Top 10 destinations for 2016

Ireland is often portrayed as a wild green island with a rugged coast and cosy pubs in every town. And that’s pretty much how Ireland is. On the tourist trail, you will be spoiled with spectacular landscapes, historical castles, prehistoric sights, and, of course, traditional pubs where the drink is a well poured Guinness and the fiddle music is live. To fully experience Ireland, you need to go on at least one road trip, like the Slea Head Drive or the Ring of Kerry. You will drive on narrow, winding roads along the dramatic coastline, past stone fences and green fields with grazing sheep, over mountain passes, and through charming villages. Remember to stop frequently along the way, for Ireland is as much about the big sights, as it’s about the atmosphere along the way.

For the longest time, Maldives was a holiday destination for the rich and famous one-percenters. With private holiday resorts offering all-inclusive stays starting at thousand of dollars a night, the Maldives was little more than a pipe dream for most travellers. But thanks to a fairly recent change in the tourism laws, the Maldives are now possible for the rest of us. Lifting the restrictions on who can build guesthouses and hotels has enabled populated islands like Maafushi to construct reasonably priced accommodation options at a fraction of the cost of the private resorts. Using these islands as a base, one has access to some of the best diving in the world, including swimming with whale sharks. Day trips to the resort islands, sand bars or uninhabited islands allow for a 5-star holiday that won’t break the bank. The Maldives has opened the door, it’s about time travellers took advantage.

It’s not for nothing that Madagascar is known as the 8th continent – it’s not so much a country apart as a world apart. What it lacks in infrastructure and efficiency it makes up for with some of our planet’s oddest and most amazing plants, animals and customs. From the spiny desert of the southwest to the gorgeous beaches of the east and north via gigantic baobab trees, razor-sharp rocks and lemur-rich rainforests, Madagascar is, well, bizarre. Here you will find giraffe-necked weevils, satanic leaf-tailed geckos, half-metre long chameleons and, weirdest of them all, the aye-aye – the world’s largest nocturnal primate, resembling a haphazard combination of badger, bat and gremlin. The Malagassy, friendly and francophone, are a unique mix of Africa and Asia carrying a slight obsession with death, funerals and ancestors: if you get a chance, be sure to partake in a turning of the bones ceremony – which is exactly what the name would suggest

There is no shortage of pretty beaches in the Caribbean, but if you also want nature and culture, Jamaica could be your answer. Here you get soaked in the real rasta culture, which the other Caribbean islands have borrowed so generously from. There are plenty of beaches, cool waterfalls, and even a luminous lagoon. Tourists have come to Jamaica for ages, but it’s about time to leave the congested tourist zones at Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, and explore the smaller towns and hustle free countryside. Here you can have friendly chat with locals - and probably a smoke too (ganja was finally semi-legalized in 2015). And if all this isn’t enough to convince you, the price tag might do. Tourist Jamaica is not cheap, but getting off the beaten track can be done on a budget, which is a rarity in the Caribbean.

Even with all its diversity, countless beaches and a plethora of activities for everybody’s taste, the Philippines remain a somewhat off-the-beaten-track destination. It’s of course an island-hopping paradise: with more than 7000 islands making the country, you’d be very unlucky if you didn’t find one to please you. The cultural diversity of the country is also something to look for, be it the different tribes populating the islands, or the many street festivals occurring during the year. And the many mountains to trek, world-class reefs to dive on, beaches to stroll and warm people to meet, will leave you wondering why the country is not on everyone’s bucket list.

Namibia is a feast for the eyes. Its landscape is a kaleidoscope of earthy hues, not so much welcoming as it is strikingly beautiful, shaped by a harsh climate over tens of millions of years. The Namib is the world’s oldest and arguably most beautiful desert, although the Kalahari boasts more wildlife. Fish River Canyon is a hiker’s paradise, the eerie Skeleton Coast a true out-of-this-world experience, Etosha the place to see elephants and lions and Windhoek a surprisingly pleasant African capital. In the far north you can raft the Cunene River and visit the iconic Himba tribe in one day and track desert-adapted black rhino the next. What you won’t find a lot of in Namibia is people: it’s one of the continent’s most sparsely populated, making it ideal for self-drivers – the long, deserted roads being a highlight in their own right.

Even though we put Cuba in a previous top 10 (in 2013 - go check it out!), this year is an obvious choice. The Castro era hasn’t technically ended, but the country’s restored diplomatic relations with the USA certainly mean a lot of change is to come to Cuba. With even more tourists than the current Europeans and Canadians. Change is not going to happen overnight, but now is probably the best time to experience Cuba’s unspoiled corners (basically everywhere besides Old Havana and Varadero).

Two of the original UNESCO World Heritage sites. One of the best preserved colonial old cities in the Americas. A cultural rich indigenous population. Some of the most diverse bird watching in the world. Access to the Amazon rainforest. Whale watching. An avenue of active volcanoes. Party towns. Chilled out beaches. There is no shortage of experiences and sights available in Ecuador so the only question is, why has it taken travellers so long to figure it out? While Ecuador has not enjoyed the tourism numbers of Peru or Argentina, that is all changing quickly. It has gone from a country which travellers just skipped over to a place you might as well see if you’re in the area to a world-class stand alone destination. Get to Ecuador now before everyone else does.

Central Asia has been the new black for savvy travellers the last couple of years. More and cheaper flights, easier visas, and more budget guest houses mean some parts of Central Asia haven’t been more inviting than now - except for Uzbekistan. They have kept, for the most part, the same old bureaucracy with letter-of-invitation, visa, registration, and so on. That means only the most determined travellers go there, but they get spoiled. While Kyrgyzstan has nomads and Tajikistan mountains, Uzbekistan has history - lots of it. The ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva have no match. The fine mosques, minarets and markets there will let you think you have time travelled. These cities are so splendid that it’s tempting to spend all your time there, and leave the rest of Uzbekistan behind. But please explore, for you will be rewarded with quirky sights (like a sea without water) and friendly gold-teethed people.

Though Albania has been a rising star as a tourist destination for the last decade, very few travellers still go, but this is about to change. Travellers are no longer just coming for the novelty factor and to see leftovers from a bygone Stalinist era, though those are still around, but they come to explore a country loaded with top sights. The Ionian coast is dotted with fabulous beaches, the countryside is rich in rural villages with curious locals, and the Shala mountains offer some of the best trekking in the Balkans. And in contrary to a decade ago, tourist facilities are popping up everywhere these days. We said it six years ago, and we say it again this year, get your ass to Albania.