Where to travel 2022…2023… Well, whenever we are allowed to travel again.
It feels like centuries have gone by since we could skip our island home and go on an international getaway. With vaccines slowly being rolled out, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, with many of us are starting to plan our long-overdue trips abroad. Once we have been given the green light to travel again, the only dilemma is deciding where next.
To give you a healthy dose of travel inspiration, we ask the travel experts to share where they want to travel first.
“Months spent in lockdown has also meant a lot of time in the kitchen. I’ve been rediscovering my Italian ancestry by making a lot of fresh pasta by hand and experimenting with polenta, ragus and biscotti. It’s no surprise then that I’m yearning to return to the Friuli region of northern Italy, a hotpot of Italian, Austrian and Slovenian influences, where my family is from. I just can’t make up my mind whether to go in winter and dash through the snow of the Italian Alps on a train journey or laze about on sun-kissed beaches in summer. Decisions, decisions.”
Justin Meneguzzi – Travel Writer/Photographer IG: @justinmeneguzzi
“I would like to travel to Sardinia as soon as I can. La dolce vita and a glass of a freshly prepared white peach Bellini under a myrtle tree is what I dream of right now.”
Viktoria Dorosevits – Travel Photographer/Blogger IG: @travelizer
“So much time in lockdown in Melbourne has made me yearn for expanses of native forests and swathes of desert landscapes. I am desperate to take my kids to Kakadu so they can experience nature at its finest and learn about the culture of the indigenous people from the region. I also fantasise about a health retreat in the Byron Bay hinterland, with no Zoom meetings and no kids… Internationally, I’ve always wanted to go to Morocco, so that is right at the top of my wish list when borders open.”
Danielle Norton – Travel Writer IG: @daniellestorywriter
“I’ve been lucky in that I’ve just had a couple of weeks in Kununurra working, along with some fun travel to Purnululu National Park, Lake Argyle and El Questro, and I had a week in Melbourne in March. Besides returning to Melbourne to see family, I’m yearning for La Dolce Vita in Italy. It’s always Italy – I’d fly into Rome and spend a few days wandering the ancient cobbled streets, popping into any old church to be amazed by the incredible art inside. I’ll practise my Italian language skills with every taxi driver, barista, waiter, shopkeeper and market stallholder who’d humour me. Then I’d head south to the Amalfi Coast and stay in a little town close to Positano, somewhere new where I haven’t stayed before. I’d eat bowls of spaghetti vongole, salads of ripe tomato, basil and mozzarella di buffola and creamy, oozy burrata, cups of freshly made lemon granitas, and I’d have a gelato every single day, maybe two. I’d explore the nearby Cilento National Park (never been), buy (more) hand-painted ceramics in Ravello and spend plenty of time photographing every single detail so I could relive it over and over again. I love Australia, but I can’t wait to get back to Italy.”
Dianne Bortoletto – Travel Writer/Blogger IG: @travelletto
“My list is ever-growing… to the warm climates of India and Sri Lanka, and to far-flung lands like Canada. But first, I want to tackle a place closer to home, Tasmania. I first travelled to Tassie in 2007 and was surprised by its European flair (both in heritage and the cooler weather). I adored the road trip ease it offers, the accessible wine regions with a nod to Pinot Noir and sparkling whites. Hobart has its artistic charms, and I’m keen to discover the old and new talents at MONA then head to the nature getaway of Cradle Mountain. Also, I have family to the south of the island, so keen to see them again, and rediscover this lesser travelled part of Australia.”
Nardia Plumridge – Travel Writer IG:@nardiaplumridge
“I’ll go for something less trammelled – Europe’s wild side – and would happily choose any one of the travel experiences that contribute to conservation and wildlife causes supported by The European Nature Trust.
These multiple week-long trips explore travel options in Italy, Romania, Spain and the Scottish Highlands guided by local experts who provide special access to ‘off the beaten track locations where you spend time with the ecologists working on the ground to save habitats and species.
What was it that the naturalist ornithologist John Audubon said? ‘A true conservationist knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children’.”
Anabel Dean – Travel writer IG: @anabel.dean20
“Japan is the one for me. I’ve been a few times and feel I’ve barely scratched the surface. My husband and I have been using this downtime to research a few off the beaten path destinations and will be jetting off as soon as we can. I want to tackle the Kunisaki Trek in Oita Prefecture, a sacred pilgrimage trail taking in misty forests and visit Aichi Prefecture, which appeals to our inner transport nerds with a whole museum dedicated to bullet trains. I also want to explore ancient temples and piping-hot onsens in between.
The long ski season from November to May, combined with a late-blooming period of the cherry blossoms, means you can see blossoms one day and then ski amazing fluffy, white snow the next. The Nebuta Matsuri lantern festival looks terrific too!”
Chris Ashton – Travel Writer/Blogger IG: @repeattraveller
“Our post-pandemic bucket list is long and varied, but right at the top is a destination that stole our hearts the first time we visited and are itching to return to – Antarctica! Having been fortunate enough to travel to Antarctica and nearby South Georgia twice in the past, we can’t wait to get back to exploring the jagged peaks, magnificent glaciers, majestic icebergs and fascinating wildlife for the third time. This time we’re not going alone, though, and will be bringing a small group of intrepid travellers on our new Antarctica, South Georgia and Falkland Islands Photography Tour so we can share these mind-blowing, remote locations with new friends.”
Alesha Bradford & Jarryd Salem – Travel Bloggers/Photographers IG:@Nomadasaurus
Read more travel news and inspiration on SoWhereNext.com.au.
