The 25 Best Places to Go in 2025 (2024)

Determining the best places to go in 2025 was no easy task. After all, most of our readers suffer from the same affliction we do: an insatiable desire to go everywhere, see everything, and be dazzled by the world’s rich and varied contours. Treating a new year as a blank slate for fresh adventures is overwhelming then, no matter how tattered our passports.

Perhaps that’s why we get so excited about change – as a way of narrowing down the abundance of choices. The places that are evolving. The places that are just getting started. The destinations that are being reshaped by new openings: the standout restaurants, culture-defining museums, and boutique hotels swinging their doors open in the coming months. It is those places, imbued with a sense of a fresh start, that have a way of crawling up to the top of our must-visit lists.

In 2025 one of those places is Greenland, once a feather in only the most seasoned travellers’ caps. Its rugged ice-scape will be easier to reach now that the Nuuk airport has expanded, with flights increasing throughout 2025. Also calling to us is Ho Chi Minh City, which, at 50 years since the fall of Saigon this spring, has fully come into its own as a design and dining destination. And on Queensland’s Tropical Coast, theGreat Barrier Reef, with aquamarine seas and a kaleidoscope of sea life, no longer stands alone in drawing travellers to this temperate coastline – a new hiking and biking trail and bold Indigenous art exhibits make a case for staying on dry land (or simply staying longer).

These are just some of the stories you’ll find below. There are 25 in total. Twenty-five places that, no questions asked, our editors would jump at the opportunity to visit next year. (In many cases, we will be visiting them ourselves; stay tuned.) Twenty-five places we want you to know about, before your TikTok feed – or your kid’s TikTok feed – is swimming in them. Twenty-five places that speak to our values as travellers in 2025, be it innovation in conservation, astounding creativity, or a profound sense of human connection. We hope you’ll see the names not only of spots you have been waiting to visit (and consider this your sign to make it happen) but also of places you’ve never heard of. Because just when you think you’ve seen it all, we promise to shine our spotlight on intriguing new corners of the world.

These are the best places to go in 2025 – on all seven continents. Arati Menon and Megan Spurrell

This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2025.

Numerous wine growers, restaurateurs, and hoteliers have not only taken the reconstruction of the region into their own hands but also its further development. They have seen opportunities, invested, worked tirelessly, and developed new, modern concepts. The Sustainable Tourism Concept 2025 is the joint result of all those who have already felt the effects of climate change. Most of these projects will only be initiated in 2025 – after which you can watch them develop – but some of the best examples are here already. Markus Bell, who runs the Bells Genusshof restaurant, serves local produce in a space that feels like a cool concept store. In Altenahr, Andreas Carnott has expanded his Hotel Ruland to include a spectacular wellness area with a view of the slate cliffs; he is also considered one of the best chefs in the region. At Restaurant Brogsitter, Benjamin Schöneich regained his Michelin star in the spring of 2024 after starting there in the fall of last year.

Around 80 per cent of establishments were open again in the Ahr Valley by the summer of 2024, and the number of hotels on offer is on the rise, too. New openings include the lovingly designed boutique hotel Burg Adenbach & Alter Weinbau in Ahrweiler, alongside reopenings like the grande dame of Ahr, the Steigenberger Hotel in Bad Neuenahr at the beginning of June 2024. Not only will its large indoor pool and spa reopen at the end of 2024, but concerts will take place in the event rooms again; and thermal baths will follow next year. Lisa Riehl

It'll be another 34 years before Alaska as a state turns 100 years old. But some of its best-known events and attractions are hitting that milestone in 2025, like the Serum Run, a sled dog relay that brought lifesaving diphtheria antitoxins from Nenana to Nome in 1925. The event has been celebrated annually with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which enthrals visitors and locals who gather along its 1,000-mile course to watch top mushers and their dogs compete. To catch the start of the race, post up at the Wildbirch Hotel, Anchorage’s first new major lodging in 20 years. The boutique stay, with 252 design-forward guest rooms and partnerships with local artists, will open in early 2025 and offer unobstructed views of the Iditarod start line. Also turning 100 is the unrelentingly beautiful Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (which became a national monument in 1925), filled with rugged mountains, wild coastline, and abundant wildlife. It is the ancestral land of the Huna Tlingit people, who, in recent years, have collaborated with the National Park Service to restore previously suppressed oral histories and cultural traditions. One endeavour was building the Xúnaa Shuká Hít tribal house, the first permanent clan house on these shores since a glacier destroyed villages more than 250 years ago. The Huna people also own nearby Icy Strait Point, one of the most exciting cruise ship destinations in southeast Alaska. Come 2025, it will welcome new sailings, including Princess Cruises’ 22-dayUltimate Alaska Solsticevoyage, which will depart from San Francisco in June. The itinerary takes advantage of the 19-plus hours of sunlight available during the summer solstice, giving you that much more time to take in views of Glacier Bay National Park, Hubbard Glacier, the College Fjord, and more. For an on-land adventure with a side of guided bear viewing, head to Native-owned Kodiak Brown Bear Center on verdant Kodiak Island, where small groups of visitors share space with the largest subspecies of brown bear in the world. In the summer of 2025, KBBC will open a new wellness centre built on a picturesque bluff and offer new, six-day fly-fishing programs on the Karluk River; by evening, guests can retreat to their wood cabins that have views of the lake – after a communal Banya-style steam bath that the Alutiiq people call maqiwik. Notably, Alaska Airlines has ramped up its scheduling in 2024 by adding a daily nonstop to New York alongside its existing service to San Diego, Nashville, and Portland, Oregon, making it easier than ever to get here. Lisa Maloney

