Lonely Planet reveals its top 30 destinations to visit in 2023

Lonely Planet has unveiled its pick of the best cities, countries and regions to travel to in 2023. 0 destinations made the annual ‘Best in Travel’ list, which this year is divided up into five categories: eat, learn, journey, unwind and connect. Designed to spark holiday inspiration for the year ahead, the list’s ‘Learn’ category included a city break in Manchester, as well as the borderlands of southern Scotland. Meanwhile, the Peruvian capital of Lima led the ‘Eat’ list as a ‘gastronomical delight centuries in the making’, followed by the Umbria region of Italy and the Japanese city of Fukuoka. No Irish inclusions make the list for 2023, though the country has form with Lonely Planet.  Galway was named one of the top cities to visit for 2020, Dublin followed in 2022, and the Burren Ecotourism Network was named one of the world’s top 30 places, people and tourism projects for 2021. In the 2023 ‘Unwind’ list, the Caribbean island of Dominica is in the spotlight, along with the Raja Ampat region of Indonesia – most famous for its diving – and Halkidiki in Greece. The ‘Journey’ list, aimed at adventurers, showcases recently reopened Bhutan, long with Colombia’s Parques Nacionales Naturales (protected national parks), calling them ‘some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world’. The recently restored overnight Istanbul to Sofia train also got a shout-out in the Journey catgeory. The ‘Connect’ destinations – recommended for meeting locals and exchanging knowledge – included the underrated Mediterranean country of Albania, as well as the city of Accra, Ghana and the off-the-tourist-map city of Boise, Idaho. Boise was recommended for its ‘year-round natural beauty, combined with terroir and culinary scene’ as well as its adventure activities. Latin America provided some of the most off-the-beaten-track choices: as well as Lima and Guyana (a new route for British Airways next year), Montevideo in Uruguay was listed for its ‘laid-back beaches and under-the-radar food and wine scene’, while El Salvador cropped up for its ‘stunning volcanoes, colourful handicrafts, low prices and arguably the finest cuisine in Central America’. ‘This year, we really wanted to try something new and we wanted to reflect the way that we saw travellers looking for travel, which was about the destination, but also about the experience,’ said executive editor Nitya Chambers. Vice president Tom Hall added: ‘2023 is shaping up to be the year to get out and explore. With much of the world firmly on the road to recovery, travellers are looking for different locations and experiences.’ Lonely Planet’s best in travel 2023 Eat Lima, PeruUmbria, ItalyKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaFukuoka, JapanSouth AfricaMontevideo, Uruguay Journey Nova Scotia, CanadaBhutanZambiaWestern AustraliaParques Nacionales Naturales de ColombiaIstanbul to Sofia Train Unwind JordanHalkidiki, GreeceJamaicaDominicaRaja Ampat, IndonesiaMalta Connect Accra, GhanaAlbaniaSydneyGuyanaAlaskaBoise Learn New Mexico, USAMarseille, FranceManchester, UKDresden, GermanyEl SalvadorSouth Scotland, UK