Compass and map laid out on a wooden desk
Destinations

Everywhere we'dsend a friend.

15 places we keep coming back to, each one picked for a specific kind of trip rather than a generic bucket list.

Browse by region

Pick a place, we'll fill in the rest

Every destination below links back to a full planning guide in the journal — timing, budget, and the mistakes worth skipping.

Whitewashed buildings overlooking the sea in Santorini, GreeceEurope

Santorini, Greece

Whitewashed clifftop towns over a sunken caldera.

BEST TIMEMay & Sep
Mountains rising above a Norwegian fjord in LofotenEurope

Lofoten, Norway

Jagged peaks dropping straight into fishing villages.

BEST TIMEFeb–Apr, Jun–Aug
Hallstatt village lit up beside a lake in Austria at duskEurope

Hallstatt, Austria

A 7,000-person lake village that photographs like a painting.

BEST TIMEMay & Sep
Rows of orange torii gates at Fushimi Inari, KyotoAsia

Kyoto, Japan

Temple gardens, geisha districts, and a thousand orange gates.

BEST TIMEMar–Apr, Nov
Green rice terraces near Ubud, BaliAsia

Ubud, Bali

Rice terraces, riverside yoga studios, and jungle waterfalls.

BEST TIMEApr–Oct
Traditional longtail boats on a beach in Phuket, ThailandAsia

Phuket, Thailand

Limestone islands and coves a short longtail ride from the mainland.

BEST TIMENov–Mar
Turquoise water and white sand beach in the MaldivesAsia

The Maldives

Overwater bungalows on atolls scattered across the Indian Ocean.

BEST TIMENov–Apr
Elephants walking across the savanna in Masai Mara, KenyaAfrica

Masai Mara, Kenya

Big cats, endless grassland, and the great migration.

BEST TIMEJul–Sep, Jan–Feb
A busy market street in the medina of Marrakech, MoroccoAfrica

Marrakech, Morocco

Maze-like souks against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains.

BEST TIMEMar–May, Oct–Nov
A camel resting in front of the pyramids of Giza, EgyptAfrica

Giza, Egypt

The last standing wonder of the ancient world, at your doorstep.

BEST TIMEOct–Apr
The Treasury carved into rock at Petra, JordanMiddle East

Petra, Jordan

A rose-red city carved into sandstone canyon walls.

BEST TIMEMar–May, Sep–Nov
Hot air balloons flying over Cappadocia, Turkey at sunriseMiddle East

Cappadocia, Turkey

Fairy chimneys and hundreds of hot-air balloons at sunrise.

BEST TIMEApr–Jun, Sep–Oct
Dubai's skyline including Burj Khalifa at sunsetMiddle East

Dubai, UAE

A layover-friendly city that swings between desert and skyline.

BEST TIMENov–Mar
Sunrise light over the mountains at Machu Picchu, PeruAmericas

Machu Picchu, Peru

An Inca citadel wrapped in cloud forest above the Urubamba valley.

BEST TIMEMay–Sep
A boat crossing a fjord surrounded by mountains in New ZealandOceania

South Island, New Zealand

Fjords, glaciers and alpine lakes on one long drive.

BEST TIMEDec–Mar
How we pick

Not every popular place makes this list

We leave a destination off the list until someone from TRIPNNEST has actually spent time there — walked the neighbourhoods at the wrong time of day, eaten at the place with no sign, waited out a delayed flight in the airport lounge. That's slower than pulling from a stock list, but it's why the "best time to go" dates above are usually a few weeks off from what a generic guide will tell you.

If somewhere you're considering isn't here yet, get in touch — there's a decent chance we're already planning the trip to go check it out.

Planning tip

Shoulder season, every time

Across almost every destination on this page, the two or three weeks either side of peak season give you 80% of the weather for half the price and a fraction of the crowds. It's the single easiest way to improve any trip on this list.

Ready when you are

Found a place you like? Let's plan it.

Tell us where you're dreaming of going, and a trip designer will write back with ideas that have actually been tested on the ground.

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