The experts are all agreed that next year is going to be a big one for travel. If 2022 was when we finally felt able to satisfy some of the thwarted wanderlust of the previous two years, 2023 is looking even more adventurous as restrictions become a fading memory.
“2023 is shaping up to be the year to get out and explore,” says Tom Hall, Vice President at Lonely Planet.
“With much of the world firmly on the road to recovery, travellers are looking for different locations and experiences.”
And whether you’re hoping to travel to the world’s wildest places or want to stay within the UK, prefer some tropical sun or a cultured city break, we’ve rounded up the hottest places to go in 2023.
Where to go in 2023
“Travel has changed since the pandemic, and mostly for the better,” says Tom Barber, co-founder of Original Travel. “No longer taken for granted, holidays have become more meaningful and the appetite to be out in the big wide world, visiting new places and trying new things is greater than ever.”
Manchester
It’s an exciting year for Manchester, the only UK city to make it onto National Geographic’s Best of the World 2023 and Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 list.
“Next year is going to be a great one in Manchester for cultural happenings like the reopening of Manchester Museum, the launch of the new Factory International and the chance to tour Castlefield Viaduct,” says Hall.
Manchester Castlefield viaduct ©National Trust Images, James Dobson
Castlefield viaduct (Photo: National Trust Images/James Dobson)
The Factory will become the permanent home of the biannual Manchester International Festival, showcasing the best in music and theatre, while the Manchester Museum will feature new galleries focused on Chinese, South Asian and British Asian culture.
The recently expanded Jewish Museum and the newly opened ‘sky park’ on the Castlefield Viaduct have also helped propel the city back onto the hotlists — just seven years after it last made the cut for Lonely Planet’s list.
Guyana
British Airways is launching its new twice-weekly flight to Guyana next March, putting the country firmly on the map for those looking to discover a destination away from the crowds.
One of South America’s smaller countries, Guyana is a similar size to the UK but with an astonishing 90 per cent of it covered in trees.
Guyana Kaieteur Falls CREDIT Jonny Melon Guyana Tourism Authority
Guyana's Kaieteur Falls (Photo: Jonny Melon/Guyana Tourism Authority)
With fewer than a million people living there, it’s home to wildlife including jaguars and giant anteaters, the incredible Kaieteur Falls — one of the world’s highest single drop waterfalls, it’s twice as high as Victoria Falls — and its eco-tourism experiences and accommodation are growing.
“This new flight opens up one of our favourite destinations,” says Tom Barber, “which is not only fantastic for wildlife, but is also an exemplary destination for one of our predictions for why we’ll be travelling — Community-Based Tourism (CBT).
“CBT is all about choosing accommodation and experiences run and owned by the local community, so your visit directly benefits local people.”
Elefsina, Greece
The new European Capital of Culture — along with Veszprém in Hungary and Timisoara in Romania — the Greek city of Elefsina is close to some of the country’s key historic sites.
But despite being just half an hour north-west of Athens and around 45 minutes from Corinth, Elefsina (or Eleusis to the Greeks) is usually overlooked by tourists.
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Elefsina (Photo: Unsplash)
With 4,000 years of history to discover here, it was one of the five holy cities of Ancient Greece, along with Athens, Olympia, Delos and Delphi.
But as well as ruins and the archaeological museum to explore, Elefsina has been converting some of its more recent ruins: derelict industrial facilities such as old factories now host theatre performances, and there are more concerts, art exhibits and cultural attractions planned for 2023.
Patagonia National Park, Chile
Chile set aside 11 million acres of land for national parks — aided by the largest private land donation from a private entity to a country, from philanthropist Doug Tompkins, who co-founded the North Face and Esprit brands — which is helping expand conservation efforts in the Patagonia wilderness.
Patagonia Mountain Landscape CREDIT Black Tomato
Patagonia (Photo: Black Tomato)
The Patagonia National Park is part of the resulting new network, covering more than 750,000 acres in Aysén, and unlike the more visited areas of Patagonia in Argentina, it’s firmly under the radar.
“What sets this side of Patagonia apart from others in neighbouring areas is the genuine remoteness and isolation, which feels like you are being let in on a secret, and the only keepers of this secret are the flora and fauna themselves,” says Tom Marchant, co-founder at Black Tomato.
The Highlands, Scotland
You don’t have to travel halfway round the world to find wild countryside to lose yourself in: the Highlands have been named one of National Geographic Traveller’s top destinations for 2023, in part for projects to “rewild” the area.
Nearly a million trees have been planted in the 23,000-acre Alladale Wilderness Reserve, while the Affric Highlands project is starting to restore a huge swathe of land covering around 500,000 acres from Loch Ness to the west coast, plus other initiatives to reintroduce flora and fauna once native to the area.
The new Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, due to open in March, will be running a series of programmes to help visitors discover more too.
Vilnius City view ©Go Vilnius Gabriel Khiterer
Vilnius (Photo: Go Vilnius/Gabriel Khiterer)
Vilnius, Lithuania
Marking its 700th anniversary in 2023, Vilnius is celebrating with 12 months of events, including an initiative encouraging both visitors and locals to plant more than 100,000 trees around the city and create an urban forest in Ozas Park.
There will be art exhibitions and other events celebrating the Lithuanian capital’s 700th birthday, while you can get a sense of how the city looked when it turned 500 at a new interactive pavilion at the Lithuanian National Museum — as well as exploring its well-preserved Old Town.
Bhutan
One of the last countries to re-open borders after the pandemic, Bhutan began to welcome tourists once again in September — and for the first time in 60 years, the 250-mile Trans-Bhutan Trail is also open to hikers.
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Bhutan (Photo: Unsplash)
Allowing tourists to discover previously remote communities, you needn’t tackle the full length to see another side to this Himalayan kingdom.
Famously committed to limited levels of tourism for years, the increased Sustainable Development Fee of $200 (around £165) will continue helping preserve the country’s cultural heritage, as well as planting trees and benefiting Bhutan’s citizens.
Dates for your travel diary
March — British Airways is launching a new direct flight from London Gatwick to Aruba (via Antigua) on March 26, with a twice-weekly route to Oranjestad on the Caribbean island.
May — Jet2’s planned route from Manchester to Tivat on Montenegro’s Kotor Bay was originally due to launch in 2020 until Covid delayed take-off: the new twice-weekly service finally starts on Mondays and Thursdays from May 1 to Kotor Bay.
November — Virgin Atlantic’s new twice-weekly service to the Turks & Caicos islands will begin on November 15, flying from London Heathrow to Providenciales.
December — WizzAir will fly from Luton to Amman three times a week from December 13, bringing a new budget option to the list if you’re looking for a winter sun break.
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