Where will you go in 2025? Our expert hot list is packed with ideas

BEST DESTINATION 2024: I'd never been to Edinburgh until this year, and I was enchanted by Edinburgh Castle, and the culture, architecture and history of this proud and storied city. What's not to love about Scotland's ancient capital, where the bagpipes play like a church choir trapped in a waste compactor and the whisky flows like wine? Well, the haggis, actually. visitscotland.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: At Ksimeroma in Kalamata in the Peloponnese in Greece, my family and I sat out under the stars and enjoyed a marvellous fish dinner which included the fattest, meatiest whitebait I've ever tasted. My son said, "I'll never eat whitebait this good again" - which is strange, since he'd never eaten whitebait at all before. The restaurant has no website. It barely even has walls.

BEST STAY: From the infinity pool on the roof of the Grand Hyatt Athens you can see the Acropolis. In fact, while I was luxuriating in the water, I became gripped by the strange idea that I might be able to swim across the Greek capital all the way to the ancient citadel - either that or fly. So if you want to feel like a Greek god, the Grand Hyatt Athens is the place to exercise your powers. There's also a pool bar and rooftop restaurant, so there's no need to go anywhere else. hyatt.com

HOT LIST 2025: I've always enjoyed health retreats in Australia (particularly Golden Door Elysia in the Hunter Valley, NSW) and I predict that international fitness vacations are going to become an even bigger thing in 2025, as more and more people take holidays to lose weight rather than stack it on. I'd like to go to a Muay Thai camp in Thailand - for the training and the food. Failing that, I want to visit Komodo and see the dragons. fitkoh.com

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BEST DESTINATION 2024: In Sri Lanka, I travelled in an air-conditioned car with a driver and hared around in a hotly painted tuk-tuk blaring Sinhalese pop. I climbed jungled hills and swam in a turquoise sea as warm as a bath, wandered walled colonial towns and looked for leopards on safari. I stayed at a $20-a-night guest house, a Buddhist retreat and a five-star hotel. It may be smaller than Tasmania, but this emerald island is truly a rare gem - a place of incredible diversity, where you can not only choose your own adventure but your own budget. srilanka.travel

BEST STAY: From the rock-star helicopter arrival to the sonorous farewell song, staff at Royal Davui Island Resort in Fiji make it their mission to ensure every single moment of a stay is memorable. Newly refurbished villas with private plunge pools perch on the privately owned island's highest point, overlooking the azure Beqa Lagoon. The reef starts right off the island, so you can just wade in and swim through coral gardens with parrot fish, blue damsels and small reef sharks. A highlight was being dropped on a sand cay with a champagne picnic. royaldavuifiji.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: We'd been riding around in Sean Griffin's "jaunting car" - a pony and cart - on Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. It was bone-snappingly cold. Sean dropped us at the Inis Oirr pub for lunch and we nabbed a table by the fire. My seafood chowder arrived - thick, rich and creamy, and packed with mussels and chunks of sweet white fish. I mopped the bowl clean with a slice of soda bread slathered with Irish butter and contemplated ordering another. aranislands.ie

HOTLIST 2025: With more than 7000 islands, postcard beaches, superb diving and "old Bali" prices, I reckon the Philippines are poised to move up the holiday hit lists of early adopters in 2025. In fact, there are already signs - a doubling of visitor numbers between 2022 and 2023 and Qantas having just added another 100,000 seats to their Australia-Manila routes with a new direct flight from Brisbane. tourismphilippines.com.au

BEST DESTINATION 2024: Sitting on a small plastic stool, I liberally added sawtooth herb to a bowl of chicken pho. This was breakfast and the only thing planned so far. Eschewing sightseeing on my third visit to Ho Chi Minh City, I instead explored a local side of the city for a week, discovering how it came alive for me when I hung with Vietnamese office workers at streetside cafes, lost afternoons in districts like Cho Lon (Chinatown), or shopped at small neighbourhood markets with mesh cages of chickens and plastic buckets of turtles (eek!). visithcmc.vn/en

