NEW YORK, Nov 29 — Editors at National Geographic Travel have released their picks for the best destinations to visit in 2018, with suggestions that range from Jordan and Dublin to Labrador, Canada.

In the 2018 edition of NatGeo Travel’s Best of the World list, 21 destinations are divided into three categories: Cities, culture and nature.

Cities that made this year’s list were chosen for bustling with “new energy and intrigue”.

Dublin, for instance, is described as “Europe’s largest village”. Though home to 1.2 million residents, the city offers an intimate, friendly, cosy vibe, editors say, and is currently undergoing a renaissance with the opening of the new Emigration Museum and newly revamped National Gallery of Ireland.

Travellers in search of an escape from the rat race and urban jungle of city life, meanwhile, may want to consider heading to the newly opened, 644km Jordan Trail hiking path, believed to have been tread by Jesus, Moses and Mohammed. Divided into eight sections, the trail winds through Jordanian forests, canyons and deserts, and along the Red Sea.

Destinations that made the cut for the culture category, meanwhile, were chosen for being rich in local character and opportunities for cultural engagement.

Canada’s newest national park, Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve, for instance, is a swath of protected land that spans roughly the size of Jamaica in the northeast pocket of Canada’s Labrador region. For a deeper appreciation of the newly protected parkland, visitors can book hikes and other experiences with First Nations guides.

As the 2018 European Culture Capital, Friesland in the Netherlands also fits tidily under the culture heading. 

“The No 1 question we get from our 9.6 million readers is, ‘Where should I go next?’” said NatGeo Travel editor-in-chief George Stone in a statement. 

“Our Best of the World list responds to that question with 21 timely destinations that make for a year of transformative travels.”

NatGeo’s 2018 Best of the World destinations are:

Cities  

Dublin, Ireland

Malmö, Sweden

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

San Antonio, Texas

Santiago, Chile

Sydney, Australia

Tbilisi, Georgia

Culture 

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Friesland, Netherlands

Harar, Ethiopia

Labrador, Canada

Oaxaca, Mexico

Tétouan, Morocco

Vienna, Austria

Nature 

Albania

Jordan Trail, Jordan

Jujuy Province, Argentina

Madagascar

Oahu, Hawaii

Ruaha NP, Tanzania

Seoraksan National Park, South Korea — AFP-Relaxnews