Every year Lonely Planet, my favorite travel guides, publishes a list of top destinations to visit. The countries and cities Lonely Planet selects are usually beautiful places that are just making it (back) onto traveler’s lists, yet before they become mainstream and the tour buses arrive. That always makes for an intriguing list to check out and find inspiration for your next travel adventure. Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Countries to visit in 2019 according to Lonely Planet:
The best country to visit in 2019 is Sri Lanka! After decades of civil war, Sri Lanka has been making it back into the lime light. It offers sunny beaches in the South, abundant wildlife and rain forests in the center of the country and plenty of historical sights, offering something for everybody. It has been high on my personal list of places to visit and this just enforces my plans to go sooner than later.
The number 2 country to visit in 2019 came as a surprise to me – Germany! While Berlin has been a favorite of mine and popular with tourists for a long time, it’s the 100 year of “Bauhaus”, the aesthetic movement, that earned Germany a spot on the list. With new museums in Weimar, the birth city of Bauhaus, Dessau and the capital Berlin, there is plenty to see for design and architecture lovers!
Third on the list is Zimbabwe. I visited it as part of my Cape Town to Victoria Falls Adventure . Victoria Falls are certainly a sight to behold and the name “The Smoke that Thunders” is well earned when you stand below them! With the end of Mugabe’s authoritarian rule, there is hope for the country to emerge from decades of economic misery and it’s worth an addition to your list!
The fourth spot on the list of top countries to visit in 2019 goes to Panama! Most of the traveler attention in the region goes to neighboring Costa Rica or the beautiful beaches of Belize, but the impressive Panama Canal are worth visiting and the beaches and forests of Panama are very accessible. It’s easy to travel and it helps that the national currency is the US Dollar and Copa Airlines has their hub in Panama City!
The runner ups in the top 10 list are as follows:
5. Kyrgysztan
6. Jordan
7. Indonesia
8. Belarus
9. San Tome & Principe
10. Belize
You can find more details on the Lonely Planet Top 10 Countries for 2019 here! Enjoy the virtual tour and have fun planning your own 2019 Travel Adventure!
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