Where to visit in 2025: travel experts reveal the destinations on their wishlist

"I’d love to go to Romania, particularly Bucharest. Through my international work with coffee competitions and events, I’ve met many baristas from here. The city’s specialty coffee scene has grown rapidly, with trendy cafés and roasteries such as Origo and Steam Coffee Shop leading the way. I’m really curious to watch the destination emerge as a hidden gem for coffee lovers in 2025. Bucharest combines old-world charm with a modern, urban vibe, and I’ve heard that its coffee spots reflect that mix. To add to my coffee adventures I’d like to stroll through the historic Lipscani district or a visit to the stunning Romanian Athenaeum with my cuppa Joe."

Peru

Jo Yee, food and travel photographer

"I missed the chance to go to Peru in 2023 and am very keen to make up for it in 2025. I would love to do a long train journey from Cusco all the way down to Arequipa. A stay at the Alta Sanctuary treehouse in the Amazon rainforest is also high on the bucket list."

Mexico City and St Kitts

Gurdeep Loyal, trends expert and olive trends columnist

"So many places are on my wishlist! Mexico City is very high up – because of how vibrant, dynamic and international it’s become as a place to visit. One of my dream destinations for 2025 is the island of St Kitts – which is home to some of the very first rum distilleries in all of the Caribbean (like Old Road Rum) and has a thriving scene of beach shacks across the Island that serve up flavour-packed dishes like beach-side barbecue lobster, Cajun snapper, chargrilled grouper with pineapple salsa, and jerk ribs. Delicious!"

Kenya and Sardinia

Camille Kenny-Ryder, founder of Weekend Journals

"As I work in the non-stop world of Instagram I usually choose to travel to destinations I haven’t seen plastered all over the social media apps in order to feel refreshed and inspired by somewhere ‘new’. I’m currently looking at booking a trip to Kenya to explore the food culture in Nairobi and take my kids on safari. I’m also enjoying staying in self-catered accommodation rather than more restrictive hotels. A trip to a quiet region of Sardinia is a priority when the spring weather arrives. I want to be immersed in local culture rather than feeling suffocated by tourist traps. As a TasteHunter for The World's 50 Best Restaurants, I’m also really looking forward to the awards in June which will be taking place in Turin, a part of Italy I’m excited to explore."

Julian Alps, Slovenia

Alex Crossley, digital editor for olive

"I visited Ljubljana in 2019 and absolutely loved the riverside cobbled streets, the influence of neighbouring Italy on the cuisine and the many Slovenian wine tastings (look out for the orange wine!). I'd love to go back and extend the trip into the spectacular Julian Alps – cycling along the Juliana Bike Route trying local dishes and visiting artisan producers. Ana Roš's highly-acclaimed restaurant Hiša Franko is high up on my restaurants in the world to visit. She has opened a boutique hotel and restaurant in Ljubljana, so a brilliant reason for me to go back."

Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

Janine Ratcliffe, editor

"After visiting Cork and Kinsale, I’m really keen to explore more of the Wild Atlantic Way – especially Dingle and Galway. When I interviewed Ali Dunworth (author of A Compendium of Irish Pints) for the podcast, I asked her to name her favourite pub and she said ‘literally any pub in Dingle – it’s a whole town of your new favourite locals’. I’m obsessed with the food scene in Ireland – the passion and creativity, the incredible produce, the championing of craft and the way it effortlessly mixes the modern and traditional. And I love a pint of Beamish!"

Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Scotland

Liz Simpson, co-founder of Kip Hideaways

"The utterly remote and unspoilt Ardnamurchan Peninsula in Scotland, Great Britain's most westerly point. It is home to Borradill and Sanna Hut, as well as utterly idyllic white-sand beaches and virgin rainforest. You can free dive for scallops!"

Route 7, France

Jules Pearson, founder of lifestyle website London On The Inside, Sausage Press guides, and VP of food and beverage development at Ennismore

"I have been reading Dirt by Bill Buford, the American journalist who moved from the States to Lyon for five years to learn how to cook French food. He talks about the old Route 7 in France, their equivalent of Route 66, a 600-mile road going all the way from Paris to Menton, right in the very south near the border with Italy. In the fifties and sixties it was extremely popular with holidaying families and even celebs like Bridget Bardot, who would wind down the road on vacation. The route was (and still is) lined with amazing places to eat, from casual spots to a multitude of Michelin stars. I’m super keen to do this road trip in 2025 (though probably just starting from Lyon), all the way down to Menton, stopping at the old bouchons and in the Cotes-du-Rhone wine region along the way."

Sri Lanka

Hazel McGuire, UK director for Intrepid Travel

"Sri Lanka is one country at the top of my wishlist. The country has a taste of everything you can want from a holiday destination – wildlife, beautiful beaches, culture and delicious food. It’s no surprise we’ve seen bookings to Sri Lanka grow by 186 per cent this year compared to 2023. I’m hoping to take my son on Intrepid’s Sri Lanka Family Holiday. These holidays are the opposite of a family “flop and drop” holiday and are all about having immersive, fun and educational experiences like learning how to do a traditional Kandyan dance and connecting with local families."

Lima, Peru

Emma Sleight, head of content, The World's 50 Best

"Peru. Lima is a hotbed of incredible Andean cuisine and cocktails. Lady Bee (No.16 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024) uses Amazonian ingredients across its menu, most of which are sourced personally by the husband-and-wife team behind it, Alonso Palomino and Gabriela León. The city runs the full gamut between high-end fine dining – with Maido being named The Best Restaurant in Latin America 2023 – to anticuchos and picarones from street vendors."

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

Hannah Guinness, olive drinks writer

"As a big sherry fan, visiting Jerez in Andalucia is high on my holiday hit list. It’s right in the heart of sherry country – one of the oldest wine-making regions in Spain – and the city is full of bodegas, cathedral-esque buildings used to store and age sherry. You can tour many of these and taste the sherries they produce – something you can also do to your heart’s content in the city’s many old tabancos (wine and tobacco shops). Throw in live flamenco and beautiful Moorish architecture and what’s not to love?"

Read our wine expert's guide to fino sherry

Taipei, China and Lebanon

Ryan Chetiyawardana, drinks specialist, Mr Lyan

"Definitely Lima! But also, Taipei, and after visiting Shanghai this year, a few other cities in China — for the same reasons as Lima; the people, landscape, culture, and outlook really intrigue me. I would also love to hit more cities outside of the ones I have already visited in the US, and in Canada, too. But it would be amazing to get to Kyiv or Lebanon to support given their recent struggles, where some friends have said there’s an incredible effort to still maintain morale through a strong sense of hospitality."