So, who’s about ready for a holiday? It’s been a tumultuous year, and whisking ourselves off to foreign climes to bury not just our toes but also, perhaps, our heads in the sand has rarely seemed more appealing. Our guide offers plenty of inspiration for travel in the year ahead: 19 destinations that we believe are enjoying a bit of a moment.
Some are cities, some regions, some entire countries. A few are on our doorstep, others so remote they’ve barely heard of the internet, let alone Brexit. The intrepid will be keeping a keen eye on the emergence of Principe and the Guianas, and on the rise of Pakistan. England’s first vineyard hotel and the vibrant foodie scene in northwest Wales will keep staycationers happy.
And somewhere in between come arty Hong Kong, refined Charleston and the peace (and lobster rolls) of Atlantic Canada. All these and more are explored in our ultimate 2019 destinations guide. Enjoy!
Duncan Craig, Travel Editor
New York
A blockbuster new development — and plenty of the old-school cinematic charm
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Never less than compelling, the Big Apple cranks things up another notch in 2019 with the opening of Hudson Yards, on the West Side, the biggest new development in Manhattan since the Great Depression: 28 acres of shops, restaurants, city parks, attractions and eye-catching architecture. By May, all eyes will be on Lady Liberty, with the opening of the £55.6m Statue of Liberty Museum, while the following month sees an exuberant WorldPride celebration as the city marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a landmark moment in the campaign for LGBT rights. Quite a year ahead, then, says the Sunday Times’s New York correspondent, Laura Pullman.
Read her full review at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Los Cabos
The starry beach resort is on the crest of a Mexican wave, with a new direct flight and a string of shorefront openings
Follow A-listers like George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston to the golden tip of Baja California, with its year-round sunshine, unspoilt nature reserves humpback whale-spotting potential. You won’t struggle for a smart place to stay — six new hotels will open in 2019, including an outpost of the Nobu chain — while a brand-new direct flight takes the edge off what has always been a devilishly difficult journey.
Read the full story at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Northwest Wales
Cornering the market in indulgence and adrenaline
The availability of stellar ingredients has forged a new breed of plucky restaurateur in Wales’s less explored top corner. From Anglesey to Colwyn Bay, there are innovative and award-winning spots to dine — with no shortage of ways to work off those calories, either, from underground zip wires and inland surf lagoons to coastal hikes and epic mountain treks in Snowdonia. Breathless and breathtaking in equal measure, this region makes loads of sense as your big staycation for 2019.
Read our full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
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Croatia
Track down your own private island and spend lazy hours watching the world drift by
Shot on Vis island, this year’s Mamma Mia! sequel captured the essence of Croatia’s appeal. What light. What seas. What wild escapism. Despite its growing popularity, it remains utterly genuine — chic in places, but never as self-consciously swanky as Mallorca or Santorini. And with more than 1,000 islands, there’s always a new spot to discover. Our tip for 2019: Lastovo, an island nature reserve an hour’s ferry ride from Korcula.
Read our full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Principe
Forget the land that time forgot — Principe is a place that time has yet to discover
Take a tropical island 130 miles off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, add steaming rainforest and mad, volcanic crags, Portuguese plantation houses and forest-fringed beaches, and what you’ve got is Principe, wild kid sister to neighbouring Sao Tome. Never heard of it? You soon will. That’s partly because it’s about to have a big birthday — unlikely as it sounds, Einstein’s theory of relativity was proved here in 1919 — but mainly because some sexy boutique lodges have recently opened there. Fly via Lisbon and Sao Tome for the ultimate castaway experience. Read more at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Charleston
The Southern belle gets its first direct transatlantic flight from London in 2019
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You’d never catch the perennial “best-mannered city in America” bragging, but this wholesome South Carolina beauty has caught the attention of British Airways, which is launching the first direct transatlantic flights to the city in April. Come for the throwback feel: horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping past gloriously faded antebellum houses; the thriving bar and foodie scene; the military history (Charleston Harbor was where the first shots of the Civil War were fired); and some of the best beaches in North America. Local guide and proud Charlestonian Jill Paris maps out a perfect tour.
