top tourist places in world 2022

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The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2022

From far-flung destinations to hometown favorites, 2022 is the year to get back out there and turn your dream trips into reality.

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.

Planning new adventures as a new year approaches is always a thrill, but finding the best places to visit in 2022 is unique. After two years of border closures, cruise cancellations, and travel restrictions galore , 2022 is the year we hope to get back out there, uninhibited (albeit vaccinated and COVID tested ), return to our favorite destinations, and cross new ones off our lists.

Though the hospitality industry was hit hard by the pandemic, many properties used the forced downtime to renovate rooms, add new amenities, and expand outdoor spaces to offer even more once guests return. 2022 is when many travelers will venture further from home, and even overseas, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, finally reaping the benefits of these valiant efforts.

Although COVID variants remain, regulations are still evolving, and precautions must still be taken, many of the destinations we chose for 2022 offer what we believe travelers are looking for in a post-pandemic world, from hotels with private accommodations to destinations teeming with fresh-air activities . Others, like Las Vegas, are for those who are ready and raring to make up for all the social time they missed — with a few splashy headliners, including Adele and the Raiders, thrown in for good measure.

As cruising makes its comeback , we included unforgettable places to see by water, from Antarctica to the Nile, and as hard-hit destinations like Italy and Asia recover, we found the buzziest reasons to return. Of course we didn't forget about all the stateside gems we got to know while domestic travel was surging, from Alaska and California to Florida and Michigan.

Our 2022 list, organized alphabetically, doesn't hold back, with aspirational trips as far away as India, Mozambique, Qatar, and even space — but we're also including hometown favorites, like Walt Disney World and its new Star Wars hotel ; the wellness retreats of beautiful Sedona; and the simple pleasures of small-town, farm-to-table living in Franklin, Tennessee. Because no matter what type of trip you've been dreaming of, we want to help you turn 2022 into the year you get back out there and make it a reality.

— Edited by Nina Ruggiero and Scott Bay

1. Abruzzo, Italy

Stretching from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea on the peninsula's southeastern side, Abruzzo, Italy has long been one of the country's most overlooked destinations despite its unspoiled villages, picturesque Trabocchi Coast, and stunning natural escapes. Over the past few years, however, it has gone from a sleepy underdog to an ambitious harbinger of slow travel, sustainable gastronomy, and conscious hospitality. Villa Corallo , a 19th-century mansion near Civitella del Tronto was transformed into a five-star hotel in 2019. Dimore Montane , an eco-lodge opened in 2020 in Majella National Park, marries glamping with environmentally-friendly facilities with a zero waste policy. Meanwhile, restaurants like Bottega Culinaria in San Vito Chietino and Materia Prima in Castel di Sangro are redefining the region as one of Italy's most exciting food hotspots for their innovative and sustainable takes on local produce and traditional dishes (in case Niko Romito's three-Michelin-starred Reale wasn't enough). And completing construction this Spring is Via Verde dei Trabocchi: a cycling and pedestrian path along the Adriatic sea that's being built on a disused railway route. — Marianna Cerini

With many international borders closed over the last two years, many eager U.S. travelers' eyes turned to Alaska. The vast state, famous for its towering, snow-capped peaks, pristine wilderness, massive national parks, and colorful locals, made for a dynamic destination with no passport required. But as borders reopen, interest in the 49th state is showing no signs of slowing down. Alaska's tourism board said early forecasts are projecting that more than 1.57 million cruise ship passengers could visit southeast Alaska in summer 2022. That's an 18% jump from 2019, the previous record year. Many perennial favorite cruise lines , like Holland America, will be returning to full strength after a non-existent 2020 and abbreviated 2021. Others, like Windstar Cruises, UnCruise, and Hurtigruten are rolling out fresh itineraries or are launching new ships. On dry land, Alaska is set to see myriad new offerings and events. In Juneau, the Sealaska Heritage Institute will open their Arts Campus (where visitors will be able to learn about Alaska Native art and culture) and will host Celebration , one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous peoples. In Anchorage, Fur Rendezvous , Alaska's oldest and largest winter festival, will be back from Feb. 25 to March 6 (which also happens to be peak aurora season ). The event hosts activities like the Running of the Reindeer and the Outhouse Races, before culminating with the 50th running of the iconic Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race . — Bailey Berg

3. Anguilla

This easy-going Caribbean gem is simpler than ever to get to with American Airlines launching the first-ever nonstop, direct flight from Miami on Dec. 11. Private charter flights by Tradewind Aviation have also resumed service to the island. And the just-opened Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club has a fleet of jets to ferry guests from key U.S. cities. The sprawling luxury resort will include a few restaurants overseen by chef Abram Bissell, formerly of Eleven Madison Park, The NoMad, and The Modern. Quintessence , a boutique luxury resort with perks like butler service and a 4:1 staff-to-guest ratio, is opening a more affordable annex of suites called Quinn that will debut in 2022 (along with a Champagne cellar tasting room and Art Bar). New Restaurant Uchu at Belmond Cap Juluca is taking inspiration from Belmond's collection of properties in Peru. Named after the Quechuan word for spice, the menu will feature contemporary Peruvian cuisine inspired by three of the country's regions: the coast, the jungle, and the highlands. — Scott Bay

4. Antarctica

The pandemic shutdown created a compelling reason to visit Antarctica in 2022: See how the whales, seals, and penguins react after nearly two years without seeing humans. New polar-class expedition ships and new ways to get to the White Continent are reasons to pack your boots too. Viking Expeditions will be in Antarctica for the first time in 2022 with new, twin 378-passenger expedition ships. Ponant's new 270-passenger Le Commandant Charcot introduces eco-friendlier sailing, as the first hybrid-electric ship fueled by liquified natural gas (rather than heavy fuel). Quark Expeditions' long-awaited 199-passenger Ultramarine delivers exciting heli-hiking adventures via two eight-seat twin-engine helicopters. Hit a craps table in between icy exploration on the luxurious new all-suite 200-passenger Crystal Endeavor. Silversea Cruises' posh, 144-passenger, all-suite Silver Explorer returns with a debut travel option: Skip the notorious (for rough water) Drake Passage and catch a private flight directly from Chile to Antarctica to board the ship. — Fran Golden

American travelers have long loved the Bahamas for its crystal-clear waters, sandy beaches, and sunshine just about 50 miles off the coast of Florida, but there are even more reasons to visit the island nation in 2022. Baha Mar on the Island of New Providence has a brand new water park equipped with everything from a lazy river to a surf simulator, and day passes are available for purchase to those who aren't resort guests. For more rest and relaxation, journey to the outer islands of the Bahamas. While charter flights will get you exactly where you need to go, Crystal Cruises is offering a Bahamas-centric cruise that brings guests to some of the quieter and more remote islands. On its mid-July cruise, guests will embark and disembark from Nassau and then be whisked away via "6-star" service to the islands of Bimini, Great Exuma, San Salvador, and Long Island. Beyond the beach, don't forget to indulge in some local food and culture. The Island archipelago is famous for its conch, stew fish, and rock lobster. From late April through early May, Carnival is celebrated in Nassau and back after a pandemic hiatus. Keep an eye out for the famous sound and dance of the junkanoo. — Jamie Aranoff

6. Barbados

Whether you want a relaxing all-inclusive stay or a vibrant vacation filled with dining and nightlife, Barbados has you covered. Nowhere is that more evident than the pedestrian-friendly South Coast, which is teeming with new resorts and restaurants. The O2 Beach Club & Spa is an all-inclusive resort set on the white sands of Dover Beach, with three pools, six dining options, seven bars, and the Acqua spa, featuring the only hammam treatment room on the island. It joins other luxurious South Coast hotels, including Sandals and Sea Breeze Beach House . If you can pull yourself away from the resort pools, head along the coast to Worthing Square Food Garden, an outdoor food hall with 20 vendors serving dishes from around the Caribbean. Or stroll down the mile-long boardwalk for easy access to ocean-front food and drinks at local favorites like Champers, Salt Café, Tiki Bar, and Chill Café & Bar. — Kevin Gray

Taylor McIntyre/Travel + Leisure

A favorite of adventure travelers for its rainforests and divers who explore the Great Blue Hole and expansive barrier reef, Belize offers an abundance of casual spots and a handful of luxe resorts. The latest arrival is Alaia Belize, an Autograph Collection Hotel , in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, opened mid-2021 with plans to add to its already extensive guest room, suite, and oceanfront villa accommodations. Major airlines are also recognizing the destination's potential with nonstop flights and convenient connections from most U.S. cities. In addition to United and Delta's nonstop flights from Houston and Atlanta, respectively, Alaska Airlines added nonstop service from Los Angeles and Seattle to Belize City in November, and Frontier Airlines will start weekly nonstop flights from Denver and Orlando. — Patricia Doherty

8. Budapest, Hungary

Very few places in the world capture both old-world charm and elegant modernity like Hungary's capital city, and Budapest's latest 130-room luxury hotel, Matild Palace , is a shining example. The neo-baroque palace-turned-hotel, which opened last summer in the city's District V, is a UNESCO-protected site that once housed the city's royalty. The hotel is now home to Wolfgang Punk's famed restaurant, Spago , the first of its kind in central Europe. It also hosts the Duchess bar — a rooftop "liquor library" that mixes craft cocktails using local wines and pálinka, Hungarian fruit brandy, which can be enjoyed alongside panoramic views of the Danube river. Surrounded by 22 wine regions, Budapest is a city for oenophiles. Enjoy a glass of Kékfrankos or Kadarka in the Castle District's newly opened wine bar, Takler Borbár Buda , founded by one of the country's renowned winemaking families. Don't leave the city without visiting Marlou , a biodynamic wine bar near the Hungarian State Opera, and Portobello , an unassuming coffee and natural wine bar around the corner from Matild Palace. — Stephanie Andrews

9. Burgundy, France

The region of Burgundy is known for — you guessed it — its Burgundy wine, but French wine isn't the only reason Burgundy is a must-visit in 2022. In the spring, the region's capital city of Dijon will welcome the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin (International City of Gastronomy and Wine), an expansive complex with a cooking school, a new hotel, a handful of restaurants, and a wine cellar with over 250 by-the-glass offerings. The new project is perfectly situated at the starting point of Burgundy's famed wine route — Route des Grands Crus — which runs from Dijon to Santenay and produces some of the country's most well-regarded wines, including pinot noir, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc. — Evie Carrick

10. British Virgin Islands

Within the Caribbean, the 60 islands that comprise the British Virgin Islands have long held the reputation of luxury draped in relaxation. And now it's doubling down on that brand of island spirit with Richard Branson's second private island, the 125-acre Moskito Island that opened in October and sits right across from his first BVI paradise, Necker Island (which received a serious upgrade when it reopened last year after a two-year closure). The new destination will eventually have 10 private estates that can be rented through Virgin Limited Edition , but among the ones already available are Point Estate, starting at $17,500 a night, and Oasis Estate for $19,000. But Moskito isn't the only shiny new reason to visit BVI. Proving the area's resilience following the devastation after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Saba Rock , the private island long known for its diving, went through a complete reconstruction before reopening in October; the Bitter End Yacht Club reopened in December with BVI's first over-the-water bungalows; and Oil Nut Bay will expand in early 2022 with new villas, a watersports center, and spa. Also on tap for 2022, the solar-powered White Bay Villas and new hilltop suites at Long Bay Beach Resort . And with the Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival returning in the spring of 2022 after being canceled for two years, BVI is proving it's truly back and stronger than ever. — Rachel Chang

11. Costa Smeralda, Sardinia

You're likely to glimpse Europe's pro athlete and yachting crowds at Marriott's four hotels on the Costa Smeralda, the glitzy Italian destination known for its Caribbean-like beaches and luxury resorts. Its glamorous Hotel Cala di Volpe has gradually been unveiling room renovations alongside new dining options, including its Harrods Suite, with a roof terrace and sea-facing plunge pool, and BeefBar 's first Italian outpost. The entire area is one big " Billionaire Experience ," but Formula One and entertainment mogul Flavio Briatore snagged the term for his new dining and nightlife venue in designer shopping destination Porto Cervo. For more of a low-key, family-friendly escape, the Baglioni Resort Sardinia opened 404 an hour south in San Teodoro in June, overlooking the stunning Tavolara Marine Reserve . — Nina Ruggiero

12. Crete, Greece

The Greek Islands have long been a perennial favorite vacation destination for discerning travelers, and Crete, the largest of the 227 islands in the archipelago, deserves a spot atop your must-see list. Yes, it's a place where you can find the white-washed buildings and blue roofs you've lusted after on Instagram for years, and a spot where you can dive into the cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean at every turn. And of course you can dig deep into both history and mythology as humans have lived on the island since the 7th millennium B.C ., not to mention the fact that Crete is the birthplace of Zeus . It's little surprise then, with all this beauty and history, that Crete continues to harbor a rich creative community, mostly centered in the neighborhood of Chania. There, visitors can peruse works in museums like the Mediterranean Architecture Center , or seek out unique pieces in galleries like the Municipal Art Gallery or the Redd Gallery . To visit Crete, hop aboard a sailing with Silversea , which takes guests to Crete and several other stellar islands, or book a stay at the Blue Palace Elounda, a Luxury Collection Resort , named one of the Top 10 Greece Resort Hotels in Travel + Leisure 's World's Best Awards, 2021. — Stacey Leasca

13. Walt Disney World

The "World's Most Magical Celebration" — Walt Disney World's 18-month-long 50th anniversary event that kicked off on Oct. 1 — continues through 2022 with enchanting touches and highly anticipated ride and hotel openings. Star Wars : Galactic Starcruiser will begin offering its immersive, two-night adventures in a galaxy far, far away on March 1. The interactive, choose-your-own-adventure experience will have guests wielding lightsabers, sleeping on the ship, brushing shoulders with Star Wars characters, eating intergalactic cuisine, and maybe even going on a secret mission, making this a truly unique experience that you can't find anywhere else in the world. Other 2022 openings include the Guardians of the Galaxy : Cosmic Rewind indoor coaster at Epcot, slated for summer. — Elizabeth Rhodes

14. Doha, Qatar

As we ask ourselves what cities of the future should look like, we naturally look around for examples. Places like Shanghai, Tokyo, and New York City seem to fit the description on paper, but I'd argue that no city better encapsulates that definition than Doha, the capital of Qatar. There is so much to discover — from East-West/West-East , a series of four steel monoliths created by sculptor Richard Serra to the Museum of Islamic Art , the massive 560,000-square-foot gallery. Eat at Syrian comfort food spot Damasca One, Em Sherif a rooftop spot that serves up authentic regional dishes, and the lively corner restaurant Nourlaya Contemporary for Sri Lankan cuisine. Stay at the Mandarin Oriental Doha or Banyan Tree Doha . (Read Robinson's full dispatch on Doha in the July 2021 edition of Travel + Leisure) — Whitney Robinson

15. Edinburgh, Scotland

The Auld Reekie is buzzing with new energy. The highly anticipated Hotel W , designed by Jestico and Whiles in conjunction with Allan Murray Architects, is opening next winter. And several other hotels have recently opened in and around the city — Marine North Berwick , the Market Street hotel , Rusacks St. Andrews , and ship-turned-luxury-hotel Fingal . Gleneagles Townhouse , a first-ever city outpost from the famed Gleneagles estate, is opening in the spring. St James Quarter, a developing area of the city, and where Hotel W is being built, is opening next year with 85 shops, 30 restaurants, and a cinema. New in whisky is the September christening of Johnnie Walker Princes Street . And promising to shake up the scotch scene in the capital city is Leith Distillery , opening in the summer. — Scott Bay

16. Finger Lakes, New York

The Finger Lakes have bolstered their wellness and culinary offerings in recent years, carving out a name for themselves in the luxury travel realm. Inns of Aurora , comprising five historic mansions, debuted a holistic wellness facility in 2021 — set on 350 acres overlooking Cayuga Lake, complete with hydrotherapy pools, meditation areas, and a farm fresh cafe. Forty miles west of Cayuga, The Lakehouse on Canandaigua — situated on, yes, Canandaigua Lake — recently unveiled the Willowbrook Spa, which boasts lakeside barrel sauna sessions among other innovative treatments. Sandwiched between Cayuga and Canandaigua lakes is Seneca Lake, home to the largest of the Finger Lakes wine trails (this might be riesling country, but don't knock the lighter-bodied reds till you try 'em) and foodie draws like the 14-seat F.L.X. Table . Travelers visiting in the coming year will also see the Finger Lakes festival roster return in full force, including Rochester's Lilac Festival in May and International Jazz Festival in July, as well as attractions for the historically inclined road tripper, like Cayuga County's celebration of Harriet Tubman's birth through a number of walking tours and activations rolled out through 2022. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

17. Franklin, Tennessee

Despite its count of more than 80,000 year-round residents, the very walkable Franklin firmly grasps onto its small-town charms , starting with a quintessentially quaint downtown chock-full of shops and restaurants finding shelter in brick storefronts lining the sidewalks. The uninitiated might know this place for its past — Civil War museums, battleground sites, and historical markers telling the stories of a slave market, race riots, and Black soldiers in the U.S. Colored Troop division of the army all offer points of education and reflection. But the southern city has many modern-day draws as well — for starters, an exciting food and drink scene that includes the Tennessee Whiskey Trail and Arrington Vineyards , the largest winery in the region. Musical events and venues abound, too: The Pilgrimage Music Festival is one of the biggest in the state, and the 7,500-seat FirstBank Amphitheater , newly opened inside a former rock quarry, has welcomed the likes of the Jonas Brothers and Santana to its stage. There's also Leiper's Fork , a quirky-cool enclave filled with antique shops and art galleries. Even more brand-new to the scene is Southall , a 325-acre farm and inn with 62 rooms and suites and 16 cottages opening this June. The lush setting amid rolling hills makes active adventures (hiking, biking, kayaking), wellness pursuits (a spa, meditation, yoga, and two outdoor pools), and nourishing food (the restaurant uses ingredients grown, raised, and foraged on the property) easy to find. All of this and more lie just a short, 30-minute drive from bustling Nashville, making it tempting to tack onto a visit to the capital city. — Alisha Prakash

18. Galápagos Islands

The world's largest marine biosphere reserve will expand more than 20,000 square miles next year thanks to a recent presidential decree . The conservation measure seeks to combat illegal fishing by offering increased protection to the thousands of species that populate the archipelago's waters as well as a migration corridor stretching up to Costa Rica used by sharks, whales and other sea life. Come January, travelers can cruise this UNESCO-protected region on new nine-day adventures from Hurtigruten Expeditions and outfitter Metropolitan Touring aboard the 90-guest carbon-neutral MS Santa Cruz II. For a more intimate experience, passengers can book Aqua Expeditions ' seven-suite 164-foot superyacht, Aqua Mare, when it debuts in May. At the end of the year, eco-enthusiasts can sail to lesser-explored islands to spot giant tortoises, sea lions, flightless cormorants, Galápagos penguins, and marine iguanas on Quasar Expeditions ' new sustainable yacht — the 18-passenger M/Y Conservation featuring biodegradable amenities, renewable energy and a carbon-neutral footprint. Those with timid sea legs should check into the locally owned and run Montemar in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. — Nora Walsh

19. Greater Palm Springs, California

Greater Palm Springs is kicking its signature self-care into high gear in the coming year. Taking a cue from its sister property, Sensei Lanai , the new Sensei Porcupine Creek is converting a 230-acre private estate into a luxury wellness experience in Rancho Mirage in 2022. In Palm Springs proper, Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza will celebrate Indigenous art and history alongside the new Spa at Séc-he , where visitors will soak in approximately 12,000-year-old hot springs. Nearby, Fleur Noire Hotel just opened its adults-only casitas and bungalows, with a speakeasy Champagne bar to follow. Unexpectedly, the desert has a budding surf scene — the former Wet 'n Wild waterpark is becoming Palm Springs Surf Club , with a state-of-the-art wave pool, spa, restaurant, and bar; DSRT Surf is set to open a 5.5-acre wave lagoon in Palm Desert; and Kelly Slater himself is bringing a green energy–powered wave basin to Coral Mountain , a proposed new wellness resort with a hotel and residences, set to open in La Quinta by 2023 pending city approvals. And for entertainment outside the splash zone, the $250-million Coachella Valley Arena will host hockey, concerts, and more live events by the end of the year. — Nina Ruggiero

20. Greenville, South Carolina

Once in the shadow of Charleston and Asheville, Greenville has emerged in recent years as a go-to destination in its own right — and it keeps giving travelers more reasons to visit. In 2022, the city of just over 70,000 people will welcome a luxury boutique hotel, unveil a new public gathering place, and build on its well-earned reputation as a culinary and craft beer hotspot. The long-awaited, 187-room Grand Bohemian hotel is expected to open its doors this spring, complete with a two-story restaurant and bar, art gallery, and spa. The 60-acre Unity Park will feature plenty of greenspace, an observation tower, baseball fields, playgrounds, and walking and biking trails. And recently opened restaurants, including French Laundry alum Drew Erickson's Camp , Urban Wren, Coral, and an outpost of Nashville's famous Prince's Hot Chicken located inside Yee-Haw Brewing will ensure you're well-fed while in town. — Kevin Gray

21. Ilha Caldeira, Mozambique

While South Africa and Uganda grab headlines for African wildlife, Mozambique has been quietly making strides protecting 17 percent of its land — including beaches, coral reefs, and islands — showcasing its dedication to its natural beauty both on land and underwater. Ever since the country's 16-year civil war ended in 1992, the southeastern African nation has been aiming to build back in the right ways. Case in point: the private island of Ilha Caldeira, less than seven miles off the coast as part of the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, located within the marine-protected area with 20 percent of the country's intact living coral. It's here that the eco-luxury Banyan Tree resort chain has developed one of its most ambitious projects yet, a five-star property — accessible by jetty or helicopter — with 40 private pool villas that will be completely solar powered. Add to that a fish market restaurant with a 270-degree ocean view, the brand's trademark Banyan Tree Spa, and world-class diving, all in a too-pristine-to-believe beach setting, and this island escape is sure to draw attention away from its Indian Ocean neighbors when it opens at the end of 2022. — Rachel Chang

22. Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Those wary of traveling internationally in 2022 will find solace in Jackson Hole, a mountain town with endless open space (Wyoming is the least populated state in the U.S.) and plenty to do. In the winter, life revolves around Jackson Hole Mountain Resort , home to some of the nation's best skiing and snowboarding. In the summer, plan your trip around the Jackson Hole Food & Wine Summer Festival (June 23-25) or head to the nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. For easy access to the mountain town, travelers can hop on one of Aero's high-end, seasonal flights and stay at The Cloudveil off the Town Square or the Caldera House at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. — Evie Carrick

23. Kafue National Park, Zambia

Straddling three regions of Zambia, Kafue National Park is the largest (and oldest) in the country, measuring 8,648 miles. In the wildlife-rich Busanga plains — located in the secluded northern side of the park — spend the night at newly opened Chisa Busanga Camp in their bird's nest shaped rooms. Enjoy a silent safari, thanks to e-cruisers or an e-bike safari provided by the property. See wildlife from above with a hot air balloon safari from Shumba Camp or Busanga Bush Camp . Other accommodation offerings in the park include riverfront Ila Safari Lodge and Mukambi Safari Lodge . Both properties offer fishing, walking safaris, boat cruises, and have Instagram worthy pools (perfect for a soak and the traditional safari sundowner: a gin and tonic). — Mazuba Kapambwe

24. Kaunas, Lithuania

Kaunas, Lithuania has a lofty New Year's resolution. After a century of wars, Soviet rule, and, since the 1990s, independence, this UNESCO Creative City of Design is ready to cultivate a new identity — and it's doing so as one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2022 (alongside Novi Sad, Serbia). The festivities commence in January, with thousands of concerts, festivals, exhibitions, and events throughout the year to celebrate Kaunas' history while cementing its path forward . Also this year, Kaunas will welcome the highly anticipated $30 million Science Island, Lithuania's first national science and innovation center designed by UK firm Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC). By May, the city's former Magnus Hotel will reopen with sparkly new digs and a posh rooftop under the ibis Styles umbrella 404 . This lively city is also a main stop on the recently unveiled 1,330-mile Forest Trail across the Baltics. And, a host of just-announced Ryanair flight routes, including Madrid to Kaunas, will make visiting this capital of culture a breeze. — Stephanie Vermillion

25. Kyushu, Japan

Kyushu may be less than two hours from Tokyo by plane, but it feels far from Honshū's well-beaten tourist circuit. The southwesternmost Japanese main island is still largely unexplored, providing those willing to venture off the beaten path with a much different Japan than the one they'll find in its cities. As a warm, subtropical island, Kyushu is home to long, golden beaches and some of Japan's best snorkeling and scuba diving. Inland, the country's most active volcano, Mt. Aso, feeds the island's myriad natural hot springs — many of which offer sea views. And while the island has accommodations that include both hot spring resorts and luxury beachfront villas 404 , nothing tops a stay at Hirado Castle , which was recently restored and renovated to welcome visitors overnight . — Evie Carrick

26. Lanai, Hawaii

Wellness opportunities and cultural awareness are showcased along with luxury at Lanai's two Four Seasons resorts. At Sensei Lāna'i, A Four Seasons Resort , guests can now choose the Discover Sensei Experience , offering the ability to enjoy the retreat's amenities without joining the more comprehensive programs. New "Optimal Wellbeing" programs focus on improving performance in tennis and golf along with overall wellness. Four Seasons Resort Lanai is adding an observatory as part of "Love Lanai," featuring cultural experiences designed to share the island's rich heritage. The observatory program will center around the history of Pacific voyaging, native traditions, and astronomy. — Patricia Doherty

27. Las Vegas, Nevada

Never bet against the house: The pandemic may have put a damper on Las Vegas, but the ever-on-the-move city is back in a big way for 2022. A massive new development on the Strip, Resorts World Las Vegas, opened in June, has three distinct Hilton properties under one enormous roof, not to mention more than 40 restaurants and bars, plus pools (plural), and a handful of $15,000-a-night villas . Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, the Cromwell , and downtown's Circa Resort & Casino are also giving visitors fresh options on where to stay. The city's pro sports teams — also now plural — are drawing in fans. And off-Strip "immersive experiences," like the Omega Mart by Meow Wolf and the Illuminarium, both at Area15 , are lending an additional layer of things to do beyond the expected. Not that there's anything wrong with splashing out on dinner and a show after the past two years. Live acts — like Adele's just-announced residency at The Colosseum — are once again hot tickets, as is a table at chic new supper club Delilah , at the Wynn Las Vegas. Some things, thankfully, never change. — Paul Brady

28. Louisville, Kentucky

Your cowboy boots were made for walking the streets of Louisville. Nicknamed "The Bourbon City," an official gateway to Kentucky's bourbon trail, the city is expanding its bourbon footprint in 2022. In October, the Urban Bourbon Trail welcomed the first and only African American–owned distillery in the state, Brough Brothers . Meanwhile, its trailmate, Angel's Envy , will wrap its $8.2-million expansion project complete with a new event space and five tasting rooms in the spring. The city is most well known for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby every spring at the historic Churchill Downs racetrack, and the Downs will open the first installment of its multi-year expansion plan, the Homestretch Club , just in time for the 2022 Derby. There, attendees will be able to enjoy the race with an all-new trackside lounge experience. — Hannah Streck

29. Malaysia

Malaysia is home to a beautiful medley of cultures (Chinese, Indian, and Malay) and a diverse smattering of terrain: bustling cities with towering buildings, verdant rain forests with incredible wildlife, and idyllic islands with dreamy beaches. But all of this and more has been closed to the world for much of the pandemic. Now that the island of Langkawi is open via a travel bubble, with the rest of the country expected to follow suit in 2022, travelers can once again experience Malaysia's many gifts. Langkawi, a beach lover's paradise, blends unspoiled nature (UNESCO-listed Kilim Karst Geoforest Park ) and unparalleled luxury ( Four Seasons Resort , Datai Langkawi ), while cosmopolitan capital Kuala Lumpur draws visitors with its gleaming Petronas Towers, delicious hawker food stalls, and shopping. Then there's Borneo, complete with wildlife-packed jungles and a rich Indigenous culture, as well as Desaru Coast, a 3,900-acre area that's home to coveted resorts like the One&Only Desaru Coast , a tropical oasis that opened in early September 2020 (the brand's first in Asia). — Alisha Prakash

30. Maldives

The Maldives' 1,000+ islands sit in the Indian Ocean like a string of turquoise pearls. The tropical nirvana has 166 accommodation options, including the new Joali Being nature retreat, which leads guests on a transformative wellness journey. Alila Kothaifaru Maldives debuts in February with 80 beach and overwater villas on the Raa Atoll. Coming to the same atoll in May, also with 80 luxury villas, is Emerald Faarufushi Resort & Spa on a massive lagoon primed for snorkeling. The ever-innovative Soneva Fushi has a new experience that includes zip-lining to a six-course meal 30 feet about the sand. Along with Soneva Jani, they've debuted Soneva Soul , a new spa complex melding ancient and modern techniques. Other vacation favorites are unveiling new digs like the sleek, contemporary renovation of Naladhu Private Island and the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island , debuting in February. — Katie Lockhart

31. Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is considered one of the sailing capitals of the world. It is home to the largest fleet of America's Cup 12 Meter yachts , most of which are available for charter. In May, the coastal town is welcoming a Sailing Museum that is sure to solidify that title. Over the past few years, a slew of hotel openings have closed a much-needed gap for luxury accommodations, including Hammett's Hotel , Brenton Hotel , and The Wayfinder Hotel . The Vanderbilt, Auberge Resorts Collection is debuting the property's highly anticipated transformation conceived by Dallas-based design collective Swoon — the lobby, dining room, and shared areas are now complete with guest rooms finishing early next year. Renowned beverage executive Maxwell Britten has joined the team as chief cocktail curator alongside an amazing chef who cooks up a selection of elevated pub-inspired dishes. And don't miss Giusto , at Hammett's Hotel, which serves up excellent Italian with a Rhode Island twist. — Scott Bay

32. Nile Cruise, Egypt

There is no trip that will convert you to a life of river cruising quite like a sail down (well, technically, up) the Nile. In fact, the world's first river cruises sailed in Egypt, a country designed around the central waterway, where it makes sense that the Nile would act as your home base. A typical Egyptian river cruise sets sail from Cairo to Luxor and then Aswan, with the occasional stop to visit an island temple along the way — complete with sights like the Pyramids, Valley of Kings and Queens, Nefertari's tomb, and the Temple of Kom Ombo. In 2022, there's more than one new river cruise to choose from, between Uniworld's newly launched S.S. Sphinx and AmaWaterways' Amadahlia , both of which sailed their inaugural voyages in fall 2021. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

In late 2021, Panama launched a tourism platform along with the coolest tagline in travel: " Live for More ." With a booming coffee scene and a renewed focus on its culture, history, and biodiversity , the Central American nation is ready for its moment in the spotlight. It's an attractive place for those looking to get out of resort mode and into a world open for exploration and adventure. Immersive environmental experiences abound here, including trekking through the rainforest on its suspended hanging bridges and walking to the top of the Volcán Barú, an active volcano with both Pacific and Atlantic Ocean views from the top. There is also abundant opportunity to learn from Panama's seven Indigenous communities, each of whom offer their own personalized experiences and are happy to share their craftsmanship and traditions. Panama offers plenty of luxury, too. In its capital city, check into the American Trade Hotel , centrally located in Panama's Casco Viejo district, a historic neighborhood which happens to also be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. — Stacey Leasca

34. Phuket, Thailand

Before the pandemic, Phuket was beautiful but crowded, full of beach bars and tourists chasing all-nighters. It's still full of energy and surrounded by the same pristine sea glass–colored water, but its luxurious side is finally getting the attention it deserves, from its high-end coffee shops to its cocktail bars. Hide from the world in paradise with a stay in one of the private pool residences at Trisara , featuring kitchens, a private chef, butler service, and breathtaking views over the sea, as well as access to the resort's PRU restaurant , which has earned both a Michelin star and a Michelin green star. Or book a stay at the brand-new V Villas Phuket , which offers a curated selection of 19 private-pool, 1-, 3-, and 4-bedroom villas. Later, party the night away in Phuket Old Town with inventive cocktails at Club No. 43 (think: rum with grilled pineapple juice and espuma), or settle in for a great dinner and a night of daring performances at the Junkyard Theatre , which just launched a weekly Saturday night show. — Alison Fox

35. Pico, Portugal

The islands of the Azores — a Portuguese archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean some 900 miles west of Lisbon — are more popular than ever, and for 2022, travelers will want to fix their eyes firmly on the second-largest isle: Pico, an alluring, otherworldly locale covered with black, volcanic rocks. Conquering Portugal's highest peak, the cloud-shrouded, 7,713-foot-high Mount Pico, used to be the island's main draw, but a recent uptick in hospitality infrastructure has allowed for more opportunity to partake of Pico's most important agricultural output: wine. Renowned Portuguese winemaker Antonio Maçanita just opened a new winery that comes with bookable design-forward apartments adjacent to the island's unique vineyards. On Pico, grapes are planted on volcanic terroir that are then protected from Atlantic winds with rock walls. Maçanita's ​​ Azores Wine Company 's mineral, sometimes slightly salty wines could be the perfect celebratory drink after a grueling hike.The crashing waves around Pico are beginning to seduce surfers, too. And there are also ample opportunities to watch for marine life thanks to 20 species of dolphins and whales (including humpbacks and orcas) that can be spotted in these waters. But if you'd rather eat what's in the water: Try lapas, a local shellfish delicacy best served grilled with butter and garlic and finished with a squeeze of lemon. Thankfully, getting to experience all of this has never been easier: Starting July 1, United Airlines will for the first time connect Newark to the island of São Miguel (the Azores' largest island), and from there, it's a quick hop over to Pico. Or you could always get there via direct flights from Lisbon or Porto with Tap Air Portugal's stopover program. — Chadner Navarro

36. Quebec, Canada

After over a year of tight pandemic restrictions, Canada reopened to American tourists in 2021, so now might finally be time to plan that trip to the Great White North, starting with the province of Quebec. From the charming, French-influenced cities of Montreal and Quebec City to the region's snow-capped mountains, there's something new to explore every season. In December 2021, the first Club Med mountain resort in Canada, Club Med Quebec Charlevoix , opened, offering all-inclusive ski vacations just a short flight from several major U.S. cities. Regent Seven Seas Cruises is offering a foliage-packed autumn cruise from New York to Montreal in October. No matter what time of year you visit, Le Capitole Hotel in Quebec City and Humaniti Hotel Montreal are top picks for places to stay in the major cities. — Elizabeth Rhodes

37. Queensland, Australia

Australia's highly anticipated international border reopening will be well worth the wait, especially as more travelers seek nuanced cultural experiences and sustainable stays. The northeastern state has long been the gateway for visits to the rightly beloved Great Barrier Reef, and beginning in 2022, visitors can learn about conservation efforts and the ecosystem directly from the area's Traditional Land Owners and Indigenous guides during day trips from Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel . Aboriginal elders and Traditional Land Owners are also working with local operator Gudjuda Tours on a daylong excursion to tag and rescue one of the reef's most beloved creatures: sea turtles. Those who want to take a more extended trip to the Whitsunday Islands can look to Elysian Retreat , recently certified as the area's first fully solar-powered resort, or its carbon-negative sister property Pumpkin Island . Back on the mainland, within the verdant Daintree Rainforest UNESCO World Heritage Site, eco-luxury hideaway Silky Oaks Lodge will finally welcome guests back after its $15-million overhaul. — Sarah Bruning

38. Santa Ynez Valley, California

Two hours from L.A., the Santa Ynez Valley is rural, unassuming, and coming into its own. The region has grown grapes for decades and has even made a Hollywood cameo in the movie Sideways. The arrival of newer tasting rooms, restaurants, and hotels in recent years has firmly put the area on oenophiles' and travelers' radars. Start with a private olive oil tasting at Global Gardens and hard cider at Tin City Cider in Los Olivos. Follow with pizza pies at Full of Life Flatbread and vino at nearby female-owned A Tribute to Grace and Casa Dumetz . Detour to Firestone Walker 's outpost in Buellton for a few limited edition craft brews and finish with dishes such as roasted tomato and fennel risotto at the Ballard Inn's Gathering Table 404 . Though it's technically just beyond the boundaries of the valley in Lompoc, The Hilt Estate , is too good to miss. And once it opens this year as an Auberge property, The Inn at Mattei's Tavern will make for the perfect base from which to explore it all. — Tanvi Chheda

39. São Paulo, Brazil

Known for its dynamic combination of luxury, design, and fashion influence, São Paulo is an international metropolitan hub of arts and culture. It's the largest city in South America, hosting an array of entertainment opportunities such as fabulous hotels, decadent restaurants, high-class museums, and iconic mid-century architecture. With airlines including American adding flights throughout Brazil in 2022 and a flourishing hospitality renaissance throughout the city, São Paulo is well prepared for its anticipated influx of new travelers. A must-visit destination for 2022 is the Rosewood São Paulo , located in the heart of São Paulo's Cidade Matarazzo and housed in a historic landmark building. Here, visitors will encounter 200-plus luxurious guest rooms, suites, and residences, plus six restaurants and bars and two pools. — Molly O'Brien

40. Savannah, Georgia

This coastal Georgia city is rightly famous for its atmospheric, moss-draped streets and squares, not to mention its hundreds of years of history. But lately Savannah has been boosted by creativity and innovation outside the sometimes frozen-in-amber Old Town, which means now is a particularly compelling time to visit. Make home base the brand-new Thompson Savannah 429 , a slick 13-story tower with interiors by Studio 11 Design that anchors the still-developing Eastern Wharf neighborhood. Phase one of the 54-acre development, which aims to turn a once-industrial waterfront into a contemporary mixed-use destination, includes hundreds of apartments, fitness trails, access to the Savannah River, and multiple bars and restaurants, including Fleeting , a seasonally driven spot inside the Thompson. At the same time, Savannah's other major waterfront destination has also come into its own. The Plant Riverside District, a stone's throw from Old Town, marked its official grand opening in November 2021, putting a bow on a bustling JW Marriott hotel , countless restaurants and bars, and multiple live performance venues all along a rebuilt waterfront. Not that all the action is along the river: The ever-evolving Starland District, a short drive from Johnson Square, has its share of hangouts including Starland Yard , a food truck park that's also home to the excellent Pizzeria Vittoria Napoletana ; Two Tides Brewing Company , which pours hazy ales and delicious sours in a super-cool taproom; and Troupial , a Venezuelan cafe. You'll also want to pack Wildsam Savannah , a newly released field guide that helps visitors understand the layers of history (and the contemporary politics) that are fueling the latest renaissance in Savannah. — Paul Brady

41. Seattle, Washington

Few places offer both an urban and a natural escape in one destination — and the Emerald City might be one of the best. The city center is world-class with top hotel accommodations ( Four Seasons Hotel Seattle and Thompson Seattle ), locally focused fine dining, and countless cultural sites. Then, just minutes away from all of that is some of the most stunning outdoor recreation out there. Adding to the city's luster is the newly opened Lotte Hotel Seattle . The 189-room tower is bringing high design and refined service to the area. Charlotte , the hotel's restaurant on the 18th floor, serves up an inventive menu that is sure to become an all-time favorite dining experience. The landmark Fairmont Olympic Hotel recently completed a $25-million historic restoration of its public spaces, quickly becoming one of the most Instagrammable spots in town. Plus, its buzzy new culinary showpiece will debut in the months to come. Before leaving Seattle, don't miss a meal at celebrated pasta specialist Brian Clevenger's new restaurant, Autumn . — Scott Bay

42. Sedona, Arizona

Makito Umekita/Travel + Leisure

With tourism already surging thanks to the Instagram fame of attractions like Devil's Bridge, Sedona garnered even more of a following during the pandemic among cooped-up city dwellers enthralled by the destination's red rocks and energy vortexes. In 2022, set your sights on North America's first landscape hotel, Ambiente , home to 40 standalone accommodations (called "atriums"), most with private rooftop decks perfect for stargazing. Opening in May, the sustainability-focused retreat will offer on-site trailhead access — further immersing guests in the Sedona landscape while combating traffic along the city's main highway — and reactivate an ancient waterway to populate a stream running throughout the hotel. Experience Sedona's culinary clout right on property at Ambiente's restaurant, Forty1, housed in a refurbished airstream, or venture next door to Mariposa , the city's must-visit restaurant by chef Lisa Dahl, who pioneered fine dining in this town. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

43. Singapore

Singapore reopened to vaccinated American travelers in October 2021 with the introduction of the country's Vaccinated Travel Lane . Travelers can fly from the U.S. on Singapore Airlines' vaccine-mandatory flights ; the World's Best airline 26 years running launched Vaccinated Travel Lane flights this fall, and United Airlines plans to follow suit by January 2022. Even in the early stages of reopening to foreign travelers, the city-state is already unveiling new culinary ventures. Recently, chef Julien Royer, behind three-Michelin-star Odette, opened Claudine , and Raffles Singapore unveiled Osteria BBR 404 by Alain Ducasse, while Marina Bay Sands plans to debut chef Tetsuya Wakuda's second restaurant within the hotel in the new year. Of course, there's just as much flavor to be found at Singapore's famed hawker centers, now on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. As tourists return to Singapore, new cultural attractions follow — from the return of Singapore Art Week, beginning Jan. 14, to the recent unveiling of SkyHelix Sentosa , an open-air ride towering 300 feet above sea level, for anyone still in need of thrills after a 17-hour flight over the Pacific. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

44. Southwest Michigan

Beaches with ocean-like views were once the main draw to Michigan's southwest coast, but new high-style accommodations and hyper-local experiences are giving us more reasons to go. Where to stay with so many options? Consider the cool new motel-turned-boutique Lake Shore Resort in Saugatuck; The Fields glamping retreat with new spa tents in South Haven; the revamped, modern Harbor Grand Hotel in New Buffalo; or anywhere along the coast with high-touch Bluefish Vacation Rentals , which has killer lakefront homes now stocked with handmade local goods. Hop on the new pedestrian/bike trail in Union Pier, and definitely shop two new woman-owned standouts: the beautifully curated Haven and Ariane Prewitt's AP Cottage, scheduled to open this spring. Women are showing off the culinary scene, too, with everything from a special saison ale — winner of the 2021 Great American Beer Festival — at woman-owned Waypost Brewing Co. , to new herb-inspired cocktails at James Beard-winning chef Melissa Corey's Penny Royal Café & Provisions , to James Beard nominee Abra Beherns' Granor Farm , where dinners return this year in a new glass-enclosed barn. — Nina Kokotas Hahn

45. St. Moritz, Switzerland

If you're on the hunt for glitz, glamour, and powder for days, look no further than St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Alpine ski town has long been considered the birthplace of winter vacationing. Tourists first flocked to the mountain town in 1864 , when hotelier Johannes Badrutt took a few British travelers to the community, promising them bluebird days all winter. It wasn't long until others learned about this hidden winter oasis. Skiers and winter sports enthusiasts flocked to the mountain, which has now hosted the Winter Olympic Games not once, but twice. It's an ideal place for ski bunnies too, thanks to its luxury shopping, and its numerous Michelin-starred restaurants . This winter, head to St. Moritz for its fantastic events like White Surf (Feb. 6, 13, and 20, 2022), an international horse race that takes place across the frozen Lake St. Moritz, and the Snow Polo World Cup 404 (Jan. 28-30, 2022), which happens to be the world's only high-goal tournament on snow. Book a stay at the Badrutt's Palace Hotel , which officially reopened on Dec. 3 for the 2021/2022 season and offers guests the chance to try their hand at high-octane winter sports like skijöring, snowkiting, tobogganing, and even private helicopter tours to the peaks of Piz Bernina and Piz Palü. — Stacey Leasca

46. St. Pete/Clearwater, Florida

The beaches of St. Petersburg and nearby Clearwater are consistently ranked among the best in the U.S. and even the world , but there's more to this destination than white sand, pristine waters, and 361 days of sunshine per year. St. Pete/Clearwater offers more than 30 museums and galleries featuring world-renowned artists like Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, as well as the largest collection of Salvador Dalí's work outside of Spain. One could say brewing the perfect beer is also an artform that St. Pete/Clearwater has mastered, with its trail of 35+ locally owned craft breweries. Playfully nicknamed the " Gulp Coast ," complete your experience with a digital passport that tracks your beer-sampling progress. These year-round offerings mean you can visit any time, but head over in June 2022 to revel in the 20th anniversary of St. Pete Pride , the largest Pride event in Florida, hosting events for everyone from friends and families to couples and solo travelers. — Jessica Poitevien

47. Todos Santos, Mexico

Todos Santos is one of Mexico's pueblo mágicos, or "magic towns," and locals are working to retain its history and culture while embracing the steady stream of travelers who have begun venturing an hour north of Cabo San Lucas to discover its charm. The area saw a handful of new boutique resorts pop up in 2021 that provide luxury amenities while keeping the rugged land and local flora the centerpiece. Wellness-focused Paradero describes itself as a "landscaping project" that just so happens to have luxurious suites, and El Perdido , an all-villa resort less than five miles south, provides all-terrain vehicles so visitors can get to Los Cerritos beach, the local surf break of choice. Oceanfront Rancho Pescadero 's multimillion-dollar transformation will be complete in the spring. Bookings for its oceanfront villas and penthouse rooms — some with private rooftops and plunge pools — open in January. Todos Santos has fully embraced farm-to-table dining, with Javier Plascencia's orchard-adjacent Jazamango leading the way, and Santa Terra , a cosmopolitan oyster bar meets arts and entertainment venue concept, is in the process of adding multiple bars and restaurants, plus a glamping site and amphitheater, according to its developer, "without chopping down a single tree." — Nina Ruggiero

48. Udaipur, India

After an extremely challenging 20-month closure, India reopened to vaccinated travelers on Nov. 15, 2021. Those looking toward South Asia in the new year, perhaps to see the Taj Mahal in Agra or hit the Goan beaches, should make sure Udaipur is on the itinerary. The city of lakes in southern Rajasthan is thought of as the most romantic Indian destination (even called the "Venice of the East") — but it's not just for honeymooners. From the vibrance of Hathi Pol bazaar and Shilpgram , an artisanal compound on the outskirts of the city with a festival set to return on Jan. 22, to the serenity of Lake Pichola, the artificial lake made in the 14th century, Udaipur is a city where you can fully immerse in Rajasthani culture. A hub of Indian luxury, Udaipur is now home to the country's first Raffles hotel, which opened in October. This private island hotel on Udai Sagar Lake is accessible only by boat — something of a trademark for the over-the-top hotels of Udaipur. Meant to be a flagship hotel in the Raffles portfolio, complete with brand staples (think: bars, both Long and Writers), 101 lavish suites, Rasoi cooking school, and lakeside open-air restaurant Belvedere Point. — Maya Kachroo-Levine

49. Wales, United Kingdom

The only path in the world to follow the whole of a country's coastline, the Wales Coastal Path celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2022. Walking its 870 miles would take three months, but its most spectacular stretches can be seen in one visit — and in style. St David's in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, is Britain's smallest city with a mere population of 1,600 and is home to a Medieval cathedral , a luxury hotel inside Roch Castle , some excellent pubs, and the upscale St David's Gin & Kitchen . Hiking paths with unbeatable coastal vistas are within easy reach (try the St David's Head loop ) and pass neolithic tombs and hillforts. — Jamie Carter

50. Yucatán, Mexico

Mérida, the capital of the state of Yucatán, has emerged as one of Mexico's most popular cities thanks to its lively restaurant scene, a busy calendar of cultural events, and a relaxed tropical atmosphere. Increasingly, however, travelers are venturing beyond the city to explore the state's unspoiled nature reserves, ancient Maya sites, and sprawling haciendas — a number now converted into hotels. Among the destinations that are drawing travelers to Yucatán are El Cuyo, a quiet beach town that was long a closely guarded secret of windsurfers. Now visitors can also enjoy gourmet Mexican fare at the El Chile Gordo restaurant and boho-chic lodgings at the new Casa Mate . In Espita, a charming colonial town near Valladolid, is the Casona los Cedros hotel which opened in summer 2021. Sisal, a historic port in the western part of the state, has attracted new interest since being named a Pueblo Mágico at the end of 2020. A new highway completed in April now connects Sisal to Hunucmá (and then beyond to Mérida) making it easier for beachcombers to visit, and perhaps spend the night at the cool Club de Patos 404 . — John Newton

51. Bonus: Space

This was a monumental year for human spaceflight — not only did NASA and SpaceX achieve a regular cadence of astronaut launches for the first time since the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, but space tourism has also lifted off in a major way, making space a top destination to visit in 2022. And it's a realistic trip, too, so long as you have the budget for it. Both Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic succeeded in taking passengers to space on short suborbital hops this year, and each company plans to ramp up those flights in 2022 — Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 bookings. The price for a quick jaunt to space? A few hundred thousand dollars . If you have an even bigger budget (say, a couple hundred million dollars), you could charter your own orbital flight in a SpaceX Dragon Capsule, as did entrepreneur Jared Issacman with his Inspiration4 mission in September. There are also tourism trips to the International Space Station in the works; Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa launches on his multi-day journey in December, courtesy of space travel agency Space Adventures and Russia's Roscosmos space agency, which plans to take even more " citizen space explorers " to the orbiting laboratory in the near future. Of course, not everyone has pockets deep enough to cover space travel, but more affordable journeys are on the horizon. Startup Space Perspective plans to launch high-altitude balloon rides to the edge of space in 2024 , for the relatively low price of $125,000. Potential dealbreaker, though — the balloons don't actually reach space, maxing out at 100,000 feet in altitude, while space is considered to begin somewhere between 264,000 feet (50 miles) and 327,360 feet ​​(62 miles). But hey, at least there's a bar on board. — Stefanie Waldek

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52 Places for a Changed World

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Susan Wright for The New York Times

Chioggia, Italy

Built on a cluster of islands in the Venetian lagoon, with centuries-old buildings rising from the canals in all their decadent glory, Chioggia is called “piccola Venezia,” or little Venice. Locals beg to disagree: If anything, they say, it’s nearby Venice that should be described as Chioggia’s larger doppelgänger, and it’s true, Chioggia is older. Venice is so worried about being overwhelmed once again after the pandemic that it is planning to resort to surveillance cameras and cellphone data to control the crowds; visiting other culturally rich places like Chioggia can help relieve the pressure. Today, Chioggia is popular with Italian and German visitors, drawn both by the architectural beauties in the historic center and the family-friendly beaches of its mainland suburb, Sottomarina. The city, which has preserved a rough maritime vibe, can serve as an ideal base for bicycle tours . It is also known for its radicchio. During a time of increased awareness of overtourism, this miniature Venice is a delightful alternative for travelers looking for a lesser-known destination.

— Anna Momigliano

Chimanimani National Park

Chimanimani National Park, Mozambique

Even at a time when many of the world’s countries were under extreme duress, the case of Mozambique was severe enough to catch the attention of the United Nations: In March, Secretary General António Guterres called upon the international community to help the African country as it faced the triple threat of climate change, Covid and conflict. It’s not the first time that Mozambique has faced such crisis — its civil war of more than 15 years resulted in a million lives lost and a huge loss for its wildlife, too. But the country showed its resilience. In 2008, the Gorongosa National Park launched a vast program to repopulate a reserve decimated by poaching, accompanied by grass-roots efforts like training local women as game wardens. In May, another spectacular national park was unveiled: Chimanimani, along the border with Zimbabwe. The park has priceless ancient rock paintings; secluded sacred mountains including the country’s highest peak, Mount Binga; and natural habitats for the plants, birds and wildlife like the southern-ground hornbill, miniature squeaker frog and Agama kirkii lizard.

— Ondine Cohane

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Queens, New York

Queens wants you to show up hungry. “There’s probably nowhere else in the world where you can sample the home cooking of more than 150 different countries within such a compact space,” says the restaurant critic Robert Sietsema, who covers the borough’s restaurants for Eater.com. And at a time when long-haul travel is still uncertain, a dim-sum lunch at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in Flushing is as quick and delicious a ticket to China as some nostril-clearing shrimp aguachile at the new Mariscos El Submarino in Jackson Heights is a trip to Mexico. “The Queens restaurant industry was slammed by Covid-19, but now it’s recovering because we’re a borough of family-centered communities where the restaurants take care of their own,” says Jonathan Forgash, a chef and borough resident who founded Queens Together , a nonprofit, in March 2020.

— Alexander Lobrano

Northumberland

Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Northumberland, England

Britain’s diverse coastline, from the cliffs of Dover to the boardwalks of Brighton, will soon have a unifying element: the 2,800-mile England Coast Path . Developed in part by the governmental organization Natural England, the path aims to increase public access to the coast while also restoring landscapes, improving community connection and promoting sustainable travel. Trail segments that have opened include a 44-mile stretch in the northeast, from the River Tyne to the Northumberland coast , which is the epitome of rugged England: misty dunes, rocky headlands, wild beaches. At night, look up. The Northumberland International Dark Sky Park has some of the lowest light pollution in the country and features one of the largest areas of protected night sky in Europe. Gaze at galaxies sprayed across the sky at Kielder Observatory , and then venture to the ancient past as Hadrian’s Wall is celebrating its 1,900th anniversary with a yearlong festival .

— AnneLise Sorensen

Zihuatanejo

Adrian Wilson for The New York Times

Zihuatanejo, Mexico

This laid-back beach town — neighbor of Ixtapa, the resort destination on the Pacific Coast — and communities around it have spawned grass-roots environmental projects that travelers can support. The conservation nonprofit Whales of Guerrero has helped train fishermen as whale-watching guides, and Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli offers opportunities to join turtle nest patrols and release hatchlings. The guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela , Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero, are involved with local vegan initiatives; Mr. Sánchez runs his own plant-based restaurant, La Raíz de la Tierra . Check into Playa Viva , 30 miles south. The solar-powered regenerative resort has helped revive the adjoining village of Juluchuca by providing education and employment in conservation, tourism and agriculture. It recently joined a new regional project to protect the watershed of the Juluchuca River, which begins in the mountainous interior where guests can take A.T.V. excursions to explore the headwaters at an off-grid coffee and cacao plantation.

— Elaine Glusac

Tomas Munita

Iberá Park, Argentina

Twenty years ago, this reserve in Argentina’s northern Corrientes region wasn’t so much a park as it was tiny parcels of wilderness surrounded by cattle ranches. That’s when the Rewilding Argentina foundation and Tompkins Conservation, created by the North Face co-founder Douglas Tompkins and his wife, Kris, the former chief executive of Patagonia, stepped in and began buying land. Today, Iberá Park is one of the largest in Argentina, close to 2 million acres of protected grasslands, lagoons, islands and wetlands — and a sanctuary for huge populations of animals. Now the Rewilding Argentina foundation, funded by tourism and a consortium of philanthropists around the world has saved dozens of species from extinction here, notably jaguars, giant anteaters and giant river otters, and has become a refuge for marsh deer, maned wolves, rheas, grassland birds and the aptly named — and endangered — strange-tailed tyrants. Tourism and infrastructure are strictly managed, and staying in one of the park’s campgrounds directly supports the foundation, continuing the cycle of conservation.

— Danielle Pergament

Alentejo Wine Region

Marcus Westberg for The New York Times

Alentejo Wine Region, Portugal

Alentejo has most of the elements required for wine production: sun, soil, native grape varieties and a centuries-old winemaking legacy. What does it lack? Rain. Global warming has increasingly threatened this arid region known for warm and full-bodied reds, so in 2015, the area created the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program . By prioritizing water conservation, with measures like developing cover crops for water retention and creating ponds to collect rainwater, the program has helped wineries reduce their average water consumption by 20 percent; some that were using 14 liters of water to produce 1 liter of wine have decreased their needs to 6 liters of water. While upcoming projects include an online calculator for members to measure their carbon and water footprints, the program in 2020 created a certification process to further verify that wineries are following green initiatives. These wineries include Herdade de Coelheiros , a verdant estate with a walnut orchard, a cork forest and a herd of sheep — an organic solution for weed control.

The Lucayan Archipelago

The bahamas, turks and caicos.

Caine Delacy

The Lucayan Archipelago, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos

Consider — without fear — the shark. In the last 50 years, global populations have declined by more than 70 percent . Industrial-scale fishing hauls them in by accident. Some cultures have an appetite for them. And yet sharks, one researcher has said , are the “white blood cells” of the seas, cleaning sick, dying and dead animals from the waters. The good news is that efforts are underway to support sharks — even in the turquoise waters off some of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean. In 2011, the Bahamas established the Bahamas Shark Sanctuary , the first of its kind in the Atlantic Ocean. Now it’s calling itself the “ shark diving capital of the world .” During the pandemic, Turks and Caicos — which, along with the Bahamas, forms part of the Lucayan Archipelago, an important shark habitat — began its own shark preservation effort, with help from the Caribbean Shark Coalition . Researchers have been tagging sharks in the waters off the tiny islands, gathering data that will assist Turks and Caicos, which has already prohibited most shark fishing, to establish further protections.

— Nina Burleigh

Maria Mavropoulou for The New York Times

Evia, Greece

The Other Human food pantry was established more than 10 years ago, serving Athens, Thessaloniki and the island of Evia in the wake of Greece’s financial crisis. As the country recovers from last year’s wildfires and floods, The Other Human has expanded to help those who lost their livelihoods, and welcomes travelers to get involved. At weekly food drives held in Evia’s capital, Chalkida, meals are cooked and eaten together to establish a sense of community. Volunteers are invited to help cook, pack hampers with food and essentials, and contribute funds to rebuild schools and aid locals with essential bills. Lost in the fires were homes, businesses, olive groves and one third of Evia’s beloved pine forest, which generations had relied upon for resin and honey. Increasing tourism is vital for the economic recovery of this island a short trip from Athens. In addition to community projects, visitors will find a hilltop acropolis and other archaeological sites in Eretria, mineral-rich thermal springs in Edipsos and showstopper sunsets, with the Aegean Sea as a backdrop.

— Caterina Hrysomallis

Cobscook Shores

Chris Shane

Cobscook Shores, Maine

“Vacationland,” as Maine calls itself, thrives on the allure of its craggy coast and woodlands, and attracted more than 3 million visitors in the first nine months of 2021 to coastal Acadia National Park alone. Navigate 95 miles northeast near Lubec to find a new park that aims to ease overtourism: Cobscook Shores . Comprising 15 blocks of land spread primarily across three Down East peninsulas, Cobscook offers undeveloped beaches, coves and bluffs that can be reached by hiking trails and biking paths, as well as channels to be explored by paddlers. Just five backcountry campsites offer opportunities to stay overnight in the reserve, but there are more sites at nearby Cobscook Bay State Park , and the Inn on the Wharf in Lubec offers accommodations in a renovated sardine factory. The philanthropist Gilbert Butler, a conservationist who has invested in preserving natural areas from the Adirondacks to Patagonia, created the 780-acre Cobscook Shores, amplified by thousands of surrounding acres managed by state and federal entities and private conservation groups.

Christopher Miller

Hoonah, Alaska

Once dependent on fishing and logging, Hoonah , about 20 miles south of Glacier Bay on the Inside Passage, now relies on cruise tourism, not just for its livelihood but also for its cultural continuity. The community, which is half Huna Tlingit, is counting on a robust return to sustainable tourism in 2022, having recently introduced a second ship dock at its cruise port, Icy Strait Point , a half-mile from the original to prevent overcrowding. Additionally, the Native-owned Huna Totem Corporation, which runs tourism operations for the town on behalf of its 760 residents, built a gondola system to shuttle passengers in eight-person aerial cabins, which can handle 5,600 riders an hour, eliminating up to 100 exhaust-emitting buses. Bear- and whale-watching excursions underscore the community’s reverence for nature, and by next April, the gondola system will reach the top of Huna Mountain, with its hiking trails and views of Chichagof Island and the Tongass National Forest. Locals credit visitors’ interest in Native culture with the revival of the Indigenous language and local art.

Cleveland, Ohio

Dinner isn’t usually part of the prisoner re-entry system, but at EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, the mission is larger than braised artichokes and Burgundy snails: The aim is to teach former prisoners a new trade. Founded by Brandon Chrostowski, a classically trained chef, EDWINS includes a fine-dining French restaurant, bakery, butcher and event space, all open to the public. The campus has a test kitchen, apartments and basketball courts, and EDWINS continues to buy and refurbish buildings in the underserved neighborhood (a culinary class is available on closed-circuit tablets in prisons throughout the country). The institute helps former inmates get a place to live rent-free (relocation fees are paid in part by the Cleveland Browns football team), a driver’s license, legal counseling and health care. “It’s not just about a wonderful restaurant, it’s not just about re-entry,” said Councilman Blaine Griffin of Cleveland. “This is social entrepreneurship at its best.”

Clara Tuma for The New York Times

Courmayeur, Italy

This charming town at the foot of Mont Blanc, in a historically French-speaking region of Italy, has long made an effort to strike a balance between tourism and conservation. Decades before overtourism became alarming, Courmayeur began limiting access in the summer to its two high valleys, Val Veny and Val Ferret, with a fixed number of private cars and a separate quota for those with reservations at one of the local inns, known for their polenta concia — creamy polenta with local fontina cheese. Some days, private cars are banned altogether , and in the winter both valleys become ski slopes. The cable car that carries visitors to Mont Blanc, a breathtaking experience, uses energy from renewable sources . But it takes more than a village to stop the global warming threatening Mont Blanc and its many glaciers. One of them, Planpincieux, has been declared in danger of collapse . Authorities are closely monitoring the situation, so visitors should follow warnings to avoid some routes — or the entire area — when risk is deemed too high.

Red River Delta

Justin Mott for The New York Times

Red River Delta, Vietnam

Once travel begins to normalize, tourists will undoubtedly flock to Vietnam’s world-famous beaches and dynamic megacities. But head north to the traditional villages of the Red River Delta, and you can immerse yourself in centuries-old cultural practices and a way of life that is at risk of disappearing. Since ancient times, villagers along the Cau River in northern Vietnam have sung Quan họ, a call-and-response folk music style performed by alternating all-female and all-male duets from neighboring villages that was recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage practice in 2009 . In the decade since, 49 ancient villages in Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces have taken measures to safeguard the cultural heritage of Quan h ọ — which includes countless rituals celebrating culinary traditions — and to address rural-urban migration through cultural tourism. Hanoi-based tour operators like Vietnamstay and Khoa Viet Travel offer travelers a chance to explore the villages’ Buddhist temples, craft communes, Ly Dynasty pagodas and waterways while helping to preserve the past.

— Charly Wilder

South Africa

Joao Silva/The New York Times

South Africa,

After nearly two years of restricted travel and the recent detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant, South Africa’s many outstanding wildlife reserves and conservation projects are badly in need of support. Lockdowns caused a 96 percent drop in visits to South Africa’s national parks, jeopardizing the efforts of places like iSimangaliso Wetland Park , an 800,000-acre UNESCO World Heritage site on the country’s eastern coast. Home to elephants, leopards, lions, rhinos and whales, iSimangaliso also supports more than 12,000 jobs and an environmental education program involving 150 schools. Visitors can keep it classic and track the “Big Five” — elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions and leopards — on safari at some of the country’s approximately 500 private game reserves, like Kariega and Manyeleti . Or they can go a step further and volunteer to monitor biodiversity with the Endangered Wildlife Trust at Medike Nature Reserve in the Soutpansberg Mountains, or help save the dazzling aquatic life and octopus teachers that inhabit the Great African Seaforest , the planet’s only forest of giant bamboo kelp.

Uttarakhand

Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

Uttarakhand, India

In northern India , along the Tibetan border, the Himalayas soar to 25,000 feet and paths wander by misty waterfalls, ancient temples and through rhododendron forests. But those paths can be deadly, especially to local men who drink too much and tumble to their deaths. In 2009, Poonam Rawat-Hahne, a social justice activist with ties to the region, learned of the tragedy of those left behind. Ms. Rawat-Hahne was inspired to start a nonprofit called the Bachan Charitable Trust , which has a sustainable-travel arm called Fernweh Fair Travel that’s based on a simple idea: Train widows and survivors of domestic violence to offer homestays, cook for visitors and be guides. Fernweh brings a maximum of eight groups of no more than 10 people a year to villages like Gopeshwar , Mandal and Chopta, where travelers can do yoga, take cooking lessons and hike among the wild orchids of the nearby Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary . Visitors stay in cabins, village homes and, soon, a new eco-retreat in Koteshwar . Funds support environmental and educational programs in at least nine villages; a group buying just one meal from a widow will support her for months. “This is not mass tourism,” Ms. Rawat-Hahne says. “This is empowerment.”

— Tim Neville

Fogo Island

Newfoundland, canada.

Alex Fradkin

Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada

In 1992, Newfoundland’s moratorium on cod fishing decimated fishing villages along the region’s Atlantic coast, including Fogo Island, a granite outpost of stilt-supported fishing shacks and saltbox cottages. But the arrival of the angular and arresting Fogo Island Inn in 2013 changed the island’s fortunes, as intended by its founder, the Fogo native Zita Cobb. Nine years later, the population has stabilized and more than 70 new businesses have opened, along with a dozen food producers. Now there are lodging alternatives to the inn (where rates start at over 2,500 Canadian dollars, or about $2,000, a night), including vacation homes with names like Aunt Glady’s from The Old Salt Box Co. , and cottages from Escape by the Sea . In summer, after summiting bald Brimstone Head, one of the island’s highest points, or watching birds or icebergs, fuel up at Scoff , run by former cooks at the inn, or Bangbelly Café . The strong arts-and-crafts scene, including galleries such as Fogo Clay Studio , attests to the power of tourism to sustain a community.

The Great Highway

San francisco.

Beth Coller for The New York Times

The Great Highway, San Francisco

Most pandemic-related shutdowns were disruptive reactions to a disease-dominated world, but many people across the U.S. welcomed one exception: prohibiting car traffic on city streets. In San Francisco, the street shutdowns included a two-mile stretch on the city’s far western edge known as the Great Highway. The throughway became a destination, a beach-front promenade flanking the raw expanse of Ocean Beach, and a community center — friends met up for walks, local children learned to ride bikes, and everything “popped up,” from street art to protests and trick-or-treating . But opponents took issue, with claims of increased traffic, limited access for older people and the disabled, and general inconvenience. In an uneasy compromise, city officials reopened the highway to traffic Monday to Friday. Still, on weekends, the Great Highway has become a unique destination — in a city full of them — to take in San Francisco’s wild Pacific Ocean coastline by foot, bike, skates or scooter, sample food trucks and explore local cafes , restaurants , record stores , bookstores and more. It’s also a telling microcosm of the ways in which our cities, and our values, shifted during the pandemic.

— Lauren Sloss

Shutterstock

Kyoto, Japan

Tucked between pachinko parlors and convenience stores, Kyoto’s machiya — traditional wooden townhouses, long and narrow, and often hiding courtyard gardens just beyond their latticed fronts — have been vanishing since World War II. The city has worked hard to preserve the structures: A machiya development fund was created in 2005, and the buildings were twice put on a watch list by the World Monuments Fund . To encourage their conservation, the buildings are also taxed at a lower rate than modern high-rises. But those efforts may now fall short. Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Kyoto is in cost-cutting — and revenue-raising — overdrive. After tourism dropped by 88 percent in 2020, some traditional neighborhoods may be threatened by commercial development. Tourism can help. Some investors have converted machiya into guesthouses, boutiques and high-end restaurants. When visitors, and their dollars, come to these properties, they send a message: The history of machiya matters to Kyoto.

— Debra Kamin

El Yunque National Forest

Puerto rico.

El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rainforest within the U.S. Forest Service’s holdings. The forest, whose name is a Spanish derivation of an Indigenous Taino word, offers one of the most diverse ecosystems in the network, with wildlife including the famed Coqui frog, the island’s unofficial symbol. Hit by the back-to-back hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, El Yunque is still recovering from the impact, and funding for everything from infrastructure to conservation has been slow to arrive. But local organizations like the nonprofit Love in Motion haven’t been waiting. Its initiatives include rebuilding the Picachos and Angelito trails (you can also swim in the natural pool along the latter); the sister organization Local Guest arranges low-impact itineraries like bird watching and hiking while community building. Stay in a locally owned property like Dos Aguas , which has been in the same family since the 1950s (currently available only as a full house rental because of Covid) or the Rainforest Inn , with a botanical garden and solar-powered electricity.

Sierra Leone

Renato Granieri

Sierra Leone,

In the 1980s, the sandy, palm-fringed beaches of this West African country used to attract high-flying tourists from Europe and beyond. But visitors disappeared when civil war broke out in the 1990s, and today — after nearly 20 years of peace and nearly six years after an Ebola outbreak ended — most have yet to return. But this small nation has an enormous amount to offer adventurous visitors, and authorities hope that tourism will be a more sustainable resource than diamonds or gold. Visitors who make the trip can spend the night in a jungly eco-lodge at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary (your stay supports the sanctuary’s work); enjoy a cold beer and fresh lobster on the beaches of the Western Peninsula; learn about a painful chapter in history on a tour of the ruined slave fort on Bunce Island ; and make the three- or four-day expedition to the top of 6,381-foot Mount Bintumani , the country’s highest peak.

— Paige McClanahan

Andreas Meichsner for The New York Times

Slovenia wants to cook for you, because the June 2020 launch of the first Michelin guide devoted to its restaurants was a source of national pride. It validated the way this central European country of just over 2 million people has been putting environmentally responsible travel and its good food and wines at the heart of its identity as a desirable destination for travelers since it became independent 30 years ago. “From the very beginning, we knew our food was special and would become a major reason to visit our country,” says Ana Ros, the chef at Hiso Franko , Slovenia’s most famous restaurant and the only one with two Michelin stars. Slovenian cooking is a delicious reflection of the country’s location at a culinary crossroads between Mediterranean, Germanic and Slavic countries, but the real reason its food is so good is that it’s made with produce from the country’s small farms. Some of them, like Govc , are part of a farm-stay network the Slovenian government launched in 1992.

Emilio Parra Doiztua for The New York Times

El Hierro, Spain

A few hundred miles off the coast of Morocco, flung out in the middle of the Atlantic, is El Hierro, the most remote — and, some say, the most charming — of the Canary Islands. It’s also a pint-size leader in renewable energy. In 2014, El Hierro opened Gorona del Viento, a power plant that uses a system of reservoirs and wind to supply the island’s electricity (wind provides power while pumping water into reservoirs; hydraulic turbines take over when the wind dies down; diesel supplies a fallback when both those sources are lacking). Recently, Gorona del Viento was able to supply the island’s 11,000 inhabitants with 100 percent renewable energy for 25 consecutive days. As the infrastructure of El Hierro plants one foot in the future, the island’s cultural identity keeps the other rooted in the past. El Hierro’s historic language, Silbo Herreño, is one of the last whistling languages in the world. When the island’s elders noticed that the Herreño whistle was dying out, the cultural association on El Hierro began offering free classes after school, at weekend markets and to the island’s shepherds (who traditionally communicate by whistling).

Summerland Peninsula

Asanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times

Summerland Peninsula, Australia

Every evening on Phillip Island, a throng of tiny penguins emerges from the surf, waddling up toward nests that dot Summerland Beach. The penguin parade, as it’s known, is a sight that has garnered attention since the 1920s, when visitors began flocking to this island in southeastern Australia for a chance to see the world’s smallest penguin breed (adults average just 13 inches tall) up close as they head home after a day of fishing. For a time, the crowds that gathered for the nightly ritual caused problems for the penguin colony, as did the cars, pets and construction that accompanied a nearby neighborhood, Summerland Estates. Today, however, this piece of land is a remarkable ecological success story. In 1985, the state government implemented a plan to buy every piece of property on the peninsula and return the land to its natural state — and to its original inhabitants, the tiny penguins. The process was completed in 2010, and the penguin population now sits at around 35,000 breeding-aged birds, up from 12,000 in the 1980s. In 2019, a new $58 million visitor center opened to the public; it includes educational elements and a restaurant where you can sit and watch what is now the largest colony of the world’s smallest penguin.

— Besha Rodell

Dana Biosphere Reserve

Daniel Rodrigues

Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan

Perched on a cliff overlooking the central valley of Jordan’s largest nature reserve stand the quaint Ottoman-era stone houses of Dana Village. Once abandoned by the Ata-ta tribe, the settlement is being brought back to life through an ecotourism project that aims to preserve the area’s biodiversity by empowering local communities. Many of the 15th-century houses have been converted into eco-lodges with terraced gardens and orchards, creating an oasis above the desert plains below. Along the village’s cobbled streets, local women sell handcrafted jewelry and homemade jams produced from fruits grown in their orchards. Dana Village marks the start of the nine-mile Wadi Dana hiking trail that spans the reserve and its flora and fauna. The reserve is home to 833 plant species and several endangered bird species, as well as archaeological ruins from the Byzantine, Nabatean and Roman periods, including the ancient copper mines in Wadi Faynan.

— Ceylan Yeginsu

The Netherlands

Gouda, The Netherlands

In 2019, the Dutch tourism board made the surprising announcement it would stop promoting travel to the Netherlands. Because of overtourism, it would also shift to encouraging visitors to consider the country beyond Amsterdam and to travel more sustainably. A charming example of a Dutch destination that ticks these boxes is Gouda, a small historic city in the south. Internationally renowned for its namesake cheese, which has been produced there since 1184 and is one of the world’s 10 most popular cheeses, Gouda is an ideal base for a car-free visit to the Netherlands. An extensive system of well-marked bicycle routes (with charging stations for e-bikes) makes it easy to explore the city and surrounding region. The new 25-room Weeshuis Gouda hotel occupies a beautifully renovated 16th-century orphanage. Visit the new Gouda Cheese Experience , which opened in June 2020 in a butter-yellow former 19th-century military barracks, for a tasting of artisanal aged cheeses.

Thy, Denmark

If Denmark has a final frontier, it’s Thy. Silent dunes, tangled forests and near-mythic gales make this region in northwest Jutland about as far away from Copenhagen as you can get. Thy is an epicenter for wind energy — around 50 percent of Denmark’s electricity in 2020 was powered by wind and solar — and those interested in learning more about wind turbines and renewable initiatives can visit the Østerild test facility’s visitor center . The wind also shaped Thy’s coastline, where the wryly named Cold Hawaii surf community rides the curving shore’s distinctive swells. Not to be missed is the sprawling Thy National Park , rippling with dunes, meadows, marshes and lakes, big and small, and its new visitor center in Nørre Vorupør, uniquely designed to gently fold into the sandy landscape. The Thy wilderness is also folded into food and drink: Enjoy beer spiced with bog myrtle from Thisted Bryghus , fresh catch from the fish auction at Medvind and the “National Park platter” at Stenbjerg Kro .

The Red Sea Mountain Trail

Sima Diab for The New York Times

The Red Sea Mountain Trail, Egypt

For centuries, pastoral nomads in Egypt’s Eastern Desert traversed this arid region by a network of pathways over granite ranges, across barren valleys and through colorful canyons. Now the Ma’aza tribe has revived the ancient footpaths to create the long-distance Red Sea Mountain Trail . The 100-mile trail opened a few months before the pandemic shut the world down, and now its founders are hoping to organize the first through hike later this year. Meanwhile, the Ma’aza tribe offers day hikes through separate sections of this astonishing wilderness, hemmed between the Nile River and the Red Sea. All hikes are led by Bedouins. On the trek to Jebel Abul Hassan, hikers find themselves in a magical narrowing gorge flanked by pink and black granite walls. The hike up the sheer slopes of Wadi El Gattar reveals stone hermit cells built by early Christians fleeing the Romans, and primitive rock art from long before then. It’s the ultimate sustainable tourism project: the water drawn from wells, the flat bread baked in campfires, and the Bedouin legends, traditions and knowledge of the terrain preserved for future generations.

— Patrick Scott

Little Calumet River

Rudy Schultz/Openlands

Little Calumet River, Chicago

In the Calumet region of Southeast Chicago, interest in the area’s nearly two centuries of African American heritage is flourishing alongside a new marine trail. Established by the urban conservation organization Openlands and community partners, the seven-mile African American Heritage Water Trail aims to tell the story of the Little Calumet River and those connected to it throughout history, like freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad who found shelter at Ton Farm, owned by Dutch immigrants. Paddle by canoe or kayak to the trail’s other key sites, including Chicago’s Finest Marina, one of the oldest Black-owned marinas in the area, and the Major Taylor Trail Bridge, named after the African American cyclist legend. And history isn’t the only draw for visitors: Thanks to initiatives by Audubon Great Lakes and other conservation groups, more marsh bird species are returning to this restored wetland area.

The Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides, Scotland

These islands along Scotland’s west coast are known for their wild, secluded beauty: fields of wildflowers, solitary beaches, ever-swirling seas. They’re also known for producing some of the world’s best single-malt whisky. Now, several new energy initiatives are helping to make the region — and its distilleries, which are largely reliant on fossil fuels — more eco-friendly. This year, the Bruichladdich Distillery, founded in 1881, is starting a pilot project on the island of Islay to begin using hydrogen fuel, in addition to fuel oil, to power its stills. According to the company, the zero-emission boiler, which will generate some of the steam required for distillation, will be the first of its kind in Britain. Plans are also underway to build new underwater wind turbines in the waters around Islay and Jura, a neighboring island, beginning in 2023. Those, too, could one day contribute to powering the islands and their distilleries, bringing an age-old industry — and the many tourists it draws — into a more sustainable future.

— Jenny Gross

Gil Giuglio

Normandy, France

Claude Monet’s paintings of Normandy’s moody Atlantic coast could now have another element: a bicycle path, winding in the distance. New bike routes in the region include the 932-mile Vélomaritime , which starts south in Brittany, travels along the shore of the English Channel and ends at the Belgian border. Along the way, Mont-Saint-Michel rises out of the water and World War II’s D-Day landing beaches beckon. The Vélomaritime is one of the newer trails making up the EuroVelo , a bike network that aims to unite the European continent. The new 260-mile La Seine à Vélo , with a focus on promoting environmentally friendly bicycle tourism and connecting with local communities, embarks from Notre-Dame in Paris and follows the Seine to the Normandy coast, through sun-dappled countryside. La Seine à Vélo’s final stretch swoops through the area of Pays d’Auge, the cradle of Camembert, Calvados and cider.

Benjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times

Estes Park, Colorado

Climate change has diminished snow and made for spottier ski seasons in many destinations. Skiers aiming to shrink their carbon footprint can turn to a ski town with no ski lifts: Estes Park , the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park , about 65 miles north of Denver. The town’s original ski area, Hidden Valley , opened in 1955 in the park but closed in 1991 because it couldn’t compete with larger areas’ snow-making capabilities. Now, with runs still cut into the mountain, it attracts backcountry skiers who champion its powder with a “no pain, no altitude gain” attitude. Those new to backcountry skiing can learn how to uphill and descend safely with a course from the local Kent Mountain Adventure Center . Rewilding Expeditions offers more unmechanized recreation, including camping and snowshoe tours, and private tours led by Yellow Wood Guiding focus on wildlife and photography. Toast your adventures aprés-ski with an Altruism amber from Estes’ Rock Cut Brewing Company , which donates $1 of every Altruism beer sold to local organizations and nonprofits.

Kunta Kinteh Island

Shutterstock/Damian Pankowiec

Kunta Kinteh Island, Gambia

Kunta Kinteh Island, a speck of land near the mouth of the Gambia River, was a key site in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Formerly called James Island and used for hundreds of years as a staging ground for the transport of enslaved people, the island, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site , was renamed in recent years after a character in Alex Haley’s best-selling book “Roots.” Now, because of heavy erosion and rising seas, the island is at risk of being lost altogether. Its ruins — including the cramped quarters where men and women were confined before being sent across the Atlantic — have been partly protected, but only a fraction of the island’s land mass remains, the rest having been reclaimed by the surrounding water. Local tour guides can be hired to explain the island’s history , and a small cruise company runs annual river trips into Gambia , giving guests the opportunity to donate to a school and film festival the company founded deeper inland.

Naples, Italy

See Naples and die, they say, meaning that this Mediterranean beauty should be on everyone’s bucket list. But sadly, Naples faces a precarious future. Without intervention, this densely populated city is expected to experience 55 days of extreme heat per year by 2049 and 93 days by 2081, according to a recent report . The good news is that some locals are rolling up their sleeves. A group of residents in the working-class neighborhood of San Giovanni a Teduccio has set up a “ fair energy” community to provide free, clean electricity to families living below the poverty line, with a system of 166 solar panels. Local authorities encourage tourists to visit the city by foot , taking tours across Naples’s fabled stairways . The Pedamentina , a scenic route tracing it roots to the 14th century and consisting of paved descents and more than 400 steps, cannot be missed.

Höga Kusten

Tommie Svanström Ohlson & ARKNAT

Höga Kusten, Sweden

Swedes have long sought solitude in the untamed northern region known as Höga Kusten, or the High Coast, for its dramatic cliffs and pristine archipelago. With more than 100 nature preserves, a national park and hundreds of miles of trails, this wilderness refuge is a draw for hikers, cross-country skiers and mountaineers seeking less-trodden paths, stunning vistas and uncrowded campsites. A dedication to sustainable tourism, including a pledge to make the area carbon-neutral by 2030, promises to protect the future of the coast, its beautiful lakes and its old-growth forests. Last summer, new electric buses began ferrying hikers from nearby towns to the park’s entrance. To inspire hikers to appreciate the surrounding nature, the ArkNat architecture project has built several sculptural huts along the trails.

— Ingrid K. Williams

Gabriela Herman

Humboldt, Kansas

In 2016, a group of Kansas locals who had left decades ago began asking themselves, “What would it take to move back home?” The answer lay in tiny Humboldt, two hours southwest of Kansas City with a population of fewer than 2,000 people. With the support of the local community, the group established an organization, A Bolder Humboldt, to revitalize rural living, with the town becoming an unexpected and affordable oasis of cool surrounded by fields of wheat and soybeans. A Bolder Humboldt has already opened shops, community gardens and co-working spaces, with a boutique hotel, a honky-tonk bar and a bookstore all in the works. Outdoor movies are screened on the town square, and the whole town participates in an annual water fight. Base Camp is a collection of lakeside rental cabins at the edge of town, and cyclists can ride a 60-mile trail to nearby Lawrence and the University of Kansas. Humboldt is betting these elevated experiences will draw both locals and tourists to the glories of the Great Plains.

— Gabriela Herman

Kieran Dodds for The New York Times

With its average temperatures rising faster than anywhere else on the planet , Greenland is establishing a holistic, sustainable approach to tourism that aims to be in harmony with its people, natural wilderness and 4,500-year-old Inuit culture. The world’s largest island, a Danish territory, is now directing various grants to locals, including the Inuit dog-sled tour company Greenland Dog Adventure , and offering free training and tourism degrees at Campus Kujalleq in Southern Greenland. Also in Southern Greenland: Greenland Trees . For more than a decade, this nonprofit — in a region sheltered from the island’s traditional stormy weather — has planted thousands of trees to offset carbon emissions , and future plans include building a greenhouse to cultivate seedlings and restoring land at a former military base. Volunteers are welcomed to help plant trees and enjoy Greenland off the beaten path. Here visitors can see Norse ruins — the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site , for Norse and Indigenous culture — and experience the aurora borealis, with few others blocking the view.

— Daniel Scheffler

Mallory Solomon

Marrakesh, Morocco

While women in Morocco have been granted some additional rights in the past two decades, the country recently ranked 144th (out of 156 countries) in a World Economic Forum study of gender parity. Fortunately, entrepreneurs are creating foundations, cooperatives, shops and restaurants to employ, educate and empower Moroccan women. Since many are in Marrakesh, a trip to this “Jewel of the South” offers an opportunity for visitors to help. The Al Kawtar boutique, stocked with clothing, bags and other textiles sewn by disabled women, also operates a home where the women live and receive care. For carpets, consider visiting the atelier of Salam Hello , which is devoted to paying weavers — mostly rural women — a fair wage and using profits to assist them. Come lunch or dinner, a traditional Moroccan meal — tagine, couscous, fruit salad — at an Amal restaurant provides direct assistance to disadvantaged women and helps finance a nonprofit association that trains women in culinary skills. Finally, when it’s time to sleep, consider Peacock Pavilions . The luxury resort, located in an olive grove outside of Marrakesh, is owned by the creators of Project Soar , which provides education and leadership training to teen girls.

— Seth Sherwood

New Zealand

Northland NZ

Northland, New Zealand

According to Māori legend, the North Island of New Zealand was an enormous fish, caught by the demigod Māui , and now the forested region of Northland is known as “the tail of the fish.” Endless cultural lessons await travelers here. At the newly redeveloped Ngawha Springs , where the people of Ngapuhi came to replenish their wairua, or spirit, visitors can soak in dozens of mineral-rich geothermal pools to alleviate pain and repair common ailments. Also reopening is the cultural and educational center Te Ahurea, which includes an interactive pā or settlement site highlighting the history and traditions of the Hongi, Rewa and Tāreha Māori Indigeneous peoples. For day tours, the Māori-owned and -operated Tu Tika Tours organizes private adventures that reveal local customs through storytelling, welcome ceremonies, singing, weaving and cuisine. And to rest your head, the secluded eco-retreat Tahi offers luxury while boasting of giving 100 percent of its profits back to local conservation, culture and community.

Vancouver Island

British columbia, canada.

Serena Renner

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Long a destination for adventurers eager to surf Tofino or watch for orcas or humpback whales , Vancouver Island has recently been the center of a controversy around one of British Columbia’s few remaining patches of old-growth rainforest. These complex ecosystems, which remove and store significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, are in increasingly short supply — an argument demonstrators are using against loggers as they try to protect Douglas firs and yellow cedars in the island’s Fairy Creek forest on Pacheedaht First Nation territory. While the fight rages on and Fairy Creek remains inaccessible, the wonderland of Cascadian rainforest can be explored at MacMillan Provincial Park , Pacific Rim National Park Reserve or the UNESCO-protected Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve . Experiencing old-growth forests while we still can is an affecting way to better understand what’s at stake, and what we stand to lose.

Elijio Panti National Park

Robert Rausch for The New York Times

Elijio Panti National Park, Belize

Since gaining its independence in 1981, Belize has long prioritized the conservation of its lands and waters. At a park near the country’s western border with Guatemala, those conservation efforts extend to cultural and floral realms, too. Elijio Panti National Park, a lush, 13,006-acre oasis, is one of only a handful of parks in Belize that’s comanaged by a Maya community. The park takes its name from Don Elijio Panti, a renowned Maya healer who worked from a small hut a couple of miles from the park’s entrance. A series of medicine trails display the names and uses of the nearly 100 native plants — like balsam and gumbo-limbo — that Mr. Panti foraged here. “The day we forget how to use our medicinal plants is the day we go extinct,” said Maria Garcia, Mr. Panti’s niece, who inherited her uncle’s interest in herbal medicine and serves as one of the park’s stewards. Nearby hotels have begun highlighting the park as an attraction; at GAIA Riverlodge , guests can sign up for a five-hour guided tour led by a local shaman.

— Alex Schechter

Sarasota, Florida

Architecture Sarasota is a new organization founded to protect and promote the most spectacular concentration of modernist buildings east of the Mississippi. In a booming city on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where there’s a constant tug of war between developers and preservationists, raising the profile of these modernist buildings is intended to give them greater value in the eyes of locals and attract design tourists, says Anne-Marie Russell, the organization’s executive director. The buildings were the work of architects in what was known as the Sarasota School of Architecture, which emerged during the 1940s and ran through the mid-1960s. Among the best-known architects were Paul Rudolph and his partner Ralph Twitchell, Philip Hiss, Gene Leedy, Carl Abbott, Victor Lundy and Jack West. “Our hope is the Sarasota School’s innovative sensitivity to climate and environmental concerns will spur innovative and sustainable design here today,” Ms. Russell said. Architecture Sarasota organizes guided visits to and private stays at some of the best modernist houses and runs an annual MOD Weekend of tours, exhibits and similar events.

Vanuatu Tourism Office/David Kirkland

Visitors to Vanuatu’s alluring swimming holes insist that each one is a slightly different shade of blue — some are an intense turquoise, others are sapphire. After diving into these natural freshwater pools, surrounded by lush foliage, travelers will find remarkable water clarity, even 60 feet down. The pools have been off-limits to visitors from abroad since March 2020 , when this collection of around 80 islands, scattered across an 800-mile arc of the South Pacific, shut its borders to protect itself from the coronavirus. The plan is to reopen when more residents are vaccinated.The archipelago, which some liken to Bali or Fiji 40 years ago, because it has yet to reckon with overdevelopment, is also confronting a crisis beyond the pandemic. Along with consistently ranking among the happiest nations out there, Vanuatu is the most disaster-prone country in the world , and climate change is contributing to those disasters, which include cyclones and sea level rise . This tiny country of around 300,000 people is now leading the fight to get the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on countries’ obligations to each other to take action to slow climate change. Addressing this currently unresolved area of international law could influence policies not only in Vanuatu, but everywhere we travel.

— Heather Murphy

Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County, California

In 2020, wildfires across California threatened some of the world’s oldest forests, including at Big Basin Redwoods and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Thankfully, most of the parks’ mighty redwoods survived the flames, and now hope — in the form of expanded green initiatives — is dawning across Santa Cruz County. While Henry Cowell is open, as is a small section of Big Basin, with more ambitious rebuilding planned, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is developing new hiking trails, including in the 8,500-acre San Vicente Redwoods. On the North Coast, the Cotoni-Coast Dairies , a recent addition to the California Coastal National Monument , is slated to open within the next year, with nearly 6,000 acres of coastal terraces, redwood forests and sweeping views of the Pacific. The area’s designation as a national monument will help protect its rich ecology and cultural history, including ancestral sites of the Indigenous Cotoni people.

Serra da Capivara National Park

Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil

Sure, it’s the dramatic mesas and canyons of northeastern Brazil’s caatinga, or cactusy shrub lands, that first catch the eye. But what distinguishes this national park from countless other breathtaking Brazilian landscapes are the archaeological and artistic remains of ancient humans who many researchers believe arrived more than 20,000 years ago. The now 88-year-old French-Brazilian archaeologist Niède Guidon first documented the exuberant red ocher cave drawings depicting hunters, prey, revelers and play in the 1960s. Her team unearthed archaeological finds that called into question previous theories on how humans reached the Americas; the area became a national park in 1979, added the Museum of American Man in 1986 and became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991. The Museum of Nature, opened in 2018, brought a record 30,000 visitors to the park the next year. The pandemic slowed momentum but not progress: New archaeological sites were prepared for visitation, new visitor bathrooms were installed, and most notably, an impressive 200-foot enclosed ladder up a steep cliff face opened in October, allowing safer and far faster visitor access to a popular panoramic viewpoint.

— Seth Kugel

Saguaro National Park

John Burcham for The New York Times

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Saguaro National Park, whose two parcels sit on either side of Tucson, is home to almost 2 million of the tall, multi-limbed cactuses for which it is named. For decades it has delighted visitors with hiking trails, archaeological sites and epic vistas. But climate change is now threatening the very cactuses that have made the park an iconic destination. Rising temperatures, along with more frequent — and hotter — wildfires, are curbing the growth of new saguaro. A National Park Service report found that out of 10,000 cactuses, only 70 were less than 11 to 15 years old, a disturbing trend that puts the future of the cactus population in the park at risk. To help mitigate the effects of wildfires, the park launched an eradication program targeting buffelgrass , an invasive species that is drought-resistant and provides an outsize amount of wildfire fuel. The park has also organized monthly buffelgrass pulls, where teams of volunteers spend four hours digging up and disposing of the invasive species. Put on hold during the pandemic, the group pulls are slated to begin again early this year . Officials are also planning to begin a program where visitors can “adopt” specific areas of the park and pick buffelgrass on their own time.

— Daniel Tepper

Islas Cíes, Spain

Even before the pandemic, the Islas Cíes off Spain’s Galician coast had long limited the number of daily visitors — 1,800, in high season — to protect its environment and guard against overtourism. This verdant archipelago, part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park , is a vision of protected biodiversity: flourishing nature preserves, teeming marine life and robust colonies of seabirds. The strict conservation efforts include restrictions against cars, hotels and noise, and ensure that only in designated areas can visitors explore long, curving beaches, snorkel through clear waters and hike trails that wind toward picturesque lighthouses. The delight continues at night: Ink-black starry skies have earned a Starlight designation for limited light pollution. Island ferries depart from Galicia’s Rías Baixas region, with highlights that include misty albariño vineyards, Pontevedra’s old town, and Vigo and its Calle de las Ostras, where you can slurp up fresh oysters at outdoor wooden tables.

