It’s that time of year again – you’ve got the whole work year laid out before you, and the only thing that can get you through is the light at the end of the tunnel – a holiday! So what are the hot and happening travel destinations in 2012? Check it out…
London
From June 2012, London will be a hub of festivities as the hosts of the 2012 Summer Olympics, having invested billions in transforming the city for the plethora of people who will be flooding the city to experience the celebrations firsthand. Aside from all the olympic events for the sports junkies, the city will also be home to the London 2012 Festival, featuring performances by headline acts from around the world, Shakespeare productions at Stratford-upon-Avon, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrating her 60th year on the throne, art installations, and much more. If you manage to make the trip, you’ll find yourself part of an international smorgasbord of cultures, festivities and celebrations!
Mexico
This December, the Yucatán Peninsula is the place to be if you believe in the Doomsday prophecies of the ancient Mayan people. With the world supposedly ending on the 21st of December 2012, you’d be hard-pressed for a more scenic armageddon – bursting with stunning white sand beaches, amazing food, old stone houses, lots of festivities, ancient ruins of once-great civilisations, and raw natural beauty. Mexico is inviting travellers to visit and join them in their year-long countdown to ‘the end’. You’ll also find the Yucatán Peninsula a much safer destination than the rest of Mexico.
Myanmar
After years of tourism sanctions and urging foreigners to stay away in protest of the authoritarian regime, democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi has been released and Myanmar has been set free as a Southeast Asia travel destination. The Burmese locals will warm your heart with a kind welcome and genuine hospitality, and you’ll fall in love with this Buddhist landscape, known as the ‘Land of the Golden Pagoda’. If the authentic Asian experience is what you’re after, look no further – unpolluted by commercialism, Myanmar is encouraging responsible tourism to help support sustainable development. As a destination, Myanmaw is a treasure trove of breathtaking pagodas, monuments, towns, and empty beaches, untouched by time or tourism.
Chile
For adventure lovers, the time to go to Chile is now. A controversy’s been building over the plan to build dams on two of the wildest and most beautiful rivers in the world, in the Aysén region in Chilean Patagonia. Chile’s industrial growth is threatening the rugged beauty that has tourists falling in love with the destination in the first place. Chilean Patagonia is a priceless package of pristine green valleys, snowcapped peaks, glacial lakes, skiing slopes, climbing routes, rivers and fjords. When your flight lands in Santiago, take some time to check out the buzz of the city, and the tallest building on the continent – the Torre Gran Costanera.
Panama
The Panama Canal is just one of the country’s projects in development – it’s being expanded wider and deeper with two more locks – so if you want to see the canal as it was originally, you better go before its all shiny and new. The whole of Panama has been getting an upgrade – from the historic quarter, to hotels and museums. Casco Viejo, previously dilapidated, is now a transformed Unesco World Heritage site and home to trendy art galleries, coffee shops, street performers, restaurants and boutique hotels. If nature is what you’re after, the Soberanía National Park is alive with howler monkeys, toucans and other wildlife, or you could chill on the beaches on the Caribbean coast, spending your time tanning, snorkeling, zip lining, or surfing.
No matter which holiday is more your style, start planning your trip today and you’ll be there before you know it.
