From pink lakes for Australia to solar-powered camp for Botswana, dis be BBC journalists’ fav places to travel dis year. Travel fit connect, inspire and even change us. When you dey look over big waterfall for Newfoundland and dey climb sawtooth mountain for Italian Dolomites, you go see how the world fit dey sweet. But travel suppose dey do good, e still show say e fit make things wahala for di places wey we love, and plenty places don dey set new rules because of the wahala wey overtourism dey cause. For BBC first guide to di best places to go dis year, we wan show di places wey dey experience something different. Dis 25 spots no be just dey welcome visitors and dey give beta experiences, dem dey use tourism to help local people, protect di environment or keep their culture intact. We gather di list wit contribution from BBC Travel journalists and some big names for sustainable travel like United Nations World Travel Organization, Sustainable Travel International, di Black Travel Alliance and di World Travel & Tourism Council. As tourism dey rise pass pre-pandemic level for plenty areas, and extreme weather and climate change dey show how fragile some bucket-list places be, make we travel with sense wey dey carry larger good for dem. From trekking through moonlike land for Bolivia to Arctic glamping for Greenland wey be di biggest island for di world, your next adventure dey just dey come.
1. Dominica
You ever want swim with sperm whales? Dominica dey give you chance to do am in a better, sustainable way as the Caribbean island dey commit to marine conservation and regenerative tourism. Dem don set up di world first sperm whale reserve, where e go protect dem big guys wey dey live for di water. Limited permits for whale swim go make your experience special, so you fit enjoy dis unique chance to share water with dem amazing animals while helping research and creating good tourism for di local people.
For 2025, dem go improve infrastructure and set up digital immigration forms to make arrival easy, plus dem go build cable-car wey go take people from Roseau Valley go Boiling Lake, wey be one of di biggest thermal springs. Access to di island dey sure now: on top di American Airlines flights wey dey come from Miami, United Airlines go start direct flights from Newark from 15 February. Plenty new hotels dey open for 2025 (adding almost 500 rooms with 25% increase), including di six-star Hilton Tranquility Beach Resort and Spa for Salisbury. Or you fit pick classic like Secret Bay, wey be luxury eco-property wey dey always dey for sustainability lists.
Dominica be home to Project CETI, wey be big international effort wey dey try decode whale language, clicks and codas, led by National Geographic Explorer David Gruber. For another side, visitors fit explore secret gorges, big waterfalls and chop local food for unique places like farm-to-table Lacou. Dominica no be just place wey you go visit – e be movement to support eco-tourism wey balance nature conservation and money growth, make sure say your adventure go help protect this natural paradise for more generations wey go come. – Pier Nirandara
2. Naoshima, Japan
Naoshima dey hold one of Yayoi Kusama’s fine yellow pumpkin wey get polka-dot, and e don turn big spot for people wey like art and architecture. Dem know the island before for bad copper smelting work, but now na Benesse Art Site Naoshima change the story with plenty museums and art wey dey fit the beautiful Seto Inland Sea, wey dey between Honshu and Shikoku.
For Spring 2025, Naoshima go open new Museum of Art wey Tadao Ando design, wey don do nine other projects for di island. Dis new place go display works from Asian artists and e go be major highlight for Setouchi Triennale dis year, with events and art unveilings around 17 islands and coastal areas. E go run for 100 days, split between spring, summer and autumn to make peeps fit enjoy di place dey season by season, na him be di biggest Triennale since e start for 2010. Di festival and activities wey Benesse Art Site Naoshima dey run don really help Naoshima and e neighboring islands like Teshima and Inujima rise again.
Make you book ahead to visit Teshima Art Museum wey Rei Naito and Ryue Nishizawa build; e dey combine art, architecture and nature. For Inujima, you go see di remains of old copper refinery turn epic-scale art installation. Places to stay wey go sweet you include Roka, a modern ryokan for Naoshima, and di minimalist Espoir Inn for Teshima. – Simon Richmond
3. Di Dolomites, Italy
Italy no need plenty talk again, e dey shine for everybody eye – especially for dis year wey Rome go dey packed because of di 2025 Jubilee. But if Italy dey for your bucket list for 2025, try make you turn north go di Dolomite Mountains.
