All Destinations

Portugal's golden coast is Europe's most photogenic Atlantic shoreline — limestone sea stacks and grottos at Ponta da Piedade (Lagos), the sheltered cove of Praia da Marinha, and 300 days of sunshine per year (the highest in continental Europe). Cabo de São Vicente — the most southwesterly point of mainland Europe — is where Henry the Navigator founded his navigation school in 1419 and launched the Age of Discovery. The Ria Formosa lagoon system stretches 90km, home to flamingos, rare chameleons, and barrier island beaches.

Saudi Arabia's northwestern oasis valley and its first UNESCO site — Hegra (Madain Salih), 111 monumental Nabataean tombs carved into honeyed sandstone 2,000+ years ago, far better preserved than Petra. The mud-brick Old Town crumbles photogenically at the valley floor; Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil) defines the night-sky photos; the mirrored Maraya hall hosts headline acts at the Winter at Tantora festival. Opened to tourism only in 2019 — luxury lodges (Habitas, Banyan Tree) lead the boom.

The Amalfi Coast is a UNESCO-listed stretch of dramatic clifftop villages cascading down to turquoise Mediterranean waters. Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello are the headliners, but the quieter towns of Atrani and Praiano offer a more authentic experience. The coastal roads are spectacular (if hair-raising), and the food is incredible.

A road-trip region of red-rock canyons and impossibly wide skies — Grand Canyon's South Rim, Sedona's crimson buttes, Antelope Canyon's light shafts, Horseshoe Bend, and Monument Valley's towering mesas. Flagstaff and Sedona anchor most itineraries; a rental car is mandatory and the distances are bigger than they look.

The driest non-polar desert on Earth — a high-altitude moonscape of volcanoes, geysers, salt flats, and altiplano lagoons centered on the adobe village of San Pedro de Atacama (2,400m). El Tatio's dawn geysers, Valle de la Luna's sunset, the Salar de Atacama's flamingos, and the Miscanti & Miñiques lakes round out the standard week. ALMA observatory tours and the world's clearest night skies make it a stargazer's pilgrimage. Connects overland to Uyuni.

The only English-speaking country in Central America — Caribbean coast on one side, Guatemalan jungle on the other, the world's second-largest barrier reef just offshore. The 124m-deep Great Blue Hole anchors the offshore atolls and decorates the country's banknotes; Ambergris Caye is the model for Madonna's "La Isla Bonita"; tiny car-free Caye Caulker takes the "Go Slow" mantra so seriously that they painted it on signs. Inland, the ancient Maya pyramids of Caracol, Xunantunich, and Lamanai rise from jungle reserves, and Actun Tunichil Muknal cave still holds skeletal sacrifices from a thousand years ago. English-speaking, BZD pegged 2:1 with USD, and one of the least-visited adventure paradises in the Caribbean.

A 160 km north-south range of densely-forested hills along Germany's southwest border with France — cuckoo-clock workshops in Triberg, the 163m Triberger Wasserfälle (Germany's highest waterfall), the deep-blue Titisee, the 60 km Schwarzwaldhochstrasse scenic drive, and the half-timbered villages of the Gutach Valley. The original Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake) was created here in 1915. Freiburg makes the obvious base — a sunny university town at the southwestern edge with the Münster spire and a tram running into the forest in 20 minutes.

Malaysia's cool Pahang highlands — British colonial-era BOH tea plantations carpeting hillsides, the Mossy Forest boardwalk through cloud-forest on Gunung Brinchang, strawberry farms, and weekend night markets. 1,500m elevation keeps it 15-25°C year-round — a break from the hot peninsular coast. 4 hours bus from KL.

Cape Cod is the 65-mile hooked arm of Massachusetts that defines the New England summer for most of the East Coast. The Cape Cod National Seashore protects 44,000 acres of dune, marsh, and Atlantic beach from Eastham to Provincetown at the tip; the 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail runs the spine of the Lower Cape on a converted rail bed; and Hyannis is the ferry hub for day trips to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Six loose regions (Upper, Mid, Lower, Outer, plus Falmouth and Sandwich) each have their own character. The catch: Friday and Sunday traffic over the Sagamore and Bourne bridges can add two hours to a trip.

