple, Dutch Fort Places To Stay: Aliya Resort & Spa, Sigiriana Resort by Thilanka, Elephas Resort & Spa Places To Eat: Ministry of Crab, Curry Leaf, The Lagoon, Chutneys How To Reach:  There are direct flights from New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai to Colombo. Language: Sinhala & Tamil Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee

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Germany is an attractive proposition for world travelers, thanks to its beautiful coastlines, top hiking spots and postcard perfect villages. It’s packed with countless quirky attractions, like the onion museum in Weimar, the dumping ground/open-air museum in Berlin and the gnome museum in Thuringian Forest, to name a few. The German Christmas market is a class apart.

Nothing can beat the sizzling sausages and sweet-smelling gingerbread that are available here. Apart from its never-ending coastlines, Germany also boasts of great mountains, like the Alps and the lesser known Harz ranges in the north of Germany. Without a doubt, Germany is one of the best countries to visit in 2023 .

Best Time To Visit: May-September Things To Do in Germany : Attend Oktoberfest, Take a tour of Rhine Valley, Nightlife in Munich Tourist Attractions: Berlin Wall, Neuschwanstein, Black Forest, Altes Museum, Bode Museum, Cologne Cathedral Places To Stay: The Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg, Radisson Blu Hotel Mannheim, Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin Places To Eat: Zur Haxe, Marjellchen, Delhi 6 Indisches, Ratskeller How To Reach: There is a non-stop flights to Frankfurt from New Delhi. Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Dusseldorf also have air connectivity from New Delhi and other Indian cities. Language: German Currency: Euro

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3. Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is one of the most underrated South African countries, with several hidden gems waiting to be explored. It is home to four World Heritage Sites, namely Victoria Falls, Mana Pools National Parks, the Great Zimbabwe Ruins and the Kama Ruins. The chances of spotting the Big Five (leopard, lion, rhino, elephant and buffalo) on a safari tour of the country’s well-renowned national parks is extremely high.

Adventure enthusiasts will be thrilled by the prospect of white water rafting and canoeing in the Zambezi river. The diverse landscape provides many unique photo opportunities as well. It is one of the best countries to visit for explorers and globe-trotters.

Best Time To Visit: May-September Things To Do: Wildlife safari, hiking, try local food, visit Great Zimbabwe National Monument Tourist Attractions: Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam, Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe Ruins Places To Stay:  Victoria Falls Hotels, Holiday Inn Bulawayo, Camelthorn Lodge Places To Eat: Victoria 22 Restaurant, Amanzi, La Fontaine, Sitar, Alo Alo How To Reach: There are connecting flights between New Delhi and Harare. Language: English among many Currency: RTGS Dollar

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In spite of the hundreds of kilometers of coastline on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Panama is one of the top countries to visit in 2023 . It is a narrow, little country packed with coffee farms, rainforests, beaches and basically all you could wish for if you’re looking for a tropical escapade. Panama ranks sixth on the Happy Planet Index, which means that the country is doing an excellent job at making sure its citizens “achieve long, happy, sustainable lives”.

For wildlife enthusiasts, Panama is a paradisiacal place. Tourists have a chance of spotting exotic animals such as colourful quetzals, keel-billed toucans, ospreys, white-faced capuchins and tamarins.

Best Time To Visit: December-March Things To Do: Hiking, Sunbathing, historical tours, attend Panama Jazz Festival Tourist Attractions: Panama Canal, El Valle de Antón, Volcano Baru, Pearl Islands Places To Stay:  Waldorf Astoria Panama,Le Méridien Panama, Hyatt Place Panama City Places To Eat: La Vespa Vista Mare, A Mangiare, Solomon’s Deli, Caliope How To Reach:  There are connecting flights from New Delhi to Panama city Language: Spanish Currency:  United States Dollar

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5. Kyrgyzstan

What are the odds that you came across this country and immediately thought: Wait, what? I can’t even pronounce its name! Before you ask, it’s Keer-giz-stan. Believe it or not, it’s easy to see why Kyrgyzstan features in the list of top countries to visit in 2023 . It is the land of untainted natural beauty, celestial mountains, crystal clear lakes, and rolling pastures.

The natural world is brought to life by the widely scattered shepherds inhabiting the country who’ve embraced a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Visit Kyrgyzstan to know more about the Kyrgyz folklore and the highly interesting Epic of Manas. You might as well consider this one amongst the best countries to visit in the world in 2023 .

Best Time To Visit:  June-September,  March-October Things To Do: Horse back riding, stay with nomads, buy local handicrafts, attend a national horse game Tourist Attractions: Bishkek, Osh, Karakol, Issyk Kul Places To Stay:  Hyatt Regency Bishkek, Art Hotel Bishkek, Golden Tulip Bishkek Hotel Places To Eat:  La Maison, Furusato, Cafe Faiza, Obama bar & Grill How To Reach: Uzbekistan Airways, flydubaiAir Arabia, and Air Astana have flights from New Delhi to Kyrgyzstan. Language: Kyrgyz, Russian Currency:  Kyrgyzstani Som

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Float in the Dead Sea, visit Mt. Nebo and more on your trip to the land of epic adventures and lost cities. If you’re a solo backpacker who’s open to new experiences, we suggest you befriend the Bedouins which will help you to explore the top countries to visit in 2023 . Bedouins are semi-nomadic city dwellers who traditionally inhabit remote communities, making their homes in goat-hair tents. Several campsites in Jordan offer a taste of the Bedouin lifestyle.

In the day, take a tour of the sand dunes and pyramids from the back of a camel. By the evening, you can take a walk under the desert stars or learn a few traditional dance moves. All these exhilarating experiences make Jordan one of the top countries to visit in 2023 .

