Having been to nine of the 10 (India still being on my wish list), I can vouch for their allure. Here are Virtuoso's Top 10 destinations for this winter/spring.
1. Mexico. I know what you're thinking — unless you're Sean Penn heading for a rendezvous with El Chapo — this isn't likely to be on anyone's Top 10, let alone No. 1. While some former favorites such as Acapulco have declined in popularity due to spates of violence, our neighbor to the south can still lure us across the border.
Why? According to Darlene Silvestri, co-owner of Avant Travel in Lexington, Ky., and a Virtuoso adviser, it's because Mexico is affordable and a ccessible.
Why I love Mexico: For the Yucatán Peninsula, with its lush jungles and strong Mayan culture (especially the ruins at Tulum, overlooking the Caribbean Sea.) For the Riviera Maya's sugar white beaches and the scuba diving paradise of Cozumel.
I also love its colorful colonial cities — Taxco, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende — and the dramatic landscape of its Baja region.
2. Canada. Our northern neighbor is also popular, and it's easy to see why: safe, accessible, no language barrier, a favorable currency exchange and gorgeous scenery from the Maritime Provinces to the Pacific Coast.
Why I love Canada: For the journey of a lifetime — a two-day train trip through the Canadian Rockies. Starting in Banff and ending in Vancouver, it takes in the splendor of the Rockies and the British Columbia rain forests. To say that you'll be glued to the window of the train's observation car is an understatement.
Other Canadian treasures include New Br unswick's Bay of Fundy and its amazing tidal bore; Quebec City and its amazing Winter Carnival (the ice sculptures are works of art), Victoria and its amazing Butchart Gardens, colorful even in the winter months.
3. Australia. Someone (it may have been me) once remarked that there are more things in Australia that can kill you than anywhere on earth, beginning with the (22-hour) flight over.
But once you get there, if you give the sharks, snakes, spiders and poisonous jellyfish a wide berth, you'll find a destination that deserves its worldwide reputation as a traveler's paradise.
Why I love Australia: Well, let's start with the cool accents, move on to a casual, laid-back lifestyle that makes Californians seem like uptight clock-punchers, and end with spectacular scenery in remote locations such as the Blue Mountains and Queensland.
For me, nothing topped the experience of taking a seaplane to the Great Barrier Reef for a day of diving that is equaled by few places in the world.
Then there's Sydney — possibly the world's most beautiful city, with a host of attractions that includes dining al fresco on Bondi Beach; taking in a performance at the Opera House; or scaling the heights of the Harbor Bridge (scarier than all the sharks and snakes combined.)
4. New Zealand. Australia's nearest neighbor has all of its beauty, minus the snakes and spiders. Many feel that this is the world's most beautiful country. From the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, it's like going from Hawaii to Alaska in one country.
Why I love New Zealand: What's not to love — the black sand beaches around Auckland, the enchanting Bay of Islands and Wellington (a San Francisco twin) on the North Island; the Marlborough wine region, Southern Alps and glaciers in Fjordland National Park on the South Island.
5. United Kingdom. The only European destination to crack Virtuoso's winter/spring list, the U.K. offers an embar rassment of riches — from the rugged Scottish Highlands to the Mediterranean-like beaches of Cornwall on England's south coast. For a country that is roughly the size of Kansas, it would take several lifetimes to explore all it offers.
Avant Travel's Silvestri says that exposure on the big screen ("Harry Potter") and the small screen ("Downton Abbey") may have had a part in helping Britain topple perennial favorites Italy and France.
"And there's the fact that offseason rates through the end of March make a four or five-night stay affordable," she adds.
Why I love the U. K: So many reasons — history, culture, natural beauty, and of course, London, in my mind, the world's greatest city, seamlessly blending the old (2,000 years of history) and the new (cutting edge in everything from theater to fashion.)
6. South Africa. According to Virtuoso, bookings to Africa are booming, with luxury travel there having grown more than on any other continent. South Afric a is the destination for most of these luxury travelers, with its multitude of travel experiences — from beautiful beaches to wine estates to game parks.
7. Argentina. From Tierra del Fuego, the closest bit of land to Antarctica, to the windswept plains of Patagonia to the vibrant capital of Buenos Aires, Argentina never fails to impress with its grandeur.
Why I love Argentina: How can you not love a country that has given the world the sensuous steps of the tango and the sensuous sips of a rich red Malbec?
Buenos Aires, like the city it was modeled after, Paris, exudes passion, and the best place to experience it is in colorful neighborhoods such as Boca and San Telmo (the latter's Sunday afternoon flea market shouldn't be missed.)
8. India. I have yet to visit India, but Silvestri says there are a number of factors that make the subcontinent a popular choice for curious and adventurous travelers.
"Well-traveled individuals looking for a new experien ce are especially drawn to India," she says, "whether it involves a spiritual pilgrimage, seeing tigers in the wild or an opportunity to visit historic sites such as the Taj Mahal.
9. Chile. This long, slender column of land that hugs the west coast of the South American continent has it all — fiords and glaciers that rival anything in Alaska or Norway, and in a surprising contrast, the lush green vineyards of the wine region and the arid landscape of the Atacama Desert. Hard to believe all of this is in one country.
Why I love Chile: The aforementioned fiords and glaciers in the southern part of the country, best seen on a cruise, and the palm-lined boulevards of its capital, Santiago, silhouetted against the backdrop of the Andes Mountains, and displaying equally its colonial past and cosmopolitan present.
10. China. Perhaps no country has enjoyed such a travel renaissance in recent years as has China, the quintessential bucket list destination for travelers si nce Marco Polo.
Beijing's Forbidden City evokes the splendor of the Last Emperor; the army of terra cotta warriors in Xian really does have to be seen to be believed.
Source: Top 10 destinations: Here's where Americans vacation
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