Where to Go in 2009

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Must-visit travel destinations according to the travel media, and how to travel in 2009.

surf dancing Where to Go in 2009

Surf dancing © Ned Horton

Cool Travel Guide’s Hot new travel destination lists… reveals what destinations the travel media think you should visit in 2009.

Lonely Planet: top ten countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Canada, Georgia, Greenland, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Peru, Rwanda and Sierra Leone; and top ten cities: Antwerp, Beirut, Chicago, Glasgow, Lisbon, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Warsaw, and Zurich.

Condé Nast Traveler/Concierge: Tel Aviv, Isreal; Bolivia; Utah; Acapulco, Mexico; Vilnius, Lithuania; Central Philippines; New York City; Rajasthan, India; Toronto, Canada; and Beirut, Lebanon.

Frommer’s: Cartagena, Colombia; Cape Town, South Africa; Saqqara, Egypt; Washington DC, USA; Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada; Civil Rights Trail, Alabama, USA; Lassen Volcano National Park, California, USA; Berlin, Germany; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Istanbul, Turkey; Cambodia (But Not Angkor Wat); and Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

DK Travel Guides: Vilnius, Buenos Aires, Gdansk, Seattle, Bristol, Fez, Washington DC, Copenhagen, Cape Town, and Vienna.

Plus, don’t forget to check out Lara’s own list of places you must go in 2009.

If we speak about travel trends in terms of how to travel rather than where, I believe staycations (i.e. a vacation spent close to home) and weekend trips will rise in popularity. And since more and more people realize the importance of conscious traveling, we will hopefully see an increase of alternative ways to travel such as volunteer trips, train charter, eco-tourism, and fair-trade travel.

What’s your view on travel trends and must visit destinations for 2009?

Update: Don’t miss The 44 Places to Go in 2009 by The New York Times.

14 thoughts on “Where to Go in 2009”

  1. Taylor Davidson

    How many of those places would you NOT go to?

    I believe travel should be a part of ordinary life, therefore I would like to see trends towards slow travel, volunteer travel, “location independent work” travel; travel as an experience rather than an escape.

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  2. Tagesgeldkonto

    These are good places to go! I wanted to travel more this year anyway, and now I know where to. But you should go to Cairns/Australia, too, where I am at this moment.

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  3. AnnaE

    Gdansk – absolutely! It’s about time this city (and the whole Tri-City area) started to appear on “where to go lists.” Krakow and Warsaw are so over-rated.

    AnnaE’s last blog post..Visiting England? Who? Me?

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  4. Rob

    Lovely photo on this article.

    I love the idea that fair-trade travel etc will increase but in another way, the economic downturn, may make people actually more selfish ?!. In the UK the drop in value of pound is apparently causing a lot of people to choose all inclusive holidays.

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  5. Erica Johansson Post author

    @Taylor, I can’t say there’s any place I would not want to visit – if given the opportunity. I believe you can get at least something positive from every place.

    “travel as an experience rather than an escape.” That’s so much more appealing.

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  6. Erica Johansson Post author

    @Tagesgeldkonto, Cairns is on my list of places to visit. Hopefully I’ll make it someday. Enjoy your travels!

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  7. Erica Johansson Post author

    Hi Anna,
    Krakow and Warsaw over-rated? I had no idea. Haven’t gotten the opportunity to travel in Poland yet. Gdansk seems promising so far though.

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  9. Gemma

    According to reports on travel trends by the Foreign Office and ABTA (which represents more than 6,000 UK travel agencies and tour operators) 13% of British travellers are more likely to visit America in 2009, following Barack Obama’s election.

    If there’s any Brits out there planning a trip to the US in 2009, don’t forget to fill in the new online ESTA form, or risk being sent straight back home by immigration. I’ve written a description of this new system and how it works on the Auto Europe website: http://blog.auto-europe.co.uk/

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  11. Route map of India

    Glad to see Rajasthan on the list, its a beautiful place to be. Great fairs and festivals are awaiting travelers here for an amazing experience.

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  13. Erica Johansson Post author

    Hi Heather,

    Beirut’s a good choice. And Bristol is on my list! I will check out your posts, so I can learn more about what to do and see in the city.

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