Five Ligurian fishing villages clinging to a 15km stretch of cliffs — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore. Connected by boat, by train every 15 minutes, and (sometimes) by the Sentiero Azzurro hiking trail. Pesto is from here, sciacchetrà dessert wine is from these cliffs, and no cars enter the villages.

England's largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (790 sq miles) — a region of honey-coloured Jurassic limestone villages, ancient wool-trade churches, and rolling green countryside spread across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire, and Warwickshire. The villages built their wealth on Cotswold Lion sheep wool from the 12th-18th centuries and the prosperity built the elaborate stone houses and 'wool churches' you see today. Bibury's Arlington Row appears inside every UK passport; Bourton-on-the-Water is the 'Venice of the Cotswolds' with the River Windrush flowing through the village green; Castle Combe is regularly named Britain's prettiest village; and the 102-mile Cotswold Way long-distance trail threads from Chipping Campden to Bath. Add Daylesford organic farm shops, Highgrove (King Charles III's home), and the antique capitals of Stow and Tetbury — and you have the most concentrated rural England in the country.

18 volcanic islands in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway — basalt cliffs falling sheer into the sea, grass-roofed villages, and sheep that outnumber humans 2:1 (the name literally means "Sheep Islands"). Sub-sea tunnels with roundabouts in the middle of the ocean connect the main islands. Sørvágsvatn lake-over-ocean optical illusion at Trælanípan, Múlafossur waterfall plunging off the cliff at Gásadalur, the grass-roof village of Saksun, and puffin colonies on Mykines (Jun-Aug). Self-governing within the Kingdom of Denmark — but NOT in Schengen.

300km of South Africa's southern Cape coast between Mossel Bay and Storms River — a forested, lake-stitched, lagoon-laced ribbon between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain ranges and the Indian Ocean. The drive itself (the N2 highway) is the trip: Wilderness National Park's beaches and lakes, Knysna's spectacular Heads (cliff-bound estuary mouth), Plettenberg Bay's white-sand resort beaches and dolphin spotting, Tsitsikamma's ancient yellowwood forests and Storms River suspension bridge, and Bloukrans Bridge's 216m bungee jump (world's highest from a bridge). Garden Route National Park spans three sections (Wilderness, Knysna, Tsitsikamma); Mediterranean climate makes November-April peak with no malaria. Most travellers self-drive over 4-7 days; George Airport (GRJ) is the western anchor.

India's smallest state packs in golden beaches, Portuguese colonial churches, spice plantations, and a laid-back tropical vibe that draws backpackers and luxury seekers alike.

A Karakoram valley wedged between 7,000m peaks — Karimabad and Altit perched on terraces above the Hunza River, Baltit Fort surveying the apricot orchards from its 700-year-old foundations, and Rakaposhi (7,788m) filling the southern view from breakfast tables. Turquoise Attabad Lake formed in 2010 after a landslide, and the Karakoram Highway threads north through it to the Khunjerab Pass and the Chinese border. One of the safest corners of Pakistan and the country's tourism crown jewel.

"God's Own Country" — India's tropical southwestern coast, where 900 km of palm-fringed beaches meet a 1,500 km maze of backwater canals. Overnight kettuvallam houseboat cruises out of Alleppey (Alappuzha), tea plantations blanketing the Munnar hills at 1,500m, the colonial spice port of Fort Kochi, Kathakali face-painted dance, and Periyar Tiger Reserve. Ayurvedic massage is everywhere. Monsoon June-September is dramatic but most travel is October-March.

Southern Thailand's Andaman coast is limestone-karst country — Railay's boat-only beach cliffs, Phra Nang Cave, Ao Nang's mainland base, and ferries to Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. The Tiger Cave Temple's 1,260-step climb rewards with the panorama. Rock climbing mecca, kayaking through mangroves at Ao Thalane, and roughly half the price of Phuket.

Aldous Huxley called it "the most beautiful lake in the world." Three volcanoes ring a 1,562m caldera, and twelve Maya villages dot the shoreline — each Kaqchikel or Tz'utujil with its own character. Panajachel for transit, San Pedro for backpacker partying and Spanish school, San Marcos for yoga and cliff jumps, Santiago for traditional culture and the Maximón shrine, San Juan for textile co-ops and coffee. Lanchas (boats) shuttle between them.