Best Time To Visit:  March-May, September-October Things To Do:  Discover Roman ruins of Jerash, Swim in the  Dead Sea, take a mud bath, canyoning Tourist Attractions in Jordan : Petra, Magic Bedouin Star, Al Khazneh, Ajloun Castle, Wadi Rum Places To Stay:  Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, Petra Marriott Hotel, Crowne Plaza Jordan – Dead Sea Resort & Spa Places To Eat: Fakhreldine, Najla, The Winemaker, Gusto How To Reach:  Oman Air, flydubai, Air Arabia, and Gulf Air have flights on New Delhi and Amman route. Language: Arabic Currency:  Jordanian Dinar

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7. Indonesia

Often when people think of Indonesia, all that comes to mind is Bali. Comprising of over 17,000 islands, there’s so much more to the country. Indonesia is home to more than 20% of the world’s coral reefs. There are many opportunities available for snorkeling and scuba diving for both beginner and experienced divers. Dating back to the 9th century, Borobudur – the largest Buddhist temple in the world is found in Java.

One of the best times to visit the temple is early in the morning when you can catch the sunrise while standing at the top. The mix of spirituality and adventure make Indonesia one of the top countries to visit in 2023 .

Best Time To Visit: May-September Things To Do: Scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, island-hopping Tourist Attractions in Indonesia : Ubud, Jakarta, Kuta, Komodo Island, Gili Islands, Nusa Penida Places To Stay:  The Anvaya Beach Resort Bali, Mercure Bali Legian, AYANA Resort and Spa, BALI Places To Eat: Bandar Djakarta, Locavore, Pinisi Resto, Seribu Rasa How To Reach: Bali is connected to various Indian cities via air. You can either take a domestic flight or ferry in Bali to get to other places in Indonesia. Language: Balinese and multiple other language Currency: Indonesia Rupiah

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Belarus has recently emerged as one of Europe’s hottest travel destinations. With relaxed visa requirements, an impressive ensemble of cafes and a rocking nightlife, it barely comes as a surprise. Belarus is blessed with natural attractions and rich wildlife. You’ll find traces of history at every turn, from the Stalinist structures of Minsk to the National Memorial Complex at Khatyn.

If you’re seeking a lovey-dovey getaway, Belarus doesn’t disappoint. Steeped in mystery and legend, the Narach National Park was voted as one of the most romantic places to visit with your sweetheart.

Best Time To Visit:  May-September Things To Do: Kayaking, skiing, take a sauna bath, taste traditional food, historical tours Tourist Attractions in Belarus : Mir Castle, Braslav Lake Area, Nyazvish Castle, Gomel Palace Places To Stay: Minsk Marriott Hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minsk, Europe Hotel Places To Eat: Animal Farm, Pena Dney, La Scala Trattoria Ignazio, Kuhmistr How To Reach: There are direct flights from New Delhi to Minsk. Language:  Belarusian Currency: Belarusian ruble

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9. São Tomé & Príncipe

The chances of you having heard of São Tomé and Príncipe before this list came out are minuscule. Composed of two islands, it is the second smallest African country with a population of only 1,90,000 people. It was a Portuguese Colony until 1975, so the official language is still Portuguese. You cannot vacation here without stepping into Bom Bom Island. It is an ideal location for the ones interested in deep-sea fishing or simply watching humpback whales in all their glory.

Best Time To Visit: June-September Things To Do: Island hopping, sunbathing, water sports, admire natural wonders Tourist Attractions: Obo Natural Park, Sao Sebastio Museum, Pico ca Grance, Lagao Azul Places To Stay:  Pestana São Tomé, Club Santana, Emoyeni Gardens Hotel Places To Eat: Dona Tete, Xico’s Cafe, Chez Tete, O Pirata How To Reach: Air India, EgyptAir, and Tap Air Portugal have connecting flights between new Delhi and Sao Tome. Language: Portuguese Currency:  Dobra

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Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, Belize opened up a world of Central American jungles, water adventures, and Mayan culture. If you’re a fan of offbeat adventures, Belize may just be what you’re looking for. Nestled between Mexico and Guatemala, the tiny country boasts of pristine beaches, warm weather all year round, and the world-renowned Blue Hole.

Belize is known for its intricate cave systems. Reportedly, these caves were used by the Mayans to conduct their sacred ceremonies and rituals.

Best Time To Visit: November-April Things To Do: Scuba diving, visit the ruins of Altuin Ha, caving, watch Belizean sunset Tourist Attractions: Hopkins, Tobacco Caye, San Ignacio, Caracol, Placencia, Belize Barrier Reef Places To Stay:  Robert’s Grove Beach Resort, Barefoot Beach Belize Resort, Belize Boutique Resort & Spa Places To Eat: The Sahara Grill, Wet Lizard, Midtown Restaurant & Bar How To Reach: American Airlines, Delta, and British Airways have connecting flights from New Delhi to Belize. Language:  English Currency: Belize Dollar

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Mummies, sphinxes, and tombs are all that come to mind when one mentions Egypt. But little do people know that there is much to this land of the Pharaohs that has been welcoming and bewitching travelers from around the world since forever! With classic monuments in deserts, charming hamlets near the Nile, expansive museums guarding the ancient history and artifacts, lofty pyramids, to its delicious food and vivid culture, this mysterious paradise is sure to give you one hell of a vacation! Some of its most renowned attractions include the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings, Egyptian Museum, and many more.

