Highlights from the Lonely Planet ‘Best in Travel 2018’ – ready to rewrite your bucket list?

We all have bucket lists of one form or another and high up on a lot of people’s lists are various travel experiences. Travel allows us to experience other cultures, other climates, to meet new people and generally broaden our horizons. Especially now that you are in or approaching retirement and you have time to make your travel ambitions a reality.

Maybe you want to sit on the edge of the Grand Canyon or walk the length of the Great Wall of China, treading a similar path to many in your position with the free time to spend enjoying life.

But perhaps a more conventional travel path is not for you, perhaps you want to push the boundaries and enjoy a less well trodden route.

If that is the case, Lonely Planet have published a list based on the experiences of their writers of the best travel locations for 2018, and there might be a few suggestions that could surprise you… a few that could even make you think of revising that bucket list for a new destination. Let’s have a look at some of their choices.

Chile is a slender sliver of a nation with a trendy capital in Santiago which is packed full of culture, reflected in the bright murals that adorn almost every building in its winding streets. To the north is the Atacama desert, which is the driest non polar desert on earth, while Patagonia to the south has caves and mountains to explore.

But if South America doesn’t appeal, how about South Korea? Having just hosted the winter Olympics in the city of Pyeongchang, and with the country’s new high speed rail network, you can take a trip to its cutting edge capital, Seoul, to explore all that it has to offer.

But maybe you prefer a city break rather than spending your time travelling a country. If that is the case, what about Detroit? After some tough times, the city is firmly on an upswing, with entrepreneurs turning the once neglected, abandoned buildings into a whole range of exciting businesses, with art galleries and a whole range of shops and other startups to explore, and after you’ve done your fair share of pounding the sidewalk, you could relax on one of the parks along the river front.

Another city with more than its fair share of culture and history is Oslo, in the progressive country of Norway. Now would be a great time to visit as this year the King and Queen celebrate their 50th year of marriage which promises to be a huge celebration with a whole range of interesting events.

But if you fancy something a little closer to home then how about Belfast? This city has been transformed over the last two decades into a cultural hub full of chic neighbourhoods with a whole range of restaurants and bars. The perfect cure for a little overindulgence is the Causeway coast just down the road, a place absolutely bursting with natural beauty and tranquil spots to reflect on your adventure.

The last travel destination on our list may seem a little bit out there (in fact, it is out there, out there in the wilderness), but Alaska offers a true once in a lifetime opportunity to see everything from bald eagles to humpback whales in their natural habitats, or experience 20 hour summer days amongst the glaciers and the fjords.

So those are the hot tips from Lonely Planet. Perhaps you’ll consider adding one of them to your bucket list. Let us know if you have a trip planned somewhere exotic any time soon.