Joann Pai for The New York Times

Monaco’s gilded reputation shimmers worldwide, but these days the principality’s glow is unequivocally green. The sovereign city-state on the French Riviera has an ambitious plan to cut its carbon emissions by 55 percent before 2030 and turn carbon-neutral by 2050. Its sustainability efforts are driven by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a global charity prioritizing environmental action that was established in 2006. Sixteen years later, evidence of the principality’s initiatives is visible (and enjoyable) in the 0.76-square-mile enclave. It has a robust network of electric cars, bikes and hybrid buses, and a solar-powered water taxi that transports people with ease. Strollable public parks and gardens make up 20 percent of Monaco (where escalators help with the climbs), while snorkeling is the activity du jour off Larvotto Beach , where sea life thrives amid 3-D printed reefs, submerged roughly 60 feet below the water’s surface to restore habitats damaged by human activity. The locally based company Terrae takes urban gardening and farming to new heights, populating rooftops and balconies, and supplying residents and restaurants, including Michelin-starred Blue Bay . Meanwhile, the Distillery of Monaco produces bitter orange liqueur and gin, flavored with citrus from trees in Monaco and nearby villages.

— Kimberley Lovato

Bronzeville

Kevin Miyazaki for The New York Times

Bronzeville, Milwaukee

At times overshadowed by its namesake neighborhood in Chicago, Milwaukee’s Bronzeville district is again distinguishing itself as a center of African American culture. From 1910 to the 1950s, the area buzzed with Black-owned businesses, but it was decimated by “urban renewal” projects that razed thriving Black neighborhoods across America. Today’s Bronzeville is supported by about $400 million of redevelopment funds from organizations like the Historic King Drive BID , P3 Development Group and Maures Development Group (all led by people of color). Symbolic of this reinvigoration is the reopening this year of America’s Black Holocaust Museum . Founded in 1988 by Dr. James Cameron, the only known survivor of a lynching, the museum attracted visitors from around the world before closing in 2008 when it lost funding during the recession. On Feb. 25, the museum will reopen in a 10,000-square-foot space that takes visitors on a journey through more than 4,500 years of African and African American history. Nearby, businesses like Gee’s Clippers (a barbershop housed in a 1930s bank) and the Bronzeville Collective (a retail space featuring local Black brands) elevate African American artistry, while the newly opened Maranta Plant Shop , Sam’s Place Jazz Cafe and soon-to-open Niche Book Bar prove that Bronzeville is back.

— Shayla Martin

Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve

Corey Myers/NWTT

Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve, Canada

Designated in 2019 and located in the Northwest Territories, Canada’s newest national park, Thaidene Nëné, means “Land of the Ancestors” in the Denesuline language. The park is a mix of boreal forest and tundra along the eastern shoreline of Great Slave Lake. It also sets a new precedent in including Indigenous peoples in park management and oversight. The first Canadian national parks, created in the 19th century, excluded Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. Although this policy changed, overall control remained in the hands of Parks Canada. At Thaidene Nëné, Indigenous communities, including the nearby Dene settlement of Lutsel K’e, have helped create and manage the park from the beginning. Economic opportunities derived from the park, like guiding and cultural heritage tours, flow back to these communities. Ni Hat’ni Dene is a network of Lutsel K’e residents employed to protect, monitor and provide interpretive tours of the park. Visitors can hike along the trails of Dene ancestors, paddle through the many coves and waterfalls of the eastern arm of Great Slave Lake, fish for lake trout and Arctic grayling during the summer’s nearly 24-hour light, and camp at the transition point between the subarctic and Arctic environments.

— Peter Kujawinski

Cerro Castillo National Park

Cerro Castillo National Park, Chile

Located along the Route of Parks of Patagonia, a network of 17 national reserves that make up about a third of Chile, Cerro Castillo was designated as a national park in 2018 and is at the center of an effort to protect the country’s national animal, the huemul or South Andean deer, from extinction. The huemul population has dwindled to 1,500, about 1 percent of its historic size. Rewilding Chile , a conservation organization started by the co-founder of the North Face, Douglas Tompkins, working with the Chilean government, is leading an initiative to save them. The National Huemul Corridor would give the huemules more room to roam between the parks, and Rewilding Chile is gathering funds to build a huemul rehabilitation center in Cerro Castillo to treat animals infected with Linfoadenitis caseosa, a disease transmitted by cattle. Visitors to Cerro Castillo may spot the animals while enjoying a short walk on one of the trails through the Lenga and Ñirre forests, or can opt for a circuit through the park that takes four to five days. The park’s crown jewel is a mountain peak that resembles a castle, from which it takes its name.

— Concepción de León

Daintree Rainforest

Daintree Rainforest, Australia

The 180-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest in northern Queensland is one of the world’s most complex ecosystems. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site , the area is home to sparkling rivers, copious wildlife and lush tropical flora, all of which tumble down to white sand beaches that abut the Great Barrier Reef. The region has always been popular with tourists. But in 2021 it became an even more compelling destination, after nearly 400,000 acres of land, including Daintree, were handed back to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji , an Aboriginal people who are believed to have lived in the area for more than 50,000 years. The hope is that the transfer of ownership will encourage visitors to learn more about the culture and ecological stewardship of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji, as well as provide career opportunities for members of the tribe. It is an example of the increasingly vital role Indigenous Australians are taking in the country’s tourism industry.

Design and Production

Elisabeth Goodridge, Alice Fang, Stephen Hiltner, Matt Ruby and Amy Virshup. Additional production by Michael Beswetherick.

Additional Editing

Suzanne MacNeille and Lynda Richardson

Baden Copeland

Photo Editing

Phaedra Brown

Related Coverage

The World Has Changed, So Has ‘52 Places’

52 Places to Love in 2021

Corrections

Jan 10, 2022: An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of a restaurant critic in New York City. His name is Robert Sietsema, not Robert Sietsma. The article also misstated the status of a huemul rehabilitation center planned for Cerro Castillo National Park in Chile. The project is still in the process of getting funded, it is not in the construction stage yet.

Jan 11, 2022: An earlier version of this article misstated the status of Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Forest. It is the only tropical rainforest within the U.S. Forest Service's holdings, not the only rainforest. It also misstated the reopening date of a museum in Milwaukee. America’s Black Holocaust Museum is scheduled to reopen this year, not 2023.

Jan 12, 2022: An earlier version of this article omitted an organization that purchased land to protect wildlife in Argentina. It was Tompkins Conservation, as well as Rewilding Argentina.

• 1. Chioggia, Italy
• 2. Chimanimani National Park, Mozambique
• 3. Queens, New York
• 4. Northumberland, England
• 5. Zihuatanejo, Mexico
• 6. Iberá Park, Argentina
• 7. Alentejo Wine Region, Portugal
• 8. The Lucayan Archipelago, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos
• 9. Evia, Greece
• 10. Cobscook Shores, Maine
• 11. Hoonah, Alaska
• 12. Cleveland, Ohio
• 13. Courmayeur, Italy
• 14. Red River Delta, Vietnam
• 15. South Africa
• 16. Uttarakhand, India
• 17. Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada
• 18. The Great Highway, San Francisco
• 19. Kyoto, Japan
• 20. El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
• 21. Sierra Leone
• 22. Slovenia
• 23. El Hierro, Spain
• 24. Summerland Peninsula, Australia
• 25. Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan
• 26. Gouda, The Netherlands
• 27. Thy, Denmark
• 28. The Red Sea Mountain Trail, Egypt
• 29. Little Calumet River, Chicago
• 30. The Inner Hebrides, Scotland
• 31. Normandy, France
• 32. Estes Park, Colorado
• 33. Kunta Kinteh Island, Gambia
• 34. Naples, Italy
• 35. Höga Kusten, Sweden
• 36. Humboldt, Kansas
• 37. Greenland
• 38. Marrakesh, Morocco
• 39. Northland, New Zealand
• 40. Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
• 41. Elijio Panti National Park, Belize
• 42. Sarasota, Florida
• 43. Vanuatu
• 44. Santa Cruz County, California
• 45. Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil
• 46. Saguaro National Park, Arizona
• 47. Islas Cíes, Spain
• 49. Bronzeville, Milwaukee
• 50. Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve, Canada
• 51. Cerro Castillo National Park, Chile
• 52. Daintree Rainforest, Australia

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• BEST OF THE WORLD

25 amazing journeys for 2022

We’re ready to explore again. Here are the best adventures for the year ahead.

Ready to travel again? Our global editors picked the planet’s 25 most exciting destinations for 2022. Five categories—Nature, Adventure, Sustainability, Culture and History, and Family—frame unforgettable journeys of discovery. This year’s list celebrates a number of World Heritage sites in honor of UNESCO’s 50 years of helping to safeguard cultural and natural treasures. Although the pandemic changed when, where, and how we travel, we are eager to unleash our wanderlust—and see what wonders we’ll uncover.      

BEST PLACES TO ENJOY NATURE

Lake Baikal, Russia

Help save a natural wonder. Baikal is so vast and deep, many locals call it a sea. Covering some 12,200 square miles and with an average depth of 2,442 feet, the massive lake is a natural wonder. It’s also in serious trouble. Despite being named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, Lake Baikal has experienced ongoing pollution, the recent weakening of government protections, and new threats, such as large-scale tourism development. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature deemed the lake’s environmental World Heritage Outlook of “significant concern” in 2020.

Visitors can help safeguard the lake and its varied landscapes—including tundra, steppe, boreal forest, and virgin beaches—by volunteering with Great Baikal Trail Association , the nonprofit environmental group creating a hiking route around the lake. “Volunteering helps protect Lake Baikal nature by developing ecotourism infrastructure,” says association president Elena Chubakova.

Hiking the trail is a planet-friendly way to spot some of the 1,200 Lake Baikal plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth, such as the nerpa, the world’s only exclusively freshwater seal.   — Victoria Meleshko, National Geographic Traveler Russia

Discover the next great safari. Namibia evokes images of deserts, immense dunes, and parched mountains. But the Caprivi Strip, a narrow finger of land that juts out toward the east in the extreme north of the country, is a green, wildlife-rich territory. The presence of the Okavango, Kwando, Chobe, and Zambezi Rivers creates an ideal habitat for numerous animal species.

During the second half of the 20th century, the area was the scene of intense military activity. Remote and difficult to access, it was a prime corridor for various armed groups. After Namibia gained independence in 1990, peace—and wildlife—gradually returned.

In the eastern section of the region, Nkasa Rupara National Park is a secret jewel. A ranger station and tented lodge that opened in recent years have made it more accessible to tourism, but it’s still seldom visited. Encompassed by the Kwando-Linyanti River system to the south and by swamps and lagoons to the north, Nkasa Rupara is Namibia’s largest protected wetland. It’s described as a “mini Okavango,” as its floodwaters mirror Botswana ’s more famous Okavango Delta . The park is home to the largest population of buffalo in Namibia. Predators include lions, leopards, and hyenas, while crocodiles and hippos abound in the river.  

Mahango Game Park , in the west, includes wetlands and mopane forests. Here roam large herds of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and nearly all the antelope species of Namibia, including the elusive semiaquatic sitatunga. Go with Nat Geo: See otherworldly landscapes and seek out endangered black rhinos in Namibia. —Marco Cattaneo, National Geographic Traveler Italy

Victoria, Australia

Drive the Great Ocean Road.   Green shoots of regeneration are popping up across Australia , where the 2019-2020 bushfires burned some 72,000 square miles of land. The disasters led to the deaths of nearly three dozen people and more than a billion animals.

Playing its own role in these rejuvenation efforts, Wildlife Wonders , in Victoria’s Otways region, is a new wildlife sanctuary tucked away off the Great Ocean Road amid lush ancient forest and waterfalls. It’s the brainchild of Brian Massey, the landscape designer of New Zealand ’s Hobbiton movie set tours. Massey, along with botanists, scientists, zoologists, and environmental specialists, has crafted a sinuous wooden path that winds through the refuge and blends seamlessly into the landscape.

Visitors can set off on 75-minute guided tours of the sylvan site, wandering through thickets of eucalyptus trees and admiring the koalas, wallabies, and bandicoots that now call the sanctuary home. During a stop at the Research Base, guests can learn more about how the site provides a safe space for native species like the long-nosed potoroo, a marsupial that often falls prey to invasive predators such as foxes and cats.

All profits from Wildlife Wonders go toward the Conservation Ecology Centre , which helps to fund several vital conservation projects in the Otways, including one that studies the movement of potoroos before, during, and after planned forest fires. — Connor McGovern, National Geographic Traveller UK

Peek at tropical wildlife. The race to preserve one of the largest remaining tropical rainforests in the Americas got a big boost recently. In April 2021, a coalition of conservation partners, led by the Nature Conservancy , purchased 236,000 acres of tropical forest in northwestern Belize to create the Belize Maya Forest Reserve . Along with saving some of the most biodiverse forests in the world from denuding and development, the new protected area—which is contiguous with the neighboring Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area (RBCMA)—closes a huge gap in a vital wildlife corridor that runs from southeast Mexico through Guatemala and into Belize.

The combined reserve, which protects nearly a tenth of Belize’s land area, safeguards and connects essential habitats for an amazing variety of endemic and endangered wild things. These include the tapir, Belize’s national animal; black howler monkeys; more than 400 species of birds; and some of Central America’s largest surviving populations of jaguar. For now, ecotourism activities are based in the more established RBCMA, which has two rustic lodges and offers guided expeditions. Go with Nat Geo:   Take a private tour of the Maya ruins of Tikal, Guatemala, and the cays of Belize.  

Northern Minnesota  

Turn off the lights.   Thousands upon thousands of stars dazzle above northern Minnesota . This remote region bordering the Canadian province of Ontario has little to no light pollution, and residents are determined to keep it that way.

The Heart of the Continent Dark Sky Initiative is a cross-border effort underway to create one of the largest dark-sky destinations on the planet. Two of its biggest pieces are in Minnesota: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , the world’s largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary at more than a million acres, and neighboring Voyageurs National Park , the state’s first International Dark Sky Park. Both wild places received dark-sky certification in 2020, and Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park , which adjoins the wilderness area, earned International Dark Sky Park status in early 2021.

( Here’s how to see auroras—from the Great Lakes .)

“The preservation of darkness at places like Voyageurs National Park not only provides wondrous views and ecological benefits to wildlife,” says Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of the nonprofit Voyageurs Conservancy . “It also allows us a window to the past; to see the skies as they were hundreds of years ago, used for navigation and storytelling by peoples like the voyageurs of the fur trade and the Indigenous Ojibwe.”

BEST PLACES FOR ADVENTURE

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado

Climb the Rockies. For unparalleled views of the Continental Divide, one must climb hand over foot up North America’s highest via ferrata. Arapahoe Basin ’s “iron way”—a climbing route comprising metal rungs and cables—begins at the base of granite Rocky Mountain cliffs and ascends nearly 1,200 feet to a 13,000-foot summit.

A glance below reveals a weathered Colorado landscape dotted with green moss and pink and purple flora, and rock gardens created by the cliffs themselves, the fallen chunks varying in size from pebbles to Volkswagens. The thin air is occasionally punctuated by the shrill peep of a marmot or pika.

Even those without prior rock-climbing experience can scale the cliffs with a guide, using the metal rungs while also gripping the rock or wedging a foot into a crack for leverage. To avoid what could be a thousand-foot plunge to certain death, climbers must clip their harnesses from one cable to the next as they go. The route is entirely exposed and thunderstorms can roll in suddenly.

From the cliffs above, high-alpine mountain goats are often stoic observers, but typically disappear as travelers reach the summit. This marks the halfway point. From here, climbers must also descend, which, for via ferrata first-timers like Michael Lytle, can be the most harrowing part of the journey.

“You try not to look all the way down. The highway looks like a piece of thread from up there,” Lytle says. “The fear factor is real.”  

Swim with sharks. When you arrive here, the stamp in your passport will include the Palau Pledge , which all visitors must sign, promising that “the only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away.” The 59-word eco-pledge was drafted by and for the children of this remote western Pacific archipelago to help protect Palau’s culture and environment from the negative impacts of tourism.

Eighty percent of the nation’s waters—recognized by National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project as one of the richest marine ecosystems on the planet—is preserved as the Palau National Marine Sanctuary . At 183,000 square miles, the no-take sanctuary is one of the world’s largest protected marine areas, safeguarding some 700 species of coral and more than 1,300 species of fish, including a dazzling variety of sharks.

“From the air, Palau looks like paradise on earth,” says Pristine Seas founder and National Geographic Explorer in Residence Enric Sala . “When you get underwater, you’re transported to a different world.”

During the 20th annual Shark Week Palau, from February 27 to March 6, 2022, divers can observe and participate in citizen science–assisted counts of numerous shark species, such as grey reef, blacktip, blue, tiger, and hammerhead. Daily dive sites are chosen for their abundant sharks and other marine life, including large aggregations of manta rays and thousands of spawning fish.  

Snorkelers can join a February or November Oceanic Society tour of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Rock Islands Southern Lagoon , home to reef sharks, dugongs, giant clams, and marine lakes teeming with millions of golden jellyfish. Go with Nat Geo:   Discover the undersea wonders of Palau on this snorkel and kayak tour . — National Geographic Traveller India

Seine River, France

Cycle a new bike trail. La Seine à Vélo is a new cycling trail worthy of painter Claude Monet, whose house and famous water lilies in Giverny are on the route. But the 270-mile Paris-to-the-sea path, opened in October 2020, offers lesser known masterpieces too, such as the colorful street art that brightens the Canal Saint-Denis in Paris .

On the trail’s 15 stages, bikers pass through protected natural areas, including Normandy’s Grande Noé Bird Reserve , located along a major migratory flyway. While rolling across Normandy , they can visit the ruins of Jumièges Abbey , founded in 654, and take a Benedictine monk–led tour of Abbaye Saint-Wandrille , a centuries-old working abbey. The tearoom and gardens of Château de Bizy , a royal residence built in 1740 and inspired by Versailles , offer a respite off two wheels.

While Monet isn’t the only reason to ride the trail, pedal-pushers who love paintings should allow extra time for the Giverny Museum of Impressionism , which explores the revolutionary 19th-century art movement. — Gabriel Joseph-Dezaize, National Geographic Traveler France

New Brunswick, Canada

Tackle a backcountry trail. A turtle-shaped rock near Nepisiguit Falls, in the Canadian province of New Brunswick , carries with it a legend told by the Mi’gmaq people (also spelled Mi’kmaq). When water levels drop, the “turtle,” named Egomoqaseg, or “rock like a moving ship,” appears to be climbing up out of the river, says trail master Jason Grant, whose father-in-law, Mi’gmaq elder Gilbert Sewell, was a keeper of the story.

“Legend goes, once the turtle is completely out of the water, it will be the end of the world for the Mi’gmaq people,” says Grant. Based on his annual visits to the rock, Grant adds, Egomoqaseg has a long way to go before reaching dry ground.

The falls are a stop along a millennia-old First Nations migration route that has been developed into the longest backcountry hiking trail in the Canadian Maritimes. Running 93 miles along the Nepisiguit River, the rugged Sentier Nepisiguit Mi’gmaq Trail follows ancient portage pathways used by the nomadic Mi’gmaq.  

The route begins at sea level at Daly Point Nature Reserve in Bathurst and ends at Bathurst Lake in Mount Carleton Provincial Park , home to 2,690-foot-tall Mount Carleton, the highest peak in the Maritimes. To promote respect for the relevance of the trail to the Mi’gmaq people, the route’s restoration, completed in 2018, included incorporating Mi’gmaq language and culture, such as teepee campsites and a turtle logo inspired by Egomoqaseg.  

Trek from sea to sea. Stretching across Costa Rica from the Caribbean to the Pacific, El Camino de Costa Rica is a 174-mile-long window into life far off the well-trod tourist path. The 16-stage hiking route primarily follows public roads as it passes through remote villages and towns, Indigenous Cabecar lands, and protected natural areas.  

It’s designed to spark economic activity in rural districts. Local families, nonprofits, and a network of micro-entrepreneurs, such as Ecomiel honey producers, the woman-owned Finca El Casquillo organic farm, and La Cabaña sustainable coffee micro-mill, provide most of the trail’s lodging, food, tours, and other hiker amenities.

Due to the trail’s remoteness and its patchwork of tourism services, Mar a Mar (Sea to Sea)—the nonprofit partnership formed in 2016 to develop, promote, and help sustain El Camino—strongly recommends hiking with a guide. Ticos a Pata , UrriTrek Costa Rica , and ViaLig Journeys are among the tour operators offering guided experiences—from single-day hikes to coast-to-coast treks with multiple river crossings and rambles through ranch lands, rainforests, cloud forests, and sugarcane plantations. Multiday itineraries typically feature optional adventures, such as a white-water rafting trip on the world-class Pacuare River rapids. — National Geographic Traveler Korea

BEST PLACES CHAMPIONING SUSTAINABILITY

Yasuní National Park, Ecuador

Fight for the forest. In recognition of the global importance of the Amazon, France is leading the fight against deforestation in eastern Ecuador ’s Yasuní National Park , designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The almost 4,000-square-mile park—home to mahogany trees, sweet guabas , anthuriums, palms, and hypnotizingly green ferns—is the first of five pilot sites in the French-funded TerrAmaz program . This four-year initiative, launched in late 2020, supports sustainable development and safeguards biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Yasuní—considered one of the most biodiverse places on Earth—shelters an astonishing assortment of creatures, such as anteaters, capybaras, sloths, spider monkeys, and about 600 species of colorful birds. In the Napo and Curaray rivers flanking the park, visitors can watch for the Amazon river dolphin, an endangered and enigmatic species.

Yasuní also provides refuge for the Tagaeri and Taromenane people, Waorani Indigenous groups who live in voluntary isolation and use handcrafted canoes to travel between waterways. Tour operators such as Napo Wildlife Center offer excursions and lodging based on a sustainable ecotourism model that benefits the resident tribes. — Karen Alfaro, National Geographic Traveler Latin America

Chimanimani, Mozambique

Witness a conservation success. “Chimanimani is a timeless place, where local rainmakers still climb peaks to summon rain,” says National Geographic Explorer and photojournalist Jen Guyton , of one of Mozambique ’s newest national parks. Located on the country’s mountainous border with Zimbabwe, Chimanimani National Park , established in October 2020, is home to Mozambique’s highest peak, Mount Binga (elevation: 7,992 feet). It was once flush with elephants, lions, and other large animals whose images appear in ancient rock art created by the ancestral San people.

Poaching during decades of civil unrest decimated wildlife populations, but small numbers of elephants remain, as do at least 42 other species of mammals and a dazzling variety of plant and avian life. In the two recent biodiversity surveys alone that Guyton photographed, 475 plant species and 260 bird species were identified, along with 67 amphibian and reptile species—including one frog and one lizard thought to be new to science.

( How one of Africa’s great parks is rebounding from war .)

Sustainable tourism activities—such as birdwatching, hiking to forest waterfalls, and overnighting at the Ndzou Camp , a small community ecolodge—provide up-close views of a captivating wild place, which Guyton particularly enjoys experiencing at sunset. “With no roads for miles around, there’s total silence except for the birds, and you get a few moments of almost transcendental peace in that warm glow.”

Ruhr Valley, Germany

Get creative. Mining and steel production once dominated the densely populated Ruhr Valley , located in Germany ’s western state of North Rhine–Westphalia. Today, the region is repurposing former slag heaps (mounds of mining waste) and postapocalyptic-looking industrial sites as parks and open-air cultural spaces.  

The most famous is the World Heritage site of   Zeche Zollverein (Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex), home to an outdoor swimming pool, ice rink, and walking trails. “People visiting the Ruhr area are usually impressed by the abundance of green,” says Karola Geiss-Netthöfel, director of the Ruhr Regional Association .

Zollverein is part of the wider Emscher Landscape Park , an east-west system of green spaces and corridors covering nearly 175 square miles. Rent a bike in Essen for a car-free Ruhr Valley trip along cycling routes, many of which follow former railway tracks. Or explore on foot via the 96-mile-long Hohe Mark Steig , a trekking trail opened in 2021.  

“The trail combines nature and industrial culture in a unique way, as you pass by several industrial buildings,” says Geiss-Netthöfel. A top spot nearby: Halde Hoheward, elevation 495 feet, a mountainous slag heap made from 180 million tons of mine waste and topped with a giant sundial. — Franziska Haack, National Geographic Traveler Germany

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon/Washington

Wine and dine mindfully. The nation’s largest National Scenic Area is probably not where you think it is. It straddles the Oregon - Washington border and comprises 293,000 acres of public and private lands along the Columbia River Gorge.

With Mount Hood nearby, the area attracts more than two million visitors annually. A nonprofit alliance is helping to reduce tourist impact on local nature and culture. This collaboration has become a model for other regions building a sustainable tourism economy.

Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance initiatives include the visitor education program Ready, Set, Gorge, and the East Gorge Food Trail , a network of farms, historic hotels, wineries, and other homegrown experiences. Partnering with other local organizations and educating visitors benefits everyone, says Ali McLaughlin, owner of MountNbarreL , which offers wine-tasting bike tours and other car-free experiences.

“Having tourists who understand the importance of respecting the area they are traveling through has gone a long way toward mitigating concerns from local residents,” says McLaughlin. Go with Nat Geo: Retrace the path of Lewis and Clark’s trailblazing expedition through the Pacific Northwest.

Łódź, Poland

Spotlight a green city. Named a UNESCO City of Film in 2017 for its rich cinematic culture, Łódź , a city of nearly 700,000 in central Poland , was a major textile manufacturing center in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now Poland’s Hollywood is flipping the script on its industrial past to create a greener future.

In recent years Łódź   (pronounced woodge) has embraced new ecological technologies, such as using pre-RDF (refuse-derived fuel) and biomass energy to heat homes. In 2021, the city partnered with the European e-commerce delivery platform InPost to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and traffic in the town’s center by installing 70 parcel locker locations and electric car charging stations.

Nearly a third of Łódź is green space, ranging from new pocket parks to the 2,977-acre Łagiewnicki Forest . In the city’s old industrial areas, factories are being reborn as parks, cultural centers, residences, and retail spaces. The trendiest spot on the cultural map is OFF Piotrkowska , a buzzing art, design, dining, and club district housed in a former cotton mill.  

Another massive factory, built by the I.K. Poznański Cotton Products Company—which employed as many as 7,000 people in 1913—was reimagined as Manufaktura , an arts center and shopping mall spread across 13 historic brick buildings. Manufaktura’s Muzeum Fabryki explores the   Poznański family’s “cotton empire” and the lives of the factory workers. — Martyna Szczepanik, National Geographic Traveler Poland

BEST PLACES FOR CULTURE AND HISTORY

Jingmai Mountain, China

Taste tea. One of the oldest cultural landscapes in China is slated to become one of the country’s newest UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2022. The Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er , which collectively form the world’s largest ancient artificially cultivated tea plantation, features about 1.13 million tea trees, the oldest of which is 1,400 years old.

Located in the remote southwestern corner of China’s Yunnan Province, the region was a starting point of the legendary Ancient Tea Horse Road . This 11th-century network of routes was named for its primary purpose: trading Chinese tea for Tibetan horses (130 pounds of tea equaled the value of one horse).

( In search of the perfect cup of tea in China’s Yunnan Province .)

Today, new highways have replaced the route, but the region’s tea plantations remain, as do the four local ethnic minority groups—the Blang, Dai, Hani, and Wa people—who retain their own languages, customs, and festivals. The remote location and limited tea-tourism offerings make a guided trip the best way to experience this enduring cultural landscape. — Yi Lu, National Geographic Traveler China

Hokkaido, Japan  

Learn about an island’s roots. Most visitors to Hokkaido , Japan’s wildly scenic and northernmost main island, don’t have many opportunities to learn about the Ainu, Indigenous people from the northern region of the archipelago. But the new National Ainu Museum and Park at Upopoy, which opened in 2020, hopes to change that. It joins the Kayano Shigeru Nibutani Ainu Museum , which opened in 1992, in teaching Japanese and international visitors about Ainu culture.

Marginalized since the late 1800s, the Ainu were granted legal protections in Japan in 2019; the country’s new Ainu Promotion Act recognizes and bans discrimination against the Ainu.  

Upopoy has a pressing three-pronged mission: promote, revitalize, and expand Ainu culture before it becomes extinct. Particularly at risk is the Ainu language, which is unrelated to Japanese or any other language, and is considered critically endangered by UNESCO. Listening to conversational Ainu and playing games to learn pronunciation are part of the new museum’s permanent exhibition.  

Visitors can also discover the timely sustainable-living lessons of the Ainu, whose spiritual beliefs are rooted in respect and gratitude for nature. After visiting Upopoy, drive 30 minutes southwest and soak in nature at Noboribetsu Onsen , Hokkaido’s premier hot springs resort which is located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park . Go with Nat Geo:   Take a voyage in the Ring of Fire aboard the National Geographic Resolution.

Procida Island, Italy

Connect with culture.   Chosen pre-pandemic, the theme of Procida’s reign as the Italian Capital of Culture 2022 — La cultura non isola (Culture does not isolate)—now seems particularly on point. The island city, located 40 minutes southwest of Naples via high-speed ferry, plans to use its year in the spotlight to illustrate the importance of culture, particularly in times of uncertainty.

“Today, ‘Culture does not isolate’ is an even stronger call to action because, for us, the island is a metaphor for modern people,” says Procida 2022 director Agostino Riitano. “We are all like islands, creating our own archipelagos where culture has to be the mortar that holds them together; this is even more true following the effects of the pandemic.”

( The pandemic couldn’t silence this Italian city of music .)

Procida 2022 plans to spread cultural programming, such as contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, and performances, over 300 days to encourage responsible travel throughout the year, and to avoid a mass influx of visitors during the summer. In the spotlight as a symbol of the inclusive theme is the island’s Palazzo d’Avalos , a Renaissance palace-turned-prison, built in 1500 and closed in 1988. Most recently associated with isolation, the former prison and its green space (where inmates raised crops, cows, and pigs) will be reborn as a cultural venue and urban park.

Atlanta, Georgia  

Meet the moment. At a time when voting rights are in contention in the United States, Atlanta is flexing its cultural and political muscle through two formidable voter empowerment organizations: The New Georgia Project and Fair Fight Action , both founded by Atlanta-based political leader and activist Stacey Abrams.

Being at the forefront of social change isn’t new, says city native Bem Joiner, cofounder of the creative agency Atlanta Influences Everything . “Atlanta’s ‘special sauce’ is its three C’s: civic, corporate, and cultural. We’re the cradle of the civil rights movement, the home of Coca-Cola, and our hip-hop culture shapes global culture. There’s no place else quite like Atlanta.”

Georgia’s largest city is also an epicenter of Black entrepreneurship, incubating businesses such as plant-based burger chain Slutty Vegan and eco-conscious Sustainable Home Goods .  

Easily accessible on foot or by bike via the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail , the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood blends nightlife and dining venues, such as Biggerstaff Brewing Company and Ponce City Market , with historic highlights like the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum .

Tin Pan Alley, London

Sing along. Despite pushback from punk and rock purists, the remix of Denmark Street , former hub of the British music industry, promises to hit all the right notes. Once lined with music publishers, recording studios, rehearsal rooms, and dimly lit clubs, the tiny street, nicknamed London ’s Tin Pan Alley, helped launch the British punk rock movement and legends including David Bowie, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones.  

