Find where to go
Our best picks matched to the time of year and the way you travel.
Winter ski holidays
Best ski destinations
Full destination guides — the terrain, the costs, who each resort suits and what a day on the mountain actually costs.
Chamonix, France
The birthplace of alpinism, under Mont Blanc.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Car-free village under the Matterhorn, with year-round glacier skiing.
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
The birthplace of ski instruction and Austria’s most legendary off-piste.
Niseko, Japan
The powder capital of Japan — 15 metres of dry Hokkaido snow and onsen after every run.
Whistler Blackcomb, BC
North America’s largest ski resort — two mountains linked by the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
Vail, Colorado
The biggest single ski mountain in the US, with seven legendary Back Bowls.
Best right now
Where to go in November
Sorted by overall draw and how well this month fits each place.
Australia
Vast, varied, relaxed. Reef, Sydney, and proper wilderness in one.
Australia is bigger than people remember and harder to do justice to in one trip. Pick a coast: Sydney + Great Ocean Road + Tasmania for the south, or Cairns + Whitsundays + Top End for the tropics.
- January: peak
- February: peak
- March: peak
- April: peak
- May: fine
- June: avoid
- July: avoid
- August: fine
- September: fine
- October: peak
- November: peak
- December: peak
Japan
Extraordinary food, culture, and cities. Nothing quite prepares you for it.
Mexico
Mexico City is world-class. Add the coast, ruins, and food culture.
Thailand
The complete package for warm-climate travel.
New Zealand
Fjords, volcanoes, glaciers, beaches — in one country.
South Korea
Seoul alone justifies the flight — food, nightlife, and mountains inside the city.
United Arab Emirates
Dubai and Abu Dhabi: superlatives, desert, and a stopover worth a few days of its own.
Trending right now
Up and coming in November
Underrated picks that are having a moment this time of year.
Japan
Extraordinary food, culture, and cities. Nothing quite prepares you for it.
Thailand
The complete package for warm-climate travel.
Hong Kong
One of the great dense cities — skyline, dim sum, and hiking trails minutes from the towers.
The complete picture
All 146 destinations, every month, ranked
We cover every place worth going and score it honestly across all twelve months — peak, fine, or skip it. The whole thing in one chart.
See the chart →Destination guide
The Caribbean, island by island
All 24 islands ranked, with the best month to visit each — from the cheap and lively to the quiet and expensive.
Bahamas
Seven hundred islands of impossibly clear water, from cruise-port Nassau to the empty Out Islands.
Cuba
Music, classic cars, and crumbling grandeur — go for the country, not the comfort.
Dominican Republic
Cheap flights, warm sea, and a lot more country than the resort brochure admits.
Jamaica
The most characterful island in the Caribbean — and the one that asks a little more of you.
Puerto Rico
The Caribbean with a US plug socket — old-city romance, rainforest, and a bioluminescent bay.
US Virgin Islands
Three islands, one national park, and no passport needed if you hold a US one.
By theme
Pick a kind of trip
Beach, food, mountains, history, budget — each a curated, ranked list.
Best beach destinations
Where the sea, sand, and slow lunches are the point.
71 destinations
Best destinations for food
Trips you take partly because of what you'll eat there.
78 destinations
Best mountain destinations
For trekking, skiing, and being among real peaks.
12 destinations
Best destinations for culture and history
Ancient sites, deep cities, layered meaning.
92 destinations
Cheap destinations to travel
Real travel on a small budget — no compromises on what you do.
95 destinations
Off-the-beaten-path destinations
Places most travelers miss — and the ones who go remember.
105 destinationsHead to head
Popular matchups
Torn between two? We compare them honestly, point by point.
By region
Browse by continent
Every destination on the list, grouped by where it is in the world.
By month
The standout for every month
Pick the month you can travel — each opens the full ranked list.
Mexico
Mexico City is world-class. Add the coast, ruins, and food culture.
Thailand
The complete package for warm-climate travel.
Japan
Extraordinary food, culture, and cities. Nothing quite prepares you for it.
France
Paris is only the opening act — wine country, the Alps, and two coastlines.
Italy
The benchmark for food, history, and beauty.
Greece
Ruins in the morning, a swim by noon, taverna until dark.
Bali, Indonesia
Warm, affordable, endlessly deep — beach, wellness, and culture in one place.
Czech Republic
Prague earns the crowds. The rest of the country is the bonus.
Spain
Food, beaches, and three or four cities that each justify the trip.
United States
A continent pretending to be a country — cities, deserts, and the best national parks anywhere.
Australia
Vast, varied, relaxed. Reef, Sydney, and proper wilderness in one.
Hawaii
A handful of islands where the landscapes and the ocean genuinely earn the flight.
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