12 Personal Travel Recommendations for 2022

Travel choices can be very personality driven. What seems amazing to one person sounds awful to the next. But, because they are personal, it also really fun to share them – it shows something about how a person sees the world.

My last post was on the 23 Place to Travel in 2022 and based on the recommendations from the Travel Powers that Be. This time is my annual personal recommendations of places to go (check out 2021, 2020, and 2019). These are where I think you should go and places that I’d love to go in the upcoming year – and hopefully do. Some of these also overlap with the Travel Powers that Be list, but I try to put a more personal explanation in this list. And finally, I consciously try to choose a diverse list of places from around the globe. With any luck I’ll be able to go to one of these places in 2022, and maybe you will to! 

South Korea
2022 is the Year of the Tiger, making it the perfect year to visit a country frequently associated with and represented by the animal: South Korea. South Korea is a modern nation, but its traditional Korea that’s getting more and more love these days. Part of this can be seen in/due to the influence of K-pop, where groups have been showcasing traditional Korean culture more and more, bringing in outfits, such as hanboks, and instruments into their songs. So when visiting, make sure to soak in the unique history of the place. Check out the great palaces of the medieval Joseon Dynasty in Seoul, the temples and Silla-era ruins in Gyeongju, and the folk villages on Yangdong and Hahoe.  

Atacama Desert, Chile
Last year I recommended as a top place to vision Torres del Paine National Park, in Patagonia in the far southern part of Chile. This year, it’s the Atacama Desert, in the northern part of the country. The Atacama Desert is one of the driest spots in the world, and yet there is still plants and wildlife there. But the two biggest draws are the landscape itself and the sky. The Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) is one of the most famous sites, along with the Tatio Geysers. But there is also the Rainbow Valley, so named for its multi-colored rocks, which is also the site of ancient (11,000 years old, give or take) petroglyphs. And due to the clarity of the sky and low to nonexistent light pollution, the Atacama Desert is considered one of, if not the, best place in the world for stargazing.  

Victoria Falls, Southern Africa
One of the world’s largest and most spectacular waterfalls, Victoria Falls, also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya or “Smoke that Thunders,” is 100% worth visiting. The falls are on the Zambezi and straddles two countries: Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its worth visiting the falls from both sides of the border. In addition to hiking along the falls, and visiting different lookout points, there are also river cruises, wildlife sightseeing trek, and swimming in the “Devil’s Pool” right by the edge of the waterfalls (I’m planning on skipping that last one though). And if you need a break, make sure to do the high tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which was originally built in 1904 (courtesy of British imperialism, but the Empire is gone and high tea is still fun!) 

Burgundy
Burgundy is one of the places the Travel Powers that Be say to go in 2022, and, as I said in my piece on that, I wholeheartedly agree. The wine is a top draw of course, especially for someone like me who has studied the region’s wine production and characteristics. But there is far more than just wine here. For the area’s medieval history, check out the Abbey of Fontenay, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1168 and set in the woods near the town of Montbard and the Basilique St. Madeleine in Vezelay. There are also Celtic archeological sites, Dijon’s Musee des Beaux-Arts, and of course the natural beauty of the region.

New Mexico’s Archeological Sites
As someone who love ruins and archaeological sites, I feel kind of silly that I’ve seen more ruins in say, Southeast Asia, than in the United States. The Southwest, particularly New Mexico, is home to a number of archeological sites related to the Pueblo cultures. The first and most famous place to start is Chaco Culture National Historical Park, home to the ruins of major city of the Ancestral Pueblo people from roughly 850 – 1250 CE.  But that is far from the only site worth seeing. There is also Aztec Ruins National Monument (which is also an Ancestral Pueblo site, and not related to the Aztec Nation in Mexico), and Pecos National Historic Park. And those three are just famous ones run by the US National Park Service. There is so much forgotten, deliberately destroyed, or just ignored history in the US – 2022 is a great year to go an explore some of it.   

