Despite the attempts of technology to make our worlds shrink, the planet remains an overwhelmingly vast place. Improved infrastructure, better access and new attractions make it much easier to explore – but deciding where to go is still a difficult choice.
In 2025, dozens of holiday destinations are coming under the spotlight thanks to new flight routes, gallery exhibitions and blockbuster films.
While it’s cold outside, sit back and indulge in a bit of armchair travel, planning adventures for the year to come.
Ghana
Overshadowed for many years by bucket-list safari destinations, West Africa is finally receiving deserved attention with new escorted tours to Ghana. Further improving access, Virgin plans to launch direct flights to capital Accra by the end of the year. The story of a transatlantic slave trade is told through visits to Cape Coast and Elmina Castle, while colourful kente cloths and lively festivals celebrating the Ashanti Kingdom create an upbeat atmosphere. Search for elephants in the baobab-studded Mole National Park and swim beneath the Kintampo Waterfalls.
How: Explore offers a 15-day Best of Ghana tour from £3495pp (two sharing), including accommodation, guided activities, transfers and most meals. International flights are extra. Visit explore.co.uk
Greenland
With interest in the polar regions continuing to grow, the world’s largest island has become a favourite for cruise companies. While trips along the western coastline to see berg-chocked Disko Bay have been operating for some time, more voyages are heading along remote eastern shores where highlights include dramatic ice sculptures and visits to indigenous communities. Covered in 80% ice, the interior has always been challenging to navigate. New flights into the long-awaited Nuuk Airport have opened up opportunities to explore the small but creatively thriving capital.
How: Regent Holidays offers a four-night trip to Nuuk from £1,995pp (two sharing), including B&B accommodation, some meals and flights from Iceland. Visit regent-holidays.co.uk
Scotland
The sun may not always shine in the far north, but when it does, coastlines sparkle like the Caribbean. In the past, the Hebrides have been praised for their beauty, and interest in Scotland is set to soar even further with a series of special events next year. Glasgow will be celebrating 850 years of history with a three-day music event, pop up social history exhibition and a food trail. The Tall Ships race is also coming to Aberdeen, while the Inverness Castle Experience is opening in the highlands.
How: Shearings offers an eight-day Cruises of the Highlands tour from £799pp (two sharing), including half-board accommodation, daily cruises and coach transport. Departs July 11 and October 3. Visit shearings.com
Guernsey
The only part of the British Isles to be occupied by German forces during the Second World War, this fiercely proud Channel Island commemorates the 80th anniversary of liberation with a series of events. The Heritage 80 celebrations will include RIB boat tours, German bunker open days, occupation-themed walking routes and an enhanced Liberation Day event on May 9. Stay at the newly renovated Renoir Cottage, a favourite spot of Victor Hugo during his exile in Guernsey, which features in one of Renoir’s Guernsey paintings.
How: The Renoir Cottage costs from £169 per night (two sharing). Minimum stay is two nights. Visit renoircottage.com
The Welsh Marches
Scenes of the bucolic British countryside were forever immortalised by great 18th-century artists John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. While the latter was praised for his depictions of dramatic blazing sunsets, his rival was a master of cloud sketches capturing the light of an English sky. Coinciding with the 250th year of their births, London’s Tate Britain Gallery will host a landmark exhibition of their works, running from November 27 until April 12, 2026. Visit the landscapes that inspired Turner on a five-night tour of the Welsh Marches, where the hills of Wales meet the lowlands of Herefordshire.
How: Ramble Worldwide offers a five-night Exploring the Welsh Marches tour from £899pp (two sharing), including half-board accommodation. Departs April 13, June 1 and July 3. Visit rambleworldwide.co.uk
Georgia
Straddling Europe and Asia, the landscapes of this wildly diverse country range from woodlands and forests to alpine terrain, desert and a long coastline bordering the Black Sea. Ideal hiking territory, it’s set to become a favourite with walkers when the Transcaucasian Trail launches. In development since 2015, sections are already open, running through the mountainous isthmus of land sandwiched between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. New direