List of World’s Bests

Posted by Julia on May 13, 2010 in Travel

Cappadocia, Turkey Cappadocia, Turkey

People often ask me: “You’ve been around the world…so what was the ONE best country?” It’s a straight-forward question but I don’t have a straight-forward answer. Visiting 80 countries it’s hard to name just one “best.” Each is unique and awesome for different reasons. So, in an attempt to answer that hard-hitting question, I’ve crafted a list of the worlds ‘Bests’ …

Best European city: Paris. Not very original but it’s my fave. The art, the fashion, the cheese and baguettes…I love it all.

Best adrenaline rush: Gorge Swing in Livingstone, Zambia. It’s a lot like bungee jumping but with a hardcore free-fall that finishes with a pendulum swing.

Best kept secret: Hvar, a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, has the elegance of Italy without the price. Lots of luxury yachts and stylist Euros.

Best ancient wonder: Featured in an Indiana Jones movie, Petra’s Treasury, located in Jordan, is a façade carved into rose-colored sandstone.

Best indigenous people: Painted head-to-toe in red ochre paste, the topless women of Namibia’s Himba tribe are very photogenic.

Best weird feeling: Floating in the salty waters of the Dead Sea.

Best beach: Kendwa, on the northeastern tip of Zanzibar island, has a magical vibe and perfect palm trees.

Best travel value: India and Thailand are cheap, cheap, cheap.

Best refuge from the world: Tofu beach in Mozambique. Eat fresh mangoes all day and snorkel with manta rays in the Indian Ocean.

Best Fear Factor moment: Eating deep-fried scorpion at the Donghuamen Night market in Beijing.

Best landscape: Cappadocia, Turkey has some of the most unusual terrain, with phallic shaped rocks and underground caves.

Best hotel: Burj Al Arab in Dubai takes the cake. This five-star deluxe hotel is the pinnacle of Arabic opulence, complete with duplex suites, marble Jacuzzis and private butlers.

Best hidden gem: Jordan is often overlooked as a tourist destination but has the most incredible Roman ruins, Bedouin culture in the deserts of Wadi Rum, nightlife in Amman, Petra and world-class scuba in the Red Sea.

Best spiritual spot: A holy hotspot for all monotheistic religions, Jerusalem is undeniably mystical.

Best safari: Serengeti National Park in Tanzania has all the biggies: lions, leopards, elephant, buffalo and, the animal that kills the most amount of humans, the hippo.

Best city for shopping: Hong Kong is a shopping Mecca.

Best cuisine: Turkey, for fresh feta; Bulgaria for grilled seafood and red pepper dips; South Korea for killer BBQ meat and spicy kimchi.

Best humbling moment: Standing face-to-face with a 700 lbs. mountain gorilla while trekking in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park.

What are your “bests”? Share your comments and ‘best of the best’ travel secrets below….

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  • Well, interesting post,
    thanks!


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  • Karyn-32
    Maui,Hawaii :)

    one of THE best places ever!
    also british columbia :)
  • zila
    i haven't been to many countries. my best experience so far is climbing mt kinabalu in malaysia. at one point, i found myself surrounded by nothing but bonsai trees. and it was so lovely. i cried twice cos it was such a beautiful landscape
  • Great list! The word best is subjective though, my vote goes to Hong Kong for best cuisine :)
  • juliadimon
    Absolutely. The world's "best" are totally subjective! Hong Kong is pretty great for cuisine...and shopping!
  • Ninnagd
    What an incredible list! I have to say that I thought the shopping at Djemaa el-Fna in Marrakesh was pretty amazing, I definitely spent more money than I should have on beautiful bags and jewelry! Can't wait to read more!
  • juliadimon
    Love your lists guys! A lot of your suggestions are now going on my to-do travel lists! Thanks for posting and keep 'em coming!
  • Hi Julia. Great list - and it looks like you're really put some thought into this one. I'd agree with ShannonOD on the best eats in India... and with your calls on Petra and Jordan in general - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/...