Cuba has long captivated visitors with its Afro-Cuban culture, UNESCO-protected cities, gelato-coloured classic cars – and its loquacious, quick-witted locals. Post-pandemic, travellers can enjoy all of this once more. Cuba’s new e-visas, launched in August 2024, pave the way, as does the return of several American tour companies that had paused travel to the island. Starting in January 2025, Abercrombie & Kent’s tours will take travellers first to Camagüey, Cuba’s third-largest city – and a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with churches, figurative sculptures, and celebrated ballet performances at the City’s Teatro Principal – before travelling west to spellbinding Trinidad, with a beach stay in the sparkly new Meliá Trinidad Península. Then, travellers will go on to Cienfuegos, the city of columns, and Santa Clara, home to Che Guevara’s monumental mausoleum before landing in Havana. That same month, GeoEx tees up a range of immersive experiences in Trinidad, plus a live performance in Cienfuegos by the Chamber Orchestra, with meals at authentic Cuban paladares (private restaurants) and private salsa lessons. (Guests will drop their bags at tropical hideaway Mansión Alameda, which opened in 2023.) With Tauck, which returned to Havana in September 2024, there are opportunities to interact with fascinating locals: a baseball star, a tobacco farmer from the lush Viñales Valley, and the members of a vintage car club. ReRoot Travel’s brand-new program is similarly designed to take you off the beaten track and into the homes of artists, farmers, even Santeria priests. If you want to time your visit to Havana’s dazzling festival calendar, join Project Por Amor with Cuban-born Adolfo Nodal, on new multiday trips anchored to the International Jazz Festival (January) and the Havana Biennial art fair (November through February). A flurry of gorgeous boutique stays have opened in Havana in the last 18 months including La Distancia, in an elegantly revived mansion in the leafy neighbourhood of El Vedado, and Estancia Bohemia, a luxurious stay in a reimagined 18th-century palace. By the end of 2024, Havana’s third Kempinski property will open its doors in northern Old Havana: the 219-roomed Gran Hotel Metrópolis with a rooftop pool and panoramic views. Skip sleep in favour of a night out at Mayko’s Lounge Bar, opening in February 2025 in southern Old Havana. Owner Wilson Hernández is Havana’s best-known bartender, formerly of hip hideaway El del Frente, so you can expect heady cocktails, ’70s cult music, and all the vibes. Claire Boobyer

Home to Africa’s oldest synagogue, more than 300 mosques, a Catholic church, and a thousand-year-old village bedecked in contemporary murals, Djerba is a delightfully unorthodox – and much-needed – reminder that humans thrown together in splendid isolation can get things right. This island of date palms and olive groves, which sits on the southern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and is said to be the real-life Land of the Lotus Eaters (where Odysseus’s men consumed mythical fruits that vanquished all thoughts of home), is trading in more benign forms of culinary bewitchment these days. As host of the first-ever World Capital of Island Cuisine festival in 2025, Djerba will welcome chefs representing island cuisines from around the globe in a competition for gastronomical glory, with live music and nautical activities as the anticipated supporting acts. Foodies who can’t make the festival can still enjoy Destination Djerba’s recently launched “culinary/culture” tours. A homage to the island’s artisanal olive oil industry, events like gourmet workshops (think local chefs and mixologists playing with regional flavours) and olive oil tastings are reanimating the island’s ancient underground mills. Lest you forget that Djerba is also a famous beach escape – complete with turquoise waters, flocks of flamingos, and well-dressed camels – Marriott Djerba, An All-Inclusive Resort will open on the island in the latter half of the year. Looking for something more intimate? The beloved Dar Dhiafa guesthouse, a gem of traditional architecture, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a renovation that promises a stunning refresh by summer 2025. Finally, Easyjet’s November 2024 addition of two direct flight routes from the UK (London and Manchester), combined with Tunisia’s recently announced visa-free policy for 95 countries, makes it easier than ever to access the aptly named Island of Dreams. Lee Middleton

Ultima guests fly south from Cape Town, South Africa, alongside polar scientists, meaning tourism cross-subsidises Antarctic research. Most departures are limited to 12 travellers, and after landing at Ultima’s runway, they take a short drive to reach Ultima Oasis Camp, a subtly luxurious lodge offering contemporary bedrooms, shared bathrooms, and cosy lounges that put the views front and centre. Here the focus is on landscapes, not opulence, with Oasis Camp delivering dramatic views over the lakes and ice fields of the Schirmacher Oasis.

