National Geographic Best of the World travel list: The most exciting destinations to explore in 2025

Picking where to go on your next vacation just got a little bit easier.

National Geographic has released its “Best of the World 2025” list of the top global destinations, curated by a team of travel experts and international editors.

The aim of the magazine’s list is to “highlight extraordinary places around the world” while focusing on aspects like adventure, culture, conversation and sustainability.

“It is not only to celebrate these locations but also inspire adventure and promote responsible and meaningful travel,” National Geographic editor Starlight Williams tells CNBC Make It.

“It’s the idea that no matter who you are as a traveller or what you’re interested in, there’s something for you to be inspired by, and you can take this as a launching pad to create your own best of the world.”

Though the list includes far-flung locations around the globe, including Greenland, Japan and India, National Geographic also highlighted some places closer to home. Of the 25 locales listed, three destinations are in the United States: Boise, Idaho; Ocala National Forest in Florida and Los Angeles, California.

“It’s more of a representation of the unique aspects of American culture and the natural beauty that resonates globally,” Williams says. “It’s the idea that you can get that sense of globality that connects to the world right here.”

But the National Geographic’s guide isn’t just about vacation destinations. It is also focused on giving travellers sustainable and eco-friendly places to go.

“This list is giving people places that not only are preserving the location for future generations but also respecting the local culture and the environment to know that there’s a reason why it’s epic now, and we want to make sure that years from now, it still exists,” she says.

These are National Geographic’s top destinations for 2025:

The Americas

• Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
• Boise, Idaho
• Ocala National Forest, Florida
• Los Angeles, California
• Barbados
• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Greenland
• Antigua, Guatemala
• Cerrado, Brazil

Williams admitted that Boise, Idaho might seem like a surprising choice to readers at first glance. But the city made the cut because it offers travelers a slice of the world without ever having to leave the U.S.

“It’s the Midwest, so people might just think potatoes and corn fields, but there’s so much more than that,” Williams says.

According to National Geographic, Idaho has the highest concentration of Basque people in the U.S. It’s a European ethnic group that spans parts of Spain and France. In July 2025, Boise is honouring the region’s Basque population with Jaialdi, a festival that takes place every five years.

The celebration is held across multiple days and features music, performers, sports, food and dancing. The city’s famous Basque Block downtown will have daily street parties and feature traditional Basque competitions like wagon lifting and wood chopping.

Europe

• Cork, Ireland
• Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden
• Outer Hebrides, Scotland
• Brasov, Romania
• Cenobitic Monasteries, Italy

Brasov, Romania, is becoming easier to travel to thanks to its proximity to Romania’s first new airport in 50 years.

The medieval city allows travellers to explore the region along the Via Transilvanica, a hiking trail completed in 2022 that runs 870 miles and showcases 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the painted monasteries of Sucevița and Moldoviţei, which were built in the 16th century.

Asia

• Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Suru Valley, India
• Raja Ampat, Indonesia
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Kanazawa, Japan
• Eastern and Oriental Express, Malaysia
• Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

After a four-year shutdown due to covid, the Eastern and Oriental Express returned to service in 2024. The train’s round-trip journeys depart from Singapore and travel through Malaysia, stopping at popular destinations including the Taman Negara National Park, Langkawi, and Penang.

The train cars have been revamped with upscale wood panelling and Malaysian silks as a nod to the region’s culture.

“These 15 train carriages are bringing you through an area that you can’t often see by just doing a road trip or going by plane,” Williams says.

The cost of a four-day, three-night journey starts at $3,410 per person and includes meals, beverages and scheduled activities like visiting a tiger conservation place, e-bicycle rides to ancient caves and more.

Africa

• Tunisia
• Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
• Senegal

While the world-renowned Kruger National Park is South Africa’s go-to destination for safari seekers, National Geographic recommends checking out Kwazulu-Natal in 2025. It is home to the nearly 50,000-acre Babanango Game Reserve, which in recent years has successfully introduced wildlife including elephants, rare antelope, lions and endangered black rhinos.

Australasia

• Northland, New Zealand
• Murray River, Australia

The area is set to debut a new river cruise in 2025 that will allow for multi-night trips out of the Victorian town of Echuca. Itineraries for these guided cruises — which are either three, four or seven nights — will include wine tastings and wildlife spotting.