Perhaps it’s just the company we keep, but a lot of our friends made the New Year’s resolution to travel more in 2019. If you are one of them, we thought we’d help you out by offering our thoughts on some destinations to check out this year.
Mainland Greece
The islands are gorgeous, and there are way more to see than the old standbys most tend to flock to. If you have the chance to visit Rhodes or Patmos on a cruise, they will open your eyes to a whole different side of the Greek Isles. Many visitors to Greece tend to spend a day or two in Athens then head straight for the islands. But the mainland features the great sites of classical Greece. See the birthplace of the Olympics at Olympia, the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi and the ancient ruins of Mycenae that helped spawn Western civilization.
Colonial Mexico
Don’t get us wrong, we love a beach vacation as much as anyone. But with great food, great places and an exchange rate of nearly 20 pesos to the dollar, colonial Mexico is worth a visit. Mexico City is home to the world’s 11th- and 13th-ranked restaurants (plus another in the top 100) and the beautiful Soumaya Museum. San Miguel de Allende is both an artist’s and an art lover’s dream, you should see before it gets too popular, and Puebla is a culinary capital with a downtown that is one big World Heritage site. Queretaro’s baroque architecture is a thing of beauty, and Oaxaca preserves key components of pre-Spanish cultures.
Western Australia
Most of the major cities Down Under are located on the eastern and southern coasts. There’s a whole lot of Outback separating Adelaide in South Australia from Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Perth, the fourth-largest city in Australia with about 2 million inhabitants, is the gateway to the Margaret River wine region, succulent seafood and black truffles just as good as any you’ll find in Europe. These factors contribute to Perth having the most restaurants per capita of any Australian capital and a great bar scene.
Jordan
A safe destination and a gem of the Middle East, Jordan is inviting visitors to trek the Jordan Trail — about 400 miles traversing the country from Um Qais to the Red Sea — from March 1-April 13. If that’s too much for you, concentrate on such magnificent sights as Petra, an ancient city carved into cliff sides, and Wadi Rum, a valley with an otherworldly feel containing traces of culture from prehistory to the Roman era. Spas along the Dead Sea and resorts in Aqaba along the Red Sea will help you relax whether you brave the trail or not.
Greenland
A trip to the “Arctic Riviera” will open your eyes to one of the last truly off-the-beaten-path spots on Earth. The people of East Greenland didn’t have contact with outsiders until the turn of the 20th century, and the area is still an isolated wonderland of Northern Lights and calving glaciers. Subsistence hunting is still very much a way of life, and one that becomes harder to maintain as temperatures continue to rise and change the environment for animals and the people who rely on them to live.