In recent years, the music had all but died, save for Denmark Street’s surviving guitar shops. Now this iconic slice of history is being revived as part of Outernet London, the West End’s new $1.2 billion entertainment district.

The retooled street retains pieces of its storied past: restored 17th-century building facades; the heritage-protected graffiti art of Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols (who lived here); the old-school music shops (thanks to affordable, long-term leases).  

( Learn more about the unlikely rebirth of a London legend .)

It also welcomes new spaces for infusing with music. There are busker spots where street musicians can make their case for being the next Adele (who debuted at Denmark Street’s original 12 Bar Club ); a free-to-use professional-quality recording studio for up-and-coming artists; and the new Chateau Denmark hotel, spread across 16 buildings steeped in music history.

BEST PLACES FOR FAMILIES

Lycia, Turkey

Learn about nomadic life. The nomadic Yörüks,   originally from different Turkic groups that ranged from the Balkans to Iran , once roamed the plateaus of the Turkish riviera. Most of the Yörüks (literally “walkers”) have now settled down—but many of their thousand-year-old customs are alive and well.  

Located in the historical Lycia region in southwestern Anatolia , Teke Peninsula is one of the spots where Yörük culture remains strong. Teke Yörüks live a semi-nomadic life with their tents, kilim rugs, herds, shepherd dogs, and transhumant traditions, set against a mountainous, Mediterranean backdrop full of olive trees.

In recent years, tour companies have started to merge the marvels of Lycia with Yörük life. Families can trek parts of the famous Lycian Way ; visit ancient sites like Patara, Xanthos, or Letoon; and swim in crystal clear waters while spending nights in hotels, guesthouses, tents, or villagers’ own homes. But it’s the children who have the most fun, as they can experience Yörük culture by making syrup with pomegranates, cooking local pastries, milking goats, or taking part in the olive harvest.

“History, nature, and culture, they’re all here. We wanted to turn this beautiful landscape into a learning platform, but also into a playground,” says Kerem Karaerkek, the chief guide of Middle Earth Travel . “I love how the kids get excited when they step into a Yörük kitchen or when they go on a treasure hunt in ancient Lycian ruins. You can see the sense of wonder in their eyes.” — Onur Uygun, National Geographic Traveler Turkey

Granada, Spain

Marvel at geometric beauty. Built as a palace-city by 13th-century Nasrid sultans—rulers of the longest-lasting and final Muslim dynasty on the Iberian Peninsula—the Alhambra (“red fort”) is considered the Moorish architectural jewel of Europe. The almond-shaped profile of this UNESCO World Heritage site rests on a hill above Granada, one of the most picturesque cities in Spain .

But it’s the mathematical wizardry on display here that is particularly fascinating for families. Intricate mosaics, arabesques (a repetitive, stylized pattern based on a floral or vegetal design), and muqarnas   (ornamental vaulting) make the Alhambra a masterpiece of geometric beauty—and a colorful classroom for age-appropriate exploration of math concepts, such as shapes, symmetry, proportion, and measurement.

Math flows through the Alhambra’s other main design feature, water, which gives life and meaning to the whole. Water provides the refreshing spirit of the gardens and the murmur of its fountains, but is also an element of the architecture itself.

At the Palace of the Lions , one of the Alhambra’s three original royal palaces, families will marvel at the central fountain. Its elaborate design features 12 stone lions supporting a large marble basin on their backs and—thanks to the technical wonder of complex hydraulics—spitting water from their mouths. Go with Nat Geo: Discover Moorish Spain from Córdoba’s cultures to Granada’s Alhambra to Seville’s wonders. —Manuel Mateo Pérez, NG Viajes Spain

Eastern Shore, Maryland

Be transported by history. The history of the Underground Railroad flows through the waterways, wetlands, swamps, and tidal marshes of Dorchester County on Maryland ’s Eastern Shore. This is where the secret network’s most famous “conductor,” Harriet Tubman , was born enslaved, grew up, and honed the skills—such as trapping, hunting, and using stars to navigate—she used to escape to freedom in Pennsylvania . She then returned 13 times to rescue more than 70 enslaved friends and family. Her heroic story is told at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center , one of the more than 30 stops along the 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway .

To bring Tubman’s story to life for kids, Alex Green, co-owner of Harriet Tubman Tours , suggests a kayaking adventure in the byway’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge . As a child, Tubman trapped muskrats here and worked alongside her father, a timber inspector who taught her how to move around the marshlands.

“We talk to kids about how the confidence and lessons Harriet learned inside the terrible institution of slavery drove her to accomplish incredible things,” Green says. “Harriet never gave up and she never stopped learning. That’s a lesson they can take home.” Go with Nat Geo:   Embark on a wild Chesapeake Bay escape to see waterways, watermen, and wildlife.

Danube River  

Cruise storybook lands. Boating the Danube can seem like traveling through a realm of fairy tales, with its scrolling views of castles, medieval towns, and stately palaces that help to bring European history to life. The river twists through 10 European countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine), and most Danube cruise itineraries include stops in at least four of those, with special family sailings featuring kid-friendly onshore activities.

School lessons focusing on Middle Ages feudalism take on vivid dimensions when exploring Veste Oberhaus in Passau, Germany, one of the largest surviving castle complexes in Europe. Ages-old Hungarian equestrian traditions come alive on a southern Hungarian ranch, where fearless csikós , or mounted herdsmen, ride standing upright and balancing on the backs of two galloping horses.

When off the water, look to wheels. Board Vienna ’s iconic Giant Ferris Wheel, the Riesenrad , or take a bike ride among terraced vineyards in Lower Austria’s World Heritage-listed Wachau Cultural Landscape .   Go with Nat Geo:   Savor Christmas markets from Budapest to Nuremberg on this Danube cruise . — National Geographic Traveler Romania

Dive a longtime marine reserve. Dazzling sunlight, a turquoise sea, palm trees, white beaches, and a laid-back atmosphere: Bonaire checks all the boxes for an idyllic tropical destination. But compared to many other Caribbean islands, Bonaire (pop. 21,000) is quiet and still relatively wild and unspoiled. Off its coast lies one of the oldest marine reserves in the world.

The Bonaire National Marine Park was established in 1979 and has been on the provisional UNESCO World Heritage List since 2011. The reserve encompasses 6,672 acres of coral reef, seagrass, and mangrove vegetation. Bonaire’s healthy reefs are a magnet for divers and snorkelers who can spot up to 57 species of coral and more than 350 different fish species.

Several dive schools on Bonaire participate in the Reef Renewal program , in which volunteers can grow and maintain corals in underwater nurseries, then plant them into the reef. Anyone who can dive can come and help after completing the PADI Reef Renewal Diver course.

( Read more about new efforts to save dying coral reefs . )

Accessibility is another bonus: You don’t need a liveaboard or other boat transport to start exploring. At 54 of Bonaire’s nearly 90 public dive sites, you walk from the beach or a pier straight into the water. —Barbera Bosma, National Geographic Traveler Netherlands

Written by the global editors of National Geographic Travel, with additional reporting and writing by Maryellen Kennedy Duckett, Karen Carmichael, and Shauna Farnell.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted travel. When planning a trip, be sure to research your destination and take safety precautions before, during, and after your journey. Click here for National Geographic reporting on the pandemic.

Related Topics

• ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
• NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
• CULTURAL CONSERVATION
• PEOPLE AND CULTURE
• CULTURAL TOURISM

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As a new year begins, we're excited to shine a light on our Best in Travel 2022 list.

The top 10 cities, countries and regions around the world were carefully selected by our editors to inspire a new year of travel.

Now we're unveiling a whole new series of stories, video interviews, and tips for turning our Best in Travel list into your travel reality, whether that happens in 2022 or further down the line.

These destinations span the globe and allow you, the traveler, to immerse yourself in local culture.

Our how-to guides will show you how to make the most of your trip with tips on how you can have a positive impact on your destination.

Find out how you can sustainably trek to Everest Base Camp, enjoy a stargazer's guide to Chile's Atacama desert, and follow an insider's guide to Nigeria's city that never sleeps: Lagos.

As the pandemic continues to impact an ever-shifting patchwork of places around the world, we're working hard to balance travel and safety, and a sense of caution alongside our sense of wanderlust.

As such, our 2022 list is as much a bucket list for the future as it is a to-visit list for right now.

See the full list here.

The World's Greatest Places of 2022

50 extraordinary destinations to explore

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Extreme amusements.

Park City, Utah

Year-round playground.

Galápagos Islands

To see and protect.

Dolni Morava, Czech Republic

One-of-a-kind vistas.

The smartest city

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Under the sea.

Doha, Qatar

World cup wonders.

Newfound glory

Kerala, India

Ecotourism hot spot.

Breaking the ice

Ahmedabad, India

Higher learning.

Cultural metropolis

València, Spain

Design forward.

Queenstown, New Zealand

High-flying adventure.

Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Conservation safari.

Historic Silk Road Sites, Uzbekistan

Walking an ancient path.

Back to Brazil

Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan

Breathtaking pilgrimage.

Devon, England

Drink in the scenery.

Bali, Indonesia

Resortapalooza.

International Space Station

Out of this world.

Kyushu Island, Japan

Volcanic beauty.

Rapa Nui, Chile

Resilient culture.

Salta, Argentina

Authentic allure.

Portree, Scotland

Whisky and wilderness.

Tofino, British Columbia

Wilder west.

Boracay, Philippines

Paradise reborn.

Madeira, Portugal

European tropics.

Franschhoek, South Africa

A wine lover’s dream.

So hot right now

El Chaltén, Argentina

Luxe park perks.

Cycle the city

The Alentejo, Portugal

Idyllic escape.

Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia

Teeming with wildlife.

Kaunas, Lithuania

Art for ukraine.

Setouchi Islands, Japan

Immersed in art.

Calabria, Italy

Hike across the boot.

San Francisco

Great golden gate.

Skelleftea, Sweden

Nordic warmth.

Riding into the future

Mediterranean darling

Thessaloniki, Greece

Culinary melting pot.

A classic reborn

Ilulissat, Greenland

Icy education.

A yearlong party

Fremantle, Australia

Eat, drink, and be aussie.

Fresh perspectives

Kigali, Rwanda

Building a better future.

Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

Portland, Ore.

All are welcome.

Audience editors: Samantha Cooney, Annabel Gutterman, Soo Jin Kim, Caroline Olney, Kitty Ruskin, Kari Sonde, and Kimberly Tal

Copy editors: Helen Eisenbach, Mark Hokoda, Sarah Rutledge, and Jennifer Schiavone

Designers: Jennifer Panzer, Jennifer Prandato, and Lon Tweeten

Digital producers: Juwayriah Wright and Nadia Suleman

Editors: Emma Barker, Jennifer Duggan, Merrill Fabry, and Brekke Fletcher 

Photo editors: Eli Cohen, Sangsuk Sylvia Kang, Paul Moakley, and Dilys Ng

Reporter-researchers: Eloise Barry, Leslie Dickstein, Mariah Esapada, Anisha Kohli, Simmone Shah, and Julia Zorthian

Video editor: Erica Solano

World’s 30 Best Travel Destinations, Ranked

Best places to visit in the world.

The ultimate ranking of travel destinations aims to solve a serious problem: so many places to visit, so little time.

But even in a world with a trillion destinations, some manage to stand out and rise to the top. From the sleek skyscrapers of Dubai to the emerald-green waters of the Bora Bora lagoon, you’re sure to find at least one vacation that piques your interest (and likely several!).

These are the 30 best places to visit in the world. Which ones have you already been to? And which ones stoke your wanderlust most?

30. Argentine Patagonia

In this region of the Andes, you’ll find glaciers, evergreen trees, deep blue lakes and clear skies everywhere you look. For a trip full of adventure and discovery, there are few better destinations on the planet.

No trip is complete without a visit to the craggy Mount Fitz Roy, the historic (and mysterious) Cave of the Hands, the Punta Tombo wildlife preserve, the Peninsula Valdes marine wildlife refuge and the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier. Be sure to bring your camera and your sense of wonder.

* Rankings are based on U.S. News & World Report's " World's Best Places to Visit ," traveler ratings as well as our own editorial input.

What to Know Before You Go to Argentine Patagonia

Where to stay: Cyan Soho Neuquen Hotel

Hot tip: Since springtime occurs in the southern hemisphere in October and November, those months are your best bet when planning a trip.

Fun fact: The largest dinosaur fossils ever unearthed were found in Argentine Patagonia. They belong to the largest-known titanosaur, believed to have weighed about 83 tons. 

Note: We may earn money from affiliate partners if you buy through links on our site.

29. Amalfi Coast, Italy

Set in the Sorrentina Peninsula, the Amalfi Coast has long been renowned for its natural beauty and idyllic coastal towns. During the golden age of Hollywood, it was a preferred vacation spot for glamorous movie stars.

Days here are spent eating Italian food, drinking wine and walking around colorful cobblestone streets. You can also expect to drink copious amounts of wine as you look out into the Mediterranean Sea.

The best way to see the coast is to rent a car and then drive to different towns each day.

What to Know Before You Go to the Amalfi Coast

Where to stay: Hotel Marina Riviera

Hot tip:  If you're planning on using a beach chair to work on your tan, make sure you wake up early, as they are usually first come, first served.

Fun fact:  The Amalfi Coast is featured in Sofia Loren's 1995 Film, "Scandal in Sorrento."

28. Cancun, Mexico

For years, Cancun has been the preferred getaway for East Coast Americans (particularly Floridians) who want an international getaway that's still close to home. But despite the droves of tourists, the area has managed to keep the charm that attracted people in the first place.

The city is known mostly for its luxury hotels, wild nightlife and warm beaches. Definitely indulge in all of these — as well as the Mexican food! — but also consider other activities like visiting Mayan ruins, swimming in cenotes and snorkeling. One thing is certain: You won't run out of things to do in Cancun .

What to Know Before You Go to Cancun

Where to stay: Hyatt Zilara Cancun

Hot tip:  While you're in Cancun, make a plan to visit one of Grupo Xcaret's six eco-tourism parks, with the best ones being Xcaret and Xelha. The Mexican-owned company is credited with starting the eco-tourism trend in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the parks offer incredible and varied local experiences.

Fun fact:  The Yucatan Peninsula, where Cancun is located, was the cultural, political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Many locals have Mayan ancestry and Mayan continues to be widely spoken in the area.

27. San Francisco, California

Everyone should visit San Francisco at least once in their lives. Though tech companies grab all the headlines these days, it remains down-to-earth, diverse and packed with things to do.

Where to start? No matter your style, you’ll want to check out the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, see the sunbathing sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, take a tour of the historic prison Alcatraz and relax in one of the city’s many parks, especially Dolores Park for its epic people-watching on the weekends. 

For dinner, treat your tastebuds and make a reservation at one of the many Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area .

What to Know Before You Go to San Francisco

Where to stay: The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

Hot tip: Want similarly beautiful landscapes and rich cultural attractions, but at lower prices and with (slightly) fewer crowds? Head to Oakland just across the Bay Bridge, named one of the most exciting places on earth to travel by National Geographic. 

Fun fact: The fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese resident. Random!

26. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world . The power with which water storms down cliffs on the border between the United States and Canada has captivated the imagination of humans for centuries. 

This natural wonder is comprised of three awe-inspiring falls. One of the best ways to experience them is on a boat tour.

What to Know Before You Go to Niagara Falls

Where to stay: Sheraton Niagara Falls

Hot tip: There is some debate about which side of the falls is better, but the general verdict is that the Canadian side offers better views. This is because you can (ironically) get a better view of the American Falls as well as get up close to Horseshoe Falls. 

Fun fact:  Established in 1885, Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S.

25. Yellowstone National Park

Located mostly in Wyoming as well as Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone is America’s first national park and remains one of the most popular in the country, welcoming more than around 3.3 million people in 2022. With unpredictable geysers, rainbow-colored hot springs, craggy peaks, shimmering lakes and tons of wildlife — from elk to boars to bison — it’s easy to see why so many people flock here. 

The park makes for an awesome family trip and is well-suited to budget travelers since it offers so many campsites ( over 2,000! ). 

What to Know Before You Go to Yellowstone

Where to stay: Stage Coach Inn

Hot tip: You’ll never fully beat the crowds at this wildly popular park, but April, May, September and November are your best bets for finding some solitude.  

Fun fact: Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.  

24. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

As the largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of marine species. This makes it a paradise for scuba diving or snorkeling. 

The reef system is truly gigantic, with over 600 islands and about 2,900 individual reefs. This is one of Australia's greatest prides, but it's also a planetary national treasure. Seeing it with your own two eyes is an experience that is incredible beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to the Great Barrier Reef

Where to stay: Crystalbrook Flynn

Hot tip: Though going underwater to see the reef is a must, we also recommend booking a helicopter tour to experience the magic of it from above.

Fun fact:  Made of corals, which are animals that live in collectives, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet.

23. Santorini, Greece

With its picturesque blue-domed churches, whitewashed buildings and colorful beaches, the island of Santorini is a photographer’s paradise. If you want to snap photos to post to Instagram and make everyone back home jealous, this is the place to go. 

Also make sure to experience some of Santorini’s archaeologically significant sites, like Ancient Akrotiri (an ancient city preserved by volcanic ash) and Ancient Thera (where humans lived as early as the 9th century BC). And don’t forget to visit the smaller islands that surround it, including Thirassia, Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni. 

What to Know Before You Go to Santorini

Where to stay: Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Santorini

Hot tip: To optimize your vacation, visit in September and October or April and May — when the weather is still warm, but there aren’t as many other tourists milling around.

Fun fact: While it’s difficult to prove, locals like to say there’s more wine than water on this island where it hardly rains (and vino abounds).

22. Florence, Italy

For art and history buffs (and anyone who appreciates delicious Italian food), Florence is a must-visit city. 

As the birthplace of the Renaissance, it’s home to some of the most iconic artworks by the world’s premier artists throughout history — Michaelangelo, Brunelleschi and Donatello, just to name a few. In addition to art museums and architectural wonders, Florence is also home to chic shops, quaint cafes and spectacular gardens. 

What to Know Before You Go to Florence

Where to stay:  NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa

Hot tip: Keep Florence in mind if you want to spend your honeymoon in Europe without spending a fortune, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Fun fact: The city’s famed “El Duomo” cathedral took over 140 years to build .

21. Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite, one of the most-visited national parks in America with more than 4 million annual guests, encompasses 750,000 acres of wilderness just waiting to be explored.

It’s home to scenic waterfalls, like the 317-foot Vernal Fall and the 617-foot Bridalveil Fall, as well as iconic rock formations like El Capitan and Half Dome, two popular spots for the world’s best rock climbers to test their mettle.

Not surprisingly, the wildlife here also impresses. Dozens of species of butterflies, marmots, bobcats and mule deer are just some of the animals that call Yosemite home. And keep your eyes peeled for black bears; some 300 to 500 roam the park . 

What to Know Before You Go to Yosemite

Where to stay:  The Ahwahnee

Hot tip: Summer can get really busy here, so if you want to camp, be sure to book a spot early. Want to beat Yosemite’s notoriously bad traffic? Ditch the car and take advantage of the park’s extensive free bus system.

Fun fact: This is one of the only places in the country where you can catch a moonbow — like a rainbow, but created by the light of the moon instead of the sun. 

20. St. Lucia

Whether you’re visiting on a cruise ship or just relaxing at an all-inclusive resort or boutique hotel, stunning St. Lucia is a clear winner. This Caribbean island offers diverse terrain for vacationers, from its pristine beaches to its lush rainforests to its volcanic peaks, the Pitons, that loom over the landscape. 

Adrenaline-junkies love hiking, climbing and zip-lining, while newlyweds (and soon-to-be-married couples) enjoy the romantic mix of fine dining, adults-only resorts and exotic activities. 

What to Know Before You Go to St. Lucia

Where to stay: Rabot Hotel From Hotel Chocolat

Hot tip: Visit when temperatures are moderate, which is typically in May and June.

Fun fact: St. Lucia is the only country named after a woman: Christian martyr Saint Lucia of Syracuse.

19. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Everything is bigger and better in Dubai, home to one of the world’s largest shopping malls, tallest towers, largest man-made marinas — and the list goes on. 

This Las Vegas-like urban center in the United Arab Emirates has an eclectic mix of activities for visitors to enjoy, including beaches, waterparks, tons of shopping and even an indoor ski resort. Outside the skyscraper-filled city, the vast desert awaits, best enjoyed via quad-biking or sandboarding.

What to Know Before You Go to Dubai

Where to stay:  Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai

Hot tip: Though you’re likely to pay a pretty penny for a trip to Dubai no matter when you visit, you can save a little cash by visiting during the scalding-hot summer months and by booking your hotel room two to three months in advance.

Fun fact: Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands were constructed using enough imported sand to fill up 2.5 Empire State Buildings . 

18. Machu Picchu, Peru

Many travelers describe their visit to Machu Picchu as life-changing. Why? It’s an archaeological wonder, the remains of an ancient Incan city dating back more than 600 years. No wonder this is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most-visited attraction in all of Peru. 

Be sure to visit significant sites like Funerary Rock, where it’s believed Incan nobility were mummified, and Temple of the Condor, a rock temple sculpted to look like the impressive bird in its name.  

What to Know Before You Go to Machu Picchu

Where to stay: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Hot tip: If you’re planning a trip, be sure to get your ticket in advance, as only 2,500 people can visit Machu Picchu each day. (And a lot of people have this destination on their bucket list.)

Fun fact: The site contains more than 100 separate flights of stairs . 

17. Sydney, Australia

With its iconic Opera House and lively Bondi Beach, Sydney is the perfect spot to vacation if you’re looking for a blend of culture, arts, nightlife and relaxation. 

Spend the day on the water at Darling Harbour, then head to the Royal Botanic garden for even more fresh air. Want to travel like a local? Get a ticket to a rugby match and order a Tim Tam, a popular chocolate-covered cookie that pairs well with coffee. 

What to Know Before You Go to Sydney

Where to stay: Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Hot tip: You can make your trip more affordable by visiting during Sydney’s shoulder seasons, which are typically September through November and March through May.

Fun fact: In 2007, Bondi Beach was the site of the largest ever swimsuit photoshoot ; 1,010 bikini-clad women participated, enough to earn it a spot in the Guinness World Records book.

16. Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is truly massive (277 river miles long and up to 18 miles wide!), which helps explain why so many people feel the urge to see it in person. 

In 2022, 4.7 million people visited, making the Grand Canyon the second-most popular national park in the country (behind Great Smoky Mountain Nationals Park). Established in 1919, the park offers activities for all ability levels, whether you want to do an intense hike down into the canyon and sleep under the stars (with a backcountry permit, of course) or simply want to saunter along the South Rim Trail, an easy walking path with views that wow.

What to Know Before You Go to the Grand Canyon

Where to stay:  The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon

Hot tip: If you’ve wanted to visit the Grand Canyon for a while now, this is the year to do it. The park is celebrating its 100th birthday with musical performances, lectures, screenings and other special events.

Fun fact: The most remote community in the continental U.S. can be found in the Grand Canyon. At the base of the canyon, Supai Village — part of the Havasupi Indian Reservation — has a population of 208. It’s inaccessible by road, and mail is delivered by pack mule. Want to see it for yourself? The village houses a collection of campsites , accessible via a hiking trail.

15. Bali, Indonesia

In recent years, Bali has become a popular expat destination, where groups of "digital nomads" work and play. 

But the island hasn't lost its original charm to this added tourism and continues to be an incredible destination. Divide your time between swimming in the beach, hiking active volcanoes, visiting temples and enjoying views of tiered rice terraces.

What to Know Before You Go to Bali

Where to stay: Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach

Hot tip:  Though shoulder season (January to April and October to November) means fewer crowds and cheaper prices, it also means rain. Tons of it. We'd recommend avoiding the rainy season if possible.

Fun fact: On the Saka New Year, Balinese people celebrate Nyepi. This Hindu celebration is a day of silence when everything on the island shuts down and no noise is allowed.

14. New York, New York

As the saying goes, New York City is “the city that never sleeps” — and you won’t want to either when you visit, lest you run out of time to take it all in. 

Be sure to check out newer attractions, like the High Line (an elevated park) and Hudson Yards (a mega-mall along the Hudson River), but also make time for some New York City classics, like catching a Broadway show or standing under the lights of Times Square. 

Foodies will have a hard time choosing where to eat (the city is home to almost 100 Michelin stars !), which is why an extended trip is always a good idea.

What to Know Before You Go to New York City

Where to stay: The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel

Hot tip: Yes, January and February get cold here, but this is also the best time to lock in relatively reasonable hotel rates. You can spend your time eating in the city’s restaurants, exploring its fabulous museums and catching its world-class theater shows without needing to spend much time in the chilly outdoors. 

Fun fact: There’s a birth in New York City about every 4.4 minutes — and a death every 9.1 minutes. 

13. Banff National Park, Canada

Some of the world’s most stunning mountain scenery and vistas are located in Banff, the tiny Canadian town located at 4,537 feet above sea level inside the national park by the same name. Banff is the highest town in Canada, and Banff National Park was Canada’s first, established in 1885.

Shred some powder at Banff’s three ski resorts in the winter, then come back in the summer for activities like hiking, biking, fishing and scrambling (scaling steep terrain using nothing but your hands).

What to Know Before You Go to Banff

Where to stay: Fairmont Banff Springs

Hot tip: June to August and December to March are the best times to visit if you want to take advantage of summer and winter activities. 

Fun fact: Banff National Park has more than 1,000 glaciers.

12. Maldives

You can look at picture after picture, but you still really need to visit the Maldives to believe its beauty. If rich sunsets, flour-like beaches and vibrant blue waters are your style, this is the destination for you. 

Though it’s somewhat difficult to get to this small island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, that also means it’s incredibly private and secluded, which makes it the perfect spot for a honeymoon or romantic beach getaway. 

And don’t worry about getting bored, either — explore the water by snorkeling or scuba diving, relax in the spa or wander around the bustling Male’ Fish Market.

What to Know Before You Go to Maldives

Where to stay: Velassaru Maldives

Hot tip: May to October is the island-nation’s rainy season — but that also means it’s the best time to go for fewer crowds and better rates.

Fun fact: In 1153 AD, the nation’s people converted to Islam. Today, the Maldives remains the most heavily Muslim country on earth.

11. Barcelona, Spain

Soccer, architecture, shopping, nightlife, world-class food and wine, arts and culture — is there anything Barcelona doesn’t have? If there is, we honestly can't think what it would be. 

This cosmopolitan Spanish city is home to some awe-inspiring architecture, including several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi, so be sure to book tours of his whimsical creations like Park Guell and the yet-to-be-finished Church of the Sacred Family (La Sagrada Familia). 

For nightlife and shopping, Las Ramblas is always bustling; for an enriching arts experience, follow the progression of famed artist Pablo Picasso at Museo Picasso.

What to Know Before You Go to Barcelona

Where to stay:  Hotel Bagues

Hot tip: It can get really humid here, so it's best to plan your trip in May and June before things really heat up.

Fun fact: In preparation for its 1992 hosting of the Olympics, the city flew in sand from as far away as Egypt to make Barceloneta Beach a place where people would want to go. Though largely man-made, the beach remains a wonderful spot for seaside R&R. 

10. Glacier National Park, Montana

The crown jewel of beautiful Montana, Glacier National Park is every outdoors traveler's dream.

Of course, the most defining natural feature of the park are its glaciers, which provide spectacular views as well as a number of pristine lakes. There are hundreds of trails that will take you up peaks, down through valleys and across some of the most beautiful landscapes you'll ever see.

What to Know Before You Go to Glacier National Park

Where to stay: Firebrand Hotel

Hot tip:  Plan to spend a day or two in the nearby town of Whitefish. This gateway to Glacier National Park is one of the best small towns in America and a destination in its own right. 

Fun fact: During your visit, you're very likely to run into mountain goats, which are the official symbols of the park.

9. Tokyo, Japan

The Japanese capital is one of the most exciting cities on the entire planet. It is notoriously fast-paced, with neon lights illuminating the multitudes that are constantly rushing to their next destination. 

But Tokyo is also a city of temples, of taking time to picnic under the cherry blossoms and of making sure you enjoy the abundance of delicious food that can be found on basically every corner.

What to Know Before You Go to Tokyo

Where to stay: The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Hot tip: Visit between the months of March and April or September and November for more comfortable temperatures. Of course, spring is when the city's cherry blossoms are famously in full bloom.

Fun fact: Tokyo happens to be the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 40 million people calling the greater metro area home.

8. Phuket, Thailand

If you’re looking for a vacation destination that feels luxurious but won’t break the bank, start searching for flights to Phuket now. 

This island in southern Thailand, which is just an hour flight from Bangkok, is surrounded by the Andaman Sea, so white sandy beaches abound. If a stunning sunset is what you’re after, head to Promthep Cape, the southernmost point on the island and a popular spot for photo-ops. For views of the island and beyond, climb to the top of the massive alabaster statue called Big Buddha.

You can even learn something during your vacation by visiting the Soi Dog Foundation, an innovative animal shelter that’s fighting the meat trade and taking care of the thousands of stray cats and dogs in the area.

What to Know Before You Go to Phuket

Where to stay: InterContinental Phuket Resort

Hot tip: Visit between November and April for the best weather — and ideal conditions for beach activities like swimming and boating. 

Fun fact: The island is not pronounced in the rather colorful way it appears to be. The correct way to say it is “poo-ket” or “poo-get.”

7. Rome, Italy

Though Rome’s historic significance cannot be overstated, don’t assume that this Italian city is stuck in the past. On the contrary, you’ll find posh storefronts and luxurious hotels not far from iconic structures like the Pantheon (built in 120 AD) and the Colosseum (built in 80 AD).

And then, of course, there’s the city’s art. Stroll through Rome, and you’ll stumble upon some of the greatest treasures the world has ever seen — an astonishing collection of frescoes, paintings, ceilings and fountains created by icons like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Raphael and Bernini.

After all that exploration, take advantage of ample opportunities to eat and drink, including at several Michelin-starred restaurants. City staples include suppli (deep-fried balls of risotto, mozzarella and ragu meat sauce) and cacio e pepe (a deceptively simple mix of al-dente pasta, pecorino romano and fresh black pepper). 

What to Know Before You Go to Rome

Where to stay: Radisson Blu Ghr Hotel

Hot tip: Tourists congregate here in the summer when temperatures are also sweltering. Go instead between October and April, when there are thinner crowds, better rates and cooler temps. Just make sure to bring a light jacket.

Fun fact: Each year, travelers throw about $1.7 million worth of coins into the Trevi Fountain. The money is donated to Caritas, a Catholic nonprofit that supports charities focused on health, disaster relief, poverty and migration.

6. London, England

English writer Samual Johnson once said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” 

From live performances of Shakespeare to truly world-class (and free!) museums like the National Gallery, London will enrich your mind and enliven your senses. Of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at Buckingham Palace to see the famous stone-faced guards outside and the 19 lavish State Rooms inside (though, unfortunately, you can’t see the queen’s private quarters). Another must-see landmark is the Tower of London, the historic castle on the north side of the River Thames.