BEST FOOD MOMENT: Who needs Europe when you have Al Dente Enoteca in Melbourne? Even in Carlton, a suburb famous for Italian food, this new eatery stands out. What started as a pasta delivery service during pandemic lockdowns has evolved into a small stylish restaurant where the menu changes every week, inspired by the owners' childhoods in northern Italy. Sophisticated yet casual, it's now a local favourite ... and I'm grateful it came across my radar. aldenteenoteca.com

BEST STAY: The rugged coastline of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula provided the only soundtrack to my stay at Eyre.Way, a tiny home kilometres from anyone else. From the king bed, I could look out large windows to see waves crashing and osprey gliding. Remote and off-grid, it would've been tempting to simply relax in the comfort and warmth of the cabin if not for the lure of having the dramatic landscape all to myself. eyreway.com

HOT LIST 2025: Although often overlooked by Aussie travellers, New Zealand's capital Wellington offers a perfect city break just a few hours' flight away. The main attractions are interesting enough - the expansive Te Papa national museum; the Weta Workshop where The Lord of the Rings props were made; and the wildlife sanctuary of Zealandia. But I think a burgeoning craft beer scene, excellent restaurants and nearby hiking trails can also just make it a fun weekend away. wellingtonnz.com

BEST DESTINATION 2024: I spent a truly rejuvenating week at Absolute Sanctuary wellness retreat on Koh Samui, Thailand. The combination of healthy food, soothing spa treatments, afternoon naps, time to reflect and perfect swimming weather was the best way to prepare for a milestone birthday. The Prime Years program gently educates and empowers guests with information on longevity and optimal ageing. With all the new advances in preventative healthcare, many of us will live to 100. I hope that means plenty of return visits to Absolute Sanctuary for me. absolutesanctuary.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: The only Nobu at sea. Five words can say so much. Crystal's exclusive partnership with Nobu Matsuhisa, Japanese celebrity chef and proprietor of cult-following restaurants around the world, tells me everything I need to know about the elegance and exquisite taste of Crystal cruise line. It has the best food in cruising, from Nobu's miso black cod and spicy tuna crispy rice to a new menu by Beefbar, the fashionable global steakhouse, now making waves. crystalcruises.com

BEST STAY: Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama ... the Beach Boys had the right idea about getting there fast and then taking it slow. I got to the Bahamas very fast, a direct flight from New York's JFK airport to Nassau takes just over three hours. How to describe my stay at the Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas? Perfect. I never wanted to leave. Set in lush, tropical gardens along an eight-kilometre white-sand beach, the low-key luxe resort has 107 rooms, three pools and the best lobster pizza you will ever taste. fourseasons.com

HOT LIST 2025: Thailand, the Land of Smiles, has long been a place we retreat to for healing massages, scrumptious food and affordable beach breaks. From the night markets and temples of Bangkok to the pretty-as-a-picture islands and rich culture of the northern provinces, it's always been my favourite destination in Asia. In 2025, expect millions more to check in, inspired by the fictional Thailand resort we'll see in The White Lotus, season three (scenes have been filmed at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui), and a challenging world in which many will be craving kindness, beauty, more rest, less stress and delicious, authentic pad thai. tourismthailand.org

BEST DESTINATION 2024: Centred around Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed set of 2000-year-old Nabataean rock tombs, AlUla is one of 14 "giga-projects" hoping to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-dependent economy to one supported by tourism. A dramatic desert landscape of soaring rock escarpments and palm tree-lined oases, it's a surreal, mind-blowing place where you can spend the day hiking through a remote desert gorge then watch a performance in the world's largest mirrored concert hall. experiencealula.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: Proving that high-end cuisine can also be sustainable, St Barts is the only restaurant in London to hold both a Michelin star and a Michelin green star. Tucked away in a quiet backstreet near Smithfield Market, the restaurant offers hyper-seasonal regional dishes, such as an East End seafood cocktail of local shrimp, cockles and whelks, in a minimalist space crafted from naturally fallen London plane trees. Flawless service seals the deal. restaurant-stbarts.co.uk