Ultima’s weeklong expeditions are filled with excursions led by specialist guides, from day hikes exploring ice caves to 36-hour side excursions to the South Pole, with stunning mountain views en route. It’s this opportunity to experience the enormity of the Antarctic interior that truly sets Ultima’s experience apart from a visit by cruise ship.

After days on the ice, warm up in the camp’s traditional banya sauna and tuck into contemporary cuisine inspired by high-end safari dining. If your budget doesn’t allow for the weeklong experience, fret not. The Ultima Day Expedition offers a 24-hour taste of Antarctica with a ticket price of around £8,000: Land at lunchtime for 12 hours on the ice before flying back to Cape Town. Richard Holmes

In Gran Chaco – an over-300,000-square-mile swatch of dry forest that stretches across parts of Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil – the heat can rise above 37**°**C in the summer, and jaguars and giant anteaters pace among quebracho trees, while black caimans skim along the surface of the Bermejo River. You may have been to Patagonia or the Amazon or the Galápagos, but the Chaco, home to one of the fastest-disappearing forests, has remained far off the tourist track. It was only in 2022 that hiking trails and rustic accommodations popped up. Things have evolved quickly since and in 2025, El Impenetrable, the national park within Gran Chaco, will offer three-day river safaris with glamping along the way, providing visitors a chance to experience this changing environment, and contribute to its preservation, with a little more comfort. Reservations for 2025 stays at the newly opened Glamping Los Palmares on the west of the park are open, and with just four luxe tents on offer, you’ll want to nab yours ASAP. Spend your days kayaking these waterways, horseback riding in pursuit of tapir sightings, and getting to know the communities who live in harmony with this rugged environment. Megan Spurrell

In 2013, Nicaragua’s first luxury resort opened on the Emerald Coast. Its name was Mukul, which means “secret” in Tzotzil, an Indigenous Maya language, and for over a decade its location remained just that: The few visitors who passed through this pocket of the Pacific coast were mostly backpackers staying in shoestring-budget accommodations, surfers lured by the promise of 300 days of offshore wind every year, or golfers who saw little reason to leave the resort. Word of mouth has since led in-the-know travellers to places likeSan Juan del Sur– where global hospitality groupApogeo Collectivehas pioneered an artist residency and guesthouse centring LGBTQIA2S+ and POC travellers – and to tiny towns like El Tránsito and El Gigante. But much of this area is poised to undergo something of a transformation with the impending arrival of the Costanera highway. Set to be completed in 2025, it will connect over 200 miles of Pacific coast and radically improve access to spots like Hide and Seek Resort, which opened in Popoyo in 2024 and is already attracting a young crowd seeking the ease of a surf holiday with the style and comfort of a boutique hotel. Owners Emileah Miller and Daniel Shade hail from Australia, and there’s a healthy dose of Byron Bay-coded whitewashed minimalism in the pool suites – and the resort’s calendar of surf retreats led by professionals like longboarders Nique Miller and Luke Egan has gained the attention of serious surfers. Hide & Seek, along with the breezy Rancho Santana resort neighbouring it, is steps away from Playa Jiquelite, a vast expanse of sand where riders gallop horses through the shallows at sunset. Even in peak season, it’s relatively empty. Think of it as Mexico’s Tulum before the over-tourism or Costa Rica’s Santa Teresa without the crowds. Now is the time to catch on – before everyone else does. Anna Prendergast

Furrowed brows and quizzical looks usually follow any mention of the Faroe Islands. A tiny island nation between Iceland and Norway, and home to more sheep than people, it’s precisely the far-flung, cold-weather locale that in-the-know travellers crave. But go quick; people are starting to catch on. Icelandair has begun direct flights from Reykjavik to Vágar five to six times weekly. Once you do touch down, visiting one of the country’s more remote 18 islands via a new subsea tunnel is more straightforward than pronouncing its name. Sandoyartunnilin connects the main island with Sandoy through a six-and-a-half-mile stretch decorated with Viking-inspired art by local artist Edward Fuglø and a soundtrack you can dial into on your car radio. Other new openings include the BISK Hotel, an upcoming waterside hotel in the northern town of Klaksvik. The island’s airport hotel, Hotel Vágar, has also just reopened – ideal for situating yourself before those early-morning flights. When you need a massage after chasing waterfalls and hiking cliffs, new wellness offerings range from the outdoor spa and café, Ress, at four-star Hotel Føroyar, to Havdypp, a beachside sauna and spa in nearby Leynar that also offers multiday wellness retreats. Katie Lockhart

Once on the ground, visitors can enjoy Greenland’s rugged coastal landscapes, fascinating Indigenous Inuit culture, and the opportunity to experience the country at its primordial best. Base yourself at Ilulissat’s Hotel Arctic and wake up to (you guessed it) a dreamy Arctic seascape littered with hulking icebergs. Seven new Aurora cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows made of heated glass so snow never obscures your view of the northern lights (known here as arsarnerit) illuminating Disko Bay. Get an even closer view on Diskobay Tours’ two-hour scenic sail through Ilulissat’s ice fjord, and marvel as you glide past what looks like an installation of gargantuan sculptures afloat in the most magnificent open-air museum. On land, the company’s walking tour illuminates the culture and history of this former trading post. It is home to 5,000 people and over 2,000 Greenland dogs, the Indigenous sledge-pulling breed crucial to early Greenlanders’ survival, enabling them to travel swiftly over ice fields to hunt for food. But for the deepest insight into Greenland’s culture and landscape, hop onto Arctic Umiaq Line’s coastal passenger ferry Sarfaq Ittuk, which has sailed the southwest coast since 1774, on 14-day journeys that call at 18 settlements including Sisimiut, Aasiaat, and Kangaamiut, all inaccessible by road. Some stops are less than an hour; others, half a day. As the ship sails past slate grey, snow-capped mountains to deliver both cargo and people to ports with as few as 90 residents, you’ll witness joyful reunions and tearful goodbyes that are as moving as the forbidding landscape. Or, opt to sail with luxury cruise line Ponant, which just announced new Greenland expeditions for 2025 aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship. The first of the two 16-day itineraries will travel from Canada's Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the southwestern coast of Greenland; the second will start in Reykjavík and whisk guests to Greenland’s Disko Bay.

While its remote location at the top of the world makes flying and staying here expensive, Greenland isn’t for luxury lovers accustomed to being cosseted. Balancing visitors’ desires with what local communities need and what infrastructure can support is central to the country’s new Pledge Toward Better Tourism. And savvy travellers will appreciate the upside of more considered growth: fewer people to share Greenland’s majesty with. At least for now. Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

This southern Vietnamese metropolis has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing tourism powerhouses, shattering pre-pandemic records by a healthy margin, and there’s no better time to visit than in 2025. Exactly 50 years after the Fall of Saigon ended the Vietnam War in 1975, Ho Chi Minh City – still referred to locally as Saigon – is set to unveil several grand events, exhibitions, and celebrations commemorating half a century of national reunification.

Those travelling domestically will be able to take advantage of Tan Son Nhat Airport’s Terminal 3, opening in 2025; then there’s the HCMC Metro, which, despite numerous delays, is rumoured to finally offer its inaugural rides sometime next year. And that’s not to mention the forthcoming renovation of the city’s iconic Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel and the numerous others slated to open soon, including IHG's Hotel Indigo and the Kengo Kuma-designed Kempinski Saigon River.

Beyond urban and tourism infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City shines brightest as one of Southeast Asia’s cultural epicentres – a regional hub of commerce, dining, and fashion. On the shopping front, local brands such as Fancì Club and Latui Atelier have, in recent years, earned the patronage of K-pop stars and Hollywood A-listers alike. And in 2023, the first Michelin Guide to Vietnam awarded the city’s first star to the new-school Vietnamese restaurant Anan Saigon, whose chef, Peter Cuong Franklin, also recently opened a noodle soup-focused concept, Pot Au Pho. Yet, for all the new and novel, the city, known during the French colonial era as the “Pearl of the Orient”, retains much of its old-world charm, from bustling markets to rustic street vendors hawking hu tieu noodle soup and banh mi sandwiches. Dan Q. Dao

Anyone who has braved seven hours in a cramped “marshrutka” (the shared taxis common in Eastern Europe and ex-Soviet republics) to journey from Bishkek to Karakol will tell you that the bumpy ride is a small price to pay. Not only is this Kyrgyz city famed for its cultural diversity, it’s also the adventure capital of Central Asia.

Karakol is undeniably remote – about 93 miles from the Kyrgyzstan-China border – but the imminent reopening of Karakol International Airport is set to make it more accessible than ever. The area has traditionally been a draw for intrepid adventurists. From the rugged Tien Shan mountains to the expansive Issyk-Kul lake, hiking, horse riding, kayaking, and paragliding are just some of the activities on offer here. In addition, Karakol Ski Base is the highest ski resort in Central Asia, at an altitude of 1.8 miles. A new ski resort, Three Peaks, will debut in 2026, in partnership with French ski specialist Société des Trois-Vallées, drawing even more winter sports enthusiasts to the region.

