My job as travel editor of The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday has seen me travel to every corner of the world. I’ve visited the vast wilderness of Brazil, hung out with gorillas in Rwanda, island-hopped in the Caribbean and hitch-hiked across Canada – seeing 76 countries in total (and counting). Some experiences will stay with me forever. Others haven’t lived up to their billing.
So these are the places you absolutely must visit at least once in a lifetime – and a few you might want to avoid…
THE PANTANAL, BRAZIL
Great white egrets fish in a marsh in early morning sunlight, in Pantanal, south-central Brazil
It’s the sheer scale of the world’s biggest floodplain (greater than the size of Britain) that’s hard to take in. On leaving the main road and heading for a lodge, you might not see another vehicle for two hours. A feast of birds, animals, fauna and flora, sunsets, lakes and much-needed education awaits.
You’ll find the largest macaws, the tallest storks, the biggest collection of caimans and gagarin and some species of birds and creepy crawlies that look like they’ve been dreamed up by boffins on psychedelic drugs. In a single day, the Pantanal can get 178 billion litres of rain water – which is equal to the volume of all bottled water sold every day worldwide.
GRENADA
Grand Anse Bay seen from the hill-top of Jean Anglais on the western leeward side of Grenada
About the size of Barbados but with two thirds fewer people, this lush Caribbean island has hills, valleys, rain forests and an array of spices that justifies its ‘spice island’ moniker. There’s an energy about it — a resourcefulness, a confidence.
Its people are gentle, open, warm and infectiously joyful. What’s more, it has a significant modern backstory following the Cuban and Russian-backed revolution, which in October 1983 prompted America to invade (without telling Margaret Thatcher). Grand Anse Beach stretches for miles and all of life is there.
LECCE, ITALY
Piazza del Duomo square and Virgin Mary Cathedral at twilight time in Lecce, southern Italy
The Roman Catholic Church has taken its fair share of bashing over the years, but Baroque Lecce in Puglia would be nothing at all if it weren’t for the power of the Holy See. In the 17th century, one-third of its 13,000 residents were either priests, monks or nuns.
With its grand courtyard palaces, grand squares, vast amphitheatre (discovered in 1900 and which at one point could seat 15,000 spectators), marble columns, massive clock tower and intriguingly convoluted history, it’s no wonder people call it the ‘Florence of the south’. But without the crowds.
MALAWI
Travel editor of The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday Mark Palmer will children in Malawi
Formerly Nyasaland, landlocked Malawi – which gained independence from Britain in 1964 – is known as the ‘warm heart of Africa.’ It’s an extraordinarily friendly country, but desperately poor. Children sell roasted mice on sticks by the side of the road.
The landscape is dominated by Africa’s Great Rift Valley, which has at its heart the humungous lake that so enthralled Dr David Livingstone in the 1850s. And what a golden pond it is. With palm-fringed beaches, clear waters and a rich, undisturbed wildlife (more than 500 species of fish), Lake Malawi is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide. What’s more, safaris in Malawi are just as spectacular as elsewhere in Africa, but a lot less expensive.
INDIA
The Taj Mahal is the famous white-marble mausoleum in northern India, built in the 1600s
So vast, so unfathomable, so utterly mesmerising. It doesn’t matter much where you go but to miss the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur – but adding in Udaipur) is a mistake if you’ve never been to this country of nearly 1.5 billion people.
How does the place work? Does it actually work, given the unrelenting poverty? And whereas some iconic sites that you’ve seen a million times in pictures are underwhelming in reality, the Taj Mahal is the opposite. More exquisite, more heartbreaking. Just get there before the tour buses arrive.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Stockholm city centre with the famous Royal Swedish Opera (Kungliga Operan) at twilight
The streets of Sweden’s capital are immaculately clean; the parks and forests are within easy access of the city; water is everywhere (the city is built on 14 islands). It has one of the world’s most beautiful opera houses; stately boulevards, exquisite narrow streets in Gamla Stan (old town) and the constant toing and froing of sea-worthy vessels of every kind.
Swedes here go about their lives with quiet decorum — self-contained, purposeful. And the Swedish Royal Family famously move around on bicycles with little fanfare.
