10 Best Holiday Destinations for 2022

For most of us, it's been two or three years since our last big overseas trip. We've been saving up and dreaming of a holiday. 2022 looks is the year we'll be able to go pretty much anywhere we want. Why not make it a special one next year and explore somewhere truly spectacular?

We asked our 250,000 Facebook followers, those planning holidays next year, thousands of travel agents and the team at Holiday Extras where they're going in 2022.

Whether you want to dip your toe in the water of travel again or go on a full-blown bucket list adventure there's something for everyone in our list.

So come with us on a journey of the top 10 holiday destinations that everyone's talking about for 2022.

Fethiye, Turkey

Fethiye is a popular holiday resort town on the Turkish Riviera only 40 minutes from Dalaman airport. Built on the ruins of the ancient Lycian city of Teemessos, Fethiye makes a great base to explore the Aegean sea, Butterfly Valley and Lycian Way. It's the perfect combination of relaxation and exploration for your 2022 bucket list.

Turkey tops our list for 2022 for 4 reasons.

First, it's a lot cheaper than last time you went. Since March 2019 the pound is up almost threefold against the Turkish Lira, so your holiday money will go more than twice as far.

Second, it's one of the closest beach holidays outside the Schengen zone. You'll skip any Brexit-related paperwork hassles or queues, and however long you spend here won't count towards the EU's time-limit for British visitors.

Third, like most of Turkey, Fethiye offers that holiday sweet-spot where you can lie on a beach for two weeks or get out and about to see the history, culture and natural wonders nearby.

Fourth, Fethiye is the site of one of our favourite sustainability projects, run by our partners at the Travel Foundation. Check out our video from when we last visited in 2018.

Where to visit around Fethiye

The Butterfly Valley

A stunning combination of beach, cliffs, waterfalls, greenery and the butterflies it's named after. What makes this gem especially special is that the only way to get there is by boat from Ölüdeniz – a bus ride from Fethiye. The relative inaccessibility of the beach keeps it clean, unspoiled and not too crowded. For a tranquil swim somewhere secluded Butterfly Valley is our top pick.

The Lycian Way

Named after the ancient Lycian civilisation, the footpath runs more than 300 miles along the coast and is especially spectacular around Fethiye. The hike from Fethiye to Kabak is a popular section of the route, and is generally best done in the spring or autumn – summer is too hot to hike in comfort.

Day trip to Pammukale

It may be two and half hours from Fethiye but it's definitely worth the trip. You'll see the main draw of the town when you arrive – the pristine, white mineral pools flowing down the mountain like a Cotton Castle. It's a pleasant hour or so to walk from the foot to the summit. Stop on the way to dip your toes in the warm, mineral-rich pools and enjoy the view.

On many days the skies above Pamukkale are full of hot-air balloons, and the view up the twinkling white cliffs and down the valley are like nothing else on earth. The cliffs themselves, and the pools spread over them are enough of a draw for a very enjoyable and scenic day trip. But at the top of the cliffs sits a second hidden gem – the ruined city of Hierapolis.

Hierapolis is older than the Roman Empire, and the thermal baths there date back to the second century BC. The ruins at the top of the cliffs are Roman though, and once there you can explore the ancient amphitheatre, the standing facades of classical buildings and best of all, swim in the warm pools that have stood on the spot for centuries. It's a fitting reward for the walk up the mountain. The waters are perfect for the warm, temperate climate of the region and after dawdling in the sunshine by the pools on the way you'll be glad of the dip!

Terengganu, Malaysia

Terengganu is a state on Malaysia's east coast overlooking the South China Sea. Like so much of Malaysia it's notable for the diversity of food, worship and local cultures, especially in the state capital Kuala Terengganu. But the coast and natural beauty of the area mean it's also a perfect place to enjoy both Malaysia's beaches and rainforests.

If you want to get back out there and explore, Terengganu is a proper adventure on the far side of the world. Fly into Kuala Lumpur via Singapore or one of the Middle Eastern hubs, and it's a short hop to Kuala Terengganu on the opposite side of the Malaysian Peninsular.

Styling itself the cradle of Malay civilisation, Terengganu has everything you'd want from an adventure in south-east Asia. Expect a riot of cultures and cuisines in the state capital, beach resorts along the coast and stunningly beautiful islands to explore. Inland you'll find Tasik Kenyir – a serene made-made lake, as well as some of the oldest rainforests on Earth and Malaysia's highest waterfall.

