To help you put together your New Year travel list, we asked our Citizen Femme experts to recommend their top 2018 destinations for the year ahead.
From the green tropical mountains of China to 2 storey-high icebergs among glaciers of Antarctica, discover new trails, taste local foods and interact with vibrant cultures around the world.
Yangshuo, China
Yangshuo near Guilin in Guangxi Province China. To experience and indulge in the beautiful green tropical mountains through which the Li River flows. Take a boat down the river and taking a scooter around the mountains, getting lost in the little villages and settlements that surround it, this would be amazing. But I would not suggest going -Chinese holiday periods when it would become a tourism nightmare. Pick your dates carefully and this will make for one of the most unforgettable trips of a lifetime. By Laura Grunberg
Buenos Aires
While Buenos Aires is an incredible city that has always had vibrant energy, cultural and historical wonders with fantastic art scene, this will all be elevated to an entirely new level of amazingness in 2018. Buenos Aires is the inaugural city to take part in the Art Basel Cities Program, a global initiative bringing together artists, collectors and galleries from across the globe via highly curated programming. This September, the week-long event will bring the artistic heart and soul of Buenos Aires to life like never before. Inspiring artwork aside, I can only imagine the week will also be filled with fabulous soirées and uber cool events galore, setting the destination off to new highs. By Erica Corsano
Vietnam
I’m dying to get to Southeast Asia for the first time! Vietnam in particular has been incredibly high on my list and Angkor Wat in Cambodia has been a bucket list destination. Nature, culture and history – Vietnam would cover all aspects. Discovering Ha Long Bay and its forest-drenched outcrops. Ho Chi Minh City as the urban side, with French colonial buildings. The Forbidden Purple City and magnificent Thein Mu Pagoda. And with great cuisine, Vietnam is certainly up there. By Shannon Kircher
Rome
I would love to include Rome in Italy as my top place to visit. With a love of classical studies, Italian architecture and interior design, it is somewhere I have always held out to visit. In Rome, classical ruins and early Christian places of worship stand next to Renaissance palazzos and Baroque fountains. But there are also great neighbourhood trattorias, quirky shops and a buzzing aperitivo scene. This is the year to go. By Natasha Rocca Devine
Japan
I’d love to explore Japan including Tokyo and Kyoto. I think Tokyo is a capital city unlike many others and contrasts to the peaceful Japanese culture found in local villages and quieter towns. Okinawa archipelago, (161 islands in the East China Sea) is also a top destination with beautiful beaches and forested islands. The residents here live longer than anywhere else in the world, and it is also the first place to get cherry blossoms so you can avoid the overcrowded blossom season in mainland Japan. One of the best viewing spots is the floodlit 700-year-old Nakijin Castle, which opens at night during cherry blossom season. By Eppie Shepherd
Bolivia
Bolivia is the place for me, with several top reasons. The Massive Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni ), the Inca Palace and the ruins (Isla Del Sol), the green water, hot springs and Volcanos (Laguna Verde), the flamingos, lake, geyser, lagoon and desert (Laguna Colorada) and so much more. Bolivia has changed from a backpacker destination to one of luxury alongside its spectacular landscapes and Andean cultural heritage. The culture, the people, the food! By Anabelle Paulino
© Kseniya Ragozina
Bhutan
Bhutan is top of my list this year. It is still off the agenda for many because of the minimum spend threshold and limited visas being issued, and I enjoy discovering places before they become overrun with travellers: there’s a special charm in the rawness and innocence of a country before ‘the world’ discovers it. Bhutan also has the luxury Como and Aman brands so it is a combination of the best of both worlds- discovering an off the beaten path place with a touch of luxury. A hike up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery is a must. It is a personal challenge for myself this year. By Harpreet Acharya
Lemaire Channel, Antarctica
This immense, unspoiled and supposedly breathtaking passage is often referred to as the “Kodak Gap,” for its remarkable beauty is a photographer’s dream expedition! I want to marvel at giant, 2 storey-high icebergs among glaciers, stand on virgin ice land that no person has ever stood on, and experience the joys of sailing among Orca, Humpback, and Minke Whales via the dramatic waterway and seeing penguins waddling their flappy arms, getting around by tobogganing on land! There seems to be so much fun, ridiculousness, peace and beauty in this untouched and unowned land which we are all connected to by vast ocean. Remote as Antarctica may seem, every person and traveller in the world is contributing to the emissions that put the beautiful continent and creatures that live in it, at risk. In 2018, Antarctica is on my top destination list as I resolve to learn, first-hand how changes to this continent’s vast ice sheet might affect the world and cities we live in! By Natasha Hafez
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