In a very surprising turn of events, Australia has failed to make a prestigious list of the world’s best places to visit next year. Haven’t they seen Sydney Harbour? Or our many, many pristine beaches?
National Geographic released its ’25 Breathtaking Places and Experiences for 2023′ list last week, but Australia missed the cut.
The list was decided by the esteemed publication’s global editors, who voted on five categories: community, nature, culture, family, and adventure.
Nature?! Now Australia missing out on that category feels like the biggest oversight. To be fair to Nat Geo, though, their nature picks for 2023 were pretty cool: witnessing wilding in the Scottish Highlands and exploring the biodiversity of Botswana both sound wonderful.
In the adventure category, New Zealand made the cut, hailed by Nat Geo as an “outdoorsy paradise,” which is an indisputable fact.
Meanwhile in the family category, visiting football stadiums in Manchester, U.K. – home to football behemoths Manchester City and Manchester United – was recommended, as was an alpine trail trip in Switzerland.
Highlights in the community category included a women-led sustainable tour in Greece, while a pilgrimage to the Appian Way in Italy was recommended in for culture vultures.
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You can check out the full ’25 Breathtaking Places and Experiences for 2023′ list here. Don’t worry, Australia, there’s always 2024.
In other travel news, Air New Zealand has announced that it’s restoring their nonstop service between Auckland and Chicago, meaning that all 29 of its international pre-Covid destinations have been resumed.
The airline announced that it will be using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Auckland airport to Chicago O’Hare airport route. The service will operate three times weekly, each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
“Since New Zealand’s borders reopened, we’ve been slowly resuming services and to now be flying to all our international destinations is a milestone moment for us,” said the airline’s chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty.
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Check out a documentary on the Scottish Highlands:
