What’s hot on our travel agenda in 2017?

Let’s be honest… being a ‘traveller’ can be somewhat tiresome. We spend much of our lives daydreaming about destinations and only managing to tick off a portion of them. When we manage to get away, it’s amazing. But coming home and planning the next one can be almost frustrating, because basically, we want to go EVERYWHERE.

Travel bucket lists are a moving target, for me anyway. Every year I add new and exciting destinations to my travel agenda (many more than I tick off). But there are a few that have been there so long they seem destined never to move – such as Morocco and Cuba on my list.

Plus there are those places that we love so much we simply want to return to time and time again, but that is always at the expense of going somewhere new.

Sri Lanka is one of those places for me. Every single year my hubby and I watch airfares and fantasise about another few weeks spent eating rice and curry each day, wandering the streets of Galle, and exploring the tea country. The accommodation in Sri Lanka is second to none and the hospitality? Well, you’ll just have to experience it for yourself.

And many seem to agree with me. Whilst I kind of want this island to remain a secret, it turns out that more and more people are finding out about it, with visitor numbers up 17% year-on-year according to the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority. And many companies, such as G Adventures, offer tours here that combine with the magic of the nearby Maldives (sigh!), so you can combine Sri Lankan culture and nature with the ultimate in island getaways.

Living in New York City for the past 18 months has definitely stimulated my taste for the good old US of A. Putting politics aside, this country both overwhelmed and surprised me while I was there, and various road trips, particularly around the East Coast, left me hanging for more. The states of Georgia and Virginia particularly caught me off guard – with their history, culture, food and wine! Did you know Virginia had such amazing wineries?

So I’d love to return and take on a proper exploration of New England in the Autumn when the fall foliage is peaking. I never thought I would become a ‘leaf peeper’ as they are known, but the displays are simply out of this world.

Making a fresh appearance this year on my travel agenda is Norway. I’ve always wanted to get involved in Scandinavia but never actually made it. And Norway in particular is piquing my interest at the moment. Number one goal – see the Northern Lights.

I’d also be keen to check out that famous overhanging rock that we have all seen the amazing drone footage of on social media – looking out over those incredible fjords… the Trolls Tongue!

And of course I’d love to do the railway between Bergen and Oslo… but the thought of keeping my 3 year old daughter quiet on a train for 7 hours makes me think I could quite possibly put this off another few years…

Greenland, another destination to view the Northern Lights from, is shaping up to be one of the hottest destinations in travel for 2017 too. G Adventures is predicting Greenland to be the ‘new Iceland’ as people look for places ‘less travelled’ to visit, and a more affordable way to see the lights.

As for Places We Go? Well, we can’t seem to get quite enough of Canada. The fact that we didn’t do the Rocky Mountaineer rail journey last time we were there has eaten away at us, so it’s time! We are heading back there in May and cannot wait for this amazing experience… can anyone out there tell us what to expect?

And then, quite simply, we’d love to keep exploring our own backyard. Being away in the USA, I missed our sunburnt country back home. If I had a penny for every American who told me Australia was their dream destination, I’d be able to cover a lifetime of travel around our sun-kissed land. It made me proud, and also itch to get back and get some red dirt under my finger nails.

So I think a trip up north is on the travel agenda… did anyone say Darwin? Those Mindil Markets are calling!

And we simply can’t resist the good Aussie Road Trip – which of course allows you to take in the best of a region. Wine regions, the coast, and the outback are my particular favourites…

Finally, did you know that 39-54 year olds in Australia spend more money on caravans and campervans than any other group? Bet that blew any of your pre-conceived ideas about ‘caravanners’ out of the water! But I’m not surprised as we at PWG are totally on board with this kind of holiday, and are planning a Places We Go campervan trip with all of our families in the Kimberley next year, as well as plenty of caravan and holiday park adventures in 2017 – we can’t wait to share them with you all.

So, tell me, what is on your travel agenda? (I might have to steal some more ideas).