But adventure is only part of Karakol’s appeal. The city is home to Uyghur, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kalmak, Dungan, and Russian communities, translating to unsung cultural treasures like wooden “gingerbread” houses, cold ashlan-fu soup, and the architecturally wondrous Dungan Mosque, which reflects the Buddhist roots of the Chinese artisans who built it in 1907, with a pagoda in place of a minaret. Samia Qaiyum

La Paz is dishing up South America’s most underrated food scene right now—and with the Andean country celebrating its bicentennial in 2025, it’s never been a better time to tap in. There are the classics: Mercado Rodríguez, in the Centro district, is a daily stop for locals craving heritage corn cobs and wallake (steamed Lake Titicaca-caught rainbow trout soup) served out of enormous pots by caseras (vendors) in colourful pollera skirts and bowler hats. Young chefs, freshly back after stints abroad, are interpreting traditional Altiplano dishes with a new lens. At Phayawi, Valentina Arteaga puts a sophisticated spin on sopa de maní, Bolivia’s classic peanut soup, by finishing it with palillo turmeric oil like her abuela used to. Her cooking has found fans as far as DC, where Phayawi hosted its first international pop-up in October. Over atAncestral, open-flame cooking techniques influence the menu, and La Paz’s favourite late-night street food, anticucho (a beef-heart skewer), inspires its emblematic entrée: a pommes soufflée filled with chilli, peanuts, and heart ham.

Long a 50 Best Restaurants darling, Gustu, in the city’s desirable Calacoto neighbourhood, has consistently championed the exclusive use of Bolivian products, including wine and singani, a Bolivian brandy. After a decade behind its burners, chef Marsia Taha – just named Latin America’s Best Female Chef – has flown solo and will open her Amazonian-driven restaurant in November 2024 in the Achumani neighbourhood. Sixty-five percent of Bolivia is covered by the Amazon basin, so Taha’s menu will cast a wide net to feature paiche fish and carancho (the caracara bird), while spotlighting Amazonian culinary techniques such as lampe, a traditional cassava-juice lacto-fermentation method. Once the celebratory calendar of 2025 events honouring La Paz’s bicentennial is revealed, there will be even more reasons to finally book that flight. Sorrel Moseley-Williams

The considerable investment made in preparation for the Olympics and Marseille’s earlier stint as the City of Culture has transformed the city's infrastructure, and this will be the first year to fully appreciate the benefits without the crowds. If events are your thing, though, Marseille is expecting a bumper line-up of musicians in 2025, ranging from Ed Sheeran to Bruce Springsteen. Rosie Conroy

For centuries, Muscat was known to Indian Ocean mariners as a gateway to Oman’s raw, rugged beauty, limestone massifs, formidable castles and wind-sculpted deserts – but tourists have long overlooked this charming city tucked into the wrinkles of the Hajar Mountains.

This is set to change, with a crop of new resorts arriving in the sultanate’s laid-back capital. Two of the most anticipated are in hidden coves just south of the city. The celebrity-loved Nikki Beach Resort and Spa in Yiti Bay opens in late 2024, with a beach club, upscale beach villas, and a private marina to follow. In 2026, Anantara will open a resort in Bandar Al Khairan, with chalets, beach villas, and a stargazing majlis. For now, travellers can stay at the Mandarin Oriental, Muscat or The St. Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort, which both opened in 2024.

If you can drag yourself away from the beachside pampering, wander the historic Mutrah Corniche, get lost in the frankincense haze of its 200-year-old covered souq, or catch Verdi operas, subtitled in Arabic and English, and Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alama in the 2025 spring season of the resplendent Royal Opera House Muscat. Anna Zacharias

One of the world’s largest volcanic calderas has long been a top-tier safari destination, but there are compelling new reasons to visit Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater in 2025. In July, Lemala Camps & Lodges will open Lemala Osonjoi Lodge at the eastern edge of the crater; it will have 20 contemporary suites appointed with oversized beds and wood-burning stoves, a must in the region’s chilly highlands. Later in the year, Elewana will unveil Ngorongoro Explorer, the second hotel under its premier Explorer brand. Set at the highest point of the crater rim, the lodge looks down from 1,600 feet over the caldera. And there’s a reason so many travellers like to end their safari adventures with a sojourn on the sand: Bush and beach have been a pairing for the ages. The beguiling Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar is a natural add-on to any Ngorongoro Crater outing, and there are a handful of resorts worth keeping an eye on. Egyptian hotel group opened Jaz Adonia, a 182-room resort on a private beach in Uroa Bay, in October; Jaz Amaluna will follow in December; while Jaz Aurora is scheduled to open in early 2025. October also saw the reopening of AndBeyond Mnemba Island, a romantic getaway with 12 rustic-chic beachside bandas just off Zanzibar’s northeast coast, and in 2025, Marriott International brings its first Le Méridien property to the beaches of Bwejuu, on the main island’s east coast. There’s plenty of connectivity to both the Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar, but there’s always room for one more flight. In November, Air France inaugurates a Mount Kilimanjaro stop to its Paris-Zanzibar route, making it easier than ever to get here. Mwende Mutuli Musau

It will also become easier to reach this remote corner of Micronesia in 2025, with charter flights from Tokyo set to take off in March. This follows the doubling of China Airways’ weekly flights from Taipei to Koror to four, and the launch of Nauru Airlines’ first direct route from Brisbane to Koror, both in 2024.