For Italians, di fine fine Dolomites na family enjoyment and luxury holiday place. Di fine limestone cliffs dey spread across Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and dem dey draw plenty Italians every year for dia beautiful villages; di sweet
4. Greenland
No place for this world fit like Greenland o. E be over two million sq km, and e be di largest island wey get population less than 57,000. E dey cover with big ice cap and fine mountains, di untouched land and di grand fjords no be just prized place for geopolitics; dem dey offer adventure wey fit change your life.
Fine hiking and fantastic whale watching for summer and traditional dog sledding with magical aurora for winter dey make Greenland place wey everybody wan visit. But e dey far, costly, and e dey take time to reach – until now.
With new international airport wey don open for di capital Nuuk and two more for 2026, to enter Greenland no dey easy pass this time. Di country dey welcome adventure lovers wey wan explore but still go respect di fine nature and unique Inuit culture. Greenland don vow for ‘better tourism’ and dem get new law wey go use tourism money benefit di locals.
Nuuk wey get modern town and historic waterfront, informative museums and impressive art galleries, dey also serve as base for hiking, fishing and glamping trips, plus e dey act as gateway to explore remarkable Arctic land. As you dey go far north to Ilulissat, visitors fit find di mind-blowing icebergs for Disko Bay and di dramatic Unesco Icefjord. For di south, wey Vikings once settle, der dey beautiful fjords and fine green hills wey dey full with sheep farms. – Adrienne Murray Nielsen
5. Wales
Wales dey small pass England, but e get plenty wonders wey go blow your mind. Dem get fine national parks, old castles wey dey make you feel like say you dey for storybook, plus no crowd wey go disturb you. This new year be chance to check out one of Europe wey dey shine bright: Them dey celebrate 2025 as Year of Croeso (meaning ‘Welcome’). Dis year-long gbedu go show you wetin be Welsh culture, language, and all di fun wey dey there, and dem dey invite visitors to ‘Feel the hwyl’ – e no get exact English meaning, but e be joy wey dey flow inside you when you dey live for di moment.
Wales don set imself for di front of travel wey get culture and sustainability. Di tourism wey dey happen don help promote di Welsh language, and dem dey run one big £5 billion plan to make sure locations dey more eco-friendly. As part of di Year of Croeso, dem dey buy mobility bikes so adventure lovers fit explore di wild side. Plus, Wales get di Wales Coast Path, na di only hiking path wey fit take you waka di whole coastline of di country. – Eliot Stein
6. Western Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Labrador, di part wey dey ground for Newfoundland and Labrador for east Canada, na big, rough area wey get plenty coastal villages wey dey catch wind, tall icebergs, subarctic forests and big waterfalls – all dis one dey show say people don dey there for over 9,000 years. For 2025, dem go finish di last stage of di 1,200km Trans-Labrador Highway – dis one take almost 25 years and $1bn to build – go make dis far place of 294,330 sq km easier to reach.
Di new round route (dem dey call am Expedition 51) go connect Labrador with five other Canadian provinces plus e go allow side tours into di US and even France (through St Pierre and Miquelon). To push sustainable tourism and celebrate di culture for dis area wey don dey isolated before, di Canadian government don put $180m into Parks Canada sites for Western Newfoundland and Labrador. For 2025, Red Bay National Historic Site, wey be Unesco World Heritage Site and former Basque whaling station, go open new interactive boardwalk and visitor centre; L’Anse aux Meadows, wey be di first Norse settlement for North America, dey boost dia ecological protections and upgrade visitor facilities; while Gros Morne National Park go showcase new interpretive exhibits wey go show di park dramatic geology, wildlife and landscapes. – Diane Selkirk
7. Tucson, Arizona, US
Tucson get plenty wey dem go celebrate for 2025. Dis year na di 10th anniversary wey dem first city for US take Unesco City of Gastronomy award, plus e be 250 years since di city start. E be one time part of Mexico, but wey we dey call Tucson now go celebrate di multi-national history wey e get, plus di deep-rooted Native American cultures wey dey make am special, with one free event for 23 August wey go get traditional Mexican music and dance for di Presidio San Agustin del Tucson. Visitors wey come anytime for di year fit explore Tucson’s long desert hiking trails and old buildings – like di 250-year-old San Xavier del Bac, wey dem dey call di
8. Western Australia
Dem sabi say Perth na di world’s most isolated big city, and Western Australia (WA) dey follow Melbourne and Sydney for back for long time. But now, as di only place wey fit fly direct to Europe, Perth wan turn to Australia western gateway and aviation hub, with $5bn wey dem go use upgrade Perth Airport wey go make travel beta. New connections to Asia dey come too, WA dey ready to be hot destination for 2025.