Top 3 things to do in Terengganu

• Eat, drink and pray in the capital Kuala Terengganu
• Swim in the South China Sea at Cherating
• Head inland to the rainforests, waterfalls and artificial lake at Tasik Kenyir

You'll almost certainly fly into the state capital, Kuala Terengganu. If you've got time check out Chinatown, the floating mosque, buddhist temple and the traditional boat-building on the island Pulau Duyung just off the coast.

After a day or two in the capital, head down the coast and relax at the beach. We recommend Cherating, which has beach resorts, turtles, sea caves, local handicrafts and remarkable statues. Head inland for the rainforests and waterfalls, and make your way back via a few days on Tasik Kenyir – the beautiful man-made lake where you can relax on a floating hotel and catch your own fish for dinner.

The Salzkammergut, Austria

Safe, clean and staggeringly beautiful, Austria's lake district is just a couple of hours away by plane, or a day away by train. Whatever time of year you visit there's either skiing, city breaks or lakes and mountains to enjoy.

Why the Salzkammergut?

If you've not been away for a while and want to ease yourself back in, Austria's stunning lakes and mountains are a great place to start – especially for kids who by now may have sat through more lockdowns than plane flights – the healthy outdoors, lakes and chocolate-box towns are a perfect introduction to the joy of heading overseas.

The Austrian lakes make an excellent alternative beach holiday for the whole family. Most lakes have a beach area often with facilities such as showers, cafes, playgrounds, sunloungers. Some will even have diving platforms, inflatable obstacles or pedalo hire. They are called a "Strandbad" and quick search on Google maps will show you where they are. Usually there is a day rate per person and they are affordable, clean, well kept and safe for families.

There's reasons to visit year-round. In the winter there's skiing and city breaks to Salzburg itself (including a wonderful Christmas market). In warmer months the lakeside towns of the Wolfgansee are picture-perfect. The area around Lake Hallstatt is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so is definitely worth a visit.

You can fly into Salzburg from London in about three hours or if you're keen to minimise your air miles you can get there by train in a day or so. Take a morning Eurostar to Paris or Brussels and a connection or a later train followed by a sleeper, waking up in Salzburg the following morning.

Top 3 things to do in Salzkammergut

• Take the Mozart tour in Salzburg - Whether you arrive by plane or train you'll likely start your visit in Salzburg, and the city is worth a holiday in its own right. In 48 hours you can take in Mozart, the palaces, cathedral and the views from the funicular up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. With a little longer you can explore the museums, cafes and churches.
• Sail the Wolfgansee to visit St Wolfgang and St Gilgen - We especially recommend a day or more walking in the mountains, and at least a day on the Wolfgangsee, the lake from which you can visit St Wolfgang and St Gilgen.
• See the ice caves and salt mine in the UNESCO World Heritage Site - The Dachstein-Salzkammergut area (inner Salzkammergut) is a UNESCO World Heritage site and includes the villages of Bad Goisern, Hallstatt, Gosau and Obertraun as well as spectacular ice caves and the world's oldest salt mine.

Luxor, Egypt

While Cairo is the most popular choice for seeing the pyramids and the Sphinx, and Hurghada for a beach break on the Red Sea, we recommend Luxor. Home to many of the most remarkable remains of Ancient Egypt, and a great base for heading further down the Nile to Aswan, this is where you'll see the best of Egypt.

Egypt is celebrating multiple centenaries this year including 100 years since independence, the opening of Tutenkhamun's tomb, and 200 years since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. So if you're going to go, 2022 is the year.

In-resort you get pretty much guaranteed weather. Stepping outside to explore, you'll see the ruins of one of the most remarkable ancient cultures on earth, much of it incredibly well preserved and extremely well set up to receive tourists.

Top 3 things to do in Luxor

• A day or more visiting the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens
• Day Trip to Aswan to see the dam, Edfu and the Old Cataract
• Trek into the edge of the Sahara desert on camel or by hot air balloon

Most visitors book a resort somewhere in or around Luxor and use that as a base of operations. A good pool and a couple of restaurants make an excellent retreat from the sun and the crowds.

Once you're out and about, easy must-sees include the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Temple of Hatshepsut, plus a camel trek out to the edge of the Sahara Desert and a felucca trip down the Nile.

Further afield, in a day or two you can head down to Aswan to see the dam, settle down for a G&T on the veranda of the Old Cataract hotel and visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu on the way.

Valparaiso, Chile

Just before the pandemic BA started flying direct from Heathrow to Santiago. Then everything closed down - so now's the time to take advantage of those direct flights as they start up again. It's 14 hours from Heathrow to Santiago, but once you're there, it's a great base from which to explore Chile.

Chile is nearly 3000 miles long but only 100 miles wide, so if you're willing to hire a car and drive east to west, you can get from one of the world's great mountain ranges to the coast in a few hours. The area around Santiago includes the capital itself, which is well worth a visit. From there you can range up into the Andes, across to the South Atlantic coast and stay at Valparaiso.

