It's interesting article describing how some people choose their destinations based on internet opinions. I just go, where I want to go, not where some so called influencer recommends.
I'm from London and my favourites are :
- Switzerland, Bernese Oberland and some other areas. Italy alpine areas lovely too.
- Alaska, Sweden, Norway for Northern Lights
- Northern Pacific Islands, Marianas, Micronesia and Hawaii. Sometimes there are articles about Palau, but luckily not many flights, so limited amount of tourists. Same goes for Micronesia, most people never even heard about it.
-South Korea and Japan for Sakura and people watching.
-Hong Kong is always fun, been many times, love the food and skyline of the city.
My favourite place to visit is London. Was travelling from LHR to downtown on the tube. Teenagers saw luggage and asked where I was travelling to. I said London. They could not believe anyone would ever want to visit their city. ´Can’t wait to move out.´ one said. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have.
Dan, if the teenagers were Caucasian then one can certainly understand why they wish to escape from Kahn’s Kingdom …. 🙂
London is very different to live in than visit
As a visitor you get to avoid much of the unpleasant parts.
During my youth Sydney, Rio, Sitges and Mykonos were up there. I recently went back to Sydney during their winter, very nice to get away from the Miami/Northern Hemisphere heat. Today I look for places with good hiking, almost all US.
Not OP but for hiking most National Parks (except wilderness parks like Denali) have outstanding options. The best of these, at least among those that are relatively accessible, for day hiking are Yosemite, Zion and Glacier. Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains are also very good and not far from non-camping lodging. Internationally, and not easily accessible, Queenstown and the surrounding areas on the South Island of New Zealand are tough to beat while Banff is also scenic!
Looks like we were in Oz around the same tome George. Sydney is a beautiful city.
Melbourne is also a beautiful place. The South Island of New Zealand is magical, and it’s well worth investing a couple of weeks driving down the west coast, across the mountains, and then up the east coast. Don’t miss Milford Sound, either - it’s spectacular.
Turkiye, Brazil, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Morocco, Cook Islands, Colombia, South Africa, Seychelles, Philippines
PS I am Australian, not sure if we were supposed to include our homelands. otherwise I would have added it.
Wanna, there are some mighty fine ‘tinies’ brewed in Oz, not forgetting the sensational places to enjoy a scenic bubble too. However, there are some very suspect chaps hanging around the watering holes just north of Perth, don’t you know.
Thank you, Russ, for not putting up with Erdogan’s propaganda. We’re speaking English on here, and it is indeed Turkey.
Aero, now I see. Yes, Russ and I agree on this. That doesn’t mean we are the same person.
You forgot the the best destination is mar-a-lago .
Only if you’re a corrupt politician, bankrupt corporate shill, or your face is melting off.
This is really hard. I have a soft spot for so many US cities: Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philly, DC, Boston, San Juan. I think Albuquerque and SLC are very underrated.
Abroad: Berlin, Istanbul, and Malta are just incredible places.
What do you like about Albuquerque? My wife travels there for work a lot and hasn't really seen much.
Totally agree on the difficult time giving balanced feedback when you go some place that is considered amazing or take a more exotic trip. People just expect you to say “It was awesome!” I’ve gotten attacked online because I wasn’t totally glowing about places and accused of being completely ungrateful for the opportunity I have to experience the things I have done. I was not being toxically negative or not picking but just stating the issues with certain trips I have taken along with the good parts. But if you didn’t just say it’s amazing, you’re considered spoiled and ungrateful for the opportunities you have.
So far, favorites are France, Italy, Ireland, Vietnam, and Alaska! (Although in the U.S. it is its own world and I spent 2-1/2 years in awe of it).
+1 to any other island over Santorini.
Probably depends on the timing. We just went there at the end of October. Temperatures in the 70s and no crowds. It was beautiful.
Agreed. I enjoyed Santorini. I think people would enjoy it more if they visited Oia but booked their lodging in a different part of the island.
I have four siblings. We’re all retired. Four out of five of us travel moderately to extensively. I’m always amazed at how little destination overlap there is on the the trips we each take with our significant others. What’s of interest to one sibling often isn’t to another.
Then there’s the list of destinations we’d like to return to versus those where one visit is enough, even if we loved everything about it. We only have so many trips left in us; need to choose carefully!
So many places have so many memories both good and bad;
City - St Petersburg
Island - Malta
Discovery - Holy Island ( Northumbria coast )
Surprised - Montenegro ( the lakes are up and coming)
Tell us you’re a Russian, without literally saying it. Surprised you didn’t include Istanbul, Dubai, Colombo, and Phuket.
Visited St Petersburg in 2010 on business and honestly it was a peak behind the pre verbal iron curtain which is why I liked it, defo not rusky and defo not a Vlady The Baddy fan!
Phew! Your timing was good. Would be more challenging to visit today, business or otherwise. Would not want to be ‘conscripted’ to the ‘meat grinder.’ Yikes!
Tanzania during the Great Migration and the Okavango Delta of Botswana!!
And depending on time of year, Masai Mara (especially the Mara Triangle) in Kenya is basically a continuation of that migration. Love the views of the escarpment on that side. Not cheap, though.
