There’s no denying that travel is back in 2023, thanks to a pent-up demand for all those vacations that were put on hold during the pandemic. But what are the best places to travel to right now? What are the top travel destinations around the world?
Every year, I round up the best places to travel. This year, in honor of the recent Women’s History Month in March, I tapped into leading women travel experts and influencers to find out their choices for the best places to travel in 2023.
Want to stay closer to home? For ideas of where to travel in America, check out The Best Places To Travel In The U.S. In 2023.
This year, the picks for where to go in 2023 span the gamut from European capitals to exotic beach escapes to sustainable rainforest retreats. Compare these choices to last year’s selections for the best places to travel around the world.
But keep in mind: With travel demand soaring and 31 percent of travelers saying they intend to spend more on international travel this year, costs on the rise and the airlines encountering record demand, don’t delay. Now is the time to book that bucket list trip of a lifetime.
Best Places to Travel in 2023: Europe
Where to Go: Mallorca (pictured)
Chosen By: Heidi Mitchell is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, covering an array of topics from cybersecurity to the psychology of work, and is an award-winning travel writer for publications including Travel + Leisure, Town & Country and the Financial Times’ How To Spend It. She lives between Chicago and London, though she will always be a native New Yorker and a global nomad.
Why: With demand soaring, United Airlines has, for the second year, instituted direct flights from JFK to Palma de Mallorca starting again in April. Since the pandemic began, loads of Europeans and Americans have relocated to this Balearic island known for its wide beaches but which actually shines more brightly inland—where new arrivals are rediscovering the work newly-starred chefs like Santi Taura who makes every dish (literally–including the ceramics) by hand nightly at his tiny DINS restaurant, the pleasures of strolling the cobbled streets of Valldemossa in the interior, the expansive winery of José Ferrer in Binissalem and the challenging bike trails that are best enjoyed in spring and fall, when temperatures are deliciously cool. “I didn’t expect the town of Palma to have such a Moorish influence — that 13th-century cathedral!—nor did I think I’d feel comfortable walking the streets of Palma at night on my own, but it’s so clean, magically illuminated at night, and buzzing with youthful couples strolling hand in hand,” says Mitchell.
In the un-kissed hours, even if you’ve been to Mallorca before, today you’ll find a renewed energy. Paul Skevington, a former executive headhunter, moved from London to open a premium cycling outfitter called Parietti in what he calls “the Mecca of European cycling,” an island roughly the size of Delaware. He also jokes that Mallorca has become “Founders’ Island,” a community where everyone starts his or her own business, be it a precious little gift shop (Ca Na Toneta) or an artisanal apothecary (Arquinesia).
If you’re looking to stay out of the hubbub of Palma, where most of the half-million residents reside, make Castell Son Claret your home base. Originally built as a 19th-century castle, the 43-room pile sits on 326 acres, populated mostly by sheep. “I loved waking early after nights of long dinners and bottles of wine to run it off on the property, veering between sheep and wild olive trees,” says Mitchell. The new garden suites deliver transporting floor-to-ceiling views of the UNESCO-protected Tramuntana mountain range, while the design is a nod to the glamour of the 1960s jet set, reimagined by Spanish design firm Decagano and Juncosa. Its restaurant, Sa Clastra, is run by native son Jordí Canto, who (word has it) has been tapped to receive his own Michelin star.
Mallorca is just one of 23 of the best places to travel to worldwide for 2023. Discover the others and read on. MORE
Image by Fa from Pixabay
