The ability to travel is a privilege and a dream for many. With so many beautiful places to visit, how do you narrow down the best destinations? Traveling is also a huge commitment of time and money so it would be disappointing to go somewhere far that doesn’t live up to expectations.
According to Reddit, the following is a list of vacation hotspots that live up to the hype. So get ready to pack your bags and book your flight after reading this list.
#1 Bora Bora
A few readers vouched for Bora Bora as being a dream destination but heavy on the pocketbook.
“Bora Bora was pretty nice, stayed in the huts over the water. Pretty expensive though.”
“Bora Bora was amazing. Booked through Costco last year. $8k for 5 nights with meals (from the U.S.), over water bungalow, all flights and taxi to/from airport! We stayed at the Intercontinental Thalasso. I was very pleased with the bungalow we had. It had a view of Mt. Otemanu, was very clean, and the bed was super comfy. The food at the mid-tier restaurant was the best. Service was always great, and the daily activities offered were enjoyable if you don’t feel like going out on an excursion. Our hut faced towards the St. Regis, so one night we got to see a fireworks show from our bed.”
#2 Fiji
“My wife and I went on our honeymoon there a few years ago, and absolutely beautiful place with wonderfully nice people. Food wasn’t too bad either. Also I might add, the most beautiful blue and warm water we’ve ever been in.”
#3 Costa Rica
“Relatively easy to get to from the USA and Canada, reasonable prices, ridiculously clean beaches and friendly people.”
“100% agree, the cloud forest in Monteverde is magical, wildlife is amazing, very friendly people too.”
#4 Iceland
Several readers jumped in excitedly about their adventure in Iceland:
“Absolutely incredible place and incredible people. Can’t say enough about how great it is.”
“The whole country is like one big national park. So beautiful and diverse. Plus it’s a very safe place to travel.”
“Lake Myvatn is breathtaking at sunset, but keep an eye out for the midges, even in late September there were swarms by the water. Worth the bites though, the sunset was gorgeous.”
“Everyone always goes to Gullfoss and Skogafoss, but Dettifoss is also an extraordinary waterfall to see, and was actually in the opening scene of Prometheus, which is fun!”
“Blue lagoon is still worth going to tbh, it’s fun and good for photos and the experience itself, but absolutely do not miss the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon- one of the most eerie and beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Highly recommend taking a boat tour for better photos, and we even saw seals!”
“Don’t know if it’s hyped but I went to Iceland and it blew every expectation out the window. Nothing like standing in the dead of night watching the aurora.”
#5 Japan
“There’s too much to do, see, eat, and drink at any given hour of the night. Hell, on the right night, you can just wander the alleyways and cool stuff will just find you. I miss it everyday.”
“Tokyo and most Japanese cities are refreshingly walkable. They are designed to be walked and explored, a concept that many North Americans born after WWII never got to experience due to automobile-centric city planning and weird zoning laws.”
More about Tokyo:
“It’s been said, but Tokyo. This is a place I had built up in my head since childhood, and it exceeded every expectation. It’s astounding how clean it is, and how safe I felt despite being alone in a foreign country. You get the fun of the mega city with so much culture and history at the same time, it’s incredible.”
#6 Hong Kong
“Hong Kong is my favorite city. I went to a really great beach there, but obviously it wasn’t super stunning or anything picturesque. It was just nice because it was clean, a little secluded, and there really weren’t many people there.”
“You could do everything in Hong Kong though, hikes, city life, country-side, etc. I just loved it. Of course I may be biased because I met my first love (person) there.”
#7 Phillipines
“Boracay is more of a beautiful place with beautiful people flashing beautiful smiles all wrapped in a party atmosphere. El Nido is a place that you should go to if you want to see the full extent of what mother nature can offer.”
“Boracay is a party island. White beach is nice but the beaches in Palawan BLOW it out of the water.”
#8 Spain
“It doesn’t get much hype. It promises sun, sand, cheap beer and cheap food. And it delivers 100% of the time. Don’t forget the Basque region. It’s a little more akin to the Pacific Northwest in the US, with a nice cool climate. The food is stellar though.”
“Barcelona is the best place I’ve been to.”
#9 Belize
The underwater activities sealed the deal for these vacationers in Belize:
“Saw a stingray, eels (that you can touch), some type of small shark and lots of fish. Dive lead took a bag of chum out and we began being circled by so much marine life, above, below and around. Surreal. Have dove outside of Mexico, Bali, and Cartagena but nothing has come close to that first dive.”
“In one day I saw: Dolphins, Eels, An Eagle Ray, Turtles, An octopus, Nurse sharks, Parrot Fish, And an infinite amount of fish I can’t name, Fan coral, Brain coral, etc. All from snorkeling or from the bow of the boat.”
“San Pedro, Ambergris cay is the place to go.”
“We went to Belize, 10/10 would do again.”
