11 Trips We’re Busy Planning for 2022

11 Trips We’re Busy Planning for 2022

Ready, set, escape. These are the 11 destinations we can’t to visit in 2022.



2021

may not have been the great return to travel we had envisioned, but
we’re keeping our sights set high and earmarking 2022 as a big year
for adventure seekers. Featuring a healthy smattering of ancient
fortresses, lesser-discovered coastlines and ready-to-rise
metropolises, these are the destinations we’ve pinned our hopes on
for 2022.

11 Destinations We Can’t Wait to Visit in 2022


Novi Sad

Serbia

Billed as the European Capital of Culture for 2022, Serbia’s
second city has been making waves in recent years for its spirited
nightlife and burgeoning underground music scene, but look beyond
the bars and you’ll find a whole host of other attractions, too.
For a start,
Novi Sad
is ripe for exploration by foot: almost all of its
landmarks are within an easy stroll from one pedestrian
thoroughfare. Plus, there’s a beach along the Danube River – a
sandy, 700m-long affair that morphs into its own village come
summertime.


Syracuse

Italy

Italy
is a country full of richly storied cities, yet Syracuse, more than
any other, embodies the country’s timeless beauty. Back in the day,
this Sicilian metropolis was the largest in the ancient world – a
honeycomb streetscape of baroque piazzas and snaking alleyways
leading down to the sparkling shoreline below. Fast forward 3,000
years and much has stayed the same, if a little crumblier around
the edges. Come here for a magical dose of medieval escapism.


Bequia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Mention the Caribbean and thoughts usually turn straight to
luxury villas, all-inclusive hotels and beaches where the
sun-seekers are as tightly packed as sardines in a tin. Not on
Bequia, though. Amazingly unspoilt, this small island packs in 18
square kilometres of undisturbed beaches, lush green hillsides and
characterful ports that could have been plucked straight from a
children’s story book. Cast your flip-flops off in the sand and,
refreshingly, there’ll be no-one there to sweep them up for you.
This island is all about back-to-basics beaching as it should
be.


Girona

Spain

Pack together a string of gothic churches, cool galleries,
museums and a feisty food scene and what do you get? Girona. Found
on Spain’s northeastern coastline, this is, in fact, the largest
city in northern Catalonia, though it’s often bypassed for its
gregarious southerly sister, Barcelona. But with a beguiling
architectural heritage, happening year-round festival calendar and
bevy of world-class restaurants, we say more fool the
bypassers.


Skopje

North Macedonia

North Macedonia’s spritely capital has recently been creeping
onto the weekend getaway map for its east-meets-west vibe and
up-and-at-it clubbing scene. Expect a beautiful mix of Ottoman and
Byzantine-style architecture interlaced by wide, tree-lined cobbled
streets that rival even the most majestic of Parisian
boulevards.


Salem

USA

Despite being Oregon’s capital, Salem is often overlooked by
travellers on their way to Portland, its hippish little sister. But
with its laid-back, small-town air and plucky independent spirit,
we think there’s something to be said for sticking around a while.
That’s if you’re not spooked by the town’s history: this is where
the infamous Salem witch trials were held, where 20 people accused
of being witches were executed. Today, Salem is better known for
its wineries and waterfalls, but an alluring mysticism still hangs
over the town, especially come Halloween.


Baracoa

Cuba

Located on the far eastern corner of Cuba,
Baracoa is the island’s oldest settlement. An Eden-like pocket of
tranquil hillsides wrapped in banana, cocoa and coconut groves, the
town gets our vote thanks to its blissfully slow pace of life and
brightly painted clapboard houses. Don’t forget your waterproofs:
the settlement sits on the wetter side of the Cuchillos del Toa
mountains, though we think this just adds to its surreal charm.


Ithaca

Greece

It took Odysseus 10 long years to return to Ithaca after the
Trojan war, but we see why it was worth the journey. The
pocket-sized island, squeezed between
Kefalonia
and the mainland, is known for seducing visitors with
its rugged charm, cerulean waters and gentle, laissez-faire
approach to life. Plus, with four daily ferries making the crossing
to the island, you needn’t worry about running into the same plight
as Odysseus (just stay out of Poseidon’s way).


Grand Bassam

Ivory Coast

Once the capital of the French Ivory Coast, Grand-Bassam is a
beguiling Unesco World Heritage site that bursts forth from the
West African coastline with old-world splendour. While you may have
heard of the city due to a fateful terrorist attack that took place
here in 2016, Grand-Bassam has been working hard to recover
visitors’ trust in the intervening years. And recover them it has.
The town now attracts domestic weekenders and foreign travellers
alike, and is considered a top spot for those in search of a
cultural pit stop within skipping distance of the sea.


Jisev Valley

Tajikistan

Most trips through
Tajikistan
take travellers along the M41, known locally as the
Pamir Highway, which forms part of Central Asia’s ancient Silk Road. But
veer off this track and you’ll find the remote Jisev Valley, a
sloped mountain pass that climbs between sweeping hills and
tumbling rivers to the small village of Jisev, which is made up of
(quite literally) a couple of houses. We recommend sleeping in an
authentic Pamiri house for a nature-fuelled experience as immersive
as they come.


Hampi

India

Hampi’s
boulder-strewn, Unesco World Heritage-designated landscape has been
admired by visitors ever since the dawn of travel. Many travellers,
however, arrive and leave within 24 hours, and we think they’re
missing a trick. Behind the (admittedly Insta-perfect) ancient
village’s rusty-hued veneer, a world of other natural wonders
awaits: think paddy fields, palm groves and banana plantations.
Looking for a spot of wildlife? Head to the Daroji Sloth Bear
Sanctuary for a sneak peek into the secret life of, you guessed it,
sloth bears.

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