In the 2018 edition of NatGeo Travel’s Best of the World list, 21 destinations are divided into three categories: cities, culture and nature.
Cities that made this year’s list were chosen for bustling with “new energy and intrigue.”
Dublin, for instance, is described as “Europe’s largest village.” Though home to 1.2 million residents, the city offers an intimate, friendly, cozy vibe, editors say, and is currently undergoing a renaissance with the opening of the new Emigration Museum and newly revamped National Gallery of Ireland.
Travelers in search of an escape from the rat race and urban jungle of city life, meanwhile, may want to consider heading to the newly opened, 400-mile (644 km) Jordan Trail hiking path, believed to have been tread by Jesus, Moses and Mohammed. Divided into eight sections, the trail winds through Jordanian forests, canyons and deserts, and along the Red Sea.
Destinations that made the cut for the culture category, meanwhile, were chosen for being rich in local character and opportunities for cultural engagement.
Canada’s newest national park, Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve, for instance, is a swath of protected land that spans roughly the size of Jamaica in the northeast pocket of Canada’s Labrador region. For a deeper appreciation of the newly protected parkland, visitors can book hikes and other experiences with First Nations guides.
As the 2018 European Culture Capital, Friesland in the Netherlands also fits tidily under the culture heading.
“The No. 1 question we get from our 9.6 million readers is, ‘Where should I go next?'” said NatGeo Travel editor-in-chief George Stone in a statement.
“Our Best of the World list responds to that question with 21 timely destinations that make for a year of transformative travels.”
NatGeo’s 2018 Best of the World destinations are:
Cities
Dublin, Ireland
Malmö, Sweden
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
San Antonio, Texas
Santiago, Chile
Sydney, Australia
Tbilisi, Georgia
Culture
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Friesland, Netherlands
Harar, Ethiopia
Labrador, Canada
Oaxaca, Mexico
Tétouan, Morocco
Vienna, Austria
Nature
Albania
Jordan Trail, Jordan
Jujuy Province, Argentina
Madagascar
Oahu, Hawaii
Ruaha NP, Tanzania
Seoraksan National Park, South Korea