The 2023 edition has a slightly different format than previous years. Instead of a simple list, the destinations are divided into five categories: Eat, Learn, Travel, Relax, and Connect.
“This year, we really wanted to try something new and we wanted to reflect the way we viewed travelers looking to travel, which was about the destination, but also about the experience,” explains Nitya Chambers, Executive Editor and SVP of Content at Lonely Planet. .
The editors start working on the list as early as April. Chambers says that, as much as they would like to, not all staff members can personally visit every location on the list.
Instead, he explains, Lonely Planet reaches out to its vast network of contributors around the world and asks them to nominate destinations they think should be on the list.
From there, Lonely Planet HQ editors begin asking more questions, working with their sources, and narrowing down the options until it’s published in November.
Chambers sums up the perfect destination as “expected but unexpected.”
That could mean taking a chance on a new country, like Malta or Guyana, that all your friends haven’t visited yet. It may mean choosing a less-visited place in a favorite destination, like Marseille over Paris or Fukuoka over Tokyo. All four places are among the 30 destinations on the 2023 list.
Lonely Planet’s journey began in 1972 after Maureen and Tony Wheeler traveled from the UK to Australia and subsequently published a guidebook to recreate their overland adventure.
The Mediterranean country Malta was chosen as one of the best places to relax.
Calin Stan/Adobe Stock
culinary delights
However, its South American sibling, Montevideo, another “eat” entry, isn’t quite as high profile. Visitors to the Uruguayan capital may recognize dishes that are popular in other parts of the continent, such as dulce de leche, roasted steaks and yerba mate.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to find an Italian cuisine that isn’t loved.
Connect
As the world opened up after lengthy Covid restrictions, many travelers felt the need to connect or reconnect with others.
One way to do this is to look in our own backyards.
Just because the year is over doesn’t mean the sense of connection is gone: Ghana wants to hit a target of eight million tourists per year.
Ghana is a great destination for ecotourism and outdoor travelers, thanks to its variety of wildlife and beautiful coastline.
learn to let go
The pandemic also spurred another powerful desire: The stress of working from home while homeschooling kids via Zoom means many travelers just want to take a long break.
Island destinations, like Jamaica and Dominica in the Caribbean, are the perfect place to unwind, according to Lonely Planet.
The former is high on Chambers’ personal list for 2023.
“There’s only one chance with our kids in the summer (to) spend more time, be immersed and have the experience of living in a place where you can really feel changed and transformed by being a part of another place.”
While the summer of 2022’s “revenge trips” might have made it seem like Europe is overloaded with tourists, Malta, another “respite” destination, is a lesser-known gem with the climate of Italy and the landscape of the Middle East.
Located in the West Papua province of the country, this place is beloved for ecotourism and is home to a highly successful coral restoration project.
learn a lesson
Did you start baking sourdough or learn a new language during lockdown? If you want to keep the spirit of learning alive beyond the pandemic, Lonely Planet suggests visiting a destination to deepen your knowledge.
Visiting some of Europe’s second cities can also broaden your horizons. In Marseille, learn how to say more than just “merci beaucoup” while soaking up the sun on France’s Mediterranean coast. In England, Manchester is an underrated cultural destination, with art galleries, performance spaces and an annual cultural festival all on offer.
For New Mexicans, chili is not just a food, it is a way of life. Chiles are so important that New Mexico is the only state to have an “official” question, “Red or green?”
the journey is the destination
Ultimately, whether you’re hitting the road in search of a perfect meal or a stunning cityscape, traveling is as much about exploring along the way as it is about what’s on your itinerary.
With that in mind, Lonely Planet designated six “travel” spots—places for the most wanderlust of travelers.
Not surprisingly, the central Asian kingdom of Bhutan made the cut. In 2022, the country finally reopened to tourism and unveiled its crown jewel: the Trans-Bhutan Trail, connecting nine dzongkhags (districts), 28 gewogs (local governments), two municipalities, a national park and 400 historical and cultural sites.
Another “travel” destination, Zambia might be best known for Victoria Falls, which UNESCO describes as “(plunging) noisily into a series of basalt gorges and raising an iridescent mist.”
But even if the world’s most impressive waterfall isn’t a compelling reason to visit, the wild diversity of animal life—giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos, cheetahs, and more—make it the perfect choice for a safari vacation.
Here is the full list of 30 destinations:
Best of Lonely Planet Travel List 2023
EAT
Umbria, Italy
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fukuoka, Japan
Lima Peru
South Africa
Montevideo, Uruguay
TRAVEL
Istanbul, Turkey to Sofia, Bulgaria
Nova Scotia, Canada
bhutan
Zambia
western australia
Natural National Park, Colombia
RELAX
Chalcidice, Greece
Jamaica
Dominica
Raja Ampat, Indonesia
malt
Jordan
CONNECT
Alaska
Albania
Accra, Ghana
Sydney, Australia
Guiana
Boise, United States
LEARN
Manchester, United Kingdom
New Mexico, United States
Dresden, Germany
The Savior
southern scotland
Marseille, France