Top 3 things to do in Valparaiso

• Start off in Santiago, Chile's vibrant, lively capital
• Head up into the Andes and explore the mountains
• Make time for the colourful cobbled streets, sea views and fireworks in Valparaiso

Start in Santiago and get a feel for the city. Fly in here and stay for as long as you have time, at least a few days. The city is strikingly ringed by mountains, but the best views from inside the city are from San Cristobel, a park with its own funicular.

The city is home to almost half of Chile's population, fantastic restaurants and nightlife. Expect the usual roster of national museums, cultural events and wonderful oddities like the Cemeterio General, a city of catacombs faintly reminiscent of Pere Lachaise or Highgate.

From there, head either west to the Andes or east to Valparaiso on the coast. Valparaiso is packed with colourfully crumbling villas and cobbled alleys on the hills that overlook the South Atlantic. Once home to Pablo Neruda, it's now a vibrant, faded but recovering port town filled with artists, art and great seafood. If you visit at the end of December you can see in the new year with South America's largest firework display, a wonderful site over the coast.

Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland

Not just the wall itself but the surrounding 'Hadrian's Wall Country' - rural Northumberland and the cities of Carlisle and Newcastle. Combine rugged outdoors pursuits with Roman ruins, city breaks and, throughout 2022, celebrations.

2022 is the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian's Wall (construction started in 122), and with celebrations planned throughout the year it's the perfect time to go.

A holiday to Hadrian's Wall and surrounding Northumberland - now pitching itself as 'Hadrian's Wall Country' - can also be super-sustainable. Take public transport to either Newcastle or Carlisle and walk the 70 miles of the wall in a week, either camping or staying in hotels, B&Bs or hostels along the way.

Or if the van life appeals, drive along the wall, dropping in at Vindolanda on the way, sleep in your van and head up into Scotland or the wilds of Northumberland. Both of which are remote enough that you'll appreciate travelling with your own kitchen and bathrooms on wheels.

Top 3 things to do around the Hadrian's Wall

• Walk from end to end - 70 miles of scenic splendour
• Visit the Roman forts and temples along the way and take part in the anniversary celebrations
• Take a campervan into the empty wilds of Northumberland and take some time to unwind in peace

Our vote is to start from Carlisle, take in the city's under-appreciated sandstone cathedral, then head out on foot to walk the length of the wall to Newcastle some 70 miles east. The record time for the route is a little over 16 hours, but we'd recommend a week for a slightly more leisurely pace.

There are Roman forts, towns and museums all along the route, and during 2022 the anniversary celebrations will include almost all of them. Highlights include Vindolanda and Housesteads.

Slightly off the direct route but well worth a look include Hexham with its abbey, about halfway along the route, and at least one night in Newcastle at the other end.

Uluguru, Tanzania

For an alternative, sustainable safari adventure, try Tanzania's Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve or the Udzungwa Mountains National Park. Most visitors to Tanzania come for the safari and head straight onto the Serengeti but give Central Tanzania a chance. It's close to Dar es Salam where you'll land and includes some of the world's most diverse biospheres. Settle in and get to know the local wildlife and people rather than dashing around trying to catch glimpses of elephants and lions.

Why Central Tanzania?

Many people go to the Serengeti for their first safari. For something a little different head down to the Udzungwa Mountains instead, where the 'African Galapagos' gives you the opportunity to see wildlife that appears nowhere else on earth. Waterfalls, monkeys and 400 species of birds are the highlights here. Or head to Uluguru Nature Forest reserve, where relative isolation and sustainable farming make for an equally unique experience.

Top 3 things to do around Uluguru

• Start from where you'll land in Dar es Salam, and take a day or two to explore the city
• Head into the interior (you'll need a guide or an organised tour) to the Udzungwa National Park
• The Kondoa rock art sites are world heritage-worthy. Fenga, Thali and Kolo are all well worth the trip

New York State, USA

New York City, the capital of the twentieth century, needs no introduction from us. Shop in Manhattan, watch a ball game and if only for a week or two you can live the life we all watch on TV. From our polls NYC is the absolute top of everyone's bucket list for a city break now the USA has opened back up but don't just stay in the Five Boroughs. Jump in a car and in an hour or two you're out of the city and in the backwoods of New York State, and this often-overlooked patch of America is well worth a visit if you're already flying into JFK.

Why New York state?

All our polls say you've missed it! After two years and two lockdowns in which, let's face it, we all binged a lot of Netflix box sets set in the Big Apple, it's probably no coincidence that as soon as the USA reopened New York immediately topped our polls for everyone's bucket list destination.