After signing the Palau Pledge upon entry to the roughly 340-island archipelago, which requires all visitors to commit to act responsibly and respect the environment during their stay, travellers can also help protect Palau’s environmental and cultural heritage by supporting local businesses that have signed the Palau Business Pledge, the second phase of the nation’s world-first sustainable tourism initiative. Introduced in 2022, the business pledge involves a suite of newly launched community-based tours, such as locally guided trips to farms, archaeological sites, and workshops, to give visitors a memorable and authentic taste of Palauan culture. Sarah Reid

Machu Picchu gets most of the attention, but over 60 per cent of Peru is blanketed by the Amazon rainforest. It’s here, in the lungs of our planet, that you’ll find new adventures to plan a trip around in 2025. Embarking on its maiden voyage in June 2025 from the hub of Iquitos, Pure Amazon, a sleek 22-guest riverboat from luxury travel operator Abercrombie & Kent, promises views of caimans, sloths, and massive anacondas through panoramic wall-to-wall windows and immersive excursions. Designed by Milan-based architect Adriana Granato in collaboration with local artisans, A&K’s first riverboat in Latin America aims to pay tribute to local cultures and will offer on-board wellness treatments inspired by Amazonian healing practices. AndBeyond also plans to float guests along Amazonian waters with its new river expedition yacht, set to launch in early 2026. Though few specifics have been announced, executive chairman and CEO Joss Kent says, "the biological diversity of the Peruvian Amazon makes it the ideal destination for our brand of sustainable luxury tourism.” We’re staying tuned.

Onshore, Peru’s first luxury treehouse, Alta Sanctuary from Tamandua Expeditions, fully opened in January 2024. It towers 110 feet over the Amazon rainforest canopy close to the Bolivian border and is a spectacular base for birding and jungle walks led by Indigenous guides. Getting there is half the fun: It’s four hours by jeep and boat from the Puerto Maldonado airport. Or spend a night among the Amazon’s grand orchestra of wildlife sounds at regenerative travel operator 700,000 Heures Impact’s observatory tower, above the Cordillera Escalera cloud forest near Tarapoto. Though the home base for the five-day stays is usually an enclosed cabin, guests have the chance to spend a night at the tower, which is accessed via a 45-minute hike through the forest, and set up for a candlelit dinner with the rainforest’s chirps and titters as the soundtrack, before a night spent on the open-air sleeping platform (mosquito net very much included). Joel Balsam

Completing its 12-year cycle, the Kumbh will take place in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26, bringing millions of devotees and curious-minded travellers from across the world to witness the power of faith. Believer or not, there is no denying the palpable spiritual energy that pervades the Kumbh: offerings of flowers and incense sticks drift across the water; the days are filled with chants and drumming; and smoke from earthen lamps curls through the air. For pilgrims, the pinnacle of the festival is a dip in the sacred waters on auspicious days – an act believed to cleanse the faithful of their sins.

To accommodate this throng of humanity, a temporary city of impossible proportions springs up on the sandbanks, featuring tented accommodations, roadways, power supplies, and medical facilities. Holy men hand out blessings, gurus dispense sermons to their disciples, and pilgrims have the chance to be in the presence of normally reclusive ascetics.

Alongside old hands such as The Ultimate Travelling Camp Sangam Nivas, a luxury tented campsite called Shivir will debut at the Kumbh in 2025. Guests can check in to chic tented suites with attached bathrooms and heating. On site, there will be multiple restaurants and meals catering to various dietary requirements (Sattvic, Jain, vegetarian), as well as activities such as guided yoga and meditation, boat cruises along the sacred rivers, walking tours of the akharas, and audiences with seers and ash-smeared holy men. Malavika Bhattacharya

It’s no secret that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef faces unprecedented challenges as a result of climate change and severe weather events. But experiencing this World Heritage Center-listed wonder is just one reason – and a very good one – to visit the balmy northern coast of Queensland, where ancient rainforests fringe aquamarine seas. Proving Cairns is more than just a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, its thriving art scene, which already boasts the Cairns Art Gallery, Tanks Art Centre, and Bulmba-ja Arts Center, is set for a bumper year with the completion of the Cairns Gallery Precinct. Connecting three heritage-listed buildings, the precinct’s new Mulgrave Gallery opened in August 2024 with the first of many Indigenous-focused exhibitions to come.

A flurry of new flights from Bali (with AirAsia) and Hong Kong (with Cathay Pacific) are making it easier to get to the tropics; when the Cairns Airport, which is currently undergoing a major upgrade, is completed, travellers can expect even greater connectivity with the rest of Oceania. Connecting Cairns to the resort town of Port Douglas along a sublime stretch of coastline, the 58-mile mixed-use Wangetti Trail is edging closer to completion, with the 4.9-mile section between Palm Cove Jetty and Ellis Beach already open (Palm Cove is just 20 minutes north of Cairns). When fully unveiled, the trail will feature five accommodation nodes offering a choice of camping and low-impact lodging.