No be only to land wey matter – wetin dey wait for you dey important. Outside di cool place wey be Perth and di fine Swan Valley Wine Region, WA get big land wey pass 2.5 million sq km, with 12,500km coastline, pink lakes, horizontal waterfalls, tall karri forests, wildflowers, wineries and wey you fit swim with whale sharks or snap selfie with quokkas, wey dem call di “happiest animal in di world”. Ppl wey dey think about sustainability fit explore everything for di new 6,600km Electric Vehicle Highway, wey be di longest EV charging network for di world.
WA dey promote im rich cultural heritage through A$20m Jina Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan wey dey support genuine Indigenous experiences for travellers plus Indigenous business growth. You fit learn about di oldest living cultures for di world on truth-telling walking tour for Rockingham or follow 4WD tour wey dey collect food along di coast with bush barbecue for Broome.
Add di ancient petroglyphs for Murujuga National Park (wey dem dey consider for Unesco World Heritage status for 2025), new infrastructure wey fit accommodate disabled persons for di fine Houtman Abrolhos Islands, boutique hotels for Fremantle and small dream stays for di Great Southern, WA dey set to redefine how people go travel to Australia dis year. – Ellie Cobb
9. Sri Lanka
From di misty hilltop tea farms and roaming wild elephants to ancient temples and rolling surf, Sri Lanka be country wey dey tick plenty boxes. For April 2022, di former prime minister talk say Sri Lanka don crash, but di new president wan fix di country’s wahala after pandemic and civil palava. Di strong island nation dey hope say tourism go help am rise again. Di city of Kandy go open im first seven-star hotel, Aviyana Private Chalets, while Aarunya Nature Resort get new family villa wey get place for stargazing. Dem go open $1bn megaresort for Colombo, and Sri Lanka go launch new airline Air Ceilão wey go carry people reach Europe and Australia. Di nation also don start di Good Travel Seal initiative, wey dey celebrate local businesses wey dey do sustainable things.
Visitors wey wan coolcation fit take legendary train ride go di mountainous area, or travel go Colombo and Galle to meet new generation of mixologists wey dey put their twist on arrack, wey na 5th-Century drink. Di island don open di 300km Pekoe Trail, wey dey carry hikers go through tea farms and rural villages for Central Highlands. For people wey wan cover more ground, one innovative startup dey allow travellers self-drive tuk tuk for di island, and di money go go straight to di owner. – Claire Turrell
10. Panama
After US dey manage Panama Canal for long time, dem hand am over to Panama for end of 1999, wey late President Jimmy Carter sign treaty. Dis year be 25 years wey Panama don dey control dem own waterway, and as President-elect Donald Trump dey talk say e fit use military to take am back, new permanent exhibitions for Museo del Canal wey show how Panama take gain dem rule fit catch your eye.
But no be only the canal dem get for dis country wey plenty jungles, fine islands, and big forests. For 2024, dem go launch Meaningful Travel Map to Panama with non-profit Tourism Cares make e easy for visitors to find local travel experiences for everywhere. After you waka do Localinpty tour for Panama City Casco Antiguo and El Chorrillo, make you waka go south-west to La Pintada district, where artists dey use hand weave fibers to make traditional Panama hats – dem call am sombrero pintao wey UNESCO don recognize. For El Valle de Anton (wey UN Tourism name one of the best community tourism villages for 2024) go take hike through fine cloud forest wey dey Cerro Gaital Lookout Trail, where you fit see both Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea clear from the top. Dis new path be part of Panama’s 1,000 km Trails project, wey dey focus on boost sustainable tourism for rural communities and dey showcase Panama’s plenty biodiversity. – Kathleen Rellihan
