The Lonely Planet has revealed its Best travel recommendations for 2023. Photo / Supplied, Lonely Planet
The Lonely Planet has revealed its Best travel recommendations for 2023. Photo / Supplied, Lonely Planet
From Boise to Bhutan, Lonely Planet has revealed its top pick of travel destinations for 2023.
Although there is a fresh new format and some surprise top cities, there is a distinct absence of picks in the South Pacific.
The annual Best in Travel list has highlighted 30 must-see destinations for next year across 5 categories.
Places were picked to help travellers eat, journey, unwind, connect and learn across the globe.
For example the newly opened Fukuoka, Japan is one of five gastronomic tips while Putin’s old East German haunt in Dresden has been named as one of the top places to “learn”.
Auckland, which topped the Lonely Planet’s must-see cities in 2022, was absent from this year’s picks. As were any South Pacific countries, although Australia got two recommendations with Western Australia and Sydney.
“There’s no deliberate move away from the South Pacific in this year’s Best in Travel list,” says Zeiher. Having been involved in each of the past 18th incarnations, each Best in Travel has been a surprise.
Although they fell from the annual travel list, New Zealand, the Cook Islands - last year’s top country - and Niue were recently in the spotlight of other Lonely Planet publications.
Zeiher said that to be considered destinations needed to be topical, and have a uniqueness or “wow” factor.
“With much of the world firmly on the road to recovery, travellers are looking for different locations and experiences.”
As for top trips, he gives Albania as one of the buzziest destinations among Lonely Planet writers.
“I’ve heard from colleagues how friendly Albanians are and that every where you go, be it the stunning Riveria or the gorgeous mountains, you’ll be greeted with a warm reception.”
As for the biggest surprise on the list, it was the Scottish Borders in the UK. Overshadowed by twee tourist favourites in the Highlands, the Border-Esk to Ecclefechan are “incredibly interesting”.
Iceberg's Pool, Sydney. Photo / Isabella Moore, Lonely Planet
While Lonely Planet doesn’t really do ‘resort islands’, this year the Best in Travel list has recognised destinations to “Unwind” in. This includes Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago where the Indian Ocean and Pacific meet and the elysian islands of Halkidiki, Greece.
While this was a collection of blissfully chilled-out destinations, Lonely Planet acknowledged that some of their picks weren’t safe havens for everyone.
Despite saying that destinations were chosen for their commitments to “sustainability and inclusivity”, top picks South Africa, Jamaica and Zambia appear on the Danger Index for LGBTQ+ travellers.
“Unfortunately there are countries where gay travellers need to make sure they are informed on customs and laws ahead of travelling,” said a statement from Lonely Planet.
While there are still difficult places for some travellers to navigate, this year also saw Sydney featured for the first time. Praised for “one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world” it landed a spot for 2023 in part due to being the first Southern Hemisphere city to host World Pride in March.