BEST STAY: A remote pine forest in Swedish Lapland isn't the first place you'd expect to find a whimsical collection of architect-designed treehouses. Located in the small village of Harads, about 50 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, Treehotel has eight fairy tale abodes, including a mirrored cube, a UFO and a giant bird's nest. Staying in Biosphere, a bird-box-covered glass cube with a sauna and a roof deck, was wonderfully surreal. treehotel.se

HOT LIST 2025: Often labelled the "Switzerland of Central Asia", Kyrgyzstan offers sky-piercing 7000-metre snow-smothered peaks, plunging alpine valleys and an accessible nomadic culture. I want to go trekking in the Tian Shan mountains, stay with a local family in a yurt and learn more about this rapidly evolving corner of the world. The best bit? It is the most affordable of the five Stans and offers visa-free travel for Aussies. visitkyrgyz.com

BEST DESTINATION 2024: After six nights in Paris, the family piled into an SUV and set the compass for the medieval town of Troyes. There, we met up with the Tour de France and followed it for seven days through the guts of France, laying our heads in an eclectic bunch of accommodations in off-the-beaten-track locations, from Orleans to Narbonne, Pau to Montlucon. But it was a tiny dot on the map that stole our collective heart. After driving through the Auvergne Rhone Alps, along the twisting route taken that day by the Tour de France, we reached the commune of Saint-Projet-de-Salers and booked in to our gite, a renovated yet rustic, centuries-old farmhouse where animals once lived on the ground floor. The view across the valley captivated us all. Teens put down screens and gazed for a long time, as the summer light faded and the dink-dink of cowbells carried from across the way. salers-tourisme.fr

BEST FOOD MOMENT: At South Wine Bar in South Hobart, the kitchen spends as good as two days prepping the wallaby ribs that land on the table atop a swirl of native pepperberry glaze, scattered with crispy saltbush foraged at a local beach. After 24 hours of brining and 10 hours of steaming in the sous-vide, the meat is a melt-in-your-mouth, pure-Tasmania flavour bomb, finished with the crunch of a tapioca crumb. southwinebar.com.au

BEST STAY: Vietnam's Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort spills down a jungle-covered hillside towards a private beach. There are pools, bars, lounges and restaurants, one of them, Maison 1888, Danang's first to win a Michelin star. The hand of hotel-design superstar Bill Bensley is in every meticulous detail, and my villa suite is both a sumptuous sight to behold and a calming retreat. The peninsula is home to the rare red-shanked douc langur monkey and we saw them leaping between trees and munching on leaves, their tails descending from the branches like Spanish moss. danang.intercontinental.com

HOT LIST 2025: I took my first trip to Fiji this year, only to discover the promise of secret places beyond that South Pacific holiday stalwart. A 90-minute flight from Nadi, Wallis et Futuna lures trailblazers with untouched beaches; an azure lagoon scattered with 13 pristine islets; intriguing culture and history; watersports from snorkelling to kite surfing; and much more besides. There are no big resorts here, just small hotels and guesthouses and a handful of tourists every year. I hope to be one of them. wallis-futuna.travel/en/

BEST DESTINATION 2024: Tiny Atlantic puffins - their beaks a radiant orange, their wings flapping frantically and comically - were flying metres from my face as we spied thousands of breeding seabirds around the Shiant Islands, a remote, rocky archipelago off Scotland's west coast. Adding to the excitement were the white-tailed eagles (the UK's largest bird of prey) hovering in the blue skies above. We got used to such heart-stirring wildlife encounters on our surprisingly sunny northern spring cruise around the ruggedly gorgeous Scottish islands and highlands. visitscotland.comv

BEST FOOD MOMENT: That was also on this cruise. We were sailing with Ponant, an upscale French company, and the food was as good as you'd expect, from the champagne-paired hors d'oeuvres to the incredible desserts (it helps to have an expert French patissier on board). I still daydream about the rich dark chocolate cakes and fabulously flaky slices of walnut mille-feuille, although for the sake of my health, I'm glad this voyage lasted only 10 days. au.ponant.com