Best Time To Visit: October-April Things To Do in Egypt : Desert Safari, Shopping, Camel riding, taste Egyptian cuisine, Nile River cruise, Hiking Tourist Attractions: Giza Necropolis, Egyptian Museum, Corniche, Siwa Oasis Places To Stay: Fairmont Nile City Hotel, Kempinski Nile Hotel, Hilton Luxor Hotel Places To Eat: Abu Ashraf, The Blue Restaurant & Grill, Culina, Bab Al Qasr How To Reach: Oman Air and Ethiopian Airlines have connecting flights from New Language: Arabic Currency: Egyptian Pound

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This land of many cultures and languages needs no introduction! Famous the world over for its varied and exotic experiences, India has many more to offer than is possible to see in a single lifetime. From snow-capped hills to golden beaches, ancient heritage architecture to glitzy skyscrapers, forested wildlife reserves to crystal clear lakes, mighty volcanoes to barren deserts, farm-striped villages to noisy urban centers, this country has a plethora of experiences to offer. Goa, Rajasthan, Himachal, Kerala, and Delhi are some of its most famous cities that draw people here from the farthest corners of the world.

Best Time To Visit:  October-March Things To Do: Trekking, Historical tours, yoga retreat, temple hopping Places To Visit: Delhi, Varanasi, Udaipur, Rishikesh, Amritsar Places To Stay: The Leela, Umaid Bhawan Palace, The Oberoi Places To Eat:  Indian Accent, Bukhara, Olive Qutub, The Bombay Canteen How To Reach: Major Indian cities have airports. Language: Hindi, English Currency:  Indian Rupee

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If your idea of a holiday is to traverse golden sand dunes, watch panoramas of start-strewn skies, climb challenging mountain ranges, and dive into the seas teeming with dolphins and turtles, then Omanis the place for you! This gem located on the Arabian Peninsula has everything you need to make your holiday an adventurous, culture-driven, and experience-rich affair that will remain etched in your memories forever! It is home to the Empty Quarter, the largest sand desert in the world that guarantees you your own Lawrence of Arabia adventure, but, with a guide! Taste sheer luxury by staying at the many opulent resorts and camps at the Sharqiya Sands. Indulge in adventures like camel-racing, horse riding, sand-skiing, dune-bashing, and shopping souks during your time here.

Best Time To Visit: October-March Things To Do: Glamping, Hiking in Jabal Akhdar mountains, swimming Tourist Attractions: Wadi Shab, Sultan Qaboos Mosque, Nizwa Fort Places To Stay:  Alila Jabal Akhdar, Al Bustan Palace, The Chedi Muscat Places To Eat: Wet Deck, Char, Living Room, Taybat Restaurant, Teatro Restaurant How To Reach: Non-stop flights from New Delhi to Muscat are available. Language: Arabic Currency:  Oman Rial

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14. New Zealand

Let’s begin by saying that the best movies of the world have been shot here. Remember those overwhelming landscapes and the Hobbiton Village of the famous Lord Of The Rings trilogy? Well, all of it was your very own New Zealand. While that should give you enough reasons to book your trip right away, here’s a little more about this place still. It is the indisputable home of gigantic national parks, bizarre flora and fauna, the ever-dynamic and colorful Māori culture, and the best sites for surfing and skiing in the whole world. Whether you wish to relax in stunning locations, have an action-packed safari, go hiking in tribal villages, stay in luxurious resorts overlooking heavenly landscapes, or enjoy a platter of the most delicious food and wine, this place is your best bet!

Best Time To Visit: December-February Things To Do: Explore Maori culture, kayaking, diving, caving, zip lining, stargazing Tourist Attractions: Rotorua, Mount Cook, Milford Sound, Waitomo Cves, Bay of Islands Places To Stay:  Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa, Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour Places To Eat: Kazuya, One Tree Grill, Curry Heaven, The Shed de Motu How To Reach: Flights to Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch are available from New Delhi. Language: English, Maori Currency:  New Zealand Dollar

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15. Croatia

If you dream of balmy days by clear sapphire waters and walking through ancient walled towns with Mediterranean houses, you need to get to Croatia! From island-dotted coastlines, white pebbly beaches, mighty palaces telling tales of kingdoms and empires, a rich cultural legacy, craggy peaks and caverns, river canyons and waterfalls, and picture-perfect lakes with the clearest of water, this European paradise is a treasure trove of experiences offered nowhere else in the world. Some of the best adventures you can have here include hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, rafting, zip-lining, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and much more.

Best Time To Visit: May-June, September-October Things To Do: Sailing, nightlife in Dubrovnik, hiking, explore food scene Tourist Attractions: Krka national Park, Plitvice Lakes , Korcula, Gornji Grad Places To Stay:  Hotel-Vinotel Gospoja, Ethno garden, Hotel Katarina Places To Eat: Restaurant 360, Pelegrini, Konoba Fetevi, Apolon How To Reach: Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik have flights from New Delhi. Language:  Croatian Currency: Croatian Kuna

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Known as the happiest country on planet, with so much peace and calm all around you, Bhutan is bound to be on the list for that silver lining on the cloud. Feeling blues? Take a trip to Bhutan! Feeling burdened with responsibilities? Take a trip to Bhutan! Unravel the eccentric culture and breathtaking terrains enveloped in lush greenery! Enjoy hiking, trekking and a marvelous trip to the Bhutanese temples.