What to Know Before You Go to London

Where to stay: Vintry & Mercer

Hot tip: Many U.S. cities now offer direct flights to London, so set a price alert and act fast when you see fares drop.

Fun fact: London’s pubs are worth a visit for their names alone; fanciful monikers include The Case is Altered, The Pyrotechnists Arms, John the Unicorn and The Job Centre. 

5. Tahiti, French Polynesia

Flavorful French cuisine, top-notch resorts, warm waters — need we say more? Though Tahiti can be pricey, travelers say it’s so worth it. 

The largest of the 118 French Polynesian islands, Tahiti is split into two main regions (connected by a land bridge). Tahiti Nui, the larger region, is home to the island’s capital Papeete and surfing hotspot Papenoo Beach, while Tahiti Iti, the smaller region, offers more seclusion and the bright white sands of La Plage de Maui.

What to Know Before You Go to Tahiti

Where to stay: Hilton Hotel Tahiti

Hot tip: Visit between May and October, Tahiti’s winter, when there are less humidity and rain. 

Fun fact: Overcrowding is not a concern here; Hawaii gets more visitors in 10 days than all of French Polynesia does in a year.

4. Maui, Hawaii

If you’re short on time or you just can’t decide which Hawaiian island to visit, Maui is right in the sweet spot: not too big, not too small, but just right.

There are five regions to explore on Maui, including the popular West Maui and South Maui, home to some of the island’s best-known attractions and beaches (Wailea Beach is in South Maui, for example). But don’t overlook East Maui, where you can travel along the Road to Hana, or the Upcountry, where you can explore the world’s largest dormant volcano, Haleakala. 

What to Know Before You Go to Maui

Where to stay:  Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

Hot tip: This is Hawaii we’re talking about, so your trip will be on the pricey side. Be sure to budget for add-ons if you need them (think gym access and WiFi at your hotel), and do some research on insurance before you head to the car-rental counter.

Fun fact: How’s this for a selling point? Maui has more beach than any other Hawaiian island — 60 miles of it, with red, white and black sand.

3. Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Don’t write off the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora just because of its size. Though it’s a little more than 2 miles wide and just 6 miles long, Bora Bora packs in an abundance of natural beauty. To start, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the island’s turquoise lagoon surrounded by lush jungle.

If you’re looking for more than relaxation on your trip, consider hiking or booking a 4X4 tour of Mount Otemanu, part of an extinct volcano that rises 2,400 feet above the lagoon. You can also snorkel among the coral reef of Coral Gardens, where you might catch a glimpse of reef sharks, eels and stingrays.

Because of its remoteness, flying into Bora Bora Airport will be quite a journey, no matter where you're departing from. But you'll forget everything as soon as you see this Polynesian paradise that is beautiful beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to Bora Bora

Where to stay: Conrad Bora Bora Nui

Hot tip: Though Bora Bora can be wildly expensive to visit, you can cut costs by visiting between December and March (though you should avoid the Christmas holiday) and by bringing your own alcohol and sunscreen with you.

Fun fact: Bora Bora is one of the countries that no longer exists . The Kingdom of Bora Bora was an independent state until it was forcefully overtaken and annexed by France in 1888.

2. Paris, France

Paris has it all — incredible cuisine, legendary landmarks and centuries of history. Those are just some of the reasons it’s the second-best place to visit in the world.

Though you’ll want to spend your time hitting up popular tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and the Musee d’Orsay, you should also carve out time to explore other parts of Paris — the city’s 20 diverse neighborhoods, called arrondissements, for instance. Standouts include the 2nd arrondissement, which touts covered passages and some of the city’s hippest restaurants, and the romantic 18th arrondissement, with charming squares, cafes and bars, set apart from the city’s more tourist-packed areas.

What to Know Before You Go to Paris

Where to stay: Grand Hotel Du Palais Royal

Hot tip: Yes, summer in Paris is busy, but the weather is also ideal — average highs are in the 70s.

Fun fact: Built for the 1889 World Fair, the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be temporary , and was almost torn down in 1909. Luckily, local officials saw its value as a radiotelegraph station, preserving the future tourist icon for generations to come. 

1. South Island, New Zealand

South Island, the larger but less populated of the two islands that make up New Zealand, earn this top-spot honor for its gorgeous scenery, adrenelin-pumping experiences and affordability.

The 33.5-mile hike on Milford Sound, which is limited to 90 people at a time, is considered one of the world’s best treks, with stops at Lake Te Anau, suspension bridges, a mountain pass and the tallest waterfall in the country, Sutherland Falls.

For a heart-pumping experience, you can jump out of a helicopter while flying over the Harris Mountains with skis on your feet. Still not satisfied? Roam Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage area, and explore the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, two of the most accessible glaciers in the world.

What to Know Before You Go to New Zealand

Where to stay: QT Queenstown

Hot tip: Book your trip for the fall, when South Island is temperate, not overcrowded and offers great rates. Bonus: This is also when the island is at its most stunning.

Fun fact: New Zealand natives, called Kiwis, are among the most hospitable you’ll ever meet. The local saying “He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata” translates , appropriately, to “What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people.”

The Best Places to Travel in 2022

Where will 2022 take you below, you’ll find 39 destinations—from abu dhabi to alberta, canada—where your visit will really count. locals tell us what’s new, exciting, and worth the trip in the coming year..

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Where to Go Next. It feels good to write those words. After a long pause, travel is returning. Borders are reopening, families are reuniting, and deferred dreams are becoming realities. As 2022 approaches, are you eagerly and excitedly plotting out your next 12 months of trips? Or maybe you’re still just fantasizing about travel, unsure about where you’ll go next and when.

To inspire all your travel hopes and wishes, we’ve collected 39 love letters to various places, written by the people who know them best: locals. How did we decide what to spotlight? We focused on the lesser-known sides of a destination (Abu Dhabi and Taiwan); spots where your visit could really count (Turkana, Kenya, and Ten Thousand Islands, Florida); and those cities that could use a little love on the heels of 2020 and 2021 ( Chicago and Copenhagen ). As always, we tell these stories through the lens of travel as a force for good: more inclusive, conscientious, and sustainable. Cheers to a year of getting out there again. —Julia Cosgrove, editor in chief

1. Russian River Valley, California

The gods of climate change made some of their first displays of power in this slice of rural california, where there’s much to love and much to protect.

The Bay Area is still lovable in its fleece-wearing Tesla millionaire kind of way, but—local secret here—the region’s faded old river towns have long been the heart of our most quintessential Northern California-ness. The addled trappings of modern life fall away at the first quake of the aspens. What remains is a refreshingly purer iteration of the human spirit, miles from the venture-funded sleekness of San Francisco.

Here, at a lazy bend in the shimmering Russian River, a wiry man in a milk jug raft drifts past singing Puccini. Explore farther and you’ll discover a five-and-dime on Main Street in Guerneville. Join a barbecue at the Monte Rio firehouse. Feel the gentle purling of the river under your butt as your inner tube floats vaguely west, not a care in the world except not spilling that beer someone tossed you.

The Lower Russian River Valley has long inhabited a slower, more analog era that’s left room for funky charms to take root. The passage of time seemed to just sort of overlook this region—at least until now.

For the full story from Chris Colin, read The True Heart of California’s Bay Area Is in the Russian River Valley .

2. Chicago, Illinois

The windy city is roaring back from the pandemic, thanks to its entrepreneurial spirit and strong sense of pride.

In the aftermath of the Great Fire, which razed more than 2,000 acres of central Chicago in 1871, leaving nearly 100,000 homeless, one resident, William D. Kerfoot, displayed a hand-painted sign that read” “all gone but wife, children and energy. I have been thinking about Kerfoot since the pandemic. But not before a full year of questioning why I still lived in Chicago when everything I loved about it—the theater, music, sports, and dining scenes, as well as the 26-mile lakefront—was closed or verboten.

As the city has been slowly reopening, I have been reminded of Kerfoot’s outlook. Jazz musicians started holding “step sessions” on neighborhood porches, encouraging residents to BYO and use virtual tip jars. They’re planning to return to porches in spring 2022. Entrepreneurs renovated an RV as Majostee Spa , a mobile nail salon making home visits. Stephanie Hart, owner of Brown Sugar Bakery , recognized the need for comfort food during the pandemic; now the baker is looking to open a shop for her famed cupcakes at O’Hare International Airport, where she can, as she puts it, “export a little bit of my African American neighborhood and inspire [people] to come to 75th Street and see everything we’re serving.”

“Chicago sees itself, since the fire, as a city able to withstand whatever,” said Shermann Dilla Thomas, a historian who offers guided city tours. “It also makes us a city that doesn’t believe in small plans. After you get a blank canvas, the sky’s the limit.”

For the full story from Elaine Glusac, read As the Pandemic (Hopefully) Wanes, Chicago Is Back and Stronger Than Ever .

3. Métis Crossing, Alberta, Canada

Alberta’s first métis cultural destination was conceived, built, and operated by métis people to tell their story—and in 2022 it’s getting a huge expansion.

I was about 12 years old when I first met my birth mother and discovered that I was Métis. I saw her several times after that, and though we never discussed why I grew up in foster care, she frequently reiterated that we were both Métis. I’ve spent years trying to figure out exactly what that meant and why it was so important.

Since the 18th century, the French word métis has described individuals in Canada with mixed Indigenous and European ancestry. In Canada’s early years, French and Scottish fur traders married First Nations women of Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Cree, and other cultural backgrounds, and soon the Métis Nation was born. The Métis were known for hunting, trapping, and fur trading, and in 1982 they became one of the three groups of recognized Indigenous Peoples of Canada .

Métis Crossing , which opened in 2005 on the river lots—the riverside settlements home to the earliest settlers in this part of Alberta—is a fascinating place to learn about Métis culture, traditions, and beliefs. There’s a campground with comfortably furnished trappers’ tents, and in 2019, a large Cultural Gathering Centre was built to host educational programs. When I visited in fall 2021, I wanted a cultural experience, and I also wanted to embrace my own Indigenous roots.

For the full story from Debbie Olsen, read Discover a Side of Indigenous Canada at Métis Crossing, Newly Expanding in 2022 .

4. Portland, Jamaica

Avoid the crowds and head to a serene shoreline and the birthplace of jerk chicken.

I escaped my tiny living quarters in Long Island, New York, for rural Robins Bay in Jamaica in September 2020. On weekends, I explore. My favorite discovery is the parish of Portland on the island’s northeast coast, which—unlike Montego Bay and Ocho Rios with many tourists—offers flourishing rain forests, laid-back beaches, and a vibe of soon come, no hurry, no worries. . . .

I have a particular soft spot for Winnifred Beach, where neighbors and families go to relax. Food vendors and artists sell their wares from small shops, made from zinc and wood, and despite the lull in business during the pandemic, dancehall and reggae still boom. Nothing stops the party. If it’s Saturday, true to tradition, somebody is quite likely cooking (and sharing) chicken foot soup. Another favorite ocean retreat is Frenchman’s Cove, where flowing water from the Blue Mountains creates a dramatic canopy of tropical greenery by a white-sand beach. Further south, Reach Falls is beloved for its underwater cave, natural heart-shaped pool reminiscent of a Jacuzzi, mountain views, and lush vegetation.

For the full story from Sheryl Nance-Nash, read Find the ‘Real’ Jamaica in This Laid-Back Neighborhood .

5. Arica and Parinacota, Chile

Local textiles, llamas, and the world’s oldest mummies are among the reasons to visit northern chile..

When travelers plan trips to the desiccated salt flats and cloud-hugging lagoons of the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, most end up in the resort town of San Pedro. Yet 400 miles north lies a refreshing alternative: Chile’s Arica and Parinacota region.

The main reason to go is to explore a new UNESCO World Heritage site created in July 2021 that honors the Chinchorro culture. These hunter-gatherers crafted the world’s oldest mummies, covering their deceased with clay masks and flowing wigs some 7,000 years ago (2,000 years before the ancient Egyptians). A tourist circuit now unites 19 archaeological sites along the Pacific coast and passes six roadside Chinchorro statues designed by local artists Paola Pimentel and Johnny Vásquez. Meanwhile, the mummy museum in Azapa Valley is preparing for a multimillion-dollar revamp to be completed by 2024.

The 143-mile trip from lowland Arica to highland Parinacota follows another new tourist trail: Ruta de las Misiones. The route includes dozens of hamlets inhabited by the Aymara people, many featuring whitewashed adobe churches and handcrafted alpaca textiles from Indigenous artisans such as Julia Cañari. Putre is the largest of these villages. At an altitude of 11,500 feet, you can acclimatize here for expeditions into the volcano-studded Lauca National Park , llama-filled Las Vicuñas National Reserve , or the blindingly white Salar (salt flat) de Surire , where the hot springs come with views of pink flamingos. —Mark Johanson

6. Acadia National Park, Maine

New england’s sylvan wonderland is filled with winding trails and history lessons.

It’s easy to get away from people amid the 47,000 acres of Acadia National Park , where the jagged Maine coast cuts into the Atlantic. But no matter where you go, you’re surrounded by historical figures. The intricate carriage trails around Mount Desert Island, where much of the park is situated, were commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the early 1900s. Many of the island’s other trails were built as part of a New Deal–era Civilian Conservation Corps public works project in the 1930s.

Stone stairs that seem almost magically carved into the mountainside form parts of Homans Path, a trail named for Eliza Homans. She was a wealthy widow and longtime summer resident who, in 1908, first gifted part of the land that would become the park. The 140-acre spread Homans bequeathed includes one of Acadia’s most treacherous and rewarding hikes, the Beehive—a short but steep climb up a cliff face, with a payoff view of Sand Beach and the Atlantic coastline.

Mount Desert Island’s lake and ponds are another plus. For most of the summer, you can jump off the rocks at Echo Lake Ledges or hike to the distant parts of Long Pond, where you’ll be rewarded with crystal clear water and, often, few other swimmers in sight. —Sally Kohn

7. Houston, Texas

In 2022, space city offers distinct dining and art options that celebrate its diverse communities.

As one of the nation’s most multiethnic cities, with some 145 languages spoken, Houston is full of culinary and cultural innovation. MasterChef winner Christine Ha’s restaurant Blind Goat deliciously showcases the city’s Vietnamese community, while the local chain Tacos A Go Go represents some of the best of its Latinx options. (Be sure to try all the tacos while you’re in town: corn tacos filled with barbacoa; shrimp tacos; and migas tacos, a Tex-Mex staple made with scrambled eggs and jalapeños).

For a taste of Houston’s Black-owned restaurants, book a table at Lucille’s , where the celebrated chef Chris Williams turns out fine Southern cuisine (catfish and grits, fish fry, and liver and onions). If you’re craving comfort food, head to Breakfast Klub .

Don’t miss a trip to the Third Ward (the neighborhood where Beyoncé and Solange Knowles were raised). There you’ll find the Houston Museum of African American Culture , which recognizes the achievements of Black Americans. Another essential stop: Project Row Houses , a site encompassing five city blocks that has been serving Houston’s artists of color for three decades. It presents programming that preserves and elevates Black culture and community, regularly running exhibitions and events while supporting young people and small businesses. —Kayla Stewart

8. Charlotte, North Carolina

North carolina’s largest city is turning into an essential food destination, with tempting options across different neighborhoods.

If you asked someone a few years ago what Charlotte is known for, they might have said it’s one of the country’s biggest banking spots. But the city is fast becoming appreciated for its growing culinary scene.

Take the James Beard Award–nominated chef Greg Collier and his wife and business partner, Subrina. In 2020, the restaurateurs opened Leah & Louise , a modern-day juke joint in Charlotte’s creative hub, Camp North End . The cuisine honors their Southern roots: fried oyster sliders and slow-roasted cabbage with pork neck bisque. The pair have a special place in my heart, as they helped found Soul Food Sessions, a pop-up dinner series featuring Black chefs and mixologists.

Exciting new businesses are opening regularly. In September 2021, cocktail connoisseur Tamu Curtis opened the Cocktailery for classes and tastings in the city’s Atherton Mill retail center. In 2022, Ricky Ortiz, the Mexico-born owner of Tacos Rick-O , will expand his food empire beyond his taco truck at Hoppin’ —a self-service beer, wine, and cider spot in South End—with a new concept based on Spanish desserts in the NoDa arts and entertainment district.

“Charlotte’s not just football and finance,” Greg Collier insists. “This ain’t just the cookie-cutter, vanilla shell South . . . It’s a place full of aspirations, mind-blowing creatives, good cooking, and possibilities.” —DeAnna Taylor

9. Anguilla

One of the caribbean’s smallest islands punches above its weight.

With 33 beaches, several islands and cays, and more than 100 restaurants, Anguilla packs a lot into its 35 square miles.

Start by hopping on American Airlines’ new direct flight from Miami into Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. You’ll disembark mere minutes from any one of the island’s beaches, a string of seductive white-sand scallops lapped by blue water. On Meads Bay, check in to Tranquility Beach, a collection of 15 suites (all with kitchens) that preside over sand resembling powdered sugar and offering magnificent sunset views. Close by is the Hummingbird , a charming cottage studio that’s a perfect choice for solo travelers.

For lunch, try Ken’s BBQ in Anguilla’s capital, The Valley, where they have been cooking fall-off-the-bone tender ribs for more than 20 years. Don’t forget to finish the meal with a Johnny cake or two. If you’re in the mood to treat yourself, end the day with cocktails at Four Seasons Anguilla ’s ocean-view Sunset Lounge, then continue to dinner at beachfront classic Blanchards, where you should sample the grilled Anguillian crayfish.

The next day, if cerulean seas beckon, charter a catamaran to take you from Crocus Bay to Little Bay, a compact cove you might have all to yourself. —Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

10. Bermuda

Look beyond bermuda’s pink-sand beaches and explore black history on the islands..

Famous for its blush-colored beaches and the shorts, Bermuda has long been a traveler’s dream, but this 21-square-mile archipelago nestled in the North Atlantic also offers a substantial measure of Black culture and history. In 2020, it became one of the first places in the world to honor a Black woman with a public holiday; Mary Prince Day celebrates the formerly enslaved Bermudian who became the first Black woman in England to publish her own narrative, the seminal 1831 book The History of Mary Prince .

Visitors to the islands can follow the African Diaspora Heritage Trail , which includes museums, monuments, and even a seaside cave connected to Bermuda’s Black past. For an experience that showcases both food and history, book Kristin White’s bike tour through the cobblestone streets of St. George’s , a UNESCO World Heritage site. Or on your own, walk past the candy-colored buildings of the capital city, Hamilton, and pop into the Griot bookstore , a sunlit, art-adorned space that sells works by authors of African descent. Pick up a cold-pressed elixir at the mural-covered Om Juicery (locals are partial to “Bountiful” and “Dancing”). In the reef-hugging Sandys Parish, Buna Gallery and Coffee House serves up Ethiopian brews, live music, and local art exhibits in a stylish setting. Settle in and stay awhile. —Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

11. Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico

Yucatán’s welcoming capital city offers a sensory experience on every corner.

Each evening, as the sun begins to settle into its slumber, Mérida comes to life. Nightfall offers a respite from the sweltering heat of the day. Families gather in the zócalo for cultural performances. The city’s main drag, Paseo de Montejo, is lined with tables where patrons delight in nibbles and tipples. Elderly couples salsa dance in the park as if no one is watching, and if you walk down any of the main streets in the Centro neighborhood, you’ll hear the thrums and drums of bachata beats from beyond the swinging doors of local cantinas.

Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, revels in permanent celebration, and the city invites you to do the same, to find joy in simple pleasures. It’s a place where diversity extends beyond what to do, see, and eat. LGBTQ travelers, for example, can find nightlife in Centro and spend evenings vibing to live music at Cadadía Bar Café .

Visitors to the city will quickly discover the “Mérida magic” that everyone speaks of—that inexplicable sense of happiness, peace, and community found here. It may be the deep-rooted culture and rich gastronomic heritage that draws people to the colonial city; for me, it was the Mérida magic that turned my three-month visit into home for the foreseeable future. —Colby Holiday

12. Washington, D.C.

Wander around the new waterfront and taste your way through the revitalized capital city.

Washington, D.C., is so much more than its reputation as the center of U.S. politics. It’s a welcoming, walkable city with residents and regions as culturally diverse as the international embassies that line Massachusetts Avenue. Over the past decade, the city has transformed several neighborhoods—the H Street Corridor, Brookland, NoMa, Shaw, and the LGBTQ-friendly Logan Circle. The flourishing food scene attracts locals and visitors to such neighborhood anchors as Tortino (which serves elevated Italian dishes) and the Dabney , a Michelin-starred restaurant specializing in farm-to-table American fare.

But the District’s newest star is the Wharf , where the second phase of a $2.5 billion revitalization project is expected to be completed in 2022. New additions include the 131-room Pendry hotel and a tranquil 1.5-acre green space called “The Green”. Stroll the brick walkway to take in the serene Potomac River while eating delicious confections from District Donuts or shop for clothing, jewelry, and home decor at stores like the Black-owned fashion boutique A Beautiful Closet .

At Kaliwa , order the drunken duck noodles and other Thai and Filipino dishes. Or head to chef Philippe Massoud’s new high-end Lebanese restaurant, Ilili , and try the tender braised lamb shank. Close out your night with panoramic views at the rooftop bar Whiskey Charlie . The Wharf Spiced Rum is a perfect coda to a perfect day in the district. —Kwin Mosby

13. Ten Thousand Islands, Florida

A labyrinthine world of mangroves, sandy islands, and clear skies awaits intrepid kayakers on florida’s gulf coast.

Everglades National Park —the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States—reveals only its outer edges to daytrippers. For a deeper view of a similar ecosystem, head to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge , just south of Marco Island. Here, one of the world’s largest mangrove systems covers 230 square miles, where fresh and salt waters meet.

“We’re not a beach destination, like St. Petersburg or Daytona,” says Charles Wright, a naturalist who owns Everglades Area Tours and takes guests on kayak adventures through mangrove islands in the Gulf of Mexico. “But there are sandy barrier islands with beautiful beaches . . . from Marco Island to the mouth of the Lostmans River.

“Most people think of swamps when they think of the Everglades—of airboats, alligators, and mosquitoes,” he adds. But the Everglades are much more than that, and the Ten Thousand Islands “are kind of the untapped jewel, with dolphins, manatees, orchids and bromeliads, wading birds, raptors, and more.”

On expeditions from Chokoloskee Island, you’ll camp on deserted islands and visit Native American sites; the Calusa tribe inhabited the area as early as the 15th century. One thing you won’t really see, however, is light pollution—just the canopy of the Milky Way in the inky skies above your camp at night. —Terry Ward

14. Northern Minnesota

Once known for its mining boomtowns, the iron range has gotten a mighty makeover.

Minnesota is lauded for its lakes—more than 10,000 of them—but any local knows that its land deserves some love, too. To get better acquainted, head to northern Minnesota’s Iron Range , which has quietly debuted 250 miles of new biking trails in the past decade. The routes came about largely thanks to local cycling enthusiasts, who have worked to turn the area into a magnet for biking in nature. Tioga Recreation Area added 19 miles of mountain bike trails near the town of Cohasset in August 2019, and a trail expansion is currently underway in Cuyuna County, which already has 50 miles of rust-colored dirt paths spread over 800 acres.

One of the most recent news makers? Redhead Mountain Bike Park , which opened in June 2020 after a nearly $2 million investment, now features 25 miles of trails outside the town of Chisholm. There, you can ride cinnamon-colored paths flanked by steep cliffs that descend into an abandoned mining pit with an aqua-blue lake at the bottom. (You’d be in good company, as more than 25,000 people have ridden the popular trails since the launch.)

If you’re looking for something a little smoother, northeastern Minnesota has you covered there, too. As of press time, the paved Mesabi Trail offers more than 135 miles of biking and walking through forests and small towns. When completed, it will stretch 155 miles from the Mississippi River to the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , one of the country’s most glorious natural sites. (And no, I’m not biased.) —Katherine LaGrave

15. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

This lively caribbean coastal town offers excellent surfing and beaches, plus a secret dry season.

In September 2021, Costa Rica’s new Digital Nomads law began granting visas to foreign nationals for up to two years, inspiring remote workers to live out their long-term fantasies of surf, work, ceviche, repeat. Whether you’re eyeing a semipermanent move or just a weeklong break, one place to dip your toes in is Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a small coastal town on the country’s less frequented Caribbean side.

You won’t find the big brands or high-rises of Papagayo and Tamarindo here—just soft sand beaches and green macaws, and local boutiques such as Aloe Tienda for stylish handmade women’s clothing. The African influence is palpable in the Limonese Creole patois, calypso beats, and the coconut-sweetened version of rice and beans.

Another plus of Puerto Viejo: The town experiences a dry season in September and October, when most of the country is inundated with rain. Travelers who visit at this time usually luck out at such mega surf breaks as Salsa Brava. In nearby Cahuita National Park , a large coral reef hosts an array of marine life, ranging from diminutive damselfish to nurse sharks. Snorkelers can experience it in all its glory. After a few days in Puerto Viejo, you might discover it’s time to adopt the Pura Vida lifestyle and stay awhile. —Nina Kokotas Hahn

16. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

A road trip through abu dhabi reveals what lies beneath the surface of this sprawling emirate.

In its 50 years of existence, the United Arab Emirates has developed at lightning speed, creating cities out of the desert with record-breaking skyscrapers, lavish hotels, and a fast pace of life. As the pandemic forced me to slow down, I rediscovered the joy of exploring the hidden sides of my home. By the time my friend Rashid Khalfan invited me to Abu Dhabi, the emirate south of Dubai that covers 26,000 miles, I was ready to explore farther afield.

Rashid, knowing my love for brutalist architecture, showed me some of his favorite buildings, which he admires as symbols of a young nation’s progress. He pointed out the Buty Al Otaiba Tower , covered in rows of hexagonal windows, and the Hamed Centre , with its diamond motif. The most handsome edifice was the Al Ibrahimi building, a circular tower with protruding balconies that resemble woven fabric, designed by the late Egyptian modernist architect Farouk El Gohary . “The older ones have more Arabic touches; the later ones from the ’80s and ’90s have more glass on their facades,” Rashid said.

I could’ve stayed longer, but the Rub’ Al-Khali—the Empty Quarter, an expanse of desert 130 miles to the south—was calling. There the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara rises like a mirage, designed to enable your desert fantasies as you ride camels, smoke fragrant shisha, and let yourself be cocooned in rhassoul clay in the hammam.

For the full story from Nicola Chilton, read A Road Trip Through Abu Dhabi Reveals Its History .

17. Luxor, Egypt

Sometimes, the most enchanting experiences can be found outdoors

Find me a treasure in Luxor, Egypt, that can’t be savored in the open air—I challenge you. In three years of wintering in this city on the banks of the Nile, about 400 miles south of Cairo, I haven’t found one. Luxor is often called an open-air museum, a place where antiquities are as common as mosques, schools, or fruit stands. A visitor could stroll the grounds of Karnak Temple —not to mention Luxor Temple , Valley of the Queens , Valley of the Kings , or the Colossi of Memnon —for days and still find obelisks to marvel at, all while breathing in fresh Sahara Desert air.

Luxor is where I met my husband, and it’s where we now live part-time (when not in Alberta, Canada), in a mud-brick house on the city’s quieter, more rural-feeling West Bank. It’s located on the edge of Medinet Habu Temple , parts of which date to 1500 B.C.E. I joke that we’re basically “glamping in the desert”—never fully inside, because the dust, the donkey braying, and the call to prayer easily find their way in through the corners of our earthen abode. No need to set an alarm clock, since the whoosh of hot-air balloons overhead stirs us awake by sunrise.

For the full story from Colleen Kinder, read Get Outside in Luxor, Egypt, to Walk Among the Kings .

18. Jinja, Uganda

This nile-side city in eastern uganda abounds with outdoor adventures.

Set along the nile river in eastern Uganda, Jinja is home to misty views marked by rapids and waterfalls, as well as roads blanketed by red dust that spools onto the skin with a vengeance. My father’s work in the petroleum industry frequently took him to Jinja, 140 miles west of my hometown, Kisumu, Kenya. As a child, I often tagged along to explore the natural wonders of the area.

On a recent visit, I based myself at the Nile Porch , a hotel with semi-tented, high-ceilinged rooms. I discovered Adrift Uganda , which offers trips along the Nile River that include Class VI rapids, and booked a trip. I was relieved when my group voted to tackle a Class III rapid called Bubugo—until I learned that it means “condolences” in the Lusoga language of Uganda.

Later that afternoon, on a less harrowing quad-biking excursion with All Terrain Adventures through nearby Kyabirwa Village, I charged past farms bursting with maize; kids ran out from the open doorways of mud-brick homes to wave hello.

The next day, as I paddled on flat waters with Kayak the Nile , observing cormorants and kingfishers while otters lazily swam past me, I was reminded of that feeling of limitless adventure that continues to lure me back. —Wendy Watta

19. Karoo, South Africa

This valley northeast of cape town reveals a less explored side of south africa’s interio.

My love affair with the Klein Karoo—a semidesert valley 200 miles from Cape Town, on the southern edges of the Karoo region—blossomed late. In part, moving far away from Cape Town to New York City allowed me to appreciate this area with fresh eyes when I returned.

The Klein Karoo contains a 215-mile stretch of Route 62 that runs parallel to the more famous Garden Route. I traveled the entire road in January 2021, and my first stop was the country’s Sanbona Wildlife Reserve at the foot of the scrubby Warmwaterberg Mountains. The terrain, with its ancient rock formations and indigenous fynbos vegetation, is the only place to see the region’s nearly extinct white lions. At Dwyka Tented Lodge , set in an amphitheater of rock, there’s peace in the deafening silence.

An hour west lies Montagu, a handsome town framed by farms and the jagged Cape Fold Mountains. One of my favorite hotels is Jonkmanshof , a guesthouse set between two restored Cape Dutch buildings. When I return to the region next, I’ll check into Stil , a monochromatic retreat with a sculpture garden that opened in 2021. I’ll also take a morning hike along the Keisie River, where weaverbirds and shrikes soar above. And I’ll follow it with a latte in the tree-shaded garden of the Barn on 62 , a coffee shop at the foot of those magical mountains. —Mary Holland

20. Turkana, Kenya

Explore the northwestern corner of kenya, where archaeological sites and the blue waters of lake turkana await.

Having lived in Kenya all my life, I never knew how rich and varied the landscapes and cultures of my own homeland could be—until I traveled to Turkana County.

This arid part of the country, often called the cradle of humankind, lies 310 miles northwest of Nairobi. Turkana is one of Kenya’s largest counties, but even with its groundbreaking archaeological finds and distinct traditions, few people visit.

During a recent trip, my first stop is Turkana’s dusty capital, Lodwar, where I head to the Mikeka market, famous for its intricate handwoven baskets made with multicolored reeds. The women who create them use the earnings to supplement their agricultural livelihoods, which are constantly threatened by drought. From Lodwar, I travel east for 45 miles until I reach the azure waters of Lake Turkana. I stop at the fishing town of Kalokol to observe anglers dry tilapia and perch and to view Namoratunga II, a 2,300-year-old ceremonial site composed of 19 stone pillars.

