From Bhutan to Bosnia: the best places to visit in 2020, according to travel industry experts
- This year’s top 10s are a diverse bunch, featuring destinations on and off the beaten path
- Whether seeking a stylish city break or to stretch your legs on a walking holiday, there is somewhere for everyone
It’s that time of year again. Airlines, guidebook publishers and accommodation platforms are counting down their top places to visit in 2020. Established favourites vie with up-and-coming destinations for inclusion.
Some are creating a stir in travel-industry circles and are on the verge of being discovered by the masses. Others are celebrating anniversaries (100 years of the Salzburg Festival) or are spending an extended period in the global spotlight (Galway, in Ireland, and Rijeka, in Croatia, are the 2020 European capitals of culture). There are themed countdowns: the safest countries to visit in 2020 and the most dangerous, as well as the best places to retire. Inevitably, there are lists of places to avoid, too.
Bhutan leads the way in Rough Guides’ “Best Places to Travel in 2020”, thanks to its pledge to become the world’s first fully organic nation by next year, although there are doubts this goal will be achieved. The guidebook publisher also includes Massachusetts in its roll-call of happening holiday spots as 2020 marks 400 years since the pilgrim fathers arrived at what is now Plymouth and founded a colony.
The Portuguese island of Madeira makes the cut as well. The clean, green sublimely scenic Atlantic outpost offers ear-poppingly-steep peaks and air so uncontaminated it will make your head spin.
Forbes gives a thumbs-up to the Italian island of Sicily for its impressive archaeological sites, but fails to mention the wonderful cuisine and gorgeous towns and cities, such as Ragusa, Syracuse and hilltop Taormina, which lies in the shadow of smouldering Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.