Best Time To Visit: October-November, March-May Things To Do: Experience a homestay, hiking, attend a festival, learn arhcery Tourist Attractions : Paro Taktsang, Punakha Dzong, Phobjikha Valley, Chomolhari Places To Stay:  Le Méridien Thimphu, Gangtey Palace Hotel, Taj Tashi Places To Eat: Bukhari by UMA, Babesa Village Restaurant, Champaca Cafe How To Reach: You can either reach Bhutan via road or road. Language:  Dzongkha Currency: Bhutanese Ngultrum, INR also accepted

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Mexico is the architectural wonder with streaming jungles, dramatic volcanoes, a stunning wildlife and a Hispanic culture with some of the world’s greatest archaeological monuments including the exquisite Maya temples of Palenque. Explore the Spanish colonial towns, churches and mansions, indulge in the chilli-spices cuisine and enjoy a thrilling trip to Mexico.

Best Time To Visit:  December-April Things To Do: Museum hopping, diving, celebrate carnival, taste tequila Tourist Attractions: Xcaret Park, Archaelogical zone of Tulum, El Castillo, Coba Places To Stay: Barceló Maya Tropical, St Regis Mexico City Places To Eat: Pujol, Maximo Bistrot, Nicos, Lorea, Loip Bar How To Reach: There are flights from New Delhi to Mexico city and Cancun. Language: Spanish Currency:  Mexican Peso

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Unravel the diverse landscape of Spain, and explore the vibrant culture. Food and wine are highest obsessions of Spain, indulge in the best meals with tapas in an earthy bar for a gastronomic experience that is sure to be the highlight of the trip. Match it with eclectic spirits such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Antoni Gaudi.

Best Time To Visit:  July-August, October-May Things To Do in Spain : Attend Tomatina Festival, have tapas, watch a Flamenco show Tourist Attractions: La Sagrada Familia, Alhambra, Casa Mila, Alcazar Places To Stay:  Madrid Marriott Auditorium, Iberostar Selection Andalucía Playa, The Ritz-Carlton, Abama Places To Eat:  Azurmendi, Cafe Iruna, Akelare, Can Mojo How To Reach:  Multiple airlines including Aeroflot Air Europa, and Air France have flights from New Delhi to Madrid. Language: Spanish Currency: Euro

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19. Ethiopia

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What makes Ethiopia one of the best countries to visit in the world are its precious archaeological sites and ancient culture. The Horn of Africa, there is no other place on earth like Ethiopia. With numerous nature’s bounties, outdoor adventures, and historic wonders, your vacation in Ethiopia is going to be one hell of a trip. It is a perfect place to visit for curious minds and adventure lovers.

Best Time To Visit: October-June Things To Do: hiking in Bale Mountains National Park, exploring Oma Valley Tribes Tourist Attractions: Gonda Castles, Axum obelisks, Lake Tana, Danakil Depression Places To Stay: Ag Palace Hotel, Caravan Hotel, Konjo Guest House Places To Eat: Ben Abeba Restaurant, Sishu Restaurant, Paradise Lodge How To Reach: Ethiopian Airlines have non-stop flights from New Delhi to Adis Abba. Language: Amharic Currency: Ethiopian Birr

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Image Credit: Paulinawhite for Pixabay

Thanks to Machu Picchu, Peru is one of the best tourist countries to travel to. But the Inca trail is not the only thing that deserves your attention. From breathtaking landscapes to downtown Lima, Peru is an amazing place for all those who like to live on the edge. Visit the village of Huacachina or discover the floating village of Lake Titicaca.

Best Time To Visit: May-October Things To Do in Peru : Hiking on the Inca trail, sightseeing in Lima, helicopter tour of Nazca lines, Shopping in Peruvian market Tourist Attractions: Uros Island, Places To Stay: Hotel Hacienda del Valle – Urubamba, The Grasshopper Hostel, Kame House Places To Eat: Malabar, Rafael, La Picanteria, Astrid & Gaston How To Reach: Take a flight from New Delhi to Lima Language: Spanish Currency: Nuevo Sol

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21. Netherlands

Image Credit: Xyno for Pixabay

Netherlands will always remain one of the top tourist countries no matter which year we are in. Whether it is the artistic heritage, 17th century legacies, beautiful canals or contemporary music, there is something about Amsterdam that attracts travelers. The tulip fields, windmills, and cycling routes are other touristy features of the Netherlands. It is one of the best European countries to visit for sure.

Best Time To Visit: April-October Things To Do: Have a Heineken experience, explore canals of Amsterdam, cheese tasting, Tourist Attractions: Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank Museum, Efteling Places To Stay: The Alfred Hotel, via Amsterdam, Stayokay Utrecht Center Places To Eat: De Librije, Spectrum, Restaurant Old Dutch, Bord’Eau How To Reach: Non stop flights from New Delhi to Amsterdam are available Language:  Dutch Currency: Euro

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22. Barbados

Ain’t no vacay like a Caribbean vacay! That’s for sure. Barbados is one of the top countries to visit in 2023 since it has got the laid-back vibes. From the idyllic beaches to lush resorts, everything about Barbados reeks of holiday. The ‘land of the flying fish’ will surely give you an elevated experience on your 2023 vacation.

Best Time To Visit: December-April Things To Do: Sunbathing, Sunset walk at Barbados boardwalk, Water activities Tourist Attractions: Bathsheba Beach, Bridgetown, Hunte’s Gardens Places To Stay: Hilton Barbados Resort, Chateau Blanc Apartments on Sea, Manderley Villas Places To Eat: The Tides Barbados, Champers, The Cliff How To Reach: There is flight connectivity from New Delhi to Bridgetown in Barbados Language: English Currency:  Barbados Dollar

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Israel is a middle-eastern country famous for Dead Sea and Jerusalem, the epicenter of religion. Whether you are a Jew, Christian, or Muslim, Jerusalem is one of the most significant places to learn about cultures and religions. Enjoy floating in the Dead Sea and intoxicating nightlife of Tel Aviv. Believe it or not, Israel has so many experiences to offer you, making it one of the top countries to visit in 2023.