“Not only is the diving and ocean life amazing in Belize, but the people are absolutely amazing. I have driven from one end to the other and stayed at several Cayes and never met an unfriendly person there.”
“I also recommend the Belize Botanical Gardens in the interior and visiting some of the jungle which has it’s own amazing scenery and wildlife, especially exotic birdlife. And there are some amazing Mayan ruins to visit as well.”
#10 Prague
“It’s gorgeous, it’s relatively inexpensive, and there is SO much you can see in 3-4 days. It’s an amazing walking city with incredibly friendly people and really great food.”
“Prague is amazing. Random bars everywhere. Black Angel hotel..gorgeous bar, they have the hacker bar, so many great great bars. Also biggest castle in the world and amazing tourist areas. I would highly recommend visiting during Christmas. Eat at the typical Czech Restaurant…they turn a pig on a spit outside.”
“Literally drinking a $1 wine in a castle at 10:30am with fun strangers has been a major highlight of my existence.”
11. Poland
“Krakow, Poland (where I am right now) has quite blown me away, for similar reasons: Incredibly cheap but good food and drinks, not so much absinthe but plenty of vodka bars and some astounding craft beer, walkable, beautiful, lots to do”
“I spent 10 days in Poland (Krakow, Gdansk, Wroclaw and up in the mountains in Zakopane) and there were stunning women absolutely everywhere, like even the girls working at the grocery store were hot.”
12. Antigua
“Really good scuba diving,Zipline courseand ATV tours.”
“Just got back from there absolutely loved it dude, rebook and go for it if you get the chance, no regrets.
“Absolutely beautiful waters!!”
13. Hawaii
“Hawaii is pretty awesome. Sure it has its issues, but visiting Oahu and doing all the stuff was one of the best vacations I’ve EVER had.”
“I’m in Hawaii right now and I agree. It’s naturally beautiful, food is delicious, and each island has its own unique vibe and strengths. Still can’t get over how blue the water is.”
“I was going to say Hawaii too. I went or Maui for my honeymoon at the height of Covid, and it was fantastic. The traffic wasn’t bad, there weren’t long lines to get anywhere, and the locals seemed happy to have any tourism money coming in.”
14. Greece
“Great beaches, great food, great people. Don’t spend more than a day in Athens, and instead go hit some places on the rest of the mainland or even better some islands. Naxos and Crete (Chania) are some of my favorites.”
“Crete is amazing, loved it when I went there. Great seafood and stunning scenery.”
“Santorini is beautiful- expensive compared to other islands, but beautiful and unique. I’ve not done Paros but it’s on my list. We rented an ATV to travel around Santorini which was a lot of fun although felt dangerous at times.”
15. Australia
“Western Australia literally the best beaches on planet earth, untouched forests, miles of unspoilt coastline, totally uncrowded…. It’s just far away from everywhere and expensive.”
“We fell in love with Perth and everything around it. Would move there in a heartbeat if it was indeed not away from literally everything but I guess that is the whole reason why it is so beautiful.”
“Sydney Australia. I went to Australia a few years ago the weather is amazing, the people are so nice, the nature there is beautiful, food is great. Would 100% go again.”
“I took a 18+ hour flight with multiple stops, it’s annoying but we made the most of it by watching tv and movies. But it was worth it I loved Australia so much and would go again in a heartbeat.”
16. Rome
“A beautiful city that really feels “European” with plenty of history and plenty to do. It feels like every corner is truly something to do.”
“That’s why I love Rome and Paris. You turn any corner and you see something that’d be a landmark in any other place, but its just part of the city in both of those. The history is intertwined with the town.”
17. Romania
“On a whim a few years back I decided to go to Transylvania for Halloween. Visited Bran Castle for Halloween and had a wonderful time. Inexpensive food and beer, heck my rental car was $6 a day. I’ve been all over Europe and I preferred the castle’s of Romania over Germany’s castles, and Germany has awesome castles. Hotels were inexpensive and very nice.”
18. Germany
“Could not believe how much fun I had at Oktoberfest. I really assumed it was going to be overhyped touristy crap but it was just beer and singing and fun.”
“San Fermin festival & Munich Oktoberfest.”
19. Peru
“Cusco in Peru is the perfect spot of backpacking in South amErica. And Machu Picchu is unreal.
“Cusco is the most magical place I’ve ever visited.”
20. Portugal
“Visit the Algarve, coastal towns are great for a close to home experience, people speak English and amenities for tourists are everywhere, there’s sun, sea, attractions, and you can see bits of Portuguese culture, plus it’s nicely priced. Further inland, it’s much cheaper, and you really get to feel Portuguese culture, few people speak English and you can’t get English products, but there are still fun places to visit and attractions to enjoy.”
This article was produced by This Mom is On Fire.
This post originally appeared on Reddit.
Image credit: copyright Maridav via Canva.
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