Next I drive 50 miles north along the lake to Nariokotome to see the discovery site of Turkana Boy , the most complete known skeleton of Homo erectus, dating back 1.6 million years. A brass replica of the hominid skeleton stands near the site where it was uncovered; the original resides in the National Museum of Kenya . But the site itself, where I can picture Turkana Boy in the very place he once inhabited, offers a powerful reminder of our ancient roots. —Harriet Akinyi

21. Ibadan, Nigeria

A three-hour train ride from lagos, this centuries-old city is rich in history, culture, and hearty cuisine..

Ibadan is the city of my youth, my mother’s youth, and that of her mother before her.

Once an epicenter of Nigerian politics, Ibadan was founded by Yoruba warriors in the 19th century. Today, it’s characterized by its seven hills, colonial buildings, and rusty corrugated roofing. Thanks to the newly modernized Nigerian Railway , my mother and I recently returned to Ibadan from Lagos on a journey that took us past thick rain forests, farmlands, and rural communities.

From the train station, our taxi dropped us at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), founded by Americans in 1967 to improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Spread over 2,400 acres, the IITA headquarters includes farms, offices, and a tree-shaded, utilitarian hotel.

From there, we set off to explore the manicured grounds of the University of Ibadan —Nigeria’s first university—and wandered among the eucalyptus and teak trees at Agodi Botanical Gardens. We haggled for yams and fresh ata rodo—habanero peppers—in the Bodija market. At Amala Skye, a buka (canteen) that serves Yoruba comfort food, we fortified ourselves on green-hued ewedu, a soup made with jute leaves.

As we tasted these familiar flavors and recounted our school days, it occurred to me how much there is to explore in my home country. That thought alone brought me indescribable joy. — Mimi Aborowa

22. Negev Desert, Israel

The rocky, dune-filled landscape in the southern half of israel has just welcomed its newest retreat.

I was 13 years old when I visited Israel’s Negev Desert for the first time, and the moment I saw its primeval craters and sand-colored mountains, I was transfixed. During my residential high school program in Israel, the expansive desert offered an otherworldly, biblical antidote to my suburban London childhood.

Since moving to Tel Aviv in 2017, I try to return to the Negev whenever I need to reconnect with my carefree younger self. And this passage through time just got more comfortable, thanks to the sublime Six Senses Shaharut , a resort that opened in August 2021.

I traveled to the desert in the fall, and on arrival to the Six Senses, immediately noticed the site-specific architecture. Built from locally sourced limestone, the buildings blend into their surroundings. My suite was designed using natural stone, copper, and a teak door from an old boat. Following a perfect night of sleep, I awoke to views of the unspoiled Arava Valley through floor-to-ceiling windows. I took an aerial yoga class and then a dip in the infinity pool. Looking out at the desert that has awed me for nearly 30 years, I felt deeply inspired to walk its paths anew. —Natalie Blenford

23. Imlil, Morocco

This small village in the atlas mountains exudes a warm, laid-back hospitality.

Moving a household is always stressful. But when I relocated three years ago to Imlil, a tiny Berber village in the heart of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, my biggest worry was trying to figure out if a mule could carry a washing machine up a mountain.

I had found a house in a family compound carved into the rock of one of the high peaks that surround the main street in Imlil. A valley full of walnut and cherry trees stretches out beneath my terrace, and in the spring the landscape is drowned in pink-and-white blossoms. The day I moved in, children screeched around the communal yard, and the cow—who lives under my bedroom—vied with the chickens to make the most noise. I stepped onto the terrace as the first notes of the Muslim call to prayer rang out, bouncing off the peaks painted golden by the sun. I saw the tiny figures of hikers high on the trails.

At 5 p.m., Miriam, my new neighbor, took my hand in her warm one and led me into her house. “It’s teatime,” she said. Women and children sat on the handwoven carpets, chattering like birds.

Miriam poured the sweet mint tea. “Eat, eat!” she said as she presented a feast of hot flaky flatbreads, honey from wild bees, home-churned butter, and walnuts from the trees outside.

And it is that hospitality that makes a visit to these soaring, juniper-clad mountains so incredibly special. Here, you are not a stranger; you are a friend. —Alice Morrison

24. Copenhagen, Denmark

The green city is expanding rapidly—go now to explore its gritty, evolving liminal spaces.

Not too long ago, I took a walk through the wastelands of Copenhagen. It sounds strange to call them that, because the Danish capital, with all its modern design and hygge, is hardly known for grittiness. But this dusty expanse of mostly empty warehouses and overgrown weeds, languishing to the southwest of the lively Meatpacking District, seemed to qualify. After 20 minutes of wandering, I entered a gate and found myself in an Alice in Wonderland alternate reality. A leafy glade contained dark, rustic wooden barns. Fat heads of garlic and fire-engine-red tomatoes spilled from the door of one, the jangle of a band from another. At an outdoor table set beneath fairy lights, a young mother fed her child pieces of a sandwich.

BaneGaarden , as I learned this enchanted place is called, once housed supplies for railway construction. It was abandoned in the 1950s but has recently been transformed into a cultural center. A farm shop, a bakery, a couple of restaurants, and spaces for pop-ups and other events fill the carefully renovated barns, all of this encircled by deciduous trees. Both geographically and metaphorically, the complex seemed far from Copenhagen’s center. But I realized it wouldn’t be long before BaneGaarden was just another delightful corner of my growing city.

For the full story from Lisa Abend, read As Copenhagen Expands Rapidly, Its Future Is in Its Outskirts .

25. Turquoise Coast, Turkey

Ponder the history of western civilization as you hike along turkey’s ruin-strewn carian trail.

The Carian Trail unfolds like an outdoor museum: Ancient artifacts, pristine coves, and stone villages are linked by mule paths and old caravan routes dotted with campsites and inns. I decided to take on one new section every month, focusing on stretches I could hike in a day.

On my first outing, I walked from my home until the stone path turned to dirt and the houses gave way to coastal shrubs. I reached the first bend and looked back, considering turning around. What if I lost my way?

Instead, I followed the red-and-white way markers tattooed on boulders. I passed beekeepers tending apiaries and wild mountain goats hoofing over loose rocks. I stayed mindful of the thistles and boar tracks, marching down switchbacks lined with wild thyme and sage.

With each hike, I found myself increasingly drawn to the ruins along the route. The trail is named after the Carians, a civilization indigenous to this coastline as far back as 6000 B.C.E. I passed tombs, mausoleums, crumbling walls, and altars. I passed relics of the Persians, Byzantines, Romans, and Ottomans, all of whom left their marks.

For the full story from Jenna Scatena, read Hike Turkey’s Carian Trail, Ponder the History of Western Civilization .

26. Fontainebleau, France

Trade paris for a tranquil weekend in this forested town—once home to royalty—and its neighbor, one of the country’s most notable artists’ communities.

Like many Parisians, my husband and I soldiered through multiple COVID-19 lockdowns in the city with little access to green space. By the end of 2020, we realized we wanted to make a long-term shift to get closer to nature. So we decided to divide our time between Paris and the country, and bought a century-old stone house near a place eminently familiar to us: Fontainebleau, a town 45 miles south of Paris. For more than 15 years, we have hiked, climbed, and explored in the once-royal place, known for its vast forest and intricate sandstone architecture.

The town was built around the 12th-century Château de Fontainebleau , which was updated in the 16th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site currently undergoing another restoration. Ancient forest—54,000 acres of it—surrounds the town, encompassing boulders, hiking trails, and Barbizon , an artists’ village. In the 19th century, iconic painters such as Jules Dupré and Théodore Rousseau, inspired by the sandstone boulders and stands of deciduous trees, created the community, where they pioneered landscape realism and the pre-impressionism movement.

The artistic style remains a fixture in Barbizon, where visitors can explore a dozen museums, galleries, and studios in addition to La Folie Barbizon , an artists’ residence, inn, and restaurant specializing in organic vegetarian fare that opened in the spring of 2020. Despite the changes, the magic that captured the artists remains: Each time I step off the train from Paris, I feel lighter and more connected to the present. —Lindsey Tramuta

27. Bristol, England

In southwestern england, this progressive maritime city has grown into a proper food and beer destination.

Every time I return to Bristol, the West Country city where I spent my teenage years, it’s changed, often substantially. The trading port may wear its heritage on its sleeve—the waterfront’s imposing cranes and the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge are just two examples of Bristol’s maritime and engineering history—but it’s also a modern hub of creativity, ingenuity, and liberal thinking. Since my dad’s work took us there in the early 1990s, the city has witnessed the rise of trip hop, the street art of Banksy, a revitalized harborside and city center, and the advent of its own currency (which transitioned into digital currency in 2021). It was also named a European Green Capital in 2015. More recently, a racial reckoning saw many of the city’s establishments question and ultimately condemn Bristol’s slavetrading past.

My latest trip, in summer 2021, yielded plenty of fresh fun. Since I last visited, Bristol has turned into a bona fide food and craft beer capital, with breweries located in unusual places. The reborn (once again) harborside is now full of restaurants. I liked the hazy IPAs at Left Handed Giant , whose brewpub occupies a former sugar refinery on the riverbank. Near the central train station, visitors can try hop-forward beers in a taproom shared by brewers Newtown Park and Verdant . And at Cargo , a waterfront collection of restaurants and stores housed in shipping containers, travelers can taste everything from bao and poke to local cheese and cider. The complex is diverse, surprising, and full of flavor—just like Bristol itself. —Tim Chester

28. San Miniato, Italy

On your next trip to the bel paese, bypass the tourist-clogged tuscan cities and head for this truffle-loving hill town.

My husband was born in San Miniato, a picturesque hilltop village often overshadowed by its neighboring Tuscan cities: Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Lucca. For years we lived in Florence, but early in the pandemic, we moved back to my husband’s hometown to escape the crowds and be closer to family. I had also discovered that the town was experiencing a culinary renaissance—and for me, as a food writer and cookbook author , that sealed the deal.

San Miniato, with its fertile, tree-covered hills, has long been known for its prized white truffles, grated with abandon over plates of buttery tagliolini and celebrated every November at the local truffle fair, La Sagra del Tartufo Bianco . (The festival marked its 50th year in 2021.) In the months we’ve been here, I’ve appreciated living a five-minute walk from modern Tuscan classics: a fourth-generation butcher, Sergio Falaschi , which has the best view in town and a new casual restaurant out back; Maggese , a fine-dining spot with an emphasis on veggies; Birra e Acciughe , a tiny beer and panino joint named for its long, warm baguettes filled with butter and anchovies; and Pizza del Popolo , a new bakery that sells sourdough and vegetarian pizza a taglio, or by the slice.

The village’s delights extend beyond restaurants. Travelers can taste wines at the nearby biodynamic winery Cosimo Maria Masini , join a truffle hunt year-round, or stretch their legs on one of the walking paths of Via Francigena , the 10th-century Roman pilgrim route that cuts right through town. Whenever I walk it, I’m reminded of how lucky we are to have such abundant countryside—and food—right outside our front door. —Emiko Davies

29. Gorski Kotar & Lika, Croatia

Though travelers best know the country for its picturesque beaches, croatia’s wild interiors are also worth a special trip.

While tourists swoon over the islands and coast of Croatia, its mountainous regions, located southwest of the capital city, Zagreb, remain blissfully off the radar. In Lika and Gorski Kotar, travelers can hike beside Plitvice Lakes and visit no fewer than four of the country’s eight national parks, and spot ancient yew trees and native flowers such as Carniolan lilies.

Drawn by the remote wilderness and my own roots—my mother hails from a now-abandoned hamlet in Lika—I’ve been spending time in the area during the last several years. There, I found Jelena Pirc of Lynx & Fox , who guides day hikes into Gorski Kotar’s rugged sylvan landscapes frequented by bears, wolves, and the endangered Eurasian lynx. Pirc recommends visiting Stara Sušica’s new Large Carnivores Visitor Center , which opened in July.

Farther south in the mighty Velebit Mountains, where old-growth beech forests hide rare western capercaillie birds, the conservation nonprofit Rewilding Europe is reintroducing wild horses and bovines to the Lika Plains and building wildlife-watching hide structures to support nature-focused tourism. Accommodations range from cozy chalets and rustic lodges to the higher-end Linden Tree Retreat & Ranch , located inside the UNESCO Velebit Mountain Biosphere Reserve —even more reasons to detour inland from the Croatian coast. —Anja Mutić

30. Bundoran, Ireland

A popular seaside resort for centuries, bundoran has forged a new identity for itself: surf capital of ireland.

I never thought my quest to learn to surf would lead me to Bundoran, a coastal town in County Donegal in the northwest corner of Ireland. When I first visited in 2015, I thought I’d only be there for the three months my visa allowed. Now, I come every year, often bouncing around Europe or returning stateside while waiting for my visa to reset.

Bundoran was a popular destination long before it became the surf capital of Ireland. During Victorian times, people flocked from across the country to soak in the Thrupenny and West End (Nun’s) Pools. Today, surfers from around the world come to visit Tullan Strand or ride the breakers at the Peak, home to some of Europe’s most consistent waves.

I return to Bundoran each year, vowing that I’ll finally learn to surf. The funny part is, I never follow through. I visit instead for the craic, or good times, in local parlance. There’s still plenty to do in town without getting in the water: It’s not called Fundoran for nothing! Consider taking a hike up Benbulbin, cycling around the Gleniff Horseshoe loop , cliff jumping from the coastal crags, or simply strolling along the Rougey Cliff Walk. If you’re feeling parched afterwards, check out some of my favorite pubs and eateries, including the Phoenix Tavern , the Chasin’ Bull , and Maddens Bridge Bar & Restaurant , where you can enjoy pints while listening to traditional music. —Yolanda Evans

31. Saxony, Germany

Cycle through organic vineyards and past 18th-century castles on a wine tour in eastern germany’s most sustainable wine region.

For more than 850 years, grapes in Saxony—Germany’s easternmost wine region—have been tended and harvested by hand, the wines made painstakingly in small quantities. One of my favorite ways to taste the sustainably grown wines, which are consumed primarily within the region, is also ecofriendly: via a bike ride on the 34-mile-long Saxon Wine Route.

The route starts in the riverside town of Pirna and coils its way through terraced vineyards and historic towns such as Meißen and Radebeul along the Elbe River. In Radebeul, I like to stop at Hoflößnitz , a winery-turned-museum that makes organic wines. At the nearby 18th-century Wackerbarth Castle , visitors can stroll through gardens and goldriesling vines, a variety of grape mainly grown on the Elbe. Travelers can taste sparkling wines at Wackerbarth, the region’s oldest sparkling wine cellar, or try Saxon reds and whites at Schloss Proschwitz Vinothek in Meißen, a town also renowned for its porcelain.

While the path ends in Diesbar-Seußlitz, about nine miles from Meißen, I sometimes take a detour on my way back to Pirna via the Elbe Cycle Route . The Elbe path leads to the village of Schmilka in the Saxon Switzerland Mountains, 16 miles from Pirna. There a 17th-century mill refurbished as a bakery fills the cobblestone streets with scents of spelt sourdough and handbrot, a palm-size bread stuffed with cheese, bacon, or vegetables. Hungry cyclists will also find pâtisseries and an organic brewery in Schmilka, all of which use seasonal ingredients and minimize food waste.

My only (hard-won) advice? Don’t try to complete the entire route in one day. —Christina Ng

32. Sri Lanka

The island nation quietly comes into its own as a nature lover’s low-key paradise.

After international arrivals to Sri Lanka dwindled, the country’s tourism industry pivoted, courting residents with new outdoor offerings: Across the country, we trekked through primary rain forests, snorkeled with sea turtles, and strolled sprawling shores. Good news for international travelers—Sri Lanka’s borders are now fully open.

Born in the fishing hamlet of Weligama, Thilina Dananjaya is not new to tourism; his father opened the first guesthouse here in the 1980s. But Dananjaya, owner of Layback , a boutique hotel focused on surfing and yoga, says his perspective has changed. “Being confined to our homes made us more conscious about the luxury of spending time outdoors,” he says. As a result, Dananjaya and his team added a yoga deck, a store for women-made handicrafts, a new restaurant, and two spacious rooftop terraces.

Farther north, in the central inlands of Sri Lanka, local-run Bush Loft has set up wildlife campsites in some of the country’s most remote corners: fly camping in the grasslands of Buttala, or daily excursions to Yala National Park .

You can also go it alone and arrange your own safari. Recently, in Kaudulla National Park , I spotted a herd of Asian elephants protecting the youngest member of their group, trunks and limbs moving in tandem. Soon after, I watched yellow weaverbirds flitting in and out of their intricate woven nests, which hung from branches all around me. This, I thought—is what Sri Lanka is all about.

For the full story from Zinara Rathnayake, read Sri Lanka Has Come Into its Own as a Nature Lover’s Paradise .

33. Singapore

In a metropolis known for its squeaky-clean streets, a tale of two cities emerges.

Some Singaporeans raise an eyebrow when they learn I live with my family in Geylang. For decades, this township has been notorious as a red-light district, an incongruous aspect of Singapore’s wholesome image. But amid narrow lanes hemmed by shophouses and temples, restaurant chefs are cooking some of the tastiest regional food in Singapore. Many evenings, my wife and I land at Ăn Là Ghiền , a hot pot joint that feels straight out of Hanoi, or Dong Bei Dumpling King , where we always order the crispy pork-and-celery-filled dumplings. For a Thai fix, our go-to is Gu Thai House , curries and noodles all cooked to suitably spicy standards. Anthony Bourdain loved JB Ah Meng for white pepper crab and Sin Huat Eating House for crab bee hoon, a whole crab served with rice noodles.

Even I need a break from Geylang sometimes, though. Luckily, Kranji, with its open fields and farms, is just 30 minutes north by car. At the Kranji Marshes and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve , two nature parks form a 460-acre haven for migratory shorebirds and raptors. If I’m lucky, I might spot a crocodile at the water’s edge, or a family of macaques scampering through the branches. Here I am, in a jungle away from an urban jungle, both of which call Singapore home.

For the full story from Lester V. Ledesma, read Singapore’s Geylang Neighborhood Is Developing a New Reputation as a Foodie Hot Spot .

34. Goa, India

An indian state celebrates the old with the new.

You could say I grew up with Goa. In my youth, I visited to party with friends, lured by the Indian beach state’s notorious raves. But when I hit my thirties, I began to better appreciate Goa’s rich heritage, its Portuguese influence, and the growing number of restaurants, bars, and stores that celebrate the region’s culture and architecture.

Nowhere is all of this more apparent than in the picturesque historic quarter of the capital city, Panaji, where brightly painted homes share streets with local boutiques like Sacha’s Shop , with its superbly curated resort wear from homegrown Indian designers. Another favorite is the rainbow-shuttered restaurant António at 31 , which opened in January 2021: A throwback to Panaji’s old taverns, the menu from chef Pablo Miranda features seasonal fruit cocktails and tapas such as tender coconut stir-fry and crispy baitfish with kalchi kodi (leftover curry) dip.

In the north of Goa, the newest darling is Felix , a gallery, coworking space, and events spot that serves modern plates with a regional twist, including eggs Benedict with Goan chorizo. For a truly immersive experience, book “A Very Goan Picnic” with tour company the Local Beat . Travelers can splash around a secret waterfall straight out of The Jungle Book and then feast on a home-cooked lunch accompanied by feni (cashew or coconut liquor).

Another highlight is on the way. In the township of Bardez, the Moda Goa Museum & Research Centre , founded by the late Goan fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, will welcome visitors in early 2022 with more than 800 fashion, textile, and art objects. —Jasreen Mayal Khanna

35. Cairns, Australia

Australia’s premier great barrier reef gateway reopens, offering travelers a new way to engage with indigenous cultures.

Visitors to Cairns, a coastal city in tropical north Queensland, typically arrive on a mission: See the Great Barrier Reef. Prepandemic, nearly 3 million people would pass through annually, boarding massive catamarans laden with scuba tanks and snorkel masks, an army of tourists in pursuit of wonder.

As Australia’s borders reopen, Cairns is ready to welcome travelers again, with refreshed esplanade dining, new hotels championing sustainability, and an exciting experience celebrating the Indigenous heritage of the Great Barrier Reef.

Some 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have a continuing connection to the world’s largest coral reef system, and in 2018, Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel launched trips led by Indigenous Sea Rangers who share cultural knowledge passed down from their ancestors. During the tours, guests listen to evocative creation stories about how the reef came to be, and learn about hunting practices, such as seasonal harvesting, that have safeguarded the reef’s biodiversity for millennia.

Visitors will be able to engage with Sea Rangers more deeply at a new pontoon base for Dreamtime’s day trips to Moore Reef. Opening in early 2022, the floating pontoon will house an on-site laboratory and underwater observatory. Activities will fuse traditional knowledge and modern science to inspire collaborative protection of the Great Barrier Reef. —Sarah Reid

36. Tokorozawa Sakura Town, Japan

A stone’s throw from tokyo, architecture and anime buffs will find a place built just for them.

In the Saitama prefecture, roughly an hour from Tokyo Station, a new “town” was born in November 2020. Dubbed Tokorozawa Sakura Town , it’s a joint venture between the city of Tokorozawa and the Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa, known for its manga and anime titles. Its main focus? Bringing Japanese pop culture to life.

Here, visitors will find two structures by influential Japanese architect Kengo Kuma : the futuristic Kadokawa Culture Museum , with a colossal exterior built using 20,000 pieces of granite, and the minimalist Musashino Reiwa shrine. A highlight inside the labyrinthine five-story museum is the Bookshelf Theater, which has 26-foot shelves and is filled with more than 50,000 books, the majority of which are related to manga and anime. (Yes, you can flip through them.) The sleek Shinto shrine, meanwhile, is guarded by two komainu—guardian lion-dogs—crafted by sculptor Yoshimasa Tsuchiya . The shrine also features an asymmetrical roof and a phoenix painted on the ceiling by Yoshitaka Amano , the renowned designer of Final Fantasy video game characters.

Since Tokorozawa Sakura Town’s inception, architecture and pop culture fans have been drawn to the cultural complex, which also has a brand-new bookstore, restaurants, and a permanent TeamLab installation of giant silver acornlike objects that glow at night amid the trees. There’s also an anime-themed 33-room hotel that hosts character parties—so go ahead, make a long weekend of it. —Yukari Sakamoto

37. Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand

New zealand’s south island is rural, uncrowded, and achingly beautiful.

I grew up in the subtropics of New Zealand’s North Island, and the much more temperate, sparsely populated South Island has beckoned me throughout adulthood. Three of the South’s nine national parks are within a 90-minute drive of my current home in Nelson; and there are enough gold-sand beaches, mountains, and alpine lakes to spend a lifetime exploring. Challenge accepted.

Road-tripping is the only way to really experience the South Island’s natural beauty. Start in Nelson, a city of more than 50,000 at the top of the South Island, and drive west about an hour to the eastern entrance of Abel Tasman National Park . Many travelers opt to hike—or “tramp”— the Coast Track , a five-day, 37-mile “Great Walk,” camping in tents along the way. If you have mobility issues (or perhaps toddlers in tow), you can still get the best of the national park via boat tours from Kaiteriteri, stopping at beaches on turquoise bays.

Continue the drive over notorious Tākaka Hill—with its narrow, windy, gut-churning lanes—to Golden Bay, pausing at a lookout for panoramic Tasman Bay views. Stay overnight in a town along the way, such as Tākaka or Collingwood, and end your visit marveling at the 65-foot-high Wainui Falls and Te Waikoropupū Springs. The cold, clear springs are a sacred Māori space—a source of life, healing, and renewal for locals and travelers alike. —Elen Turner

38. Phong Nha, Vietnam

It’s easier than ever to dive deep into the gigantic caves of this unesco world heritage site.

Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park , a geologically notable site in central Vietnam, has tempted daredevils since 2013, when Son Doong , the biggest cave on the planet (large enough to hold a Boeing 747), opened for multiday tours. The Phong Nha–based company Oxalis Adventure is hoping to launch a fresh adventure in 2022 that’s set to rival the Son Doong Expedition, its flagship experience.

On the new Hang Ba tour (still in development), Oxalis guides will lead spelunkers through upwards of five caves with gigantic limestone chambers and dangling stalactites. When cavers aren’t crawling, swimming, or paddleboarding, they’ll be camping and trekking through jungles.

“I’ve been wanting to design this tour for ages,” says Howard Limbert, who led the expedition team that discovered the caves in the early 1990s. Back then, it took 15 hours to reach the cave cluster from Phong Nha village. Thanks to a new road, it may only take five to six hours.

Limbert says that collective efforts to protect the caves (his team has mapped more than 500 in Vietnam) and hire people from the community have reduced the rate of illegal logging and instilled conservationist attitudes. Phong Nha-Ke Bang can serve as a model for other protected areas in Vietnam, Limbert says, including the newly recognized biosphere reserves Nui Chua and Kon Ha Nung. —Joshua Zukas

Together, a new band of chefs and cultural activists is showcasing real Taiwanese food

Taiwanese fare has long been considered a subset of the food of China. But diplomatic contact between China and the contested island nation ceased in 2016, and tensions have continued to climb. One of the by-products: Across Taiwan, many chefs are reviving a distinct national cuisine.

“A lot of people think Taiwanese food is beef noodle soup and xiao long bao [soup dumplings],” says Huang Teng-Wei, co-owner of Siang Kháu Lū , a boutique cooking school that opened in 2019 in Taoyuan, southwest of Taipei. “But in fact, all these dishes came after 1950 with the Chinese immigrants.” Traditional Taiwanese cuisine tends to revolve around root vegetables (like sweet potato and taro) and rice, with dishes such as savory rice puddings flavored with pork. He and his wife, Chou Pei-Yi, are particularly focused on reviving kueh, an old-school rice pastry that was used for centuries as a temple offering to the gods.

Other chefs are celebrating native Taiwanese ingredients. At Akame , a glitzy eatery that has been open since 2015 in Pingtung county, on Taiwan’s southernmost tip, the Indigenous chef Alex Peng uses pine needles and local sumac to flavor meat. Meanwhile, André Chiang—who helms Taipei’s fine-dining tour de force Raw —is committed to using Taiwanese ingredients from regional producers and highlighting Taiwan’s micro-seasons. Menu items might include roasted sliced duck graced with a sheet of seaweed, or a trio of local rice (fermented, purple, and toasted) alongside creamy panna cotta. Chiang’s side gig? Creating an encyclopedia of Taiwanese cooking techniques, ingredients, and food history so that the national cuisine becomes more recognized. —Clarissa Wei

The 22 Best Places to Go in 2022

All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This was the year of getting back out there—as vaccines became readily available in the spring and borders opened slowly throughout the summer and fall, our travel calendars began to fill up once again. Now, as we look ahead to what 2022 has in store, it’s clear that our travel priorities have changed. We’re no longer checking destinations off a list; instead we’re being purposeful about why we choose to take a trip, and thoughtful about how our actions impact local communities while we’re there.

This year’s list of the best places to visit reflects these shifts in thinking: We’ve organized these destinations based on some of our favorite reasons to travel, from exhilarating food and drink scenes and historic sites to explore, to new places to soak in the great outdoors. We hope it makes it easier to plan your next big trip—and helps you narrow down where to go first of the 22 exciting places that made our 2022 list. — Stephanie Wu All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you book something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Birmingham, Alabama

Downtown Birmingham is feeling more revitalized than ever, as several historic buildings have been reimagined as restaurants by local chefs. Five-time James Beard finalist Rob McDaniel, who grew up 80 miles from the city, opened contemporary Southern grill Helen in 2020 inside a 1920s shotgun-style building. You can smell his wood-fired meats from the sidewalk, and inside every meal starts with warm angel biscuits topped with whipped cane syrup butter. A block away at The Essential , Southern-bred chef Victor King and pastry chef Kristen Hall have partnered with farmers to serve vegetable-heavy dishes, homemade pastas, and the tastiest desserts in town (look for Parisian-inspired Bar La Fête from the duo in early 2022).

There’s plenty to do downtown as well. The new Urban Supply mixed-use development will bring century-old warehouses in the Parkside neighborhood back to life with restaurants, bars, shopping, and fitness studios when it’s completed in mid-2022. City Walk BHAM is also in the works, adding markets, green spaces, and food trucks to city blocks beneath Interstate 59/20. The project is set to be complete by summer 2022, when the Magic City will serve as the first American host for The World Games , an 11-day, 34-sport event (including tug of war and wheelchair rugby) expected to draw 500,000 spectators. While downtown has its share of big-box hotels for groups, find a quieter stay at Elyton Hotel in a restored historic building, or the boutique Valley Hotel in Homewood, a mere 10 minutes away. —Kelsey Ogletree

Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia 30 years ago, many of its constituent nations (Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro) have emerged as major tourism hubs. Yet Serbia has taken a backseat—until now. Belgrade has earned a reputation as a culinary destination, and the Michelin Guide will soon bestow stars on the city, celebrating its East-meets-West cuisine which draws liberally from neighboring Greek, Turkish, and Central European influences. Standout restaurants include Langouste, run by chef Guillaume Iskandar, whose work at Paris’s Garance earned the place a Michelin star. And the opulent Salon 1905 (pictured) serves a tasting menu with Serbian wine pairings that proves domestic truffles, cheeses, and charcuterie can hold their own against Europe’s best.

The nightlife-rich capital city is often compared to Berlin in the ’90s, but its cool-kid persona is getting a luxe upgrade in 2022 with the opening of a St. Regis. The hotel will be set within a 42-floor tower that will be the tallest skyscraper in the Balkans outside of Istanbul and will anchor the new $3 billion Belgrade Waterfront urban revitalization district, a collection of gleaming high-rises and green spaces.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s second city, Novi Sad, has been named one of three European Capitals of Culture for 2022, marking one of the first non-E.U. cities to receive the honor. A progressive hub of music, art, and literature set along the Danube River, Novi Sad has opened several new venues in preparation for its close-up: a former pasta factory, a silk-dyeing facility, and an 1890s château have been transformed into contemporary art galleries and performance spaces that will host events and exhibitions throughout the year. —Nicholas DeRenzo

Trøndelag County, Norway

Central Norway’s Trøndelag County has become a world-renowned food region in recent years. The area’s diverse landscape—forests, mountains, fjords, and fields—produces high-quality seafood, organic dairy products, and fresh vegetables, which farmers share locally and with restaurants around the world.

Trondheim-Trøndelag was named the European Region of Gastronomy 2022 , and to see what all the fuss is about, food connoisseurs should start at the newly refurbished Britannia Hotel to dine at Michelin-starred Speilsalen , Norway’s Restaurant of the Year 2020. Indulge in head chef Christopher Davidsen’s signature dish, featuring scallops from the island of Frøya fried in organic butter from the town of Røros and served with celery and caviar. Visit Bula Neobistro for chef Renée Fagerhoei’s lamb from Madsøy island with anchovy and green pepper sauce. Stop by chef Heidi Bjerkan’s one-Michelin-star Credo (pictured) for the grilled langoustine tail or langoustine soup, and wrap up your tasting tour at Kraft Bodega , where chef Thomas Bogan serves a delicious dessert of waffles with porcini ice cream, Norwegian apples, and brown cheese—all dishes you won’t find anywhere else.