Best Time To Visit: April-May, September-November Things To Do: Snorkeling in Red Sea, float in the Dead Sea, enjoy nightlife in Tel Aviv Tourist Attractions: Tel Aviv Beach, Ramon Crater, Baha’i Gardens, Places To Stay: Beresheet Hotel, Crowne Plaza Dead Sea, Tel Aviv Hotel Gilgal Places To Eat: Mashya, Taizu, Machneyuda How To Reach: Flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv are available Language: Hebrew Currency: Israeli Shekel

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24. Costa Rica

Image Credit: InfiniteThought for Pixabay

Costa Rica is a beautiful country in Central America with bounties of flora and fauna. The rugged landscapes and idyllic beaches make it instantly famous among tourists and travelers. Bring your surfboard and yoga mats because you can pursue all your interests here and run wild on the beaches. Explore the hiking trails and boost your adrenaline levels with ziplining in the lush rain forests.

Best Time To Visit: December-April Things To Do: Nature walk in Corcovado National Park, Take a coffee tour, Soak in Tabacon hot springs Tourist Attractions: La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Jaco, Guanacaste, Arenal Volcano Places To Stay: Radisson San Jose, Selina La Fortuna, InterContinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall Places To Eat: El Mangroove, La Sorbetera, Chubascos, Bacchus How To Reach: New Delhi has flights to both San Jose and Liberia Language: Spanish Currency:  Costa Rica Colón

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Look no further. The list of top countries to visit in 2023 is highly coveted. Whether you want to relax on a beach, explore ancient ruins or hike with your partner, we’ve got you covered. Make sure to add these destinations to your travel wish list for 2023 while booking your international trips . We promise that you’ll have the time of your life!

For our editorial codes of conduct and copyright disclaimer, please click here .

Frequently Asked Questions About 24 Countries To Visit In 2023

What are the top holiday destinations?

If you are looking for the best countries to travel to in 2023 then you have landed at the right place. Some of the best holiday destinations in the world are Greece, Spain, Croatia, Thailand, and France.

What is the most visited country in the world in 2023?

France is the most visited country in the world until now in the year 2023, followed by Spain, the USA, and China.

Where should I holiday in 2023?

Some of the top tourist places that you must cover in 2023 are Los Cabos in Mexico, Kvarner Bay in Croatia, Machu Picchu in Peru, and Calabria in Italy. So, if you are looking for your next trip destination then choose one of these.

What is the #1 tourist destination in the world?

France has been titled as the best tourist destination in the world with around 87 million tourists traveling every year.

Where can I travel cheap?

Bolivia is one of the cheapest destinations to travel to with an expense of 30 dollars every day. Apart from this, you can also cover Mexico ($40), Colombia ($35), Nicaragua ($35), Arizona ($45), and Guatemala ($38).

Where can I go on a budget in 2023?

If you are looking for budget destinations around the world then look no further than San Antonio (Texas), Puebla (Mexico), Agra (India), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Budapest (Hungary).

What is the safest country in the world?

According to 2018 data, Iceland has been declared as the safest country in the world, followed by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.

What is the most dangerous country in the world?

Countries that have been marked dangerous to travel to are Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and South Sadan among others.

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GOBankingRates

7 Easy, Affordable Countries To Visit as an American Tourist

Posted: April 26, 2023 | Last updated: June 28, 2023

Summer travel is upon us, and maybe this year you've got your sights set on somewhere more far-flung than the United States. Travel abroad can be incredibly enriching and full of new experiences you can't get at home.

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However, the cost to travel internationally can sometimes be prohibitive. Because of this, GOBankingRates contacted several travel experts to recommend the most affordable countries for Americans to visit right now -- like these seven.

Charles Neville, with JayWay Travel , a specialist European custom tour provider, recommends Albania for food lovers.

He says, "Expect exceptional local produce and abundant fresh fish and seafood from the Adriatic and Ionian seas, combined with hearty traditional meat dishes, and more-than-decent local wine. Hotels work out to less than half what you'd pay for an equivalent property in western Europe."

Alex Gillard, the founder of Nomad Nature Travel , also raves about Albania, calling it "a great, relatively undiscovered country to visit as an American tourist."

He adds, "Depending on the season, you can get a 500 to 600 dollar round-trip flight. I've spent months in Albania and it is very safe, the food is an affordable and incredible mix of Greek, Italian and local fare, and you can rent a car and get around their beautiful country for very cheap."

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Ande Wanderer, a travel writer and owner and editor of the travel site, Wander Argentina recommends Argentina not only for its affordable travel, but its excellent track record with COVID-19.

"We have had continuous days with zero Covid deaths and 90% of the country is fully vaccinated." Additionally, there are no vaccine requirements to enter the country.

She calls it one of the most affordable countries in the world to visit right now, where visitors "get double the pesos for their dollars." She recommends coastal Patagonia around Puerto Madryn to see whales, elephant seals, sea lions, and dolphins.

Also, Buenos Aires is a culinary lover's best bet, "with $12 steak and Malbec dinners, never-ending cultural events...weekly street fairs such as the huge San Telmo Flea Market, all night milongas and dancing in the street, especially on Argentina's Independence Day, July 9."

Andy Turlington, owner and travel advisor at Wildest Dreams Bookings in North Carolina, recommends Cuba, which is a short flight from Florida -- only about 100 miles from Key West.

