The Top Travel Destinations for 2025 – Wendy Perrin

As you plan your travels for the year ahead, you’d be wise to keep in mind where everybody else is going. These are the most popular countries for 2025 trips already booked the WOW way:

1. Italy
2. United Kingdom
3. Tie: Japan and Norway
4. France
5. Spain
6. South Africa
7. Vietnam
8. Botswana
9. Tie: Cambodia, Chile, New Zealand, Portugal, Zimbabwe
10. Australia

It’s no surprise that Western Europe is so popular. What’s surprising is how early people have booked 2025 trips there. They’ve learned from the past few years that planning ahead often means gaining access to better, more reasonably priced options.

One reason for Italy’s popularity is that 2025 is the Vatican’s Jubilee Year. Italy-bound travelers would be wise to avoid crowds and inconveniences by hiring one of the Italy experts on The WOW List to plan and book a savvy itinerary customized to their goals.

Japan, New Zealand, and Australia—three countries that were among the last to reopen post-pandemic—are, two years later, still in high demand. That’s not just because they were off-limits for so long but also because the best experiences and places to stay in these countries tend to book up many months, if not a year or more, in advance.

Our advice: Consider places not on the list above. For instance, since southern Africa is the most popular safari region in 2025, what about East Africa?

Scroll down and click on the articles below—collections of trip reviews from your fellow travelers—to discover smart destination choices for each month in the first half of 2025. We guarantee you will be surprised and wowed by options you’ve never considered. Sicily in January? Paris in February? Morocco during Ramadan? Take it from your fellow travelers who did it and loved it. And if you could use a personalized trip recommendation, we’re at the black button below.

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