The region hosts several annual celebrations, like the Trondheim Wine Festival in March, the Trondheim Brewery Festival and the Trøndelag Food Festival , one of Europe’s largest, both in July, and the Trondheim Gin Festival in August. Consider timing your visit around one of these events, where you’re bound to be surrounded by like-minded gourmands. —Kwin Mosby

Alberta, Canada

Alberta’s turquoise lakes and snow-capped mountains have always attracted crowds, but there’s a new draw as international travelers return : a spotlight on the area’s Indigenous heritage.

Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum, is now home to the Indigenous Peoples Experience , a 30,000-square-foot immersive exhibit exploring First Nations and Métis culture. For a deeper dive into the region’s thriving Métis community, head to cultural interpretation center Métis Crossing , which recently debuted its new wildlife park and will open a 40-room boutique lodge accented with Métis artwork this month. Later this winter, the property will also launch Whispers from the Stars, an evening experience where Métis knowledge holders will tell stories of the constellations.

The annual Jasper Dark Sky Festival in the dark sky preserve of Jasper National Park is also including more Indigenous voices in its programming (think drone light shows narrated by Indigenous leaders). Those planning a stay in Jasper can look forward to the June opening of a new 88-room wilderness-themed hotel from local hospitality and attractions company Pursuit .

And Banff has debuted new experiences including the 360° Dome , a private outdoor dining venue at Fairmont Banff Springs that pairs local fare like bison short ribs with Bow Valley views. Next summer, the historic hotel will debut a $28-million renovation of its Royal Suite and Fairmont Gold rooms. Those visiting this winter can cap off the evening at the Banff Gondola with Nightrise, a multi-sensory experience (running December 2 to March 12) that highlights the historical significance of the Stoney Nakoda Nation through multimedia storytelling against a backdrop of alpenglow-drenched mountains. —Julia Eskins

Balearic Islands, Spain

Rugged landscapes, a laidback lifestyle, and Ibiza’s infamous party scene have long drawn travelers to the sun-bleached shores of the Balearic Islands. Over the past year, though, the archipelago off the east coast of mainland Spain has refocused its ambitions toward art.

Last summer’s opening of Hauser & Wirth Menorca (pictured)—a new arts center and the gallery’s latest international outpost—was just the starting point. Located on the historic Illa del Rei in Manorca’s Mahón harbor, the site has taken over an 18th-century naval hospital and outlying buildings. With eight galleries, a restaurant, shop, garden, and an outdoor sculpture trail with works by Frank West, Louise Bourgeois, and Eduardo Chillida, it puts the sleepy Balearic island on the international art map with big-name exhibitions, educational activities, and sustainable initiatives .

Art and design stand out at the archipelago’s new hospitality offerings, too. In Mallorca, Can Ferrereta , a boutique hotel housed in a restored 17th-century building, features a Maison Assouline-curated library and works by local and Spanish artists—Joan Miró, Riera i Aragó, Bárbara Vidal—in all its 32 rooms and communal spaces. On relaxed Formentera, the recently opened Casa Pacha has stylish retro interiors by Patricia Galden Studio and statement decorative objects from local artisans. Meanwhile on the hard-partying isle, the Six Senses Ibiza will feature farm-to-table dining, music, art, wellness, and sustainable fashion, as the Balearics’ first BREEAM -certified resort. 2022’s debuts— El Vicenç de la Mar and the Kimpton Hotel Santa Ponsa , both in Mallorca—are bound to have unique draws of their own. —Marianna Cerini

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston will honor its African roots in a big way in 2022. The long-awaited International African American Museum is slated to open in the fall, and will examine the African diaspora and Charleston’s role housing one of the largest slave ports in the U.S. The museum sits on the hallowed site of said port, Gadsden’s Wharf, where the tide washes in and out near contemplative gardens. The exhibits will tackle centuries of difficult history and highlight contemporary Black artists, while the genealogy center is designed to help visitors connect the past to the present through their own family trees.

Music lovers will have plenty to look forward to at the Spoleto Festival USA , one of the country’s most prestigious classical music events. The opera Omar , which will have its world premiere at Spoleto, explores the life of a Muslim African scholar who was captured on the border of Senegal and Mauritania in 1807 and enslaved in Charleston. Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens co-composed the score with Michael Abels, best known for his work on the films Get Out and Us. Shortly after, the city will join its three main Juneteenth festivals into a bigger and better Lowcountry Juneteenth Experience to wrap up the celebration.

The historic district has plenty of new places to stay, dine, and further explore the city’s origins. Luxury hotel The Loutrel (pictured) is inspired by Charleston’s renowned gardens, with expansive views from its rooftop terrace, and The Residences at Zero George provide longer stays for those who love the elegance of the award-winning hotel. Finally, don’t miss the refined, creative southern dishes at Lenoir , served by James Beard Award winner Vivian Howard, and traditional French cuisine at Brasserie La Banque . —Sarah Enelow-Snyder

Istanbul’s cultural scene is poised for the global spotlight in 2022. Billions of dollars have been poured into urban renewal projects that are finally coming to fruition. “I’ve lived here for 23 years and I can really see a major transformation,” says Karen Fedorko, founder of Sea Song Tours . Travelers can follow the newly established  Beyoğlu Culture Road —a two-hour walking trail that knits together many of the city’s new and restored attractions. Begin at Taksim Square to visit the newly built Taksim Mosque and Atatürk Cultural Center, a once-abandoned 1960s architectural icon that has been faithfully restored to house an opera hall, theater, rooftop restaurant, and a façade where live performances are projected. Strolling down Istiklal Street, pop into the beautified Atlas Cinema and neoclassical Istanbul Cinema Museum  before making your way to the Galata Tower. The medieval stone landmark’s redone rooftop is the place for a view of the city’s fabled east-meets-west skyline. The route culminates at the Bosphorus where Galataport , a new arts and culture hub in the Karaköy neighborhood, touts a newly minted world-class cruise terminal, restaurants from international chefs, a revamped fine arts and sculpture museum , and a refurbished Ottoman clock tower in Tophane Square. Opening late next year along the waterfront is the highly anticipated new home of contemporary art museum Istanbul Modern , whose show-stopping Renzo Piano design will house the works of big-name Turkish artists. Travelers can bed down in the just-opened Bosphorus-facing Mandarin Oriental in Kurucesme (pictured) or the Four Seasons in Sultanahmet, which will reopen in 2022 after significant renovation. Or plan a stay at the Peninsula hotel in Karaköy whose waterside rooms, Turkish baths, and swimming pools will give new life to an old port terminal when it debuts at the end of next year. —Nora Walsh

London will be in a festive mood in 2022 as The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marks 70 years of Her Majesty’s reign. Events honoring Britain’s longest-serving monarch range from solemn services to rollicking celebrations. The biggest party unfurls over a long weekend, from June 2 to 5, where visitors can join the waving crowds lining The Mall for The Queen’s Birthday Parade (also known as Trooping the Colour), cheer for the races at Epsom Downs, and soak up the street carnival atmosphere of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

Raffles introduces its first London hotel with The OWO (pictured), which will house 120 guest rooms and 85 private residences in the splendid Old War Office building that once served as Churchill’s headquarters. If it looks familiar, that might be because the OWO has appeared in five James Bond films. In fact, Ian Fleming was inspired to write the Bond stories when he worked in the building as a naval intelligence officer. 

Other new lodging options include The Peninsula London , overlooking Hyde Park Corner and Wellington Arch, and the Lost Property from Curio Collection by Hilton, combining new accommodations with a preserved façade near St. Paul’s Cathedral. And The Audley, a five-story historic pub in Mayfair, reopens in the fall after an art-filled reimagining by the Hauser & Wirth team, complete with a new restaurant and private dining rooms. —Laura Beausire

Querétaro, Mexico

Follow any of the shaded, twisting pedestrian alleys in Querétaro, which sits two-hours north of Mexico City , and you’ll arrive at a flower-drenched plaza, often surrounded by Colonial-era convents, palaces, and 18th-century homes, many of which have been converted to modern destination restaurants that rival those of the country’s capital.

Founded by the Otomí people in the 15th century, this city is a crossroads of Indigenous cultures, but has also served as a major base for Franciscan missionaries, a center for silver wealth, and a political seat—in 1917, regional representatives created and signed the country’s constitution. Though Querétaro’s international importance has faded since, its beauty and Baroque architecture remain.

The mid-17th-century Templo y Convento de la Santa Cruz anchors the historic city center, and its recent preservation effort earned Querétaro a nomination for UNESCO’s Jean-Paul L’Allier Prize in 2020, which honors exemplary urban cultural heritage conservation. This might just be the only place in the world where tech and aerospace workers commute on roads that weave under the slim arches remaining from a 1738 aqueduct.

Despite a slow two years during the pandemic and recent flooding, the city is growing as a tourist destination, with new hotels under construction that signal a wider opening to international travelers. One unique offering is already available to book: After sales fell because of COVID, a cheese factory outside of town kept its workers safely on the job by employing them to build the Hotel de Tierra : nine rammed-earth rooms, sustainably built from and on the soil of its adjacent vineyard, Tierra de Alonso. —Naomi Tomky

Rapa Nui, Chile

Some 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile in the South Pacific Ocean, UNESCO-listed Rapa Nui is famous for its roughly 900 monolithic moai stone statues sprinkled across the island. Now, just in time for a major anniversary, the world’s most remote inhabited island is preparing to open its borders after almost two years of isolation.

2022 marks 300 years since Dutch explorers arrived on Rapa Nui’s shores on Easter Day, which is how the 64-square-mile volcanic landmass acquired the appellation Easter Island. Locals, however, trace their lineage to a thriving Polynesian civilization dating back to the 4th century and take great pride in their native Rapa Nui language and culture, which has experienced a renaissance during the pandemic. And with less food being brought to the island, there was a boom in ancestral agriculture, yielding a bounty of guava and taro root. Some sustainability-oriented initiatives are in place as well, including proposals to limit the number of visitor arrivals to protect its cultural assets from erosion. When the island reopens to fully vaccinated tourists in February, be the first to stay at the newly branded Nayara Hangaroa , where self-drive ATV tours allow guests to take in iconic attractions like the Ranu Kau crater, moai sites at Rano Raraku quarry and Ahu Tongariki, the Orongo ceremonial village, and Anakena beach at their own leisure. For a complete cultural immersion, tap Abercrombie & Kent for local guides, a traditional meal in a friendly home, and insider’s access to the two-week-long Tapati Festival held every February. —N.W.

When Portuguese sailors first landed on what is now Cape Verde in 1456, they arrived to a largely untouched archipelago devoid of inhabitants and with few natural resources. This remote group of islands—located 369 nautical miles west of Senegal —soon became a stopping point in the transatlantic slave trade, resulting in the unique blend of Portuguese and West African traditions and heritage (many of today’s residents have roots tracing back to each) that exist on the island today.

This year, Hurtigruten Expeditions will launch sailings to the island country, beginning with a 14-day journey aboard its 180-passenger MS Spitsbergen in November. The company is scheduled to be the only expedition cruise to visit Cape Verde this year—and it’s also their first-ever trip to Africa . The ship will make stops at some of the archipelago’s most notable islands (there are 10 in total, as well as several islets), including Santo Antão, with its hikable misty pine forests and steep-cliff canyons, and Fogo, home to the awe-inspiring (and still-active) 9,281-foot-tall Pico do Fogo volcano, western Africa’s highest peak. For those who aren’t on a cruise, an inter-island ferry system and relatively inexpensive domestic flights makes island-hopping doable, too.

And you’ll want to explore on land: Known for its laid-back vibe and innate hospitality, Cape Verde is considered an LGBTQ+ oasis within Africa thanks to progressive laws. Mindelo, on the island São Vicente, hosts an annual Pride parade that will take place in the summer. As Cape Verde’s cultural capital, this colorful port city is a great place to catch performances of morna, a locally honed, melancholic music symbolizing longing for the African mainland, as well as the rousing tunes of accordion-based funaná . Listen from new Mansa Floating Hub , a futuristic-style floating music center that opened in August atop Mindelo’s Porto Grande Bay. —Laura Kiniry

The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes comprise 95,000 square miles of freshwater flanked by thick forests, historic sights, and skyline-speckled cities. But despite the waterside attractions, this stretch of the upper Midwest and Canada has long been off the cruise-industry map. Soon, those tides will turn.

In spring 2022, Viking’s posh new Octantis expedition ship will sail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin , to Toronto and Thunder Bay, Ontario, meandering by Great Lakes gems such as Mackinac Island and Sleeping Bear Dunes. The vessel, crafted for Viking’s new Antarctic voyages, welcomes up to 378 guests; it’s the largest Great Lakes cruise option to date.

For something more intimate, French cruise operator Ponant and partner Smithsonian Journeys will unveil their own Great Lakes voyages in fall 2022. Itineraries on ships like the 184-guest Le Bellot run from Toronto to Milwaukee, with a stop at Niagara Falls along the way. Ponant and Viking will share these waterways with small-ship cruise outfitters like Pearl Seas Cruises (pictured), Hapag-Lloyd Cruises , and Plantours Cruises .

Thanks to new infrastructure and accommodations, Great Lakes port cities stand ready to host disembarking guests. Milwaukee will debut several new hotels in 2022, including the Kinn Guesthouse MKE Downtown and The Adams Hotel , while Canada cruise hub Toronto has eight new openings on the docket, including a W Hotel . —Stephanie Vermillion

Kyushu, Japan

The southernmost of Japan’s four major islands, Kyushu is known for its vibrant food culture, abundance of historical sites , subtropical climate, and laid-back reputation.

Despite its seemingly remote location, Kyushu is surprisingly accessible, both by air via Japan’s many domestic carriers and by Shinkansen (bullet train). A flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka, Kyushu’s largest city, clocks in at just under two hours, while a train trip from Shin-Osaka Station to Fukuoka’s Hakata Station takes roughly two and a half.

Kyushu’s rail network will receive a notable boost when the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen, connecting the historic port city of Nagasaki with Takeo Onsen in Saga prefecture, opens in the fall. Foreigners can take advantage of highly discounted rail passes throughout Kyushu, with unlimited rides on all trains operated by the JR Kyushu Railway Company .

Onsen lovers have plenty to choose from in Kyushu as well—hot springs are dotted everywhere from the famed black sand beaches of Ibusuki in Kagoshima prefecture to the rural enclave of Yufuin in Oita. In the summer, Hoshino Resorts will open Kai Yufuin , a luxury property designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, featuring 45 guest rooms in the remote onsen town.

Those looking for a bit more adventure should head to the city of Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture for a luxury catamaran cruise around the Kujuku Islands. Some packages include meals, but there’s also the option to seek out a Sasebo Burger , a popular item whose influence is traced back in part to the large number of American service members who arrived in the city after World War II. —Kat Bee

2021 marked Uzbekistan’s 30th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, just as a slew of new projects set the foundation for the country to be more accessible than ever.

The new airport terminal at Samarkand, opening this month, is a beautiful introduction to the Islamic architecture style found throughout Uzbekistan. The center of the airport is shaped like an open book in a nod to the work of astronomer Mirzo Ulugbek. The high-speed train network, which opened in 2012, is being extended to the ancient Silk Road town of Khiva in 2022, so visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site from the capital city of Tashkent no longer requires hours in a car weaving through desert dunes. A number of exciting openings and events are also set to take place next year, with the unveiling of the Silk Road Samarkand Complex . It will house restaurants, cafes, and boutique hotels including the 22-story Samarkand Regency Hotel, the country’s first five-star stay, in the first half of 2022. The first-ever Silk Road Literary Festival will also take place there in the fall, as well as the grand reopening of the renovated State Museum of Arts , designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. —Michelle Tchea

In Gabon , where dense rainforests spill onto serene tropical coasts, tourism has barely made a whisper. But adventure seekers, nature lovers, and environmental advocates who visit will find incredible biodiversity, and a country determined to put critical conservation and eco-tourism projects in place before the masses arrive.

With over 70 percent of its territory covered in forest, Gabon has already made its mark in the world of conservation. Over the last two decades, the government has secured 15 percent of its land as protected areas and established 13 national parks , nine marine parks, and 11 aquatic reserves, safeguarding the country’s magnificent wildlife and habitats. With the launch of the African Ecotourism Safari project in March 2021 and the anticipated opening of Petit Loango Lodge in early 2022—the first of the African Conservation Development Group ’s sustainable luxury lodges—the equatorial African nation’s exquisite landscapes are gradually becoming more accessible to adventurous travelers.

Beyond the reaches of Loango, find leatherback turtles nesting in sand dunes along the shores of Pongara National Park, spot whales spouting among crashing blue waves in Mayumba, climb verdant mountains and staggering cliffs in Bateke Plateau, explore historic caves and savanna in Birougou, and marvel over waterfalls plunging into the rapids of the blackwater rivers in Ivindo National Park. You’ll also find low-impact tented camps throughout the country, everywhere from Moabi Tented Camp amid the rolling savanna of Lope National Park, to Pongara Lodge on the pristine beaches and mangrove swamps of the namesake national park on the Atlantic Coast. —Alicia Erickson

Sicily, Italy

Last year, the buzz around Italy's largest island was the opening of two flashy resorts: Villa Igiea in Palermo and the Four Seasons on the east coast. Both are spectacular, but you’d be missing the point of a trip to Sicily if you spent the entire time holed up there. Consider the properties as bookends to a trip exploring the core of the region, where slow-living traditions hum on—and are becoming increasingly dependent on outside visitors to survive. United's long-awaited direct flight from Newark to Palermo may finally launch this year, making the destination easier for Americans to reach than ever before.

South of the Four Seasons in the beautiful, Baroque town of Noto , the regal Seven Rooms is where to stay after dinners of fettuccine ai funghi at Manna and a late night passeggiata with locals past the grand cathedrals. This coming summer, its team will open a small retreat on the nearby seaside (the exact location is yet to be announced). A 15-minute drive away in Ragusa, the cheerful Maria Guastella is one of the only sfilato Siciliano embroiderers keeping what was once a grand Sicilian artform alive, and her workshop is open for visitors. Just down the hill is Rosso Cinabro, the last artisan carettiere (cart maker) whose hand-carved and -painted wagons tell a story of the destination centuries ago.

Heading west, the millenia-old temples at Agrigento are also unmissable. Base yourself nearby in Fontes Episcopi , a divine eco-retreat with an ivy-draped courtyard and a lively farm kitchen; in February, it will open three new stand-alone suites with skylights and terraces just behind the pool and orchards. Closer to Palermo, the men in rainboots working the salt flats by Trapani showcase a tradition increasingly threatened by industrial engineering. Watching them work is extraordinary—like so many of the experiences in Sicily, it is a reminder that often the most important reason to go somewhere is to preserve what has always been there. —Erin Florio

For years, Singapore has attracted those at the forefront of finance, technology, and business. Now, a 10-year push to transform the republic into a sustainable city promises to lure more eco-explorers—especially now that vaccinated U.S. travelers no longer have to quarantine upon arrival. Efforts are already underway: At the new ABC Waters at Jurong Lake in Singapore’s west, visitors can discover 12,000 square feet of man-made wetlands via sleek wooden walkways that wend toward expansive views of the lake and the occasional glimpse of otters, Malayan water lizards, and jewel-hued tropical birds. Meanwhile, the Rail Corridor—a cross-country rewilding project and nature trail—recently saw the launch of a central 2.5-mile stretch dotted with relics like the hauntingly solitary Bukit Timah Railway Station office, built in 1932 and abandoned in 2011 when the line was decommissioned.

The plushest beds in town will be at the Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa when it opens in 2022, 135 years after the original Raffles Hotel was established. An all-villa sanctuary, it will house 61 butlered villas amid more than a million square feet of tropical gardens. But there are other options for a fresh green perspective, like the new wellness-focused Oasia Resort (pictured), where you can dine on locally farmed barramundi and get a massage with recycled coffee grounds. And those seeking a getaway that’s even more embedded in nature will soon be able to set up camp at Singapore’s first off-grid accommodation by Sentosa Development Corporation on the uninhabited southern Islands. —Audrey Phoon

Tropical Honduras , an under-the-radar divers ’ and bird-watchers ’ paradise, is fast becoming a hot spot for eco-conscious travelers.

The Cayos Cochinos Foundation —a nonprofit based in its namesake archipelago off Honduras's Caribbean coast—is one of the many sustainability organizations prioritizing the protection of Honduras's rainforests and barrier reefs . The archipelago is already famous for its cerulean waters, white-sand beaches, and spectacular freediving, but in 2022 the Foundation will launch eco-tours allowing travelers to participate in reef cleanup, spot pink boas on hikes, and join scientists in monitoring turtles.

Back on the mainland, zip-line through 400 acres of pristine rainforest in Rawacala Eco Park , which will launch two new hiking trails and bird-watching platforms alongside a revamp of their zip-line systems in 2022. After exploring Copán’s Mayan ruins , visit the nearby Paseo de los Girasoles , a sunflower plantation put in to improve grazing conditions. Visitors will soon be able to enjoy its new farm-to-table café, pergolas, and hammocks—just try to visit before everyone on Instagram catches wind of this photo-friendly spot.

For eco-friendly accommodations, try Rawacala Eco Park’s sister property, Paraiso Rainforest & Beach Hotel , or its new venture, Paraiso Boutique Hotel, opening in 2022 on Utila . The property—which will offer eco-tours through the Cayos Cochinos Foundation—will employ solar panels and recycle rainwater, in addition to reducing plastic waste by favoring local produce. The Grand Roatán Resort will also reopen as a Kimpton mid-2022 with living green walls, a reverse osmosis water generation plant, and a new spa. —Eva Sandoval

Seemingly little more than a few specks on a map of the Adriatic, the island nation of Malta has felt like a well-kept secret among European travelers—it’s accessible, just an hour by plane or ferry from Sicily, and its crystalline waters, surrounded by fossil-studded limestone cliffs, are prime for summer sunbathing and year-round scuba diving. Along the coast, there are a whopping 80 wrecks to dive, and the Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit is dedicated to maintaining them. There’s a cultural draw, too, as Arabic, Italian, French, British, and Norman influences intertwine in ancient fortified cities, with a cuisine, traditions, and language unlike any other in the region. The island was first inhabited prior to 5000 B.C., after all, with ancient megalithic temples—like Ġgantija and Ħaġar Qim—where visitors can see its storied past.

This might just be the year the destination becomes less of a secret. In 2021, Viking Cruises launched three new itineraries departing from Malta that sailed the Adriatic and Mediterranean, and the cruise line plans to add additional sailings from Malta in 2023. On land—yet still close to the water—three notable properties have opened, including a Hyatt Regency and Marriott Hotel & Spa in the beach town of St. Julian’s, and the decadent Iniala Harbour House in the capital city of Valletta. New transportation, including a recently launched speed ferry, makes it easier than ever to get from the island of Valletta to Gozo. And as for the food scene? Two more Malta restaurants were added to the Michelin Guide in 2021, including ION at Iniala, for a total of five in the country of less than 500,000 lucky residents. —Megan Spurrell

Copa Airlines’ popular Panama Stopover program is back, allowing travelers to add a one- to seven-day stopover en route to 36 destinations in South America at no extra cost. There are fewer Americans here than in neighboring Costa Rica, and with hundreds of islands on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides, you won’t be fighting for beach real estate. Make like the mammals and freshwater fauna of the Pliocene era, who migrated between North and South America when the isthmus of Panama formed, and linger awhile to explore Panama’s biodiverse jungles and beaches.

Bocas del Toro is a must-visit, with sprawling beaches that never feel too crowded and turquoise waters home to 95 percent of the coral species found in the Caribbean Sea. Memorable wildlife encounters include nighttime snorkeling in bioluminescent waters and exploring the subterranean lakes of Nivida Bat Cave with the help of headlamps and a knowledgeable guide from Hello Travel Panama .

The mountainous region of Chiriquí is equally enchanting, between its beaches and highlands, where active Volcán Barú looms large. Check in at the new 10-room boutique hotel Finca El Oasis and leave at midnight to hike the summit by daybreak for a panoramic sunrise above the clouds. Fuel your hike with locally grown coffee that you can’t find back home, like Chiriquí’s highly valued Geisha coffee. If a hike sounds too intense, there are off-road tours to the top of the volcano too, and canopy zip-lining right on the property. —Amber Gibson

Sumba, Indonesia

With millions of tourists Eat Pray Love -ing their way around Bali every year, it has become increasingly difficult to find a quiet beach or a waterfall without a gaggle of snap-happy travelers nearby. If you’re after a post-pandemic trip of quietude and untamed wilderness, you’re better off hopping on a 50-minute turboprop flight headed east from Bali, to Sumba.

About twice Bali’s size with only a fraction of its crowds, this rugged island is often compared to Bali before its tourism boom. Here, you’re more likely to share sugar-white beaches with grazing sandalwood ponies, and nosy dolphins will often be the only creatures you’re riding a wave with. And there’s more to love: hike through frozen-in-time hilltop villages bookended by ancient stone megaliths, swim in glassy lagoons, and bear witness to pasola, a boisterous ceremonial spear fighting competition (not for the faint of heart), typically scheduled between February and mid-March.

Though Nihi Sumba put the island on the map for deep-pocketed surfers back in 2012, a new crop of boutique resorts now make a five-star visit slightly more affordable. Opened in April 2020, Alamayah combines six rattan-wrapped suites with an Ayurvedic spa and Turkish hammam, plus a restaurant where plant-based dishes and remedial potions by an in-house herbalist take center stage. Mid-2022, Cap Karoso will open a small village of 47 suites and 20 beachfront villas on Sumba’s western tip. Its design melds the French owners’ Parisian flair with Sumbanese ikat and carved wood panels, while the resort’s organic farm will double as an agricultural school and artist atelier. With these hotels making efforts towards sustainable tourism development (Cap Karoso partnered with southwest Sumba’s governor for a 2022 launch of the Kodi Reserve, a coral restoration and reforestation program), the island is unlikely to follow in Bali’s trampled footsteps anytime soon. —Chris Schalkx

West Virginia

Our collective obsession with the outdoors this past year turned out to be fortuitous timing for West Virginia: Last December’s $2.3 trillion stimulus package redesignated the New River Gorge as America’s newest—and the state’s first—national park and preserve in an effort to promote tourism. Comprising some 73,000 acres, the park features 1,000-foot-high sandstone cliffs for climbing, 53 miles of river for whitewater rafting, and the iconic New River Gorge Bridge, which you can traverse on a guided trek across its 24-inch-wide catwalk.

But it’s not just national parks that benefited: West Virginia state parks are on track to hit a record 10 million visitors this year, and lawmakers approved $42 million in budget surplus for infrastructure improvements, including 20 new cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest and 25 new tree house cabins at Beech Fork State Park. Meanwhile, the new Elk River Rail Trail in central West Virginia is transforming an old railroad line once used to transport coal into a hiking and biking path that, at an eventual 74 miles, will be one of the longest trails east of the Mississippi.

If you need a little more comfort during your stay, the Hotel Morgan recently reopened in Morgantown. The space dates back to 1925 and has hosted the likes of Harry Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt. Next up is the new Schoolhouse Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, which will open in the town’s 1912 high school building. Financed by the Disability Opportunity Fund, the boutique property is being hailed as the world’s first fully accessible hotel, with each of the 30 rooms and suites designed to accommodate wheelchair users. —N.D.

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Exploring Vietnam: Top Destinations You Can’t Miss

Vietnam is a country of breathtaking natural beauty, rich history, and vibrant culture. From the bustling streets of Hanoi to the serene waters of Ha Long Bay, there are endless possibilities for adventure and exploration. Whether you’re a history buff, a foodie, or simply looking to relax, Vietnam has something for everyone. Let’s dive into the top destinations in Vietnam that you simply can’t miss!

1. Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam’s most iconic and breathtaking destinations. Located in the northeastern part of the country, this UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands topped with lush rainforests. A cruise on Ha Long Bay will take you through picturesque islets, secret grottos, and floating fishing villages.

The capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi, is a fascinating blend of East and West, combining traditional Vietnamese culture with French-colonial influences. Wander through the Old Quarter, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, or relax at the scenic Hoan Kiem Lake. Hanoi is also a food lover’s paradise, with street food stalls offering local delicacies like Pho and Banh Mi.

3. Ho Chi Minh City

Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling metropolis in southern Vietnam. The city is a hub of commerce and culture, featuring modern skyscrapers alongside historical French colonial buildings and war relics. Must-visit attractions include the War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels, and the bustling Ben Thanh Market. The city’s vibrant nightlife and delectable dining options will enhance your travel experience.

Hoi An is a charming ancient town located on Vietnam’s central coast. Known for its well-preserved architecture, lantern-lit streets, and rich cultural heritage, Hoi An is a place where time seems to stand still. Explore the Japanese Covered Bridge, enjoy a riverside meal, or have a tailor make you a custom suit. Hoi An is also famous for its monthly Lantern Festival, a mesmerizing spectacle that bathes the town in colorful lights.

Nestled in the northern mountains of Vietnam near the Chinese border, Sapa is famed for its stunning landscapes, traditional villages, and terraced rice fields. It’s an ideal destination for trekkers and those seeking an authentic experience with Vietnam’s hill tribes, including the Hmong, Dao, and Tay people. Don’t miss a trek to Mount Fansipan, known as “the Roof of Indochina,” or a visit to the vibrant Sapa Market.

6. Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta, often called the “Rice Bowl” of Vietnam, is a vast network of rivers, swamps, and islands in southern Vietnam. It’s a region where life revolves around the water. Visitors can take a boat trip through the floating markets in Can Tho, visit traditional villages, and experience the unique ecosystem of the delta. The Mekong Delta is also home to some of the country’s most delicious fruits and seafood.

Once the capital of Vietnam, Hue is a city rich in history and culture. Situated on the banks of the Perfume River, Hue is renowned for its ancient temples, palaces, and tombs. The Imperial City, a vast complex of palaces and temples surrounded by walls and a moat, is a must-see. Visitors can also explore the Tomb of Khai Dinh and the Thien Mu Pagoda, each providing a glimpse into the grandeur of Vietnam’s imperial past.

8. Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a coastal city in southern Vietnam, known for its beautiful beaches, crystal-clear waters, and vibrant nightlife. It’s a popular destination for water sports enthusiasts, offering diving, snorkeling, and sailing opportunities. The city is also home to Vinpearl Land, an amusement park on an island accessible by a cable car. After a day of adventure, relax at one of the beachfront bars and enjoy the sunset.

9. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

This UNESCO World Heritage site in central Vietnam is a marvel of natural wonder. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is famous for its stunning limestone karst landscapes, extensive cave systems, and underground rivers. The most famous cave is Son Doong, the largest cave in the world. While access to Son Doong is limited, other incredible caves like Phong Nha Cave, Paradise Cave, and Dark Cave are more accessible and equally breathtaking.

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