BEST STAY: The new Raffles hotel in London is a stunning transformation of a mammoth Edwardian landmark, the Old War Office, with sublime period features, classy contemporary rooms and a host of beguiling bars and restaurants. I also loved the guided tour that showcases the building's absorbing past and lets you snoop around the most storied and lavish suites (where the likes of Winston Churchill would have worked). raffles.com/london

HOT LIST 2025: Amsterdam is toasting its 750th anniversary with a year-long raft of (mostly) family-friendly events. Highlights include August's SAIL Amsterdam, which will welcome 800 vessels, from masted tall ships to quaint little schooners, while June's Summer Solstice party will clear traffic from the city's orbital highway to make way for live bands, DJs, dancers, theatre and street-food vendors. After soaking up some of the revelry, I'd flee Amsterdam for a lesser-visited, yet ace Dutch city like Utrecht, Rotterdam or Maastricht. amsterdam750.nl

BEST DESTINATION 2024: After the war forced us to sadly discard plans for a much-anticipated trip to Israel, our family of four diverted to Morocco, where an Intrepid tour made seeing all the sights more efficient over the 10 days. We combined bustling, noisy cities with serene desert camping, sunset camel rides and scenic mountain hikes. Sandboarding the dunes, haggling in the Casablanca markets and exploring the huge and colourful Chouara Tannery in the Fes medina were highlights. Next time, though, we'll stay longer in select towns, lingering in beautiful historic riads.

BEST FOOD MOMENT: A blissfully free day solo in Lisbon after a Silversea cruise meant walking the city in search of the best of the country's light, fluffy and sweet delicacy: the Portuguese tart. I sampled three, with my vote going to Manteigaria's simple option. It was a great excuse to wander these vibrant streets, with arguably friendlier locals and better cost of living than most European capital cities.

BEST STAY: The NSW Central Coast doesn't hog the "destination du jour" headlines - they're taken by the likes of Noosa, the Mornington Peninsula, Esperance and Cairns. And my accommodation in Terrigal, the Crowne Plaza, would never be described as chic. But its beachside locale, sizeable rooms with views, and excellent restaurant, bar and spa made for a wonderfully refreshing, romantic weekender we are keen to repeat.

HOT LIST 2025: Festival tourism is having more than a moment and I'll be jumping on the bandwagon and booking some events in cool places, like the Salami Festival in Griffith (August, with a long lunch to celebrate the winners of the homemade salami competition), the WOMAD festival in Adelaide (March) and Australia's longest-running regional food and wine festival, FOOD Week in Orange in April.

BEST DESTINATION 2024: "What will you do on a train for 16 days?" was the question most people asked me ahead of my epic rail journey from Cape Town in South Africa to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania aboard Rovos Rail. And I have to admit, I had my moments of doubt, too. But winding through five African countries in a train almost a kilometre long, with five-star carriages, world-class service, top-notch food and wine, and bewitching sunsets turned out to be one of the best travel experiences of my life. There were stops at legendary locations such as Victoria Falls and wildlife safaris with unbelievable animal encounters. But what made this truly unforgettable was the length. By day seven I had stopped obsessing about taking pictures, and could finally lose myself in the rhythmic clickety-clack of the train as it snaked its way through the bone-dry African savannah dominated by giant boabs. It was slow, immersive and transformative - just what travel is meant to be. rovos.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: The food scene in Cape Town is next level. We planned nothing, made no bookings - simply walked into restaurants when we could, and every stop was impressive. But it was the Cape Rock oysters at the Time Out food market in the city's V&A Waterfront district that really stole the show. We ordered a dozen. Followed by a dozen more - paired with a sprightly local sparkling. timeout.com/time-out-market-cape-town

BEST STAY: The Maldives is home to some of the world's most stunning resorts, but checking in to the Ritz-Carlton, Fari Islands, was something else. In a remarkable departure from the country's thatched-roof-style overwater villas, the Ritz-Carlton offers circular pods - designed by Australia's Kerry Hill Architects - with private crescent-shaped decks and pools. Bliss. ritzcarlton.com

