And now my Jimmy Awards for Best International Travel Experiences in 2024. I didn’t do a lot of overseas travel, but I did manage trips to Istanbul and Singapore, and our MSC cruise on the World Europe took us to Italy, Malta, Spain and France. Thank you to everyone who helped along the way, both in big and small ways. Best Tour: We had a superb tour of Palermo, Sicily with a local guide on our MSC World Europa visit. We admired the beautiful cathedral, nibbled on cannoli the size of a football, and briefly toured a furiously noisy local Read more
Spain
Expedia has come out with its list of top world destinations for 2025, and there are some great picks. Here’s their top nine for the upcoming year. A Catalonian culinary haven Girona, Spain As Catalonian capital Barcelona hits the headlines for record-breaking tourism numbers, conscious travellers are keeping visits short and sweet, basing themselves primarily in nearby Girona, a hill-top medieval showstopper just 40 minutes away via the new Avlo high-speed train service. In gastronomic circles, Girona has been an insider secret for years, with 12 Michelin-starred restaurants in the region, snapping at San Sebastián’s crown as Spain’s culinary Read more
A new study reveals the best cities for budget travelers, and Rome ranks first for offering the most free tourist attractions. Bangkok offers the lowest average hotel price at just $8 (all figures USD) and the most affordable meal price of $3.14. Lisbon stands out with the highest weather index of 98.6, which allows visitors to enjoy outdoor activities year-round. A recent study by DIPNDIVE revealed the top ten best cities for budget travelers based on a comprehensive analysis of various key factors. The data used in this study included the number of free tourist attractions, average cost of living, meal prices at inexpensive Read more
The World’s Most Instagrammable Sunset Cities; The World’s Cheapest Countries + Golf and Cruise News
Here’s a fun chart: A look at the world’s best cities for Instagram sunset posts. New research by Heepsy analyzed 54 cities worldwide to identify the ones that have the most Instagrammable sunsets. The study considered several key factors, including the number of Instagram hashtags, average annual sunshine hours, air quality index (AQI), tourist arrivals, and popular sunset spots, to determine the cities that offer the most stunning and popular sunset experiences. Here’s their top nine, including total score based on the above factors and key places to watch the sun go down. As a California native who grew up Read more
The latest ranking of countries for travel and tourism puts Canada just outside the top 10. The 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index from the World Economic Forum gives top spot to the United States, followed by Spain and Japan. Canada came in 11th, receiving relatively low scores for tourism infrastructure, openness to travel and tourism, cultural resources and price competitiveness. Destination Canada and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada recently stated that Canada was recently ranked 13th (in 2021), and that they aimed to get the country into the top seven by 2030. The tourism index report states Canada Read more