"Cuba [has] interesting architecture, and the cars are a step back in time. Hotels in Havana start at about 50 U.S. dollars per night, but they have an Airbnb equivalent called 'Casa Particulars,' and many of them can be had for roughly 30 U.S. dollars per night."

This South American country is also extremely affordable. Turlington says, "You can easily get by in this country on about 30 to 50 U.S. dollars a day."

He especially recommends the capital city of Quito, where meals can usually be had for less than five U.S. dollars. Additionally, a taxi will cost about two dollars "to pretty much anywhere," and the bus costs about 35 cents. "Hotels can easily be had for less than 35 U.S. dollars a night, and for the ultra-cheap, they have plenty of hostels as well for about 10 U.S. dollars."

A country that's super affordable for an American tourist is Panama, according to Becca Siegel and Dan Gold, owners of the travel blog HalfHalfTravel.com . "The reason is that flights are often cheap from major hubs, especially if you can fly to Miami first, or through Miami with a short layover."

Once you land in Panama, they say that food, tours and accommodation are extremely affordable. "In Panama City alone, you can go walking in Casco Viejo, see the Panama Canal, excellent museums and experience great nightlife and culture."

An extra bonus is that Panama uses the U.S. Dollar, so you won't have to do any currency exchanges, which they say is "super convenient for lots of American visitors."

South Africa

Todd Sarouhan, owner of Go Visit San Diego and Go Visit Costa Rica, recommends Cape Town, South Africa for an affordable travel experience.

He says, "The most affordable countries are the ones where the exchange rate is in favor of the US Dollar. Cape Town is no stranger to being voted the best city in the world, the last time and for the seventh time running in 2019. Cape Town is a coastal gem, lying in the shadow of a cloud-hugged mountain where wine flows, penguins waddle and there's always something to do."

Turkey is a great option for tourists wanting to go to Europe, Turlington says. "The lira has been greatly depreciated over the last 2 years or so, making Turkey a bargain hunter's paradise."

Istanbul offers some incredible cuisine, and plenty of historical locations and different architecture and religious sites. Istanbul has copious amounts of good hotels in the 50 US Dollar range as well. Armenia and Georgia are also lower cost options in this area of Europe.

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegations: Timeline and what to know

Sean “ Diddy ” Combs has been hit with a wave of civil lawsuits in recent months and is now a subject of a federal investigation, sources have told NBC News.

Federal agents this week executed searches of Combs’ properties , where guns were found, and his phones were seized at an airport as part of a warrant issued from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, law enforcement sources have said.

Since November, Combs has been hit with five lawsuits in New York accusing him of sexual assault, sexual trafficking and engaging in other criminal activity. Combs has denied all of the allegations, calling them sickening.

A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that at least four people have been interviewed about allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.

Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Combs, described the raids this week as a “gross overuse of military-level force.” Neither Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested, Dyer noted in his statement.

Here are the lawsuits that were filed against Combs prior to the raid. Combs has denied all of the allegations individually through statements by his representatives.

November 2023: Cassie and two others file suit

The singer Cassie, Combs’ former romantic partner, shocked many in November when she filed a civil suit against Combs alleging that the music mogul sexually and physically abused her during the course of their relationship. She filed her case on Nov. 16 under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, which gave adult victims of sexual violence a one-year window to file civil claims regardless of the statute of limitations.

In the suit, Cassie alleged that Combs raped her, beat her in fits of “uncontrollable rage” and exerted a “tight hold over her life.” She alleged that he would force her to engage in sex acts he called “Freak Offs” with other men, often sex workers whom he’d pay to travel with them, while he watched.

The abuse ranged from 2007 until Cassie left him in late 2018, the suit said.

Combs vehemently denied the allegations from Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura. They settled the suit a day after it was filed.

Joi Dickerson-Neal said Cassie’s lawsuit inspired her to come forward and file a suit against Combs on Nov. 23, a day before the Adult Survivors Act was set to expire.

Dickerson-Neal said that Combs drugged her, sexually assaulted her and recorded the assault without her knowledge while she was a student in 1991. She agreed to have dinner with Combs on Jan. 3, 1991, in Harlem while on winter break from Syracuse University, according to her suit.

It was there that Combs “intentionally drugged” her and then took her to a place where he was staying, the suit said. Dickerson-Neal said she “lacked the physical ability or mental capacity to fend Combs off” as he sexually assaulted her.

She later learned from a male friend that Combs had filmed the assault and showed it to other people, the suit said. Combs denied her allegations.

On the last day of eligibility under the Adult Survivors Act, Liza Gardner filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 years old.

Gardner alleged that in either 1990 or 1991 she and a friend met Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall at an event held by MCA Records in Manhattan. After the party, she was invited back to Hall’s apartment with Combs, the suit said, and the two offered her drinks throughout the night.

Combs then coerced her into having sex, the suit said, leaving Gardner “shocked and traumatized.” Hall barged into the room after Combs was done, pinned her down, and sexually assaulted her, according to the suit.

Hall did not return NBC News’ request for comment on the lawsuit. Combs denied Gardner’s allegations in a statement through his representative.

December 2023: Jane Doe says she was gang-raped at 17

Then in December, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit alleging that she was gang-raped and sex-trafficked by Combs and Harve Pierre, a former longtime president of Combs’ record label. The unidentified woman said the assault happened in 2003, when she was 17 and Combs was 34.

According to the suit, she met Combs and Pierre at a lounge in Detroit and Combs convinced her to travel with them on a private jet to New York City. Before they left the lounge, the suit said, Pierre smoked crack cocaine and forced Doe to perform oral sex on him.

