Our staff share their dream destinations
This month, we’re offering 25% of all Lonely Planet titles in all of our shops and online. If you’re looking for inspiration on where to travel next, our staff share their dream destinations – and why.
Nina Kenwood hasn’t seen enough of New Zealand yet
There are so many places I’d like to visit this year. My best friend currently lives in Berlin and I’d love to visit her – both to see her and also to experience Germany, a country I’ve never been to before. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Berlin, and I would have my own built-in tour guide to show me the sights.
I also want to visit another friend who is living in New York. I’ve been to New York twice, and if I had my way, I’d return every year. It’s a city I fell in love with the moment I arrived, and I instantly felt comfortable walking the streets and riding the subway (I’m not good with directions or unfamiliar places, so this is unusual for me.) The thought of going back there warms my heart. And in the tradition of returning to places I have loved, I also want to go back to New Zealand. I did two hikes there a few years ago, and it was spectacular in ways I wasn’t prepared for. The scenery in remote New Zealand could fill a lifetime, and I haven’t seen nearly enough of it yet.
Fiona Hardy would love to return to Japan
I visited Japan in 2006 with my boyfriend and a handful of Japanese words I kept getting wrong. Like how I kept saying ‘no’ instead of ‘ie’, or when my boyfriend tried to buy us ‘two’ tickets to a temple by gesturing at both of us and saying the word for ‘fat’. I would love more than anything to return; it was a beautiful, wondrous place. From Nikko’s gorgeous temples to Akihabara’s electric wonderland, from soba noodles near Himeji Castle to deer eating maps right out of your pocket at Nara, every moment is one I still reflect on years later with a thrilled little buzz.
And for a pro tip, make sure you watch all the Studio Ghibli movies and then go to the Ghibli Museum. It’s just perfect.
Canada is always at the top of Alan Vaarwerk’s travel list
My dream travel destinations tend to change depending on what I’ve watched or read most recently, but the top of my list has consistently been Canada. Vancouver and Montreal seem like a really vibrant mix of Europe and America, and I’m also intrigued by colder, quieter places like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. As non-thrillseeking as it sounds, I’d really love to take the Rocky Mountaineer train and just bask in the mountains.
If Bronte Coates had endless resources she’d plan a year-long road trip across USA
I always like to try read books that are either set in, or written about, the places I go and as I’m planning to visit is Japan next I’ve been reading my way through this list. I’m really looking forward to the trip because I’ve been told so many good things (Fiona’s write-up above for one). But… If this were a dream scenario and my resources were unlimited – I’d love to spend a year just travelling around America. This is largely because many of my favourite authors come from America and I think it would be so wonderful to see what their works are responding to. Also, even if ‘the great American road trip’ feels like like a bit of a cliche, it’s one I want to experience regardless.
Isobelle Moore has too many dream destinations to just choose one
I spend a lot of time dreaming about travel at the moment. I relocated to Melbourne last September after being based in London for a few years – and I spent my time there travelling a lot! I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I can’t go to a different country for a weekend, every single month. So, I couldn’t pick just the one dream destination! Here are my current top three.
Vietnam Now that I’m back in Australia, South East Asia is certainly next on my travel list and I know that I want to start with Vietnam, primarily because of the beautiful natural landscapes I’ve seen so often in photographs. There are a lot of other aspects of Vietnam that I am interested in, obviously including the history and also modern Vietnamese culture, but seriously… Google it. Beautiful.
Sicily, Italy One of my friends (who is Sicilian) is has just returned home having living in London for eighteen years. She is now cycling around the coast of Sicily and keeps saying things like: ‘Oh, if you were here, we could go to this beach’; ‘If you were here my mother who would feed you homemade Italian cooking’. I had an amazing time when I visited mainland Italy and am now desperate to go to Sicily!
Iceland If you could legally marry a country, I would marry Iceland and carry its little troll babies. I have a major crush on Iceland and its beautiful, oddly space-like landscapes. I dream of seeing the Northern Lights and wearing thick Icelandic jumpers, and of standing atop glaciers, and of taking a fancy spa day at the Blue Lagoon. The Icelandic also have a wonderfully dry sense of humour. Not to mention: one bookshop per every ten people.
