Where to Go in 2023: 8 Top Travel Destinations

Gentoo penguins could be noticed while sailing Antarctica’s shoreline. (Vadim_N/Shutterstock)

Imagine it or not, this typically undiscovered continent is having chaotic. This year, a document 82 passenger ships will take a look at the coldest, darkest, windiest, maximum, driest location on earth. Most of those people will travel the comparatively limited distance from the idea of South The united states across the famously tumultuous Drake Passage, then trace the snow-laden, mountainous beauty of the Antarctic Peninsula. The natural wonders on your own are value the trip. The wildlife: from lovely gentoo, chinstrap, and Adele penguins mating and molting, to enormous, otherworldly elephant seals jousting on the seashore. Even the ice is fascinating, with blue glaciers cracking and tabular icebergs as large as a soccer industry floating by. Just make sure to come see it all, in advance of items get way too crowded.

Ilulissat, Greenland

A smaller red sailboat cruises among icebergs from Disko Bay Glacier, Greenland. (Kertu/Shutterstock)

Greenland has very long been terra incognita for most travelers, a frozen land of ice and snow that just a couple of had been fortuitous plenty of to location off the wing tip of their trans-Atlantic flight. But this territory, a protectorate of Denmark, is welcoming additional and a lot more visitors, most of whom arrive on expedition cruise ships. Sail by means of fjord systems lined with soaring, snow-capped mountains that extend hundreds of miles. Go to very small villages exactly where the locals are nevertheless unjaded and additional than pleased to welcome you. If you’re blessed, you are going to be on a ship where you can chopper to the ice sheet, which handles 4-fifths of Greenland’s surface—more than 660,000 sq. miles. And Ilulissat is a need to-pay a visit to. Sitting down far more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, its title literally signifies “iceberg” in the nearby indigenous language. Below, an unbelievably successful glacier operates 25 miles and calves 20 billion tons of bergs each year.

The Sanctuary of Pluto, positioned west of the Compact Propylaia in Elefsina. (Andronos Haris/Shutterstock)

Established on the northwestern edge of Athens, this modest city is shut to lots of of Greece’s finest sights: the Acropolis, just a couple minutes away, the vineyards and olive groves of the Peloponnese Peninsula to the south, plus ancient background in Sparta and Corinth. But this year, Elefsina (or Eleusis, to the Greeks) gives plenty of good reasons to keep ideal in city. The heritage in this article is deep, much more than 4,000 years of it. Property to wealthy ruins and an archaeological museum, it was 1 of five holy cities of antiquity. Far more recently, Elefsina has spent time and means resurrecting its derelict industrial services into fashionable attractions—for case in point, it has hosted the once-a-year Aeschylia theater festival, keeping performances in a former manufacturing facility. As 1 of Europe’s capitals of lifestyle for 2023, the city will be placing on a number of thrilling gatherings, from the odd to the sublime, which includes cultural and culinary sights, live shows, and non permanent art exhibits.

Sankeien Back garden, a regular Japanese-design backyard in Yokohama, Japan. (Shutterstock)

Later on than most countries, Japan just totally reopened to website visitors in Oct 2022. No more time off-boundaries, travelers are once more no cost to examine its several sights, from properly-identified favorites like the temples in Kyoto, to much more less than-the-radar places like Yokohama. Greatest identified as Tokyo’s port, it was one particular of the to start with spots in the place to reopen to overseas trade in 1859 and rapidly became one particular of Japan’s most cosmopolitan towns, house to its very first everyday newspaper, road lamps, and railway station. This coming calendar year, the metropolis will host some of Japan’s coolest festivals, such as the Spring Festival, the most significant event celebrating Chinese New Yr in Japan. Occur and encounter every thing this metropolis has to present, from the Pink Brick Warehouse—a former industrial facility which is now household to inexperienced areas, waterfront retailers, and restaurants—to the soaring Ferris wheel at Cosmo Planet, which was at the time the tallest on earth.

Transforming Caye Caulker, Belize

Caye Caulker, a tropical island in the Caribbean identified for its beaches. (Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock)

A small region in Central The us, Belize is established to undertake some huge alterations, with a amount of new luxury motels opening in the coming months and several years. It is finest to see this tropical shoreline at its sleepiest—and for that, the greatest of the best is Caye Caulker. A compact island alongside the Meso-American Reef (the biggest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere), its official slogan is “go slow.” So come, chill on the drinking water, and grab some grilled fish—right off the street—for lunch. Then, feed the rays that arrive in just about every working day at sunset and settle in for a cocktail at one particular of the lots of seaside bars. The Lazy Lizard, which sits appropriate on The Split—a channel torn by Hurricane Hattie in 1961—is normally a popular gathering place.

Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coastline, Australia. (zstock/Shutterstock)

At the time regarded for glitz and glamor, this corner of Queensland made use of to be frequented solely for its beach locations, casinos, and rollicking bars. And, of course, the waves at Surfers Paradise. But currently, factors in this article are modifying, with persons seeking—and finding—more refined points of interest, specifically in proven communities on the southern edge of city, like Burleigh Heads. Assist make your very own surfboard at S-Lab, exactly where they’ll even mail you the remaining solution. Take a meals and wine tour, or hop in between craft breweries. Or just delight in some spirits—and perhaps a haircut—at Grandad Jack’s. Named for the founder’s barber grandfather, you can however get a $5 trim right here whilst sipping some great, handmade whiskey, rum, and vodka (but almost certainly, not all at when).

Downtown Houston, Texas, illuminated at night time. (Sean Pavone/Shutterstock)

America’s fourth-biggest city was the moment regarded mostly for its heat, humidity, and Astroturf. But a range of new developments are transforming this massive metropolis. Prolonged a spot the place persons put in their time in air-conditioned malls and other sprawling, suburban areas, in the last couple of years the town core has begun transforming—and is truly worth a go to. Begin together the new Avenida Plaza, which encourages you to stroll by way of green area, stores, and some 20 eating places. Prevent for a pint at 8th Ponder Brewery in the formerly forlorn, industrial japanese reaches of downtown. Then, if you can, obtain your way to the speakeasy at the 4 Seasons, a magic formula place that serves up some of the most effective tequila in city.

Avenue dancers execute at an intersection in Johannesburg. (Rich T Image/Shutterstock)

Joburg or “Jozie” to the locals, this metropolis has viewed some challenging situations. And number of nations had been locked down as firmly as South Africa. But now is a great time to stop by the country’s most important urban heart. Take a tour of countrywide hero Nelson Mandela’s previous household in Soweto, exactly where he lived as a younger married man entire of dreams, hope, and willpower. Bishop Desmond Tutu lived right close by, just down Vilakazi Street, producing it the only street on earth that was dwelling to two Nobel prize winners. Get a culinary going for walks tour with JoBurg 360, which swings by way of funky cafes and makers in fashionable Maboneng and Jeppestown in advance of ending with a rooftop cocktail. Or just sit by the hotel pool—it’s now nearly the coronary heart of summer time in the Southern Hemisphere, and the sultry weather listed here is great for a relaxing afternoon in the sun.

Observe

Toronto-primarily based writer Tim Johnson is usually traveling in lookup of the following great tale. Having frequented 140 international locations throughout all 7 continents, he’s tracked lions on foot in Botswana, dug for dinosaur bones in Mongolia, and walked amongst a 50 percent-million penguins on South Ga Island. He contributes to some of North America’s major publications, which includes CNN Travel, Bloomberg, and The Globe and Mail.