6 Must-Visit Destinations in 2024 (and 5 Must-Avoid!)

GO NOW. 😘 disclaimer: I am no expert and have zero authority. Feel free to go or not go to these places. Just have fun!

#1 go to… Cambodia — when we were there in March of 2023, tourism had only bounced back 30% post-pandemic. This is not a statistic I looked up on the internet… this is what everyone there told me. They very sweetly and graciously asked us to send our friends. The Temples of Angkor are the reason to go and the PEOPLE are the reason to make it more than a stopover. I highly recommend Jaya House for beyond-five-star treatment (included: laundry service, daily massages, organic bug spray, and a tuk-tuk), but there’s many options for places to stay in Siem Reap. They use US dollars, but make them CRISP and NEW or they won’t take them. Many tourists pop into Cambodia during a longer trip to SE Asia, and since China hasn’t fully opened their doors to travel (for tourists and residents alike) you have a unique opportunity to visit with reduced people. We absolutely want to go back someday and see Phnom Penh.

#2 go to… Scandinavia 🇳🇴🇸🇪🇩🇰— Denmark, Sweden, and/or Norway are such dreamy places to visit. The Euro is still down compared to the dollar so your money goes further which really helps because it’s kinda an expensive place to visit. If you love coffee: go. If you love Scandinavian design: go. If you love art: go to Oslo to see The Scream. If you love boats: take an overnight ferry or a boat up the fjords.

#3 go to… Peru 🇵🇪— Peru takes your breath away. No really, the high altitude makes it a bear to catch your breath sometimes. 😅 Go for the food, go to relax, go to see Machu Picchu (and no shame in taking the train instead of hiking 4 days on the Inca Trail to get there, this is your vacation after all!)

#4 go to… Spain 🇪🇸— There’s no wrong time to go to Spain. If you took even a few weeks of Spanish in high school it will all come flooding back. Spain is also on the Euro so once again you’ll get bigger bang for your buck. Take the trains all over. You can literally see 4 cities in a week and not feel stressed out at all. We did Girona, to Barcelona, to Valencia, to Madrid in 7 days all by train.

Specifically, if you’re planing a visit before June 2024, check out the Salvador Dalí house and museum in his home town of Figueres, Spain. I have it on good authority they are showing a number of his most notable works in his home which normally hang in prestigious museums all over the world (for example Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross which normally hangs in the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow and went out on holiday right before we got to Scotland… but our loss is your gain!). People rave about the house—the outside literally looks like if a cake were made out of bricks with a dozen giant eggs on top—so adding his art can only make it even more unforgettable. Figueres is in the Catalonia region and would pair nicely with a day/night in Girona on your way back to Barcelona. Don’t walk to Spain, run!

#5 go to… Jordan 🇯🇴— Jordan is a magical country where you can have 5 unique trips rolled into one: hiking a World Wonder—Petra—at Wadi Musa, snorkeling/scuba diving (or just beach bumming it) at the Red Sea in Aqaba, glamping or straight up roughing it with the bedouins—not to mention stargazing!—in the desert of Wadi Rum, brush up on your history and gorge yourself on amazing food in the capital city of Amman, stand on Mt. Nebo where God showed Moses the Promised Land, follow the Jordan River to where Jesus was baptized, and indulge in one long spa day floating at the Dead Sea before flying home.

#6 go to… Egypt 🇪🇬 A trip to Egypt is one you’ll never forget, and the timing is perfect with the opening of the new GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) slated to finally open late 2023. Originally planned to open in 2020, the delays have been… well, very classic Egypt. 😂 Click to read my Egyptian posts about our trip!

# 1 maybe don’t go to… France 🇫🇷— Hear me out, I love love love France, but in 2024 Paris is hosting the Olympics. So if you want to go to the Olympics, by all means, have at it! Otherwise be prepared for lots of construction all spring, crowds all summer, continued crowds all fall (the people who delayed their trip to Paris to avoid the Olympics), and a somewhat different Parisian atmosphere. I mean, remember when Paris hosted the summer Olympics in 1924? No??

How cool is this ID card from 1924? Owned by the National Museum of American History in DC.

2024 will actually be the 3rd time Paris has hosted the Olympics, previously hosting in 1900 and 1924. The 1900 Paris Olympics—the second modern Games—were unique as they were part of a 5 month World's Fair, had low engagement (many of the 997 athletes were unaware they were participating in the Olympics. 😂), and marked the first inclusion of female athletes. Paris hosted the 1924 Olympics to honor the French Revolution's 100th anniversary. The Games introduced iconic venues like the Olympic Stadium, and lighting of a cauldron there initiated the Olympic Flame tradition we still carry today. 🔥

You’re thinking, why nix France… sounds like this is just a Paris issue? Yeah, but CDG (Charles de Gaulle Airport) is nuts on a regular travel day. Protesting (especially work striking in the transportation sector) is basically France’s national sport. I wouldn’t risk it.

# 2 maybe don’t go to… Greece 🇬🇷— Specifically, Santorini in the summer. The photos of the crowds are UNREAL. Go to Greece but stick to the less-crowded areas. Greece literally has 6,000 islands… why are we all going to Santorini??? Ok, ok, but only like 220 of those 6,000 islands are inhabited, but still we’re spoiled for choice. I think previously, the hot island was Mykonos, and now it’s Santorini… find the new hot island and go there before anyone else.

# 3 maybe don’t go to… Italy 🇮🇹— See above, except the Amalfi Coast.

# 4 maybe don’t go to… Iceland 🇮🇸— Is everyone going to Iceland? There’s little else in my travel groups these days. It’s a short flight from the USA, and sure the photos are gorgeous, but all the videos show how hard it is to get even a tight shot without other people behind you. Iceland is having its moment. I’ll go later.

# 5 maybe don’t go to… Jordan 🇯🇴— Yes, Jordan made both lists. There was an intense tourism campaign throughout Europe and online in 2022-2023, and it seems to be working. As much as I love this place and the people and the FOOD, and the history, you may want to tuck away this one for a couple years. We went in 2021 when crowds were super low due to COVID restrictions and the hoops were annoying but having all theses gorgeous places almost all to ourselves made for one of the best experiences of my life. I would dread seeing them crawling with people. But heck, I don’t know what I’m doing. Who am I to give advice? Go where you wanna go. ♥️