Leading global travel authority Lonely Planet has named New Zealand in the Top 10 countries to visit in 2018 in the web portal’s recently published Best in Travel 2018.
New Zealand is ranked fifth on the book’s list of Top 10 Countries 2018.
It is the second time that New Zealand has appeared on the list with the last appearance in 2010.
Best in Travel 2018 is Lonely Planet’s 13th annual collection of the world’s hottest destinations, experiences and trends for the year ahead. The best-selling inspirational travel yearbook highlights the top 10 countries, cities and regions that Lonely Planet’s experts recommend travellers experience in 2018.
“Twenty-five years ago, long before it was retrofitted to resemble Middle-earth, New Zealand began actively attracting adventure-seekers,” Lonely Planet explains. “A sweet suite of trails, the Great Walks, encouraged exploration of the country’s exquisite topography, taking tramping travellers through some of the world’s most extraordinary wilderness.”
“In 2018,” Lonely Planet continues, “for the first time since the nine-track network was launched, a new Great Walk will be under construction: the Paparoa Track which will include the Pike29 Memorial Track. This 45km route, which commemorates 29 miners killed in 2010, wends between Blackball and Punakaiki on the South Island’s west coast, passing through Paparoa National Park, and will offer hikers and mountain bikers a sensational experience.”
Aside from New Zealand, countries in the Best in Travel 2018 list are Chile, which topped the list, followed by, in chronological order: South Korea, Portugal (3rd), Djibouti (4th), Malta (6th), Georgia (7th), Mauritius (8th), China (9th), and lastly, South Africa.
Lonely Planet’s writers and experts spend time on the road in almost every destination on the planet, and each year they report which destinations are set to take off, offering travellers the best experience available. The destinations selected for Best in Travel meet specific criteria.
It could be that something special is going on in the year ahead, or there’s been recent development and a lot of buzz about the place; that it offers travellers new things to see or do; or that the Lonely Planet team of experts thinks it’s been overlooked and underrated and suggests travellers visit before the crowds do. See for yourself at www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel.