After travelling to 40+ countries, I’m often asked where my favourite place in the world is.  I find it hard to give just ONE place, my usual answer is ‘I liked here, here, here, here OH and here’!  But it’s time to try and put them in an order once and for all…although I can guarantee that it’ll probably change with new adventures, but for now, here are my top 10 world-wide destinations!

My Favourite Place in the World – Top 10

10. Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, New Zealand is like the ultimate adrenaline playground and for that reason, I think it’s an awesome place!  One of my favourite ‘extreme sports’ is canyon swinging and Queenstown has TWO!  It was the main reason that I travelled to the furthest place in the world from my home country, literally just to throw myself into a gorge on the end of a piece of rope.  They’ve now added more canyon style thrills so a big part of me wants to return and try the new attractions!

You can go bungee jumping, paragliding, jet boating, zip lining, on a mountain go kart track that feels a little like a real life Mario Karts, white water rafting…the list goes on!  For scenery lovers, Queenstown is a good place to go on a day trip to Milford Sound (they stick the boat tip under a freezing cold waterfall…I did that too while everyone else was hiding inside in the warm!).

It’s an expensive place if you want to do all of the different activities, but so much fun!!!

9. Bled, Slovenia

When I visited Slovenia, it was still one of those places that hadn’t been blogged about a huge amount, I didn’t really know anything about it and we literally picked it because the pictures looked nice in a travel brochure!

(Yes, that would be me taking a photo of the church while in the lake…)

It was peaceful and relaxing and I loved jumping in the lake for a swim at every given opportunity!  One of my favourite experiences was walking BACK to Bled from Vintgar Gorge.  At the end of the gorge you can turn around and walk back to the car park, or continue on through the forest and take the ‘back way’ to town!

Bled Cream Cake is amazing too…go and eat lots of it…lots and lots and don’t regret it because it is yummy!

Related Reading: Things To Do In Lake Bled Slovenia

8. Zillertal Valley, Austria

Austria had never really been on my radar but I was impressed by the amount of adventurous activities there were on offer during the summer!  I shouldn’t have been surprised really, I went to Whistler, Canada in the summer for that very reason, ski resorts tend to pull out all stops for the summer season!

We were based in Mayrhofen but found that the whole of the Zillertal Valley was packed with fun things to do.  We were lucky with the weather, the hotel we stayed in was pretty unique and we met a great family that we still keep in contact with (good ole Facebook!).

Related Reading: Visiting the Hintertux Glacier, Austria in Summer

7. The Sahara Desert/Atlas Mountains – Morocco

My trip into the Sahara Desert was one of my all time favourite travel experiences!  I took a 2 night tour from Marrakech to Merzouga, with one night in the Dades Gorge and then a second night camping in the Sahara Desert.

Not only did I love seeing the Sahara, with endless sand dunes and travelling by a camel train, but I saw other parts of the country that I loved.  It just goes to show that it’s not always the destination but the journey as well.  I was a little nervous about going on a group tour but we were so lucky with the group we travelled with, we spent the whole trip crying with laughter, which made the trip even better.

6. Sigulda, Latvia

Sigulda is just the cutest little place ever!  I originally found it by searching for bobsleigh passenger rides in Europe.  Most tracks are in the middle of no where, not really connected by good public transport, but Sigulda was just an hours train ride away from Riga, so was chosen for ease!

Yes I spent a lot of time at the track, but I loved how photogenic the village was and there was actually quite a lot of things to do!  There’s a castle, lots of sculptures and several hiking routes.  We stayed at the Hotel Pils, which served us the cutest little mini breakfast buffet each morning (I’m pretty sure we were the only guests one night).

In the winter there is a little ski area.  They even have an OUTDOOR skydiving wind tunnel…like the indoor skydiving but without walls and a roof!! I really wanted to go but timing didn’t work!  I’ll just have to go back and I wouldn’t mind that at all!

5. Bosnia

Sarajevo was originally the reason I wanted to visit Bosnia…but in 2016 I went to Mostar and a couple of other places and just loved it.  The landscape was like nothing I was expecting, I loved the cute little stone buildings, there was cheap ice cream (WIN) and I loved finding out about the history of this country.

It’s crazy to think that within my lifetime this country was at war, there is very much still evidence of their past, but they are rebuilding and making it more accessible for tourists.

In Mostar, they only allow Bosnian guides, ‘outside’ guides can’t give tours.  I was speaking to our tour guide and she was saying how a lot of young people are moving away to find work, however with the introduction of tourism, it’s giving them a new industry and encouraging them to stay…surely that’s a win win?

4. South-West England

Out of all the places in the world, the South-West of England is the area that I have re-visited the most.  Granted, most of the trips were when I was a child, we would take a family holiday to that area of the country most summers.  It was the place where the lightbulb came on and I decided I wanted to work in the travel industry which resulted in me taking Travel & Tourism at college.

I love being close to the sea and in my opinion, Cornwall has some of the best beaches in the UK.  I’ve spent several summers attempting to surf despite the freezing cold water.  I learnt how to scuba dive in a swimming pool, fell in love with quad biking, split my shorts on a rope swing, eaten my body weight in cream teas, played bingo for hours in campsite club houses and spent a fortune in ‘surf shops’.  It felt like a million miles away from life in the East of England and it’s a place that’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

Related Reading: A Guide To North Devon Beaches

3. Western Australia

Australia was always the ‘bucket list’, once in a lifetime destination that I was desperate to visit, I always thought it would be my favourite place in the world, but as you can see, it’s 3rd!  I’ve now visited 3 times (so much for being once in a lifetime!) and my favourite part is Western Australia.

We hired a camper van and drove a small section of this very large state.  I loved how quiet it felt, for a couple of nights we had whole camp sites all to ourselves.  The landscape is so interesting, from sand dunes to the Pinnacles Desert, Shell Beach, a pink lake, wild dolphins that swim up to the beach, Kalbarri National Park and some of the nicest beaches I have ever seen!

Related Reading: Perth to Coral Bay: Western Australia Road Trip Itinerary

2. Caye Caulker, Belize

Caye Caulker felt like being on a little paradise island.  My days consisted of laying in a hammock (read as lots of laying in a hammock), taking part in rooftop yoga and going on morning walks to buy fry jacks (argh so yummy) for breakfast.

There are no cars on the island of Caye Caulker, everyone either walks, rides bikes or drives around in golf carts.  The motto is ‘Go Slow’ so it’s definitely a great place to just relax and unwind.

I also went on a boat trip and got to swim with sharks, manatees and sea turtles which was a great experience on its own!

Related Reading: The Best Bars in Caye Caulker, Belize

My Favourite Place in the World is…

1. Oahu, Hawaii

The Windward shores of Oahu, Hawaii is my favourite place in the world!  I loved everything about it.  The beaches are amazing and I loved the strange volcanic landscape, it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.  It’s not hard to see why Kualoa Ranch has been used as a filming location for many movies.

Despite it being a USA state, it doesn’t feel like America.  There’s a ‘no billboard’ rule (on some of the other islands there’s a rule that no building can be taller than the average palm tree height) and it still has a very Polynesian feel to it, from being greeted with Aloha’s and Mahalo’s and the Polynesian Cultural Center is a very fun and educational introduction to the cultures in this part of the world.  (Even McDonald’s has a unique ‘Hawaiian’ menu!)

Where is your favourite place in the world?

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