Further south, Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays is welcoming The Sundays, the first luxury resort since the opening of Qualia in 2007. Designed with families top of mind, it will feature 59 contemporary rooms with trundle beds and cot space, a solid kids' menu, and an ice-cream happy hour. Bold artworks by Indigenous Kuku Yalanji artist Tiarna Herczeg will add playful pops of colour throughout the sand-and-sea-toned property. Also underway in the Whitsundays is the transformation of the cyclone-damaged Lindeman Island resort into another five-star escape, with fingers crossed for a late 2025 reopening. Sarah Reid

Nigeria has long been one of Africa’s most dynamic cultural destinations, and the global art world will be paying close attention as a major institution unveils its first phase this November in the western province of Edo. Following the repatriation of looted Benin Bronze statues and other valuables from European and American collections, the long-awaited arrival of the Museum of West African Art in Benin City is a milestone event, celebrating the restoration of lost cultural heritage. Designed by Adjaye Associates, led by famed Ghanaian British architect David Adjaye, the campus will include a Rainforest Gallery with 15,000 square feet of gallery space, an Art Guesthouse for visiting creatives, and an Artisans Hall that spotlights craft traditions from the region. While this museum’s opening may anoint Benin City as a buzzy new destination for art pilgrimages, Lagos, a 90-minute flight away, has long been a cultural capital in its own right. Each year the city hosts festivals that celebrate creativity and culture, including the Art X Lagos fair, the banner event on the calendar, and electrifying music events like the Lagos International Jazz Festival in April and the one-week Fela Kuti Felabration at the New Africa shrine every October. And there are new lodgings that will soon call the city home: In early 2025 Hyatt Regency will debut in the thriving commercial hub of Ikeja, followed by the plush Koko Beach Resort Ilashe Lagos, Curio Collection by Hilton, which will open its doors on Ilashe beach. In addition to a new Radisson hotel in Benin City gearing up to welcome travellers next year, the brand is set to open new properties in Abuja and Lagos. Flying to Lagos will also get easier courtesy of Delta Airlines, which revives its daily service from New York City in December, complementing its existing flights from Atlanta. Meanwhile, Nigerian carrier Air Peace, which launched a route to London Gatwick this March, also plans to debut flights to New York and Houston by the end of 2024.Harriet Akinyi

In 2025, space travel will hit a historic milestone as NASA aims to send humans around the moon for the first time in five decades – and no vantage point beats eastern Florida’s Space Coast, the launch site for the Artemis II mission. Astrotourism fans have long flocked to this 72-mile coastline, which runs from Titusville to Palm Bay, and in 2024, this increasingly bustling space-transit hub has hosted nearly twice-weekly launches from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. Interstellar interest may be skyrocketing in 2025, with predictions for the strongest northern lights in decades, but the Space Coast proves Earth’s own marvels are worth skipping sleep for too: The Indian River Lagoon, which spans the region’s length, is among the best places in the country for bioluminescence viewing. During clear-bottom kayak trips with outfitters like BK Adventure, travellers can watch pops of glowing teal bejewel the inky water – the result of millions of tiny light-producing dinoflagellates and comb jellies reacting to movement. Back on land, naturalist-led night walks spotlight the Space Coast’s latest conservation win: After decades of protections and regulations, the number of sea turtle nests have not just rebounded but nearly doubled along the region’s shores in 2023. So far, nest numbers look promising into 2025 as well. By late next year, a handful of new accommodations will welcome Space Coast travellers, including the 48-room Avid Hotel near Brevard Zoo and Hyatt Place Cape Canaveral – complete with a rooftop where you can watch rockets soar. Stephanie Vermillion

Australia and New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, a string of wind-caressed, ship-access-only islands scattered among the “albatross latitudes” of the Southern Ocean, see astonishingly few visitors each year, with numbers kept low to nurture breeding wildlife, and expedition vessels granted a brief window of just three months to take guests ashore – plus, all passengers must adhere to a strict minimum-impact code to help protect the integrity of the natural environment. Modes of reaching the destination are expanding as Aurora Expeditions joins small-ship pioneers Heritage Expeditions in voyaging to these under-the-radar islands, on its new, state-of-the-art small expedition ship, the Douglas Mawson, from late 2025. Until then, Heritage Expeditions – family-owned and the region’s oldest expedition company – is kicking off the 2025 season by celebrating 50 years of founder Rodney Russ’s conservation work with a special Birding Down Under tour, designed to continue his efforts to save the critically endangered Antipodes albatross (tōroa in Māori) from extinction. See 10 of the world’s majestic albatrosses (including the tōroa) on island-hopping itineraries stopping at all six of the island groups within the archipelago. Get close to breeding penguins, seals, and seabirds on guided hiking and zodiac tours with world-renowned scientists. When cruising between the islands, look out for breaching whales and watch for the aurora australis (southern lights) as the night sky transforms into a particle-charged canvas of purple, yellow, and green. Here, on the fringes of Antarctica, prepare to lose all sight of human habitation and turn your attention (and your camera) to the misty, gale-buffeted island homes of adorable penguin chicks, snoozing seal pups, and colourful “megaherbs,” the giant wildflowers that grow only on subantarctic islands. Jacqui Gibson