THE SCOTTISH BORDERS
The River Tweed as it flows through the Scottish Borders town of Peebles, south Scotland
People seem to think Scotland begins with Edinburgh. But the area directly south of the capital is sublime, starting with the heather-clad Lammermuirs and ending with the Cheviots. In between, there are castles, abbey ruins, immaculate farmland, the evocative River Tweed, atmospheric towns (Kelso, Melrose, Peebles) and a thrilling coastline.
If Coldingham Sands relocated to the Caribbean you wouldn’t be able to move for visitors. As it is, there’s room for all – and a bracing dip in the North Sea is a rite of passage in these chilly parts.
MOROCCO
Shoppers walk through the narrow streets of a traditional souk in Marrakesh, central Morocco
It’s often said that Morocco is a short-haul flight to a long short-haul destination. The point being that this gentle and liberal North African country is only three hours away but seems like another world once you step off the plane. The light is transfixing; the chaos in cities such as Marrakesh is almost overwhelming.
How anyone makes money in the souks when they all sell the same things is a burning question. The majestic Atlas Mountains have a history all of their own and everywhere you go there are doors. It’s what lurks on the other side of those doors that gives Morocco its unique frisson.
RWANDA
Lenticular cloud over a mountain in Volcanoes National Park, Musanze, northwestern Rwanda
Controversial following the Tory plan to send migrants there (and because President Paul Kagame has, suspiciously, been in power since 2000). But nothing should take away from the beauty of this landlocked country known as ‘the land of a thousand hills’.
Its history is written in blood after the 1994 genocide that claimed the lives of up to one million people and any trip should start with visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial centre. Don’t leave without heading for the Volcanoes National Park, home to 12 gorilla families. They will look at you with admirable indifference but you will remember their faces forever more.
ICELAND
Strokkur, found in the Geysir Geothermal Area, southwest Iceland, is one of the most active
Precious few of us will get to walk on the moon (count me out should the invite arrive) but Iceland’s lunar surface is perhaps the next best thing. Not for nothing did the astronauts in 1969 come here to test-drive their buggy. Weird place in many ways. And ruinously expensive for those who like a beer or two.
At times, it can feel like the encroaching end of the world, with boiling water bubbling just beneath the surface, steam escaping into the cold, invigorating air and mile upon mile of blackened lava fields. It’s the least populated country in Europe but one of the most fascinating.
LUANG PRABANG, LAOS
The Unesco heritage town of Luang Prabang in northern Laos is chic with a Buddhist twist
Once described as a ‘holy grail for shoestring backpackers seeking higher truth’, Luang Prabang, in Laos, does chic with a Buddhist twist. Designated a Unesco World heritage Site in 1995, ranking it right up there with Angkor Wat and the Great Wall of China, Luang Prabang has 33 temples (at one time there were 62).
There are only three main roads and the whole city is framed by the mighty Mekong on one side, the sleepy Khan River on the other. In between, there are little lanes, where restaurants, cookery schools, guest houses, bars, paper factories, rice-cake makers and artisans of all kinds beaver away, while monks in their golden robes and holding sun-sheltering umbrellas file purposefully past. Charm at every turn.
THE DINGLE PENINSULA, IRELAND
The Wild Atlantic Way, in Kerry County on the Dingle Peninsula, Great Blasket island, Ireland
You’re on the edge here. Next stop across the mighty Atlantic is America. It’s the juxtaposition that’s so enticing – a rugged and sometimes threatening coastline but the warmest of people who huddle in well-worn pubs and tell the same stories again and again. The peninsula stretches 30 miles on the southwest coast on Ireland’s Atlantic Way, with mountains forming its spine.
Last time I was here was for a week’s camping holiday in high summer. It rained every single day and we only slept in the tent once – but goodness the breakfasts in our B&Bs were good.
KITZBUHEL, AUSTRIA
Kitzbühel is a town located in the Tyrol, western Austria, is known for its Alpine scenery
This charming Austrian town claims to be the ‘birthplace of skiing’, courtesy of Franz Reisch who in 1893 attached two planks to his feet and launched himself down the mountain. What’s irrefutable is Kitzbuhel’s unique role in hosting the most famous and dangerous downhill race in the world — the Hahnenkamm — where skiers reach almost 90mph on the fastest stretch of the course.
The inaugural race in 1931 was won by a plucky Englishman called Gordon ‘Mouse’ Cleaver who was not even in the British team at the time. There are precious few, purpose-built apartment blocks, no disco, no self-service mountain restaurants but plenty of cake shops run by women in traditional dress. The car-free, main square leads to a church dating back to 1366.
VENICE (IN WINTER ONLY)
The Grand Canal in Venice, northeastern Italy, with Santa Maria della Salute Basilica in the background
This is when Venetians reclaim their promised land, when little boys kick footballs against 14th-century walls, when restaurants shut their doors and glow from within, when you stand all alone in front of Titian’s Assumption at the Frari.
The art dealer Jack Wakefield described Venice as a ‘10,000-carat jewel set by the greatest ever goldsmith pinned to the breast of the most beautiful woman to have lived’. I’ll go along with that.
JAPAN
The famous cherry blossom and Mt Fuji in Fujiyoshida, the closest city to Japan’s highest peak
It’s like landing in a parallel universe, where a positive shake of the head and a ‘yes’ actually means ‘no’. There’s something wonderful spiritual about this exquisite country – and that’s before you’ve visited the temples of Kyoto.
To say that we in Britain could learn a thing or two about Japan is an understatement. The pavements are clean, the trains run on time, good manners are a given and people work ridiculously hard. Oh, and the food’s not bad either.
AND THE ONES TO PERHAPS AVOID…
MALTA
The skyline with St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Valletta and Carmelite Church in Sliema, Malta
Remove the wonderful, Baroque-style capital Valletta and the former capital Mdina out of the equation and you’re not left with much. The government has allowed this island to be overdeveloped in such a way that even its best beaches have lost their charm. It’s the world’s tenth-smallest country by area and the ninth most densely populated.
Gozo, the island off the north coast, is less urbanised but not much of an improvement. Yes, you can get a super-cheap package in Malta but think hard before committing.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
La Sagrada Familia designed by Antoni Gaudi, in Barcelona, is expected to be finished in 2026
This Catalan favourite suddenly became all the rage following the 1992 Olympics. ‘We’re off for a few days to Barcelona,’ was the chorus. The trend has continued and now you can hardly move for tourists.
Locals are unhappy, loading up their water pistols and squirting at random. And, frankly, for all his genius, architect and designer Antoni Gaudi is an acquired taste. His Sagrada Familia has never done it for me.
THE MALDIVES
An aerial view of the villas and pool of Residence Maldives Resort on Falhumaafushi island
Yes, honeymoon central but unless you’re a keen scuba diver, I don’t get it. Those ‘idyllic’ atolls have no culture; at night you look out on to nothing; the sea is often only waist deep; there’s no popping down the road for a lager in a local bar; you see the same people for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and you either spend £60 or so for the cheapest bottle of wine or you do without.
MYKONOS, GREECE
Paradise Beach on the Greek island of Mykonos, in the Aegean Sea, is popular with sunbathers
Must have been delightful 20 or 30 years ago. Now it’s all style over substance – and full of look-at-me types who are proud to pay £200 for a sun lounger on a cramped beach. The main town is overrun and becomes impenetrable when a cruise ship comes to call. This is all so far removed from what a traditional Greek island should be about.
LOS ANGELES
Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California, is a popular destination known for its busy boardwalk
No doubt, if you have big money you’ll have a great time. Otherwise, you might easily feel lost and detached. A city with motorways running through it is never the most relaxing.
And do you really want to go on one of those tours where you’re shown where the big Hollywood names live? You just end up looking at tall walls with barbed wire. Santa Monica is fun but Venice Beach is just a mecca for poseurs and Love Island wanna-bes.
DUBAI
Jumeirah Marina beach in Dubai, UAE, is a popular spot for sunbathing and swimming
Go once but don’t feel you have to repeat the exercise. Building a city like this in the desert sand is an amazing feat of engineering – but it’s hard when you see the Indonesian labourers rounded up at the end of the day and taken back to their squalid living quarters while the sheiks wander around as if they own the place. Which they do, of course, one way or another.
