By Karen Quinn-Panzer
Travel Matters
Karen Quinn-Panzer
It’s that time of year when all the travel sites and gurus come up with their top picks for next year’s travel junkies. Where to go next year?
I’ve browsed through the usual: Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes and Chase Travel and culled my own list of what I feel is travel-worthy, based on my experience combined with recommendations from travel agent friends who have visited “that place” that we haven’t gotten to yet. I’ve visited seven out of 10.
Here are my top 10 in no particular order:
1) Big Sky, Montana is in the last phase of a 10-year expansion to become one of the top ski destinations in North America and boasts of two luxury hotels now: Montage and One&Only.
2) Athenian Riviera is a place I visited on my last visit to Athens in the fall of 2023, just before our Viking Mediterranean cruise. I was quite impressed with the beauty of Cape Sounion at sunset and the journey was amazing.
3) Alaska has always been a top cruise destination, but in 2025, Glacier Bay National Park turns 100 years old and truly cannot be missed. Since the best way to see it is on a cruise, visitors are increasingly asking for Alaska cruises (we are going back ourselves next summer on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth).
4) Croatia is one of the hidden gems of Europe and is becoming not so hidden anymore. We just secured a charter of a 36-passenger luxury yacht to offer to clients in May to island-hop through Croatia’s top islands.
5) Antwerp, Belgium is one of those cities that exceeds expectations. It’s a hotbed of design with a number of new hotels and restaurants opening. It has become a favorite stop on the Holland and Belgium river cruises. I loved it.
6) Grenada, the “spice island” of the Caribbean, has become more popular with two new top resorts – Six Senses and Silversands Beach House. More cruises are stopping in Grenada, where we had one of the best cooking classes ever.
7) Riviera Nayarit, Mexico offers almost 200 miles of beautiful coastline just north of Puerto Vallarta. With more nonstop flights from major cities including New York, more people are turning to this alternative to Cancun for great beaches
8) Victoria Falls, Zambia is becoming a more popular inclusion on safaris as more people travel to Africa and discover they can combine one of the world’s top waterfalls with animals in the wild.
9) Sardinia, Italy has moved up the list as people who love Italy look for parts of this country they haven’t been to before, What could be better than mountain landscapes, great beaches with sparkling blue water and fabulous food and wine?
10) Greenland has become easier to travel to with many expedition ships focused on the Arctic, including HX, Silversea and Viking, where you can chase the northern lights, climb an ice sheet and travel by dogsled.
Karen Quinn-Panzer is the owner and vacation specialist at Dream Vacations Quinn Panzer Travel in Milford.