The best places on earth, according to award-winning travel writers

Chosen by Tony Wheeler

‘There’s a lot to be said about a destination that takes you completely by surprise, somewhere which has simply not registered despite all the guidebooks and all the Instagram pictures. Like Chad. Of course, it’s not exactly in popular travel territory – Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, Niger to the west and Central African Republic to the south. But when you get there, wow! Who knew the Sahara had mountain ranges? Or extinct volcanoes? Gorges, canyons, camel trains and oases sound familiar, but ancient (and beautiful) rock art? Or a stretch of desert sands littered with dead Soviet-era tanks, the result of a spectacularly unsuccessful Libyan Gaddafi invasion?’

Tony Wheeler is the co-founder of Lonely Planet and won the Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing Award.

Chosen by Emma Willsteed

‘I fell for Inishbofin, a small island off Connemara, western Ireland, the moment I stepped from the ferry. Folklore and tales of enchanted beginnings weave through its heritage, found in Bronze and Iron Age ruins and its medieval harbour, and embodied in the pirate queen Gráinne Ní Mháille. Circular walking routes, emphasising sustainable tourism, lead you through an unfolding landscape of hills and valleys, down to the booming bass notes of the Atlantic Ocean. Here you will find my favourite beach – a scramble down the cliff to reach velveteen sands with views across the narrow channel to the Inishark ruins.’

Emma Willsteed won the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year for ‘What Was Left Behind’.

Chosen by Hannah Gold

 ‘Early in 2020, I was lucky enough to go whale watching in San Ignacio lagoon in Baja California. In these marine protected waters, one particular encounter would form the inspiration behind my children's book, The Lost Whale. Here was a grey whale, 15 meters in length, just a hair’s breadth away from our tiny boat. As she gazed up at me from under the water it felt like the most incredible honour of my life. Moments like these are not just part of a holiday. They are experiences to treasure forever.’

‘The Lost Whale’ by Hannah Gold won the Children’s Travel Book of the Year.

Chosen by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

‘A mountain – the Mother of The World (Everest) – changed my life, yet Machu Picchu, known as the Old Mountain in the Inca Empire, is my favorite place on earth. Re-discovered in 1911 as a random stroke of luck, Machu Picchu survived the Spaniards destruction due to its remote location. It holds a powerful enigma; no one knows what it truly means. Get carried away by the energetic pull of granite and quartz structures in the citadel, or stand in its main temple to see how each surrounding mountain aligns perfectly with the four cardinal points. Most temples in Machu Picchu were built to honor all the natural elements. This perfect harmony with nature and its unlimited supply of awe will create an unforgettable journey. If you want to maximize an already out-of-this-world experience, the train ride from Cusco to Puno will take your breath away!’

‘In the Shadow of the Mountain’ by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado won Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year.

Chosen by Colin Thubron

‘There is no best place on earth, of course: only a traveller’s cherished memory. My favourite, alas, is all but inaccessible now. The great Umayyad mosque of Damascus – an early Islamic masterpiece – bewitched me when I entered it sixty years ago, and sparked my fascination for a world still mysterious to me. Raised in the rectangle of a Roman temple to Jupiter, its arcades are sheathed in a mosaic panorama of the gardens of paradise, and when I last saw it, five years ago, they still glowed intact around a gaping mortar hole.’ 

‘The Amur River: Between Russia and China’ by Colin Thubron won the 2022 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year.

Chosen by Travis Elborough

‘I grew up on the coast, in an English seaside town to be exact, and have a love of coastal and estuarine places and ports from Liverpool to Odessa, and beyond to Santa Monica and the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. But a place I keep going back to is Stockholm. I first visited it over 25 years ago now, staying then on Af Chapman, the nineteenth-century hulk turned floating youth hostel. This archipelago city is blessed by the antique beauty of Gamla Stan, the old town, and the contemporary hangouts of Södermalm. But I’ve always found Skansen, its quirky open air museum – which boasts five centuries of buildings from across Sweden and a habitat for wild Nordic animals such as moose and wolverines – especially endearing.’

’Atlas of Vanishing Places’ by Travis Elborough won the award for DK Eyewitness Travel Guides Illustrated Travel Book of the Year in 2020.

Chosen by Paul Theroux

‘So I tell you my favorite place on earth – a town, a village, a beach, a coastline, a mountain – and then it appears in print; and the next time I go to this amazing place it is overcrowded and not so amazing anymore. Consider: I used to tout Hawaii – and decided to live in Hawaii. Now Hawaii has more than 10 million visitors a year and is at times unbearable, with traffic, pollution, litter and gawkers. Consequently, I will offer you my third favorite place: Mexico. It’s the subject of my most recent book, ‘On the Plain of Snakes’, which describes all the country’s splendours and miseries.’

Paul Theroux, author of many books including ‘The Great Railway Bazaar’, won the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing in 2020.

Chosen by Eleanor Ford

‘From a childhood spent in Indonesia, this archipelago nation feels like a second home. There is something for everyone: the shimmer of gamelan music in ancient temples, the impossibly beautiful rice terraces, silver-sanded beaches, coral atolls or perfect surf breaks. You’ll probably find me at a night market seeking out the best street food. There is fragrance and fire paired with comforting coconut-milk curries and addictive salty-sweet peanut sauces.’

‘Fire Islands: Recipes from Indonesia’ by Eleanor Ford won the award for Kerb Food and Drink Travel Book of the Year in 2020.

‘Iran is far and away the richest, most glamorous and most surprising place I've ever visited, as layered and varied and unexpected as eight other destinations put together. Seven years ago, I spent 16 days travelling around the country, from Mashhad in the north-east via Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan and Qom to Tehran. I’ve never met a subtler culture with a more nuanced sense of language or a more beautifully sustained history. In many a centre of civilisation, from Greece to China, one can make pilgrimages to some of the great spots of antiquity, but they seem to bear little relation to the societies of right now. In Iran, the sophistication, beauty and intelligence of the ancient capital Persepolis (or even older sites) is visible in every other parking lot in Shiraz. Even though I published a 350-page novel on the country and its culture before I ever set foot there, one day in Iran was enough to dispel a thousand stereotypes.’

‘A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations’ by Pico Iyer won the award for APA Publications Travel Memoir of the Year in 2020.

Chosen by Kirstin Zhang

‘I’m drawn again and again to Lunga, which is part of the archipelago of small islands and skerries which make up the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides, on the west coast of Scotland. A designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, it is home to huge colonies of puffins (best seen from mid-April), razorbills, fulmars and shags, and is an important breeding area for grey seal. From the mossy plateau, which is reached after a steep climb, you can see minke whales, porpoise, basking shark and sea eagles. Reaching it is also part of the appeal: even the shortest boat journey gives me the sense of having travelled far. There isn’t even a beach – to go ashore you need to jump across the divide onto black volcanic rocks washed smooth by the Atlantic Ocean.’

‘Closer to Home’ by Kirstin Zhang won the award for Bradt Travel Guides New Travel Writer of the Year in 2020.