The 25 best places to travel in 2025
From bubblegum-coloured lakes in Australia to a solar-powered safari camp in Botswana, these are BBC journalists' top destinations this year.
Travel has the power to connect, inspire and even transform us. Peering over the edge of a crashing waterfall in Newfoundland and ascending sawtooth spires in the Italian Dolomites reveal how wondrous the world can be. But while travel should be a force for good, the past year has reminded us that it also has the potential to overwhelm and even harm the places we love, and many destinations are now imposing new restrictions as they grapple with the negative effects of overtourism.
In the BBC's inaugural guide to the best places to travel this year, we wanted to highlight the destinations experiencing the opposite phenomenon. Each of these 25 spots is not only welcoming visitors and offering incredible travel experiences, but also using tourism to support local communities, protect the environment or preserve their unique cultural heritage. We compiled the list with input from BBC Travel journalists and some of the world's leading sustainable travel authorities, such as the United Nations World Travel Organization, Sustainable Travel International, the Black Travel Alliance and the World Travel & Tourism Council.
As tourism in many regions soars past pre-pandemic levels, and extreme weather and climate change reveal the fragile impermanence of many bucket-list destinations, travelling thoughtfully means considering where your trip can serve a larger good.
From trekking through a moonlike landscape in Bolivia to Arctic glamping in Greenland on the world's largest island, your next great adventure is just ahead.
1. Dominica
Ever wanted to swim alongside sperm whales? Dominica now offers the chance to do it in an ethical, sustainable way as part of the Caribbean island's groundbreaking commitment to marine conservation and regenerative tourism. The island nation recently established the world's first sperm whale reserve, a protected marine area designed to safeguard its resident giants. Limited permits for whale swims ensure intimate, respectful encounters, offering visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience to share the water with these incredible cetaceans while facilitating research and creating sustainable tourism opportunities for local residents.
New for 2025, expanded infrastructure and systems are set to welcome visitors, including digital immigration forms to ease arrival and the development of a cable-car system taking riders from Roseau Valley up to Boiling Lake, one of the world's largest thermal springs. Access to the island has never been easier: on top of existing American Airlines flights from Miami, United Airlines is launching direct flights from Newark starting 15 February. Several new hotels are opening in 2025 (adding nearly 500 rooms with a 25% increase in inventory), including the six-star Hilton Tranquility Beach Resort and Spa in Salisbury. Or choose a tried-and-true classic such as Secret Bay, a luxury eco-property that frequently tops sustainability lists.
Dominica is also home to Project CETI, a groundbreaking international effort to decode whale language, clicks and codas, led by National Geographic Explorer David Gruber. Elsewhere, visitors can explore hidden gorges, towering waterfalls and feast on local cuisine at unique eateries, such as the farm-to-table Lacou. Dominica isn't just a destination – it's a movement to support a burgeoning model of eco-tourism that balances biodiversity conservation with economic growth, ensuring that your adventure helps protect this natural paradise for generations to come. – Pier Nirandara
2. Naoshima, Japan
Home to one of Yayoi Kusama's iconic yellow, polka-dotted Pumpkin sculptures, the Japanese island of Naoshima has become a must-see destination for connoisseurs of contemporary art and architecture. Once known (if at all) for its highly polluting copper smelting industry, the island's transformation is thanks to Benesse Art Site Naoshima, which has helped create major museums and site-specific artworks in the scenically stunning (and dramatically population-dwindling) Seto Inland Sea, located between Japan's main island of Honshu and Shikoku.
Spring 2025 sees the opening of the Naoshima New Museum of Art, designed by Tadao Ando, the award-winning architect behind nine other projects on the island. This new showcase for works by Asian artists will be a major highlight of this year's Setouchi Triennale, with events and unveilings of artwork scattered across 17 islands and coastal areas of the Seto Inland Sea. Scheduled over 100 days and split between spring, summer and autumn to allow visitors to enjoy the region through the different seasons, this is the largest iteration of the Triennale since it began in 2010. The festival and activities of Benesse Art Site Naoshima have been instrumental in turning not only Naoshima's fortunes around but also reviving the neighbouring islands of Teshima and Inujima.
Book ahead to visit Rei Naito and Ryue Nishizawa's Teshima Art Museum, a one-of-a-kind synthesis of art, architecture and nature; while on Inujima, travellers will be amazed by the remains of a historic copper refinery reimagined as an epic-scale art installation. Memorable places to stay include Roka, a contemporary-styled ryokan on Naoshima, and the elegantly minimalist Espoir Inn on Teshima. – Simon Richmond
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