The Pyramids of Giza, Parisian temptations, African safaris and Greek Island adventures all scored top marks in our survey of the world’s best travel experiences.
Travel + Leisure asked readers and members of the travel industry across Australia and New Zealand for their all-time top 50 destinations, categorised into most popular countries, cities, regions, journeys and icons, and the results revealed many clear favourites and a few surprises, too.
For everyone, there’s no place like home for the number one country spot, but at the same time a thirst for European adventures and global icons is evident. There were also some exciting results among readers’ nominations for something special, ranging from running the Midnight Sun Marathon in Tromso, Norway, Moscow’s Red Square and walking through the Old City of Jerusalem.
Readers were asked to vote for their top choice, based on a list voted by members of the travel industry published in our January/February edition. We also asked readers to nominate their choices for destinations not on the list, plus their recommendation for their tip for a special travel place.
Australia remains the number one destination among readers, but interestingly home turf choices remain less popular in other categories such as regions and journeys. Europe was a strong player across most categories, with Paris hitting the top spot for favourite city, and the three nominated European regions taking the top three spaces.
Reader suggestions for something special ranged enormously in breadth of geography and adventure. New Zealand rated highly, with the White Island, Milford Sound and Matai Bay among suggestions. Elsewhere, there were nominations Asian destinations such as Luang Prabang and Pingyao in Northern China. Closer to home, the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island and Leura in the Blue Mountains were also mentioned.