Doe was taken to a studio in New York City, where Combs, Pierre and a third defendant plied her with “copious amounts of drugs and alcohol,” the suit said. The three men took turns raping her in a bathroom at the studio after she was too inebriated to consent, according to the suit.

The men allegedly left her on the bathroom floor once they were done and she was flown back to Michigan, the suit said. Combs denied the assault allegations and Pierre called the suit “a tale of fiction.”

February 2024: Rodney Jones accuses Combs of ‘RICO enterprise’

In February, a man named Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones alleged in a federal suit that Combs and his associates engaged in “serious illegal activity.”

Jones worked as a producer on Combs’ latest album, but also lived and traveled with him from September 2022 to November 2023, according to his lawsuit. He alleged that during that time he was sexually harassed by Combs, pressured to engage in sexual acts, forced to procure sex workers for Combs and witnessed Combs giving drinks laced with drugs to people at parties.

The suit said that Combs required Jones to “record him constantly,” which resulted in Jones obtaining hours of footage in which Combs and his staff allegedly engaged in criminal conduct. Screenshots of video clips were included in the suit, described as being from parties in which underage girls and sex workers were present.

Jones alleged that Combs was attempting to groom him into having a sexual relationship with him. The lawsuit said that Combs sexually harassed and assaulted Jones while he lived at Combs’ homes in Florida, Los Angeles and New York, as well as on a yacht Combs rented in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jones alleged that he and another man, Brendan Paul, were asked to travel with drugs and firearms on Combs’ behalf.

In amended filings, Jones additionally accused Combs and his son of being involved in a 2022 shooting at a Los Angeles recording studio , which both men denied.

An attorney for Combs said Jones’ “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines.”

March 2024: Combs’ homes searched by federal agents

On March 25, agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami. Three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News that firearms were found at his residences, but no additional details were provided.

At the time of the raids, Combs was on his way to a scheduled trip to the Bahamas and was stopped at a Miami airport prior to departure. Officials seized his cellphones, sources said.

Dyer, one of Combs’ attorneys, issued a statement following the raids and said that Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.” He described the raid as an ambush, saying there’s been a rush to judgment based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” Dyer said. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Brendan Paul, 25, was arrested at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport at the same time Combs was stopped at the airport. A law enforcement source familiar with the matter confirmed that Paul is a Combs associate. It is currently unclear whether the arrest was related to the raids.

Paul was named as an employee of Combs’ in Jones’ suit, which described him as someone who acquires and distributes drugs and guns on Combs’ behalf. Combs allegedly required Paul and others he paid to carry black pouches that contained drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, marijuana and mushrooms.

A Miami-Dade police report showed Paul was charged with possession of suspected cocaine and suspected marijuana candy, and court records show he was bonded out of custody the next day.

According to the police report, local law enforcement was with agents from Homeland Security and customs officers at the time of Paul’s arrest. The contraband items were found in Paul’s travel bags, the report said.

Paul’s attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News, “We do not plan on trying this case in the media — all issues will be dealt with in Court.” A woman who answered the phone at a number listed for Paul hung up on an NBC News reporter.

April 2024: Combs' son, Christian Combs, is accused of sexual assault

Grace O’Marcaigh  alleges in a lawsuit that Christian Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was working on a yacht the elder Combs had chartered for a trip at the end of 2022. The suit also names Sean Combs as a defendant. The assault is alleged to have occurred days before Sean Combs hosted a New Year’s Eve yacht party with  celebrity guests . O'Marcaigh included as evidence transcriptions of audio clips — that were recorded by a producer — of her denying his advances as he gropes her. NBC News has heard two clips of audio transcribed in the suit purportedly from the night of Dec. 28, 2022, but has not verified who was recorded.

Representatives for Christian and Sean Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CORRECTION (April 2, 2024, 9:40 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the first name of one of Combs’ accusers. She is Joi Dickerson-Neal, not Joie.

Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.

Diana Dasrath is entertainment producer and senior reporter for NBC News covering all platforms.

Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter for NBC News. He covers the Western U.S., specializing in crime, courts and homeland security. 

Israeli ambassador to U.S., former Palestinian Authority prime minister visit Vanderbilt classroom

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Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog joined Professor Brett Benson’s Introduction to International Politics class last week, with Fayyad on Wednesday, March 27, and Herzog on Thursday, March 28. “I think this is the only university in the country that can host Salam Fayyad one day and the Israeli ambassador the next,” Morgan Ortagus , former spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told students, as she led the conversation with Ambassador Herzog.  

Ambassador Herzog, a retired Israel Defense Forces brigadier general and senior military aide, has played vital roles in various peace negotiations with Arab nations for more than 30 years, including with Jordan, Palestine and Syria, and many other nations in the region.  

“Not everywhere is there a platform to exchange views,” Herzog echoed in his appreciation to the class for hosting his visit. “You can disagree with me and criticize policies, but I want to have a free discussion, and that’s not available everywhere, so thank you. “  

Fayyad, a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a visiting senior scholar and Daniella Lipper Coules ’95 Distinguished Visitor in Foreign Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, visited the campus on Wednesday morning, interacting with students in several informal settings.  

“To move forward, we must trust that people are telling their truths and take them at face value,” Fayyad told students at an intimate gathering before he addressed the Introduction to International Politics class. “Nothing is gained by telling someone that their reality is not true. We can only make progress by trying to better understand that reality and finding goals we have in common to work together.”   

Students had the unique benefit of discussing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East with these two deeply knowledgeable practitioners and asked poignant, probing questions, ranging from Israel’s need to balance brokering peace with Palestinians and removing the threat of a repeated Hamas attack, to the role and effectiveness of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, to Fayyad’s philosophy as finance minister and prime minister and how his belief in the rule of law informed his leadership approach.  