The British taxpayers sent me Kenya many, many times. Probably even before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye Russ …. 🙂
If you plan on visiting the Stans I am surprised you mentioned Kazakhstan. The first Stan you should visit is Uzbekistan which has Samarakhand, Bukhara, Khuva, Nukus, Urgench, Kenya Urgench. I would say of the five Stans you,should spend 80 percent of your time. In Uzbekistan and perhaps a bit in the others. Kyrgyzstan is eminently skibbalbe and of course Trurkmenistan capital of Ashgabat is Disneyland in marble.
Who cares? Only overly-sensitive crybabies who make non-issues into issues think that way.
Other than for family or business, look at the places you’ve chosen to visit the most (like, literal quantities, frequencies), because that’s probably where your heart is at.
Then, it’s the views, the activities, the food, the people, the accommodations, the flights there, etc., all of it matters.
Personally, I’ve lived NYC and FL, and my shortlist of favorites: California, Canada, Maldives, Japan, Italy, Cape Town.
Oh, shoot, I forgot France. Ugh, they’ll hate me for leaving them out. Zut alors!
Aero, I only use ‘1990’ on this and the other sites. I take pride in my work.
And, no, the UK, is not on my list of favorites, though I’d like to get back to Scotland. Not Blackpool. Never again.
Russ, I donno why, but Aero has been really ‘into’ accusing other commenters of all being the same person. It’s a little odd.
Amanbagh. So peaceful and calming.
2. Xigera in Oakavango Delta during flooding season. Serenity at its best.
3. Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. Nicest staff, gorgeous architecture and out of this world view.
4. Singita Kwitonda. Never tire of that volcano view and hanging out
with gorilla was fun too!
5. Amankora in the winter. Dipping in a hot stone bath (after trekking up to Tiger’s Nest) while snow falling is everything.
6. Explora at Rapa Nui. Nice meeting fellow travelers who have been everywhere and learning extensive history of the island was a treat!
7. Angama Mara at Masai Mara. The Out of Africa view is simply stunning!
You’re absolutely right. Each is 10/10. Great list.
Have been to all of them (except Xigera, stayed at Sandibe and Xarana in Okavanga, instead).
That hot stone bath is magical… the way they drop ‘em in. Bah!
Only disappointment is that it’s really hard to find those tigers at the nearby parks in Rajasthan.
Bhutan for the people and unbelievable scenery, Nepal on Women’s Day, Mongolia for the culture, Mumbo Island in Malawi for it’s remoteness, northern Norway for fishing, French Polynesia and the the Cook Islands for snorkling, Tasmania, Galapagos for amazing wildlife, and everywhere my travels take me in the future - for the adventure.
I wonder what your favorite area of Germany is (since you're German)
Nothing like the stench of urine at Frankfurt HB while picking up a cigar to smoke in the Lufthansa First Class terminal the following day.
I hope Fogo Island still occupies a warm place in your heart.
Countries
1. Spain (all of it, although Barcelona has way too many tourists)
2. Uruguay- love the estancias
3. Portugal
4. Italy
5. Canada
Cities I love to walk
1. Bilbao, Spain
2. Madrid, Spain
3. Rome, Italy
4. Montevideo, Uruguay
5. Evora, Portugal
6. Ljubljana, Slovenia
7. Zadar, Croatia
8. Istanbul, Turkey
9. St. Petersburg, Russia
10. Venice, Italy
11. Budapest, Hungary
12. Munich, Germany
US Cities
1. NYC
2. Portland, Maine
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Cleveland, Ohio
5. Albany, New York
6. Kansas City, Missouri
7. Washington DC
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. San Francisco, California
As a Croatian, but Zadar not being my hometown, I am happy to see that people are discovering this beautiful city.
If you will have a chance, also check out Trogir, another gem of Adriatic coast.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park/Redwood National Park in northern California. There is peace to be found among those ancient giants, and driving along the Avenue of the Giants is other-worldly.
Western Cape province in South Africa. Spectacular scenery, friendly people, and fantastic wine & food.
Helsinki, one of my favourite cities in earth; and it’s only a quick ferry ride from the equally wonderful Tallinn (which is significantly cheaper).
The wine country around Melbourne. Travel north, south, east, or west from Melbourne and you’ll find fantastic cool-climate wineries galore. Forget the mass produced swill that Australia flogs overseas, a lot of it is complete rubbish. The good stuff; and the REALLY good stuff; is rarely exported.
Serious travellers, as opposed to toe-dippers, spend some sensible prior preparation and planning time before booking flights, hotels and ground tours, etc. Research is not wasted time and can make the difference between a good holiday and an exceptional, never forgotten holiday experience.
Foreign lands, languages, cultures and customs, etc, are meaningless if one fails to plan. Toe-dippers might be able to convince themselves that they have full knowledge of a distant destination just because they set foot on foreign soil and have taken a few iPhone selfies. However, many toe-dippers have no appetite for destination investigations, etc, preferring to pretend that someone or something else, is to blame when the holiday experience turns to ‘rats’. Reinventing the wheel each time rarely works to ensure a smooth, safe and thoroughly enjoyable travel experience.
No need to gate-keep. Travel however you want. Plan-it-all or go on a whim. Fun, work, couples, family, whatever. It’s all good. Gotta start somewhere.
Prior preparation and planning, prevents p*** poor performance.
Any plan can fail, however, there can be no reasonable excuse for failing to plan, yes?