    The Burj Al Arab is indeed a great hotel - I visited the bar a couple of years back; and got to fly over in a helicopter, but didn't stay in the hotel - http://www.flickr.com/search/?...

    I'd also add the Tour de Mont Blanc as perhaps the greatest long-distance hike in the world myself... http://andybryant.squarespace....
  • Hi Julia,

    Great article... and lots of your favourites I haven't tried! (The Gorilla sounds awesome!). I loved Namibia too... I need to discover more of Africa!

    My personal favourites... (some multiple where I can't decide!)

    Best scenery - Argentina / Namibia / Laos / Wales (too easy to ignore what is on your doorstep sometimes!)

    Best Trek - Torres Del Paine, (Chile). LumNumTha, (Laos), South West Coast Walk (Devon, England). El Chalten, Argentina.

    Best value for money - Argentina / Oaxaca State, Mexico.

    Best City - Buenos Aires / Mexico City / Antigua (Guatemala)

    Best Cuisine - Thailand (seafood / curry) / Argentina (again! - if you haven't been there yet, Go!!!!) - steaks / Cyclades, Greece (everything!)

    Best restaurant - Krčma v Šatlavské (Cseke Krumluv, Czech Republic) - Roasted pork knee joints the size of a small animal, served in this ancient converted dungeon, washed down with plenty of strong continental lager - yum!

    Best hostels (and really a tribute to the owners for amazing hospitality too) - Donde German (Pucon, Chile - at the foot of a volcano), Buena Onda, (Puerto Escondido, Mexico - cabanas right on the beach - wonderful owners), YHA (Lennox Head, NSW, Australia - right next to a tea-tree lake) - location-wise, the Pagoda (Parque Tyrona, Colombia - sling a hommock in the pagoda which juts out over the ocean ) Away with the Fairies, South Africa (Hogsback, South Africa) - bbq in a wheelbarrow on a clifftop, watching the sunset, looking out for miles over African Plains.

    Most scenic Bar - Monkey Jane's Rooftop Bar, (Yangzhao, China - amazing 360 degree views of the karst mountains as the sunsets)

    Best Guide Book - Coast to Coast - South Africa

    Best Camping - NZ (anywhere.. DOC campsites by lakes and oceans... simple, but stunning) / Wales (3 cliffs bay, gower peninsular) / Mexico (puerto escondido / chicahua) / Venezuela / Argentina (El Chalten - at the foot of a glacier!)

    Best Island - Kuanedup, San Blas, Panama (as big as a footie pitch, just me and a family of Kuna Indians and as much lobster and king crab as you can eat), Ko PangGan - still fabulous... the off-the-beaten-track spots which aren't that hard to find offer great value more money and are hard to leave!

    Best Spiritual Spot - Tamarind Springs (Ko Sumui, Thailand) - if you're ever passing through Sumui, even going somewhere quieter... book a half day at this natural spa with the fabulous treatments.

    Also, Pai (Thailand), and a detox week at Ubud Sari (Ubud, Bali) - a week of colonics... lost 8kg and walked out fresh as a daisy!

    Best Euro week holiday (avoiding the package tour!)- camping in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Formentera, (off Ibiza, Spain), island hopping Cyclades (including the lesser known islands, including Koufinissi and Folegandros)


    Best people watching - Brighton, England (my home town) - plenty of fruitcakes!

    Best looking people - Florianopolis, Brazil - you'll be so relieved when you eventually see someone that doesn't look perfect - everyone is far too good looking!

    Best adrenaline rush - Heliboarding, (Queenstown, New Zealand), Canyoning - abseiling down the 'inside' of a 60 ft waterfall (Merida, Venezuela), rafting (Pucon, Chile). Kitesurfing (90 mile beach, NZ)

    Best Adventure sports countries - NZ, South Africa, Venezuela, Chile.

