World best places to travel 2024 | take a big trip in 2024

World best places to travel in 2024

Peru's sacred valley

 

A quieter wonder of the world, just down the road from Machu Picchu

About nine miles north of Cusco is the Sacred Valley, a lush landscape fed by the winding Urubamba River and flanked by a stand of glacier-capped mountains, many of which rise even higher than Machu Picchu. And yet Machu Picchu still tends to be the only reason that tourists scurry, heads down, through this marvel. Yet at such a loss! Back in the 1400s, the Incas built royal estates in the area. They knew what was up. This, my friends, isn't a place to pass through. It's a place to hunker.

Lousy with Incan ruins, some of the most stunning views of your life, badass women's textile collectives, cobble-stoned towns where you won't be trampled by tourist hordes, and all the giant-kerneled choclo corn your heart will soon know it desires, the Sacred Valley is, soles to donuts, the perfect place to get your adventure and your relaxation on, with radically different vistas to be seen within the span of a short drive.

Quick aside for the insane: Book a night in a transparent capsule hotel hanging off a mountainside and sleep 400 meters off the ground. Or opt for less hyperventilation and check out Inkaterra's Hacienda Urubamba where you can stay in a luxury casita built into a hillside and stroll the on-ground gardens that provide much of the produce for the restaurant. -- Onnesha Roychoudhuri, Thrillist contributor

Samana peninsula, Dominican republic 

A rustic beach paradise at the height of tranquility

There may be no place in the Americas with more untapped tourism potential than this 30-mile peninsula that reaches into the Caribbean Sea from the Dominican Republic's northeast. A small band of French expats settled into the peninsula in the 1980s, mainly near the beach town of Las Terrenas, but the peninsula has remained largely forgotten by foreign tourists since then, save for a smattering of Europeans who come to Samaná for its lush, natural beauty and an abundance of remote beaches that fit the Caribbean ideal of white sand, azure water, and swaying coconut trees. Samaná is visited every winter, however, by the entire Atlantic population of humpback whales, who have flocked to the Samaná Bay for thousands of years to mate and to give birth, making this one of the best places in the world for whale watching from late January till mid-March.

Las Terrenas is the peninsula's tourism center, with plenty of restaurants, a bit of nightlife, and a European feel that blends effortlessly into the local island culture. The remoteness of the peninsula means scant infrastructure -- think limited internet, grocery stores carrying mostly non-perishables, and just one major paved road that runs the length of the peninsula. But in Las Terrenas you can still sit down in the evening to a fine French or Italian meal, and rent immaculate tropical bungalows for unbelievable prices. To find the most remote Caribbean experience possible, go to the literal end of the road to the sleepy hamlet of Las Galeras, where there are beaches so isolated it's possible to spend an entire day resting in the sand without encountering another soul. Officials in the DR have their eyes on Samaná as the country doubles down on its rapidly expanding tourism industry, which means there may be little time left to experience it in its current state of timeless, untouched serenity. -- Bison Messink, Thrillist deputy editor

Montreal, quebec

The perfect, just-French-enough international weekender
For about 12 hours last year, I found myself in the one city that is impossible to screw up. Naturally, it took a feat of true duncery to get there: I'd arrived 22 hours late for a flight out of Newfoundland (two hours early for my traveling companion's flight, though!). The only reasonable route back to New York included an overnighter in Montreal. Twist my arm, why don't you.

So here's your idiot's guide to doing Montreal not merely on the cheap, but on zero notice. Aim to stay near Mount Royal -- as the only extinct volcano in town, it isn't hard to find -- and within walking distance of the euphoric drag of bars and venues on Boul Saint-Laurent. Check literally any calendar, and you'll find some kind of cultural blowout nearby. (In summer, when days are long and nights soft, Montreal congregates outside for music and art and cigarettes. In winter, when night arrives early and frigid river gusts peel your face like a tomato, Montreal congregates outside for music and art and cigarettes, in peacoats.) Then take a walk.

I booked a $45 hostel online, bought a $10 transit ticket from the airport, dropped off my stuff, and meandered to a low-key bar called Divan Orange. Outside, the street was cleared for art installations, chatty drinkers, and the occasional skateboarder. Inside, a $5 cover was all it took to hear a lovely, Radiohead-esque set by a se local band that sang in 100% English and bantered in 100% French.

On the way back to the hostel, along Rue Saint-Denis, I happened on a line of massive canvas hammocks. (Canada never fails to max out its precious summers.) Couples were nuzzling in most; I found an open one and flopped out in the open air. After a few minutes of lazy bliss, a young man approached and bashfully offered me 10 bucks if he and his lady could take their turn sprawling in the hammock. With a dawn flight to catch, I gave it up freely and kept moving. But lesson learned, that in Montreal it pays to stop. -- Sam Eifling, Thrillist Travel editor

El chalten, patagonia, Argentina 

A spectacular launch point for the world's greatest hiking

This little town is often referred to as the trekking capital of Argentina, and as such its reputation as a hiker's destination is world-class. Even novices can find a trail with views of Patagonia's epic glaciers and snowcapped Andes Mountains. But it has also stopped the best: El Chaltén has been a launch pad for professional climbers and explorers, many of whom have died trying to reach the granite peaks of the Fitz Roy mountain range.

If you don't want to tempt fate, find a guide or ranger for recommendations. Experienced trekkers will spend months preparing for rigorous overnight hikes such as the Paso Marconi expedition. For an easier day hike, try the Laguna Torre trail, which puts you at the base of a crystal-clear glacier pool overlooking Cerro Torre, the highest peak in the Fitz Roys.

Whichever hike you decide to do, use El Chaltén as your home base of operations for the essentials: a warm bed, hearty stew, cold beer, and free Wi-Fi. But, of course civilization has its limits. You can leave that all behind as soon as you exit the town and embark on one of the dozens of trailheads that lead deep into the Patagonian wilderness. -- Tim Ebner, Thrillist contributor