Read our full city guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
The Guianas
Welcome to the jungle — with a flavour of Europe
The trio of distinct, diminutive countries that rest on the enormous shoulders of Brazil are opening up like never before, with a flavour that mingles the exotic and the familiar. French Guiana has a spaceport; Suriname’s interior is as untouched as its capital, Paramaribo, is buzzy; and Guyana, with its Anglo-Caribbean vibe (think calypso and cricket) is home to Kaieteur Falls, the world’s largest single-drop waterfall. New packages, new tours — a great time to visit.
Read the full destination guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Pakistan
Snow leopards, Himalayan brown bears and the jangling, painted trucks of the Karakoram Highway
In June, British Airways will resume direct flights to Islamabad, and a country that has spent much of the 21st century on travel blacklists will once again be fair game for the most adventurous travellers. The Karakoram mountain range; the old Silk Road; the Khunjerab Pass, on the Chinese border; the snow leopards around the dazzling Attabad Lake — it’s all here. “Planning to visit India, Nepal, Bhutan or Tibet?” asks our chief travel writer, Chris Haslam. “Don’t. Pakistan trumps them all.”
Read the full story at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
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Cuba
Havana’s 500th birthday sets the tone for a year of celebration
If there’s a single word that sums up the Cuban mentality, it is resolver. It means “We’ll manage”, and it has evolved from the understanding that after decades of poverty, shortages and oppression, things can only get better. In 2019, things are looking up both for Cubans and for those of us lucky enough to visit this fascinating island: more boutique homestays, an easing up of the American tourist influx, a foodie revolution and an art scene that’s breathtaking in its inventiveness, passion and inclusivity — “Young artists are transforming the country with an outpouring of bottled-up creativity,” as one expert put it. And the island is in party mood, too, celebrating Havana’s 500th birthday and the 60th anniversary of the Cuban revolution.
Read our full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Northumberland
Big walks, moody seascapes and epoch-defining history
A landscape encrusted with castles and scarred by dramatic events. A long, sandy coastline. The stirring Cheviot Hills. And now a launchpad, Alnwick, that at long last has a hotel to tempt overnighters: the Cookie Jar, a former convent with 10 boutiquey rooms and a repurposed chapel suite as big as a basketball court. England’s northernmost county is upping its game, offering a wild appeal for everyone from outdoor enthusiasts to Harry Potter devotees.
Read our full review at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
The Stans
Witness the power of nature in this trio of former Soviet republics
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Before Joanna Lumley wafted through for her Silk Road series, these former Soviet republics were known chiefly for corruption, natural disasters and Borat. Now Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are the most coveted destinations for 2019, with operators queuing up to craft bespoke tours that are a steppe up in class. We look at each in turn — from the glitteringly eccentric desert capital of Tashkent to the epic switchbacking Pamir Highway and Kyrgyzstan’s high-altitude trekking, biking and riding — providing compelling reasons to visit now and identifying the best trips from specialists such as Silk Road Adventures, Explore and Regent.
Read the full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Japan
Go for the big sporting events, but make sure you also seek out the smaller cultural treasures
The unstoppable rise in popularity of Japan is no accident. It’s partly the result of a vigorous wooing of visitors with global events such as the Rugby World Cup, then the Olympics. Our advice? Visit soon to enjoy the sweet spot between accessibility and cultural impenetrability — but make sure you get off the trail. Japan expert Jamie Lafferty recommends five must-see spots beyond the cat cafes of Tokyo and the temples of Kyoto, including the 7,000-year-old cedars of Yakushima; the museum on Honshu devoted to the Namahage ogres, perhaps the country’s most extreme parenting tool; and the deeply affecting Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Read our full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
New Brunswick
Soak up the peace in Atlantic Canada’s most hospitable province
You can take a walk and stumble across a spectacular waterfall that nobody has bothered to signpost. Distance is measured in kayak miles. Lobster rolls are served with everything — and everywhere (McDonald’s included). And the spirit of hospitality is so strong that you can probably get away without booking a hotel. It didn’t take long for the British comedian James Mullinger to fall for Atlantic Canada’s most endearing province. He’s gone on to become New Brunswick’s most famous newbie, selling out the province’s biggest venues quicker than Seinfeld. He’s your guide to the province — and talks you through his perfect day.