The two visits are emblematic of Vanderbilt’s resolve to advance its educational mission and promote civil, respectful dialogue across difference. “The opportunity to meet former Prime Minister Fayyad and Ambassador Herzog provided all of us incredible insight into their roles as diplomats and statesmen,” said Max Perry, a Vanderbilt sophomore who is also an ambassador for the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows Program . “The conversations,” Perry continued, “provided a tremendous occasion for students to use dialogue as a tool to navigate difficult topics.”  

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UK spot named one of top cities making the world a better place

The 10 standout destinations working for a sustainable future

The Global Destination Sustainability Index for 2023 has landed, revealing the most sustainable cities around the world – with one in the UK making the top 10.

The annual index looks at 69 different factors – such as recycling rates, air pollution levels, quantity of cycling paths and the percentage of hotel rooms that are certified eco-friendly – to pick out the ones doing the most to make the world a better place.

Gothenburg, Oslo, Glasgow and Bordeaux are a few of the eco-friendly cities in the spotlight this year, especially with the BBC , all praised for commitments to tourism and lifestyle factors affecting residents.

Sweden’s Gothenburg scoops first place again this year – following it topping the index every year from 2016 to 2021. Sweden's second-largest city has some pretty impressive green credentials, with a huge 95% of the city's public transport running on renewable energy, including electric buses. Likewise, the city’s airport has committed to a scheme of cutting and offsetting carbon emissions, while around 90% of hotel rooms are environmentally certified. It’s hardly surprising, then, that it’s one of the EU's 100 cities that plan to be climate-neutral by 2030.

Second place goes to Oslo, in Norway, where sustainability initiatives can be seen through its 270 city bike stations, 5,000 electric vehicle charging points and electric scooters. It’s a green city in more ways than one too, as 60% is – quite literally – made up of forest, while another 9% accounts for green spaces and parks. Tourists visiting the city can also find resources such as the Green Guide to help make more eco choices.

Copenhagen, Helsinki and Bergen make up the rest of the top five for 2023 – followed by Aarhus in sixth position, and Aalborg in seventh.

Scotland’s Glasgow takes eighth position on this year's index – the highest ranking UK city – but this hardly comes as a surprise considering it's been placed within the top 10 every year since 2016. Just last year, the city put in a low-emissions zone, restricting which cars can enter the centre to help tackle air pollution. Similarly, electric vehicle charging stations have been built, "smart" LED streetlights installed, and there's been a push for cycling with new hire schemes and bike paths in place.

This destination may be best-known for its wine, but Bordeaux is making waves in the world of sustainability, too. As well as ranking in the top 10 on the Global Destination Sustainability Index (in 9th position), the French city is the third highest-ranked sustainable destination on TripAdvisor. Self-service V3 bikes, electric buses, trams and river shuttles can be found throughout the city. As for the wine, around three-quarters of Bordeaux's vineyards and one-third of its tourism companies have been eco-certified.

Top 10 cities in Global Destination Sustainability Index 2023:

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Speak No Evil

Remake of Speak No Evil (2022). A family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, go from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare. Remake of Speak No Evil (2022). A family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, go from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare. Remake of Speak No Evil (2022). A family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, go from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare.

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Huawei Releases 2023 Annual Report: Performance in Line with Forecast

[Shenzhen, China, March 29, 2024] Huawei released its 2023 Annual Report today. The company reports that its performance was in line with forecast, having generated CNY704.2 billion in revenue and CNY87 billion in net profits. Throughout the past year, Huawei's ICT infrastructure business remained solid, and its consumer business met expectations. Both its cloud computing and digital power businesses grew steadily, and its intelligent automotive solution business began large-scale delivery.

Huawei values research and innovation. In 2023, the company invested CNY164.7 billion back into R&D, which accounted for 23.4% of its annual revenue. Altogether, the company's R&D investment over the past decade amounts to CNY1.11 trillion.

"The company's performance in 2023 was in line with forecast," said Ken Hu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman. "We've been through a lot over the past few years. But through one challenge after another, we've managed to grow. The trust and support of our customers, partners, and friends around the world is what helped us keep going, keep surviving, and keep growing."

2023 revenue by business: The ICT infrastructure business generated CNY362 billion, up 2.3% YoY. The consumer business recorded CNY251.5 billion, up 17.3% YoY. The cloud computing business brought in CNY55.3 billion, up 21.9% YoY. The digital power business earned CNY52.6 billion, up 3.5% YoY. The intelligent automotive solution business generated CNY4.7 billion, up 128.1% YoY.

Moving forward, Huawei will keep investing in technology and open innovation to advance technology and help different industries modernize. Committed to succeeding through quality, the company will work hard to make quality one of its core competitive strengths. In its engagement with 9.5 million developers and 46,000 ecosystem partners around the world, Huawei strongly advocates for open collaboration and helping others succeed. With this approach, the company will continue to focus on developing core ICT technologies, as well as building up platform capabilities for complex hardware and sophisticated software systems, which are then opened up to partners to promote shared success.

"A new journey awaits us in 2024," Hu concluded. "We will create greater value for our customers and society by driving open innovation, building thriving ecosystems, and succeeding through quality. Here I'd like to thank those who have joined us – and will join us – along the way. Together, let's make something extraordinary. Let's build a fully connected, intelligent world."

All financial statements in the 2023 Annual Report were independently audited by KPMG, an international Big Four accounting firm. To download the 2023 Annual Report, please visit https://www.huawei.com/en/annual-report/2023

Note: The 2023 closing exchange rate is US$1.00 = CNY 7.0808

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