A pre-Alpine Y-shaped lake ringed by mountains where pastel fishing villages, baroque villas with terraced gardens, and a daily ballet of green-and-white ferries make up most of the experience. Bellagio sits on the promontory where the lake's three arms meet, Varenna stacks ochre houses above the eastern shore, Villa del Balbianello's cypress terraces ran the Star Wars and Casino Royale cameras, and Villa Carlotta's azaleas peak through May into early June. Como town anchors the southwestern tip with a Juvarra-domed Duomo and the Brunate funicular for the lake's best panorama. One hour from Milan by train, but lived at ferry pace.

The UK's largest national park (2,362 km²) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 — a glacier-carved Cumbrian landscape of slate-grey peaks, ribbon lakes, and dry-stone-walled fell farms. Despite the name, only Bassenthwaite Lake is technically a 'lake'; the rest are 'meres' (Windermere, Buttermere, Grasmere) or 'waters' (Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston Water) — Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon remnants. Scafell Pike (978 m) is England's highest mountain, a serious 6–7 hour return walk in often atrocious weather. The Romantic poetry movement was effectively born here — William Wordsworth's Dove Cottage in Grasmere is preserved as he left it, and Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit royalties) bought 4,000 acres of fellside farmland over her lifetime and bequeathed every acre to the National Trust. Seathwaite in Borrowdale receives 3,500 mm of rain a year — the wettest inhabited place in the British Isles. Pack waterproofs even in July. Closest airport: Manchester (MAN); the train to Windermere connects via Oxenholme.

The high-altitude Buddhist kingdom of Ladakh, separated from Jammu & Kashmir as its own Union Territory in 2019, is more Tibetan than Indian — a 3,524 m capital city in Leh, 17th-century palaces and 12-storey monasteries terraced up cliff faces, the 134 km turquoise saltwater Pangong Lake on the Tibet border, the white-sand dunes and Bactrian camels of Nubra Valley, and passes (Khardung La 5,359 m, Chang La 5,360 m) among the highest paved roads anywhere. The temperatures swing 50°C between summer days and winter nights; rainfall is under 100 mm annually. The only practical visiting season for most travellers is June through September, and acclimatisation to the altitude is the most important first 48 hours. The most spectacular Indian destination most foreign travellers haven't been to.

A Norwegian archipelago of jagged granite peaks rising straight from the Norwegian Sea — among Europe's most photographed landscapes. Iconic red fishermen's cabins (rorbuer) in Reine, Hamnøy, Å, and Henningsvær; the Reinebringen staircase hike, Haukland and Uttakleiv beaches, and centuries-old cod-drying racks. Midnight sun late May to mid-July, Northern Lights mid-September to April. Access via Tromsø or Bodø → LKN/EVE airports, or the iconic E10 scenic drive.

The world's fourth-largest island drifted away from Africa 160 million years ago — 90% of its wildlife exists nowhere else. The Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava, lemur-packed Andasibe-Mantadia rainforest, the jagged limestone tsingy at Bemaraha (UNESCO), and Nosy Be beaches off the northwest coast. Road network is sparse and slow — internal flights via Madagascar Airlines save days. Antananarivo (Tana) is the highland capital and transit hub. Best visited April-November (dry season).

Northern California's premier wine region — a 30-mile-long, 5-mile-wide valley an hour north of San Francisco that contains over 400 wineries and produces 4% of California's wine while generating 27% of the state's wine value. The 1976 'Judgment of Paris' blind tasting put Napa on the world map when a French jury rated Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay above their celebrated French counterparts — Time magazine called it 'the day Napa Valley earned its place.' The first American Viticultural Area outside Augusta, Missouri (1981), the valley now contains 16 sub-AVAs each with distinct soil and microclimate. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates at ~55% of plantings, supported by daily marine fog rolling in from San Pablo Bay through the Petaluma Gap and a 40°F+ diurnal temperature swing. Anchored by Napa town in the south and St. Helena and Calistoga in the north along the SR-29 'Wine Route,' with the parallel Silverado Trail offering a quieter alternative. The 1989 Napa Valley Wine Train still runs vintage Pullman dining cars 36 miles round-trip at 18 mph past vineyards. Closest airports: Oakland (OAK) and SFO.