Where to go in 2024: The best places to visit

For those looking for a beach destination that prioritizes community consciousness and sustainability, the Indonesian island of Sumba delivers.

With its remote villages, untouched forests, ancient rituals and world-class surf breaks, Sumba is the perfect antidote to the crowds of Bali, which is just an hour’s flight away. It might not be internationally famous yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s small. Sumba is more than 4,000 square miles in size (more than 10,000 square kilometers) – twice the size of Bali.

It was the Nihi Sumba resort that brought this island into luxury seekers’ sights when it first opened in 2012. More than a decade on, Sumba has welcomed several new luxury eco-resorts. These include The Sanubari a series of beachfront villas that opened in 2022, and Cap Karoso located on the island’s southwest. —Karla Cripps

Far less known than the Mediterranean yacht-magnet resorts of Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, the Black Sea region, also known as Karadeniz offers a very different side of the country. Less touristed and with a cooler, damper climate that produces verdant scenery and  delicious black tea the region has historic towns and villages as well as beaches and adrenaline-producing activities.

In summer, it’s a refreshing escape from Turkey’s more sweltering regions. Visitors can explore ancient streets that still echo to the clang of blacksmith hammers in Safranbolu, soak up beach life in Amasra and climb to where one of the world’s oldest monasteries clings to a cliff at Sumela.

For thrill-seekers, there’s white water rafting, and when winter brings heavy snowfalls, the region’s eastern Kaçkar Mountains transform into a heli skiing paradise —Barry Neild

Pucker up. Tartu, in southern Estonia, has been named a European Capital of Culture for 2024 — with special attemtion paid to kissing. One of this university city’s most celebrated sights is its statue of two students locked in a passionate embrace, but here in the “City of Good Thoughts,” the love-in is more high-minded than carnal.

Tartu is renowned as Estonia’s intellectual center, home to its oldest university as well as the must-visit Estonian National Museum and the impressive Science Centre AHHAA, the largest science museum in the Baltics.

The Old Town is the perfect place to base yourself, but just north of the city center on the banks of the Emajõgi River, Supilinn (“Soup Town”) is also worth a visit. This historic neighborhood filled with pretty, wooden houses was formerly a slum but is now becoming one of the city’s most desirable addresses. —Maureen O’Hare

Celebrating its 400th anniversary in 2024, Tainan has become a Taiwan hotspot on the international stage. This southern city has surpassed the capital, Taipei, to boast the highest overall hotel occupancy rate in Taiwan in the past two years.

What makes it so special? Tainan is considered the street food capital of Taiwan and is loved for its beef soups and oyster omelets, otherworldly natural landscapes (check out Tsao Shan Moon World), scenic sunsets over salt farms, colorful old temples and cool new museums.

It was also listed among Booking.com’s top 10 sustainable tourism destinations in 2023. —Maggie Hiufu Wong

Refreshing, unsalty Lake Michigan lures boatloads of tourists in summer, but the shoreline, quaint towns and rolling countryside of Northwest Michigan have plenty to offer year-round.

On Grand Traverse Bay, Traverse City makes a great home base for exploring wineries on the Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas or picking cherries or apples in season. Then fall’s foliage is ripe for peeping, followed by winter’s inviting blankets of snow.

From Traverse City, the scenic M-22 highway winds up the Leelanau Peninsula and hooks back down through Leland, home to a historic fishing village  and a collection of interesting shops and galleries

Glen Arbor is another town worth perusing on the way to Sleeping Bear Dunes Nationl Lakeshore, where off M-109 an all-sand, 3.5-mile hike over massive dunes to the Great Lake and back preps hardy hikers for a delicious dinner.Farm Club, a farm-restaurant hybrid seven miles from downtown Traverse City, serves beautifully prepared dishes showcasing the region’s ingredients — many grown on site — in a minimalist, barnlike space that spills outdoors. —Marnie Hunter