    Most hospitable locals - Mexico (so much bad press, yet some of the loveliest, kindest, most generous people I have ever come across) Laos, Wales (Wales is just fabulous!)

    Most spectacular sight - Moreno Glacier, (Argentina). Sunrise from Dune 45, Sossusvlei (Namibia). Iguacu Falls (Argentina) - in a storm! Watching the moonrise on a deserted beach on Boracay, Philippines.

    Best sporting experience - Sumo, Japan.

    Best value for money travel discovery - Housesitting - been looking after a fabulous pad in Galicia, Spain... with own vineyard and pool for 3 months, FOC... love it... and now starting a global housesitting website www.trustedhousesitters.com (sorry for the shameless plug... but housesitting is the best value stay ever!!!!).

    Best scuba diving - Galapagos (with 9 hammerheads swimming around us), Nusa Lebongan (Bali) - Giant Sunfish and Manta Rays. Best dive school - Manta Dive, Gili Trewangan, Lombok - friendly, professional, great attitude.

    Best off the beaten track spot - Ville De Levye, Colombia - (stunning little village in the hills, just outside Bogota)

    Best altruistic moment - I arrived in Oaxaca recently on my first day of a 2 month trip to Mexico, finishing a film I am writing and developing the housesitting business we are starting. I meet a fabulous couple, Alex and Erika. They buy me lunch, then take me sightseeing for the day, film, and professionally edit out day out... just because they are lovely people. A 2 min video I received a week later... turn up the volume and check it out!!! http://vimeo.com/10602018


    Andy x




  • Amazing list! Looks like I need to get myself to Jordan, and a few other places listed here. Wow! Would love to see a similar list with Central/South America focus. Anyone up for it? This posting just gave me so many ideas -- thank you!!
  • Love this Julia! It's great how you spun your "bests" here. Never been to Serengeti, but Kruger Park in South Africa did it for me.
  • Great list ! I'm extremely jealous of you lol I would add Dakhla (and the entire Western Sahara coast really) to the best beaches.
  • robyngilliat
    I agree with the gorge swing in Zambia, it was an amazing feeling taking that step off the ledge.
  • Chuck
    Indeed an interesting list. I thought I was a travel junkie, but you’ve humbled me as my experiences don’t compare with yours whatsoever. I just don’t have it in me to visit lands or countries off-the-beaten path. They’re just not in my comfort zone, so I watch shows like Word Travels from the comfort of a couch. Anyway, I have to agree that Paris is such a magnificent city; it’s a must see for anybody and everybody. Furthermore, I highly recommend taking a jaunt north to see Mont St. Michel and the Normandy beaches. Most people head south in France, which I have yet to do, but I was inspired to see the north. One of my favourite places on the planet are the beautiful islands of Greece. They’re all different in their own way, and island hopping by ferry is a purely magical adventure. There’s so much to see, and it’s got everything: the people, the geography, and the food are all heavenly. Then there’s Italy: paradise found in Capri Positano. I just mentioned the extent of my “exotic” travels. I was planning another visit to some different Greek islands this summer, but I think I just talked or wrote myself out of that idea with my own paradise comment. Northwest Italy just became top priority with a detour through the south of France. Do you have any suggestions on where and what must be seen?
  • ShannonOD
    Best eating: India - for a vegetarian it is absolutely heaven - tons of choice and flavor!

    Love the rest of your bests - you've give me some new ideas for my bucket list! :-)
  • Great post! Always interesting learning about other people's favourite travel experiences. I agree with Jordan as an overlooked gem, its one of our top 5 countries for sure!
  • bjmackay
    Wonderful list - and I thought I'd been everywhere.:) Sooo many places left to explore - thanks Julia.
  • Awesome list! Would love to experience all of them :-)
  • Great list, Julia. Thanks for posting. I haven't had much experience in traveling, but I do love the west coast beaches of Barbados. And visiting the Banff Springs Hotel--very briefly many years ago in Alberta--still stands out to me.
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