If you have a particular outdoor or travel passion, be it hiking, biking, golf or skiing, there’s a Bucket List trip for you to experience this year. These are all topics I have specialized in for three decades, and I continuously try new outfitters and new destinations to find the best trips on earth, so I figured I’d kick off the New Year by sharing some of that expertise.
I’m giving this one a lot of extra space, because to me this is the epitome of the entire notion of a “Bucket List” trip, something that absolutely has to be done at least once in a lifetime, but ideally more than once. The other things on this list are interest-specific, and if you don’t ski, you won’t care about the best ski trips. But the African safari on the other hand is a life wonder for anyone, and while I have met many different people and many different kinds of travelers in my lifetime, I haven’t met one that would not be wowed by these trips. In terms of travel, it is simply a “must.”
For first timers, you can’t go wrong with the classics, East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) or Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe). But If I were choosing just one trip, it would South Africa and Botswana, a perfect combo. Having been on safari many times in ten different countries, I feel pretty strongly that Botswana has the best pure wildlife viewing experience, the most unique mix of eco-systems, and some of the very best—and most legitimately sustainable—luxury lodges. In particular, Great Plains Conservation (which also has amazing lodges in East Africa), a hyper-sustainability focused operator whose founder and president is a famed National Geographic documentary filmmaker, has three of the very best places you can go on safari here, Zarafa Camp, Duba Plains Camp, and the totally unique Sitatunga Private Island camp. I’ve had the good fortune to stay at many of the most famous and highly regarded luxury safari lodges across the continent, but Zarafa is the only one I named one of my dogs after, because it is that amazing.
NOTE: I had already finished this draft and was ready to publish when the UK’s Telegraph released its New Year’s Eve list of the 20 Destinations to Visit in 2024. Botswana’s Okavango Delta was the only location in Africa, and the author noted, “Take it from me, if you haven’t been to Botswana, you haven’t yet expired the ultimate southern Africa safari. This is the year to change that—after all, it isn’t going to get any cheaper and the camps are better than ever.”
South Africa adds more best-in-class safari camps, the latest and greatest of which is the over-the-top single-party Cheetah Plains, along with a bevy of awesome beyond (or before) safari experiences: wine country, beaches,
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A Victorian favourite once billed as the ‘Queen of Welsh resorts’, Llandudno has kept much of the charm that made it so popular. The curving promenade framing Llandudno Bay, the aroma of fish and chips wafting in the air, pastel-coloured art deco houses lining the seafront and old-fashioned amusements on Llandudno Pier all combine to deliver a quintessential British seaside break. The town also serves as gateway to a wealth of natural attractions in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park and water-based adventures in Colwyn Bay. And a stay in Llandudno can be combined with a trip to Conwy, across the river of the same name, which has a mighty castle and Britain’s smallest house.
After the travel frenzy of 2023, all signs point to increasing interest in far-flung destinations, villa rentals, private jet bookings and personal pilgrimages in 2024.
If 2024 is the year to complete a bucket-list trip to discover a destination that's a little different, or to travel to a one-off event, then here are a few ideas—new long-haul flight routes from the U.S., unmissable one-off global events, 'new' European places to discover and new cruise lines venturing into dramatic waters in Australia. Here's what's waiting to be ticked off on your 2024 travel bucket list.
Global campaigner the Conservation Collective is making waves across the Mediterranean, helping visitors protect the region’s increasingly under-pressure ecosystems. Its Sicily Environment Fund supports local hiking company Astrid Natura and Collettivo Rewild Sicily to train more walking guides, who will focus on the benefits of rewilding. Walking tours with qualified naturalist guides can also be booked with federescursionismosicilia.it.
The city of Bordeaux does city life and culture so well, it’s highly unlikely you’ll have any desire to leave. Yet its enviable location – on the banks of the coffee-brown Garonne River, a stone’s throw from the Gironde Estuary and Atlantic Coast – is enough to pique the curiosity of every urban explorer.
From the heart of Italy's truffle-rich landscapes to the olive trees of Greece, the globe offers a culinary tapestry that transforms gifting into a refined experience. Elevate your senses with the delicate sweetness of French macarons from Ladurée or indulge in the rare pleasure of Spanish acorn-fed ham, Jamón Ibérico. Here are ten gourmet food gift suggestions for Valentine’s Day 2024.
The world's most powerful passports for 2024 have been revealed — with the biggest shake-up in rankings we've seen in several years, including a never-before-seen six nations in first place.