New Zealand
Ok, I’m a bit biased here because a number of my friends are from New Zealand, but the small island nation, also known as Aotearoa (the Maori name) is definitely a top place to visit in 2022. New Zealand has been effectively closed to the outside world since the pandemic began. However, it is slated to reopen to tourists at the end of April, making 2022 a good year to visit before overtourism returns. New Zealand is great for hikers, and 10 “Great Walks,” which are multi-day treks, across the country. The South Island also has some spectacular fjords, known as sounds. And if your interested in history, check out Northland, which is where Kupe (according to legend) became the first person to land on New Zealand. 

Tunisia
For me Tunisia brings up one thing before anything else: Ancient Carthage. The North African country was home to Carthaginian Empire, which grew from the city-state of Carthage, one of the great cities of the ancient Mediterranean. And the ruins of Carthage are just outside the modern capital, Tunis. But there is more to Tunisia than just one city, or even just those ruins. There are a number of other excellent Punic and Roman ruins scattered across the country. Tunisia is also home to one of the best museums in the entire continent, the Bardo National Museum. And if ancient history isn’t really your thing, Tunisia is well-known for its beaches and as a seaside getaway by Europeans. And there is of course the excellent food.  

Antarctica
This one is probably more than a slight reach for, well, almost all of us, given how expensive cruises in Antarctica are (I’m personally hoping to go once I’m free of student loans, whenever that happens). But for those who have the means, or can save up to do so, the time to go to Antarctica is now. Global climate change is having a significant impact on Antarctica, parts of which are warming more rapidly than any other part of the world. There is impact on sea ice, and the wildlife of the area, for everything from krill to penguins to whales. Stopping climate change is going to require major systemic changes, namely from corporations and governments. But while they dither and procrastinate, this region will continue to change. Go now, or as soon as possible, because who knows what it’ll be in the future.  

Taiwan
Taiwan is still closed to foreign tourists (and has had very low COVID rates over the pandemic), but when it does reopen, it’s definitely worth visiting. One of the very top sites in the country is the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The permanent collection has hundreds of thousands of pieces spanning 8,000 years of Chinese history. The base of the collection was relocated to Taiwan from the Forbidden City before the Communists won the Chinese Civil War. Taiwan has nine national parks, such as the Taroko National Park, particularly famous for its eponymous marble gorge, and Yushan National Park, home to the tallest peak in Taiwan and home to roughly half of Taiwan’s native plant species.

Chan Chan Archeological Site, Northern Peru
While most people think of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu when Peru comes up, Peru has been home to civilizations for millennia before the Incan empire ever emerged. Those people left plenty of artifacts, art, and archeological sites of their own. One of the most important: Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu Kingdom and the largest known pre-Columbian city in the Americas. Yep, both of them. The site on the northern coast of Peru, near the city of Trujillo. Most tourists (including myself when I was there) just visit the Incan sites and the southern half of the country, but that leaves out some amazing sites in the north. More reasons to go in 2022 specifically – the site, and others in the region are deemed “threatened” and have faced damage in recent years thanks to extreme weather caused by climate change.

Sicily
Sicily has everything you want from Italy and gives it to you with its own unique flair. Ancient Sites? Sicily was actually home to one of the most important Ancient Greek cities, Syracuse. There are excellent ruins near the modern city of Syracuse, the Valley of Temples in the Agrigento Valley, and dotting the island. Food? Welcome to the home of caponata, arancini, cannoli, and foods influenced by the Middle East and North Africa. For nature, check out Mt Etna, an active volcano, or any of the myriad beaches on the island. There’s also plenty of Renaissance and Medieval sites and churches, and a wine scene that is coming into its own.  

Vancouver, Canada
When I was thinking of why I was recommending Vancouver, Canada, the honest reason was, I just really like this city. I haven’t been to Vancouver in ages, but it’s one of only around half a dozen cities I’ve visited and actively want to go back to. Sites I can personally recommend include Granville Island, which has great art and shopping (who knew artisan-made brooms could be cool?), and the Museum of Anthropology, which I’m sure is even better now with their commitment to engaging with indigenous communities in Canada and around the world regarding scholarship, repatriation, and the historical and cultural context of the artifacts they hold. Things I want to visit next time around include the Gastown neighborhood, with its restaurants and breweries, the Vancouver Aquarium, and the parks and shoreline of the city.