Read James’s guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Georgia
Friendliness and fatalism combine. Just watch out for that local brandy
As Middle East correspondent for The Sunday Times, Louise Callaghan spends a lot of time in places where she’s not entirely welcome. But going to Georgia feels like arriving home, not least because of the remarkable, chacha-fuelled hospitality of the people. The country has the best food she’s eaten, the most astonishing scenery she’s laid eyes on, and wine that gives Italy a run for its money. No wonder she’s furtively house-hunting there. Now is the time to visit, she explains, as this tiny, resilient republic stands, tantalisingly, on the cusp of rapid modernisation. Direct flights from London and no need for visas for Brits add to the appeal.
Read Louise’s story at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Loire Valley
A powerful renaissance fuelled by the quincentenary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death
Leonardo crossed the Alps on a donkey bound for the Loire Valley in 1516. He had the Mona Lisa in a saddlebag. He spent the next three years here — painting, inventing, conceiving machines and weapons of mass destruction, and generally giving the French Renaissance a bit of intellectual impetus. Then, on May 2, 1519, he died at the age of 67. That’s almost exactly 500 years ago. You would expect France, which reckons itself the HQ of art and culture, to go big on the quincentenary. You would be right. Anthony Peregrine looks at the spots to visit and the must-see exhibitions — and explains how to avoid chateau fatigue.
Read Anthony’s full guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Surrey Hills
A sparkling year ahead in one of England’s prettiest corners
Viniculture is all in the timing. Denbies — the largest single-estate vineyard in England — appears to have it in spades. Just as it was putting the finishing touches to plans for its long-mooted £4m expansion, incorporating first vineyard hotel in the UK, the summer heatwave struck, yielding a record harvest. Which means the staggered unveiling of the spruced-up estate throughout 2019 will be to a soundtrack of popping corks and ringing tills. Beyond its 635 acres is some of the southeast’s most enticing, and accessible, scenery, with top-notch hiking on the North Downs Trail and around neighbouring Box Hill.
Read our full review at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Ethiopia
Guide Zablon Beyene explains why now is very much the time to visit his homeland
The peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been a fantastic development for tourism in the region: the border is now open to adventurous travellers, who can combine big-ticket items such as the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela with train journeys to Massawa, on the Red Sea coast, the mysterious desert islands of the Dahlak Archipelago and the Bale and Simien mountains. The fauna alone is magnificent: lion-like gelada monkeys, huge walia ibex and one of Africa’s great secrets, a population of black-maned lions in the Harenna rainforest.
Read the full insider guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Hong Kong
The shopping, the skyline, the food... and now artistic credibility, too
New hotels are opening throughout 2019 — most excitingly the Rosewood and, in the autumn, a new Soho House outpost; big engineering projects are up and running, including the 34-mile, £15bn Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and bullet trains to mainland China; the food scene is as lively as ever; and Hong Kong’s claim to be the art capital of Asia is bolstered by a swathe of new galleries where local artists can show their work in one of the city’s international exhibitions, including Art Central and Art Basel. This is the stopover that will have you cancelling your onward flight.
Read more at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
Portugal
It’s fast emerging as one of Europe’s great holiday all-rounders
Lisbon and the Algarve are as well trodden as they are well known, but beyond them there’s a string of enticing spots to fill a dozen trips or more. The northern city of Porto is on the up, with a no-sleep-till-dawn party spirit and the delights of the Alto Douro wine region lurking just up river. There’s Coimbra, Portugal’s bonsai Bologna; Evora, with Roman ruins, crag-perched castles and monumental megaliths; and the quiet, wild Alentejo coast. Hikers should head to the Serra da Estrela on the Spanish border. Year-round flight deals and the crazy-cheap cost of living add further temptation. Read the full destination guide at thesundaytimes.co.uk/travel