Beyond the city itself, New York State is a frequently overlooked destination in its own right, and transforms a city break into a glimpse of the real American backwoods. It's fine to hop over the pond and play in Manhattan if that's all you've got time for but there's a lot to see and do north of the city.

Top 3 things to do in New York state

• Take in a Manhattan show - right now we'd recommend Punchdrunk's immersive promenade experience Sleep No More
• Drive north out of the city and meander through the little towns of New York State, ending up at Niagara Falls
• Get back to nature at the Finger Lakes or Adirondack Mountains

We visited New York a couple of years ago and our video guide to the city itself is below. There are thousands like it (though this one is of course the best) - if you can't find a week's worth of fun in New York nothing we can say will help.

Since so many of you tell us New York tops your city break bucket list, we wanted to suggest a change of itinerary. Don't stay in the city - enjoy it, soak it up, but then drive north and see where the road takes you.

If you drive for a day or two north-east you'll hit Niagara Falls, which is worth the trip on its own. But on the way are towns like Albany (the state capital, not New York, as all good pub quizzers know), Syracuse and the city of Buffalo, all worth a visit. But you're really out here for the peace and quiet and the scenery, which after a few days or a week in Manhattan is all the more striking for the contrast. Climb or ski (depending on the season) the Adirondacks. Walk the Finger Lakes. Visit Erie Canal or take advantage of the Catskills' campsites, fishing, boating and other amenities to enjoy some of the comforts of home while you appreciate the great outdoors.

Kingston, Jamaica

Not traditionally a destination for the fainthearted, Kingston is definitely cleaner and safer than ever before. But the FCDO does warn of crime, especially robbers targeting tourists, political demonstrations and short-notice police curfews. If all that sounds like an exciting trip to you and you've taken travel precautions in your stride before, Kingston should be on your bucket list for 2022.

Why Kingston this year in particular? Partly because you told us so - the Caribbean topped our poll for bucket list destination in 2022 (second only to the newly-reopened USA) and Jamaica is the rough diamond in the crown of the Caribbean islands. It's the 60th anniversary of independence next year and the capital will be host to wild celebrations and carnivals to rival Rio's. And, like Turkey, the pound has risen strongly against the Jamaican dollar in the last two years so a holiday here is about 30% cheaper than it would have been before the 2020 lockdown.

Top 3 things to in Kingston

• Visit the Bob Marley museum then take in one of dozens of live reggae shows throughout the city
• Hike to the summit of Blue Mountain Peak before dawn and see sunrise break over Kingston and the Caribbean sea
• Head up to the Blue Lagoon and boat or swim in one of the most beautiful spots on the island

You'll arrive in Kingston itself, and this vibrant city is worth a long stay. The legacy of Bob Marley is everywhere, from the museum in his former house to the Tuff Gong studios, so dive in and immerse yourself in the island's best-known musical export. Also around the capital is the National Gallery - a striking collection of modern Jamaican art and cultural highlights like the Life Yard or Trench Town Culture Yard. You'll also find relics of the island's colonial past such as Devon House.

Not much further out are the Blue Mountains. Come up here before dawn one morning and watch the run rise over the sea and the city, it's worth the early start to see it and say you've seen it.

Then depending on how far from the city you want to travel, you can make it in a day to the Blue Lagoon, Blue Hole or Reach Falls, swim and surf the beaches of the south coast of the island, or take to the hills for the truly unique experience of the Rastasafari.

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Finishing up our list is the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro - a stunning vista of sea cliffs, forests and medieval towns in Europe's next big tourist hotspot.

Since we left the EU there's been a 90 day limit on how long we can spend in the Schengen zone. If you're retired, have a second home on the continent or visit friends and family regularly that limit is going to get pretty short pretty quickly. Enter Montenegro. Neither in the EU nor the Schengen bloc, but just along the Adriatic coast from better-known Croatia it's easy to get to, and with the standards of hospitality and accommodation you'd expect in central Europe.

Where's it like that you might already know? A bit like Austria, a bit like Greece, a bit like Croatia. But Montenegro is its own place which rewards further exploration, and the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska to the locals) is widely considered the best of it.

What to see and do in Montenegro

• Wander the medieval towns of Kotor, Risan and Tivat, exploring the preserved city walls at Kotor itself and hike up to the fortress
• Kayak, paddleboard, motorboat or just swim in the bay. The bay's gorgeous so just get out there somehow, whether on a boat or off it
• If you've not been before, it's a comfortable day trip from Kotor to Dubrovnik in Croatia, a couple of hours up the coast

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