Standby to readjust your bucket lists, because the adventure experts at Lonely Planet have revealed the hottest destinations for 2018 – and it’s Chile that takes one of the coveted top spots.
Lonely Planet’s just-published Best In Travel 2018 book – whose sections include ‘top 10 countries’, ‘top 10 regions’ and ‘top 10 cities’ – has named it as the No1 country to visit in 2018, followed by South Korea, Portugal and the obscure Djibouti.
The best cities for 2018 have been named as Seville in Spain, followed by Detroit, Canberra and Hamburg, with Belfast and the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland named as the best region, followed by Alaska, and the UK the seventh best-value country.
Lonely Planet’s Best In Travel 2018 book – whose sections include ‘top 10 countries’, ‘top 10 regions’ and ‘top 10 cities’ – has named Chile, pictured, as the No1 country to visit in 2018
South Korea, described as a ‘compact playground of Asian modernity’ with ‘mountainous delights’ and ‘steamy urban life’, came No2 in the top 10 countries list
One of Chile’s star attractions, according to the book, is its ‘ever-trendier capital’, Santiago, which it enthuses has been ‘turned into a gourmand’s playground in recent years’.
It adds that it also has a ‘flourishing arts scene’.
The book also picks out the coastal city of Valparaiso as a big plus point for Chile, with its ‘art-filled streets, bohemian cafes and romance-inducing promenades’.
The runner-up choice in the top 10 cities list, Detroit (pictured), may surprise many, because it is normally associated with a high crime rate, but Lonely Planet insists that ‘after decades of neglect, Detroit is rolling again’
Seville is lauded for transforming itself from a ‘traffic-congested metropolis resting on its historical laurels’ into a ‘city of bicycles and trams, keen to reinvigorate its past’
The country also boasts the wilds of Patagonia in the south and the Atacama desert in the north where ‘there’s been a big bang in astrotourism, with new stargazing hotels and geektastic tours to groundbreaking observatories’.
South Korea, meanwhile, is described as a ‘compact playground of Asian modernity’ with ‘mountainous delights’ and ‘steamy urban life’.
The No 3 entry, Portugal, is praised for ’emerging from the long shadow cast by neighbouring Spain and seizing the spotlight as a dynamic centre for art, culture and cuisine’.
The book continues: ‘A spate of artfully designed museums have opened in the past two years, there’s now a celebrated microbrewery scene, and rock-star Portuguese chefs are creating culinary buzz from Lisbon to the glittering beaches of the Algarve.’
Fourth-placed Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, offers something completely different – spectacular geology.
Djibouti (pictured), on the Horn of Africa, came fourth on the top 10 countries list and is praised for its beckoning beaches and geological drama
The book says: ‘This petite nation is in the process of being ripped in three by diverging tectonic plates. Magma seethes beneath ever-thinning crust and Martian-like deserts spew steam from fumaroles… add intoxicating culture and beckoning beaches and you have even more reason to hop on a plane.’
Describing the No1 region, Belfast and the Causeway Coast, the book waxes lyrical, praising Belfast’s ‘hip neighbourhoods’, ‘vibrant Titanic Quarter’ and the ‘timeless beauty’ of the Causeway.
The No2 region, Alaska, wins plaudits for ‘mixing incredible wildlife with a rough-and-tumble outdoor spirit’.
Describing the No1 region, Belfast and the Causeway Coast, Best in Travel 2018 waxes lyrical, praising Belfast’s ‘hip neighbourhoods‘, ‘vibrant Titanic Quarter’ and the ‘timeless beauty’ of the Causeway, pictured
The No2 region, Alaska, wins plaudits for ‘mixing incredible wildlife with a rough-and-tumble outdoor spirit’. Pictured are two people on paddle boards on the state’s Bear Lake
The No3 choice in the cities list, Canberra, pictured, is singled out for having ‘national treasures around every corner’ and a very strong restaurant scene
Over on the top 10 city list, the No1, Seville, is lauded for transforming itself from a ‘traffic-congested metropolis resting on its historical laurels’ into a ‘city of bicycles and trams, keen to reinvigorate its past’.
The runner-up choice in this list, Detroit, may surprise many, because it is normally associated with a high crime rate, but Lonely Planet insists that ‘after decades of neglect, Detroit is rolling again’. It praises its transformation of abandoned buildings into ‘distilleries, bike shops and galleries’ and public works, such as the hockey and basketball arena.
The No3 choice, Canberra, is singled out for having ‘national treasures around every corner’ and a very strong restaurant scene.
The only other UK-mention in the book is in the ‘best value destination’ section, where it comes seventh, thanks to a weakening pound making Britain affordable for international visitors.
Lonely Planet said: ‘Deciding the destinations in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel annual selection is a considered process, with Lonely Planet’s expert writers and travellers providing hundreds of suggestions of destinations not to be missed from the places they have visited over the past year.
‘These places are then shortlisted by a panel of in-house travel experts who consider criteria such as topicality, excitement and wow-factor to decide what to include in the best-selling, inspirational travel yearbook.’
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel books are invaluable resources for bucket-list ticking