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The Lonely Planet guide is the “Bible for travelers.” Their forecasts for next year are almost or perhaps even as important as estimates by the European Central Bank. Their recommendations are always a good option if you are planning a trip in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and beyond. In this post we will focus on some of the worldwide destinations that Lonely Planet has focused on for next year. We’ll talk about Ethiopia, Brazil, Bulgaria and the Philippines. I don’t know about you, but I would like to be able to visit each of these destinations. Lonely Planet guides are pretty fail-proof.
Paradise in Palawan, Philippines
El Nido and Puerto Princesa are the most visited cities in Palawan, which is one of the most touristy yet also beautiful islands of the archipelago. It’s also quite large, with more than 7,000 islands. Usually visitors fly to Puerto Princesa, since it has a major airport. But please note that if you travel to El Nido, you’ll need to bring some cash since there aren’t any banks or ATMs there and not all establishments welcome payment by credit card. Diving there is where you will see the true paradise. Giant tortoises, manta rays, clown fish, whale sharks and lots of coral await you. You can also take excursions to nearby islands such as Helicopter Island (which is untouched and uninhabited) or areas with emerald blue waters like the Big Lagoon and Small Lagoon.
Foto: Anton Zelenov
Exploring Ethiopia without prejudice
Here, we’re talking about a historic visit to a very unique environment. Ethiopian landscapes are recorded in the retina and not easily forgotten. Once there, must-sees include the route of the monasteries of Lake Tana and the Blue Nile Falls, the tombs where the Axumate kings are buried, typical stone churches and many mosques.
A walk in and around Sofia, Bulgaria
It’s a great holiday if you can combine the best of quality and price. A safe bet is Bulgaria. Above all are its inhabitants, who have nothing to do with the image we usually have in the head of the Bulgarians. Nothing at all. Nearby is the Black Sea, where its easy to have a wonderful vacation when you are traveling with small children. A very good option is to approach Plovdiv and Varna. A trip here is guaranteed to be memorable.
Move to the rhythm of samba in Brazil
The magic of Brazil and its sheer size make it almost impossible to fully explore the country. So I would recommend visiting Rio de Janeiro with its magnetic favelas, its beaches full of surfers and beautiful people (such as Copacabana and Ipanema), the Christ the Redeemer statue (which oversees the city from up above), and the Pao de Acucar (which is accessible via a cable car that can you’re your head spin). But I would not stop there. If you can, catch a plane to go see the Iguazu Falls. Once there, you will truly believe you’ve reached the end of the world. It is an inexhaustible source of water that disappears into the earth to a place noone knows exactly. You’ll fall in love with the waterfalls, and is very easy to cross from there to Argentina and Paraguay, since the three countries’ borders meet here.