HOT LIST 2025: Cairo has been on my bucket list forever - the bazaars, the riverbanks, the Pyramids ... And now with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, it's a no-brainer. grandegyptianmuseum.org

BEST DESTINATION 2024: The Lofoten Islands recalibrated my understanding of what is possible on our planet. This remote archipelago above the Arctic Circle in Norway doesn't just impress; it defies conventional thoughts about life at extreme latitudes. Blood-red fishing cabins are scattered like cranberries beneath mountains that don't just rise from the Arctic Sea; they surge with jagged snowy peaks above sheer granite faces sliced by tectonic blades. Summer brings the midnight sun over waters that can run as clear as the Caribbean and winter has its own celestial wonder with the northern lights. The legendary shipping service Hurtigruten - a maritime lifeline connecting isolated communities along Norway's fretted coastline - offers travellers easy access to this bewitching destination that remains transcendent in memory. hurtigruten.com/en-au

BEST FOOD MOMENT: Some guests arrive by horseback at the Chef's Table restaurant at Blue Duck Station on North Island New Zealand. Others, like me, navigate a rugged two-hour bush safari by an indestructible all-terrain vehicle along the Retaruke River. The journey is a prelude to the extraordinary. An intimate 10-seat fine dining experience by English-born chef Jack Cashmore transforms New Zealand's forgotten valleys into a culinary adventure where foraged ingredients are refined, tender and nuanced: wild venison from the hills; fermented mushrooms that whisper of ancient forests; smoked eel with fresh nasturtium. Every bite-sized bit zings with farm-to-table freshness that is pure and extraordinary. blueduckstation.co.nz/the-chefs-table

BEST STAY: The waitress in crisp white shirt saw that I was leaving and darted through an elegant lobby holding aloft lebkuchenherz. "You must take this," she insisted, presenting the ornate gingerbread heart that is so much a part of Oktoberfest celebrations. Her spontaneous gift is still a sweet reminder of genuine connection (hanging on my kitchen door). The Bayerischer Hof has been a Munich landmark since 1841 but it's a Bavarian sophisticate with real heart. This living, breathing chronicle of European elegance begins with sensory meditation in a room by interior designer Axel Vervoordt. Luxury extends with storytelling that runs through seven restaurants - ranging from Michelin-starred sophistication to casual alpine charm - all the way to the rooftop with panoramic Baroque city views. bayerischerhof.de

HOT LIST 2025: Greenland is still unchartered territory, for me at least, positioning itself as a climate-change observatory with unique adventure terrain. The country's first international airport has just opened in the capital Nuuk. I'd like to know what it is to see the midnight sun painting glaciers gold and icebergs calving into fjords where Inuit communities preserve centuries of Arctic experience and wisdom. Can I really kayak between the blue-white ice sculptures that are built larger than cathedrals? Is it still possible to immerse safely and sustainably in one of the world's last great wilderness zones? visitgreenland.com

BEST DESTINATION 2024: There's a lot more to an island dubbed the Rock than its famous capital, St Johns. Newfoundland's north-west is wilder, home to fjords as impressive as Norway's and the kind of sea where I saw icebergs and humpback whales simultaneously. Hire a car from Deer Lake and explore its hidden corners. Yet, it's the people who dazzled me most: they sound like a pirate had a child with a Scotswoman. Good luck understanding them, but there's no friendlier humans on Earth. newfoundlandlabrador.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: Resident chef David Rayner has won a host of national chef awards, but it was the meteor showers I saw above a communal table set up in the middle of this 162,000-hectare cattle station, Bullo River Station, in WA's East Kimberley, that were as memorable as the food. Rayner used fresh beef off-cuts in a rich casserole, served with fine red wine: only a giant boab tree with party lights strung between the branches tainted the night sky. bulloriver.com.au

BEST STAY: You don't have to travel far out of Seattle to be far out of Seattle. Whidbey Island is barely an hour away, but it's like I'm lost weeks-deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Especially at Captain Whidbey Hotel, among old-growth fir trees along a shoreline where the occasional transient orca passes by, and seals are frequent visitors. Built in 1907, bathrooms are shared and floorboards creak, but guests gather around its stone fireplaces with drinks, or at the tavern downstairs, to admire the marine animal show. captainwhidbey.com

