We’re now a month into 2016 and hopefully many of you have or are planning lots of great trips for the new year.
When picking where to go, many factors can come into play. Maybe we pick a destination due to a great airfare, award flight availability or maybe it’s just somewhere we’ve long wanted to see and explore.
Each year various travel sites and publications come up with a list of places to go for the new year.Here are some Places To Go lists for 2016 that I’ve written about:
- AAA’s Most Popular Destinations for International Travel 2016
- Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2016
- Frommer’s Best Places To Go 2016
- Fodor’s Places To Go 2016
- Travel Channel Picks 11 Great Destinations for 2016
- The New York Times 52 Places To Go 2016
A couple of weeks back I came across another list of places to go in 2016, this time from Budget Travel. I was curious to see which destinations made the cut as well as how many I’ve already visited.
Here is Budget Travel’s picks for Where To Go in 2016:
- Iceland
- San Antonio
- Cuba
- Los Angeles
- Greece
- Vietnam
- Martinique
- Galapagos Islands
- Portugal
- Isla Holbox
- Namibia
- Cincinnati
- Indonesia
- Croatia
- Nicaragua
- Asheville, NC
- Colombia
- Sri Lanka
- Scotland
- Rome
- Copenhagen
- Hong Kong
- Rio De Janeiro
- New Zealand
Budget Travel selected 24 destinations. Of the 24 I’ve visited 13 including the #3 pick, Cuba on our most recent trip.
With all of the talk and interest surrounding Cuba, I was a bit surprised that it didn’t come in at the top spot for places to go in ’16.
From the places which made the list, a few have been talked about and considered by Kim and I for some time now.
We’re hoping to make it to Iceland in the near future. I’d especially love to go to visit the sites around the Ring Road and also see the Northern Lights. I’ve also thought about heading to San Antonio to see the Alamo but I’d definitely think it coming in at #2 on the list is a bit too high!
If not for seasickness I’m pretty sure that I would’ve visited the Galapagos Islands by now. When the time comes, I plan to take a land-based trip to spend as little time as possible aboard a boat.
I’ve also considered Sri Lanka a bunch of times but haven’t been able to get there so far. From what I can tell, the country seems to be a blend of India and Thailand/ SE Asia which would be quite interesting to see.
How many places have you visited from Budget Travel’s picks? Which places are you most interested in visiting in the future?
Find out about each of the 24 places that made the Where To Go 2016 list here.
Christian- You also make a great point- “Budget Travel” recommending a pricey place does make it sound like a bit of a joke! I’ve never taken their name literally!
MFK- Right. Did you not like Iceland or just agreeing that it is expensive? We got back from Cuba one month ago and also found certain things to be pricier than expected. It still though was pretty cheap when it comes to Casas costing in the $25-$30 range per night. I’ve wanted to go to Sri Lanka for a long time- thanks for the rec & hopefully soon!
Christian- Don’t know what Ben wrote about Iceland but I think most would agree that these lists are the opinions of each site/ publication. One site’s #1 might not make another’s list… And IMO, one blogger’s opinion of a country does not discount it as a place worthy of visiting.
You raise some valid points. Just because Iceland is incredibly expensive does not detract from the worthiness of a visit. Also a valid point that everyone has different criteria. I guess it’s just that Iceland’s extremely high prices make the “Budget Travel” moniker seem like satire.
I think the point Christian was trying to make is that Iceland is not exactly a “budget” destination. Thus, somewhat curious that it made the list of a publication called Budget Travel. Having been there, I’d have to agree. I found Cuba to be far more expensive than I expected also, especially since I wasn’t able to get any alternate currencies in advance and had to pay the 10% surcharge on US$. It could be done cheaply once in country, but the cost of getting there is pretty steep, as you know. Highly recommend Sri Lanka. Really enjoyed my time there and it was quite inexpensive once on the ground. You should check it out. Happy travels all!
Iceland is tops? The place where Ben from OMAAT was in disbelief at the prices, and whatever criticisms might be leveled at him by critics, the guy is not cheap. The fact that this place headlines the list pretty much stretches any credulity to the limit.