Happy New Year! It’s that time of year again - time for personal resolutions and for perusing various annual lists of top travel destinations for the coming 12 months. For the most part, this is a meaningless exercise. But it’s a fun kind of meaningless. Hey, it’s time to dream of all those places we still want and need to visit.
First up this year is Frommers with a list of 12 top destinations for 2009. Here are a few of them…
Cartagena, Colombia - After years of strife and violence owing to the drug cartel wars, Colombia has begun to emerge as a safe and vibrant travel destination…Cartagena has a highly developed tourist infrastructure, and it’s just a short hop from the U.S…Cartagena sits on the Caribbean coast and is a wonderfully picturesque, walled-in fishing village of pastel-painted buildings, fine cathedrals, and plenty of Spanish colonial architecture and 17th-century forts that allow you to steep yourself in history. The white-sand beaches are sublime, the restaurants are excellent, and lodging comes in all styles and prices.
Cape Town, South Africa - Cape Town, the oldest city in southern Africa, is regularly heralded as one of the most beautiful on earth. The massive sandstone bulk of Table Mountain, often draped in a flowing “tablecloth” of clouds, forms an imposing backdrop, while minutes away, pristine sandy beaches line the cliff-hugging coast where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. You can visit African Penguin colonies at Boulders Beach along False Bay or take the ferry to Robben Island, the former prison home to political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela.
Cambodia (But Not Angkor Wat) - For people who have “done” Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia seems like the next natural step. Tourism is taking off as a countrywide industry, and most people who contemplate Cambodia do so for a visit to Angkor Wat, the famed ruins in the jungle…We recommend casting a net beyond the limits of Angkor Wat and seeing a bit more of the country. Among the highlights are boat trips up the Mekong River and through the jungle to catch a glimpse of the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins; or perhaps spending some time in vibrant, energized Phnom Penh.
Civil Rights Trail from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama, United States - What happened forty years ago between Selma and Montgomery — the antecedent for the Voting Rights Act — is why the U.S. will welcome Barack Obama into the White House this year. It’s additionally important because the U.S. southeast is rich both historically and culturally, and the Trail provides a very accessible window to an often overlooked region by tourists…Highlights include the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Slavery & Civil War Museum, the Rosa Parks Museum, and the Maya Lin-designed Civil Rights Monument.