The last few years have been marked by a fresh new chapter that recognises the importance of deeply rooted Indigenous-owned tours, during which guides tell visitors their stories. Kakadu Tourism, the same team behind Yellow Water Villas safari-style bush lodgings, is one example, with new bush tucker walking tours offered by day and stargazing cruises (Algohgarrng) by night. Meanwhile, Northern Territory Indigenous Tours continue its intimate Muku Women’s Morning Tour, led by Tess Atie, from April to September. Soft-launched in 2024, the popular tour takes place in the lush beauty of Berry Springs or Tumbling Waters and is a safe, women-and-girls-only environment that allows for discussion about the past, present, and future. Plus, Ethical Adventures tour company will extend its offerings in 2025 to include the homeland country of Marrithiyal nation in the Western Daly Region, while still offering culturally immersive journeys (arranged activities with Indigenous Australian painting, storytelling, bush foods, or language experiences) through the ancient lands of Kakadu and untouched Arnhemland.

Finally, new in 2025, Davidsons Arnhemland Safari Lodge will join forces with Kakadu Air for an all-inclusive fishing day safari, during which guests have the chance to fish in untouched billabongs and visit the world-famous Arnhem Land rock art galleries. Monique Kawecki

“Put a stick in the ground and it will grow,” they say of the heart of Africa. From papyrus wetlands and semi-arid savannas togorilla trekkingin mist-shrouded forests and marvelling at alpine flora on snowcapped Mountains of the Moon – the nickname for the Rwenzori Mountains – Uganda offers wilderness in the raw, and in 2025 travellers will experience it in style. Gorilla Forest Camp, an A&K sanctuary in the heart of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park – home to more than half the world’s mountain gorilla population – has always offered unparalleled access, but in April 2025, it will open with a gorgeous new design after a complete rebuild. Also entirely reimagined and slated to open in early 2025 is neighbouring Silverback Lodge, offering 12 sumptuously furnished “nests” by award-winning Hesse Kleinloog studio (responsible for Rwanda’s Singita Kwitonda). From either location, it’s fairly easy to tack on a stop in Kibale Forest National Park, and Volcanoes Safaris’ newly launched Kibale Lodge is an excellent reason to do so. At the end of 2025, you’ll also be able to base yourself at Lake Nyamirima Cottages, 30 minutes away, with views of surrounding crater lakes. A game changer for underrated Queen Elizabeth National Park is the opening of the River Station, the new luxury camp built by Wildplaces Africa on the banks of the Kazinga Channel. Wild Places is also busy in Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) with Kulu Ora opening on a remote new concession on the banks of the Nile around Spring 2025. Elsewhere in MFNP, Pabidi Lodge, Budongo will be built byGreat Lakes Safarisin their Budongo Forest conservancy on the site of a former Jane Goodall research centre. And with Uganda Airlines’ new direct flight from Heathrow to Entebbe, getting here, at least for UK visitors, is now a cinch. Karibu sana (or “welcome”). Pippa de Bruyn

Like a certain ’90s rock band, East and West Sussex have been battling it out ever since splitting up more than five centuries ago. Well, not actually tussling in a War of the Roses way; more an amiable tug-of-war on the village green before bonding over a few local ales. East Sussex has the salty attitude, of course, with Brighton its seaside star, where the Regency-style No. 124 Brighton opened in autumn 2024 – the latest from the family-owned GuestHouse group – while in nearby Rottingdean, the clifftop White Horses saddled up over the summer. But it also has a reclusive side, with quiet South Downs villages such as the one that gives The Alfriston its name; the fourth in the Signet Collection (The Mitre, The Retreat at Elcot Park) lands in March, complete with a bistro and spa. West Sussex, on the other hand, is a little more artful, with brilliant shows guaranteed at Petworth’s Newlands House Gallery. You can explore its coastline on the recently opened King Charles III England Coast Path from Shoreham-by-Sea to Eastbourne, but it’s inland where the action is. This autumn, the Swann Inn reopens in Fittleworth after being lovingly restored by Angus Davies, formerly of The Hollist Arms in Petworth. With 12 bedrooms and a dining room (girolles on toast, Sutton Hoo chicken, local fizz from the Ambriel estate), along with gardens by House & Garden rising star Elizabeth Tyler, it’s set to be as fashionable in 2025 as it was in its 19th-century heyday when Turner and Constable were regulars. “The area is a hotbed of creatives, with designer Martin Brudnizki, florist Millie Proust, and Mumford & Sons’ Ted Dwane all living nearby,” says an insider. Could West Sussex take the 2025 title of the new Cotswolds? “You never know – we’ve certainly got plenty more vineyards.” Rick Jordan

Looking for more inspiration? Read last year's list of the Best Places to Go in 2024.