Iceland has many highlights, and it’s nearly impossible to choose one place over another.
21.07.2023 - 08:17 / roughguides.com
Welcome to the Rough Guide to 2020! From up-and-coming destinations to old favourites with a new reason to visit, this guide has our pick of the best places to travel in 2020.
Add these countries, regions and cities to your 2020 bucket list, and visit any of the destinations we’ve picked with our Rough Guides Tailor-Made Trips service. Without further ado, here's our list of the best places to travel in 2020.
4 Best Countries to Visit
8 Best Regions to Explore
8 Best Cities to Enjoy
Two Buddhist monks at Punakha Dzong, Bhutan © By Kateryna Mashkevych
If there’s a role model for sustainability in the world, it’s probably Bhutan. Not only is it carbon neutral, but it’s carbon negative. Over 60% of its forests are protected for future generations, and it’s built around a core philosophy of low-impact tourism and Gross National Happiness. And on top of that, by 2020 it’s on track to become the first fully organic nation on the planet.
You may have heard of Bhutan’s now-famous compulsory tourist tariff, which sees foreign visitors paying a minimum of $250 per day just to visit. But what you may not know is this includes all accommodation, food, transport and a local guide – and it also grants you access to one of Southeast Asia’s most pristine corners.
Shut off from the world until 1974, Bhutan is almost like a time capsule. It’s a place where archery is the national pastime, the valleys ring with tinkling yak bells and locals wander the streets in colourful traditional dress. Visit its majestic dzongs and monasteries and you’ll find red-robed monks strolling between lilac jacaranda trees, against a backdrop of soaring Himalayan peaks. Trek up there, and it’s still possible to see snow leopards. Shangri-La may be fictional, but its real-world equivalent is right here. Discover more with our Tailor-Made Trips to Bhutan.
Ethiopia is utterly unique. The only country to cling onto its independence during the nineteenth-century Scramble for Africa, its culture and traditions have remained virtually intact. What's more, its history goes as far back as the beginning of human existence. Its age-old structures, fiery cuisine, Amharic language and high-altitude wildlife occur nowhere else in the world. Despite this, Ethiopia receives a fraction of the visitors compared to nearby Kenya and Uganda. And now's the time to rectify that.
First on the list of extraordinary sights are the 900-year-old sunken churches of Lalibela. Carved into rock trenches, the churches have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the 1970s. Still very much in use, they’re best visited in January for the Timkat (Epiphany) festival. At this time, thousands of white-clad worshippers descend into the crevices and attend a jubilant mass baptism.
To the
Iceland has many highlights, and it’s nearly impossible to choose one place over another.
Germany, western Europe’s largest country, is a boundless feast for travelers. Its endless variety of historic cities, dark, romantic forests and contemporary cultural riches can leave visitors bewildered. But, while you can never hope to see all this fascinating country’s highlights, you can cut to the chase with our guide to eight of the very best places to visit in Germany.
Ever dreamed of packing up everything and moving to another country? Here are the most livable cities in the world, according to a study by The Economist.
The best place in the U.S. to buy a vacation home is Sevierville, Tennessee, in the foothills north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s the lead finding of a new report from Vacasa, the major vacation home rental site. The report names the top 25 locations for buying a vacation home based on capitalization, or “cap rates,” which is a ratio of home cost and the income a property can produce by being rented out.
Looking for your next weekend getaway spot … or maybe your next place to live? Resonance Consultancy reveals America’s Best Large and Small Cities for 2018 in a recent report.
Singapore is the best country in the world to live as an expatriate for the fourth year in a row, according to a new report from HSBC Bank. The study is based on survey results of more than 22,000 expats from many different home countries who live and work abroad. Ranking for each country is based on three overall factor groups: experience (quality of life, safety, etc.), economics (income, politics, etc.), and families (education, healthcare, etc.)
Looking for the best cities to live in or retire abroad? The world’s most livable city is once again Vienna, Austria, according to The Economist’s Intelligence Unit’s annual Most Livable Cities ranking.
In a single lifetime, no traveler could ever be done exploring America. Even if you relegated yourself to just roaming the nation’s cities—setting aside the 50 states’ vast open, unincorporated spaces—there would still always be more to see.
Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Kruger – everyone who’s ever dreamt of going to Africa will know these safari big-hitters. Famous for their wildlife, they’re also famous for hordes of visitors that flock to them in convoys of Land Cruisers. If you want to get away from the masses, these are the best little-visited African national parks, each with extraordinary wildlife but far fewer humans.
Running along the shimmering Arctic tundra in Greenland, jogging across the African savannah and racing through the Amazon are some of the exhilarating marathon experiences now on offer around the globe. From coastal routes in Jamaica and California to challenging courses in the blazing Sahara and freezing Polar Circle, a growing number of endurance events provide a dramatic change of scene and pace. Read on for our pick of the world's best marathons.
Kenya is the safari capital of East Africa. A place where elephants, buffalo and wildebeest roam across vast plains. Flamingo flocks wade in the shallows, lions doze on sun-baked savannahs and herds of hippos graze by river banks. Yet in the scramble to see the country's wildlife, local culture often gets overlooked. Tribal people have historically been marginalised from the financial benefits of their land's natural riches.