HOT LIST 2025: Lonely Planet chose Vanuatu as the number one place to visit on Earth for 2025 - how didn't we all know this 20 years ago? If you've been to Port Vila on a cruise boat for a day, you didn't even touch the sides. There are 83 islands here - including some of the least visited in the Pacific. Discover the world's most accessible live volcano, some of the Pacific's best beaches and wilderness even locals haven't completely explored yet. vanuatu.travel

BEST DESTINATION 2024: How do I love thee, Botswana? So deeply, I revisited twice this year. First I boarded a bush plane and traced the capillaries of your outstretched palm - that immense, waterlogged Okavango Delta. Far below, elephants lumbered towards jackalberry trees fringing the luxury lodge where I would sleep that night. Next time around, my family was in tow. Your knuckled ridges and barren claypans guided our mobile camping expedition from Savuti to Moremi Game reserve, where we zipped our tents against wild nights: howling hyenas and masticating hippos and Orion's Belt piercing our flimsy mosquito screens. benchafrica.com.au; classifiedsafarisbw.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: The peanut soupe at Kings Arms Tavern is creamy, dense and nuttier than the characters who dined at this historic chophouse in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War. Loyalists supping between skirmishes had foreigners to thank for their hearty sustenance: enslaved Africans brought the groundnuts with them on the voyage from South America, and soon turned them into a staple crop.

BEST STAY: The Beach House's windows frame ivory dunes, sapphire sea and whitewashed fishermen's cottages huddled across the bay. Located at the tip of a bluff in the sleepy village of Jacobsbaai on South Africa's west coast, this self-catering dwelling is less than two hours' drive north of Cape Town. Just the bolthole for families seeking post-safari replenishment. thebeachhouse.co.za

HOT LIST 2025: Zambia's moment is coming. Carmine bee-eaters inflame the skies over South Luangwa National Park; prehistoric spoonbills drag themselves from the brink of extinction at Bangweulu Wetlands; millions of fruit bats darken the sky during the world's largest mammal migration at Kasanka National Park. In 2025 I want to venture further still - to Liuwa Plain, blooming under African Parks' stewardship; and Kafue National Park, where Ila Safari Lodge's fire-damaged boma has been rebuilt in part with disused termite mound dust. greensafaris.com/ila

BEST DESTINATION 2024: You can't miss the extraordinary Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, its titanium exterior glinting gold in the sunshine, and its astonishing installations, like Richard Serra's weathered steel sculptures, inside. What makes Bilbao outstanding is its compact combination of culture, cuisine and football. The Nervion River curls through it, traversed by extravagant bridges and lined by outdoor artworks; its food scene is classy but convivial - centred on pintxos in bars (local tapas dishes, a bargain $8-$11 each); and its fierce Basque identity, best understood by visiting Athletic de Bilbao's San Mames stadium, is deeply compelling. bilbaoturismo.net

BEST FOOD MOMENT: While staying at Raffles in Singapore delivered memorable dining at onsite restaurants like the Tiffin Room, I was blown away by a Michelin-starred hawker stall tour here. It's the first time I've had laksa for breakfast and it was just one superb offering we tried that displayed Singapore's multicultural riches - all served in clean (health inspectors make regular checks and diners are fined if they don't clear tables) hawker centres, often located beneath government apartment blocks. monsterdaytours.com

BEST STAY: Easily the most romantic place I have stayed (sadly, alone) this year, this collection of four beautifully crafted, rammed-earth suites combine delicious seclusion amid quintessential Blue Mountains, NSW, bush with understated opulence. The attention to detail in the design, landscaping, fit-out and every element of Chalets at Blackheath make this luxury mountain resort the most impressive Australian property I've visited in decades. chaletsblackheath.com.au

HOT LIST 2025: South America generally, and Chile specifically. From its icy fjords and volcanoes in the south to the planet's driest desert. the Atacama. in the north; from its 4000 kilometres of coastline to isolated Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and its mysterious moai statues, a potential stop en route ... I can't wait to say "hola" to Chile. chile.travel

BEST DESTINATION 2024: Perth tourism is booming, and it's easy to see why. The big country town of 10 years ago has been transformed: new hotels are being built, the airport is being overhauled - and you don't have to break the bank to get there. Use it as a base for day trips south to see dolphins and eat fresh seafood in Mandurah, or pop down to Margaret River for a winery weekend. If you're lucky enough to visit during the Indigenous cultural festival, EverNow, Kings Park is magical when it's lit up. westernaustralia.com

BEST FOOD MOMENT: After you've waited in the ubiquitous line for Ichiran ramen in Shinjuku, Tokyo, continue down the wooden stairs and place your order at the vending machine, then specify noodle firmness, and extra items like egg or mushroom. The pork is flavoursome and tender, the broth is rich and savoury, and there's just the right amount of spring onion on top. Sitting in the single-seat booth makes you focus on one thing, the food, and that's all the view you need. en.ichiran.com/shop/tokyo/shinjuku

BEST STAY: There will always be a place for fly-and-flop resort stays where you don't have to lift a finger. Regent Phu Quoc in Vietnam offers personal touches like handwritten notes in your room and staff who remember you (like the massage cashier who also runs the pilates classes). Then there's the food - traditional Vietnamese fare (pho with fresh herbs; banh mi) is a star, but they're also pushing the envelope with French and Japanese fine dining and an Italian bistro cooking up fresh local fish. phuquoc.regenthotels.com

HOT LIST 2024: Travellers are itching to glimpse rarely seen cultures and be taken away with romantic notions like staying in a hut in the desert in Mongolia - even if they have to be a bit uncomfortable to achieve it. A small group tour in Mongolia and Kazakhstan visits the Golden Eagle Festival, where Kazakh eagle hunters honour their centuries-old heritage. Talk about travel that makes you feel something. crooked-compass.com

BEST DESTINATION 2024: Cruising between countless snow-covered pyramids into Skardu must rank as one of the world's most scenic flights, but that was merely the entry point for several blissful days spent walking in the shadow of mountains as sharp as dragon's teeth, feasting on freshly picked mulberries and playing on the world's highest cricket pitch on Intrepid's Trek Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains tour. And like so many locations beyond the reach of most tourists, the generosity and curiosity of the locals was a standout. intrepidtravel.com/au

BEST FOOD MOMENT: Hemmed in by Ku-Ring-Gai National Park and boasting a population of just 96, Cottage Point might just be Sydney's most exclusive patch of real estate. And Cottage Point Inn is the ideal spot to take it all in. Perched over a serene cove of the Hawkesbury, it honours the waterfront location with an eight-course tasting menu powered by waves of stellar seafood, from towers of sweet Skull Island prawns to delicately seared scallops and sweet Murray Cod fillets paired with blissfully creamy chardonnay. cottagepointinn.com.au

BEST STAY: Tucked deep in the Adelaide Hills, the three-bedroom lodge at Bird In Hand winery houses some of the highlights from owner Susie Nugent's incredible art collection. Provocative contemporary pieces share space with mesmerising First Nations works and heavy hitters like Ben Quilty, and when you add in the onsite sculpture garden and eye-catching light installations, it's easy to feel like you've scored a private suite in the middle of the country's hippest art gallery. birdinhand.com.au/stay/

HOT LIST 2025: Remote mountain passes marked by colourful prayer flags, Buddhist monasteries perched on the edge of cliffs and idyllic villages where traditional crafts are still celebrated... the only drawback to visiting Bhutan is the $US100 ($155) a day Sustainable Development Fee. But even that can be seen in a positive light, given it helps fund a carbon negative nation where the constitution insists that at least 60 per cent of land must have forest cover and success is measured in Gross National Happiness. And a new entry point in the country's southeast means 2025 might be the year I finally visit this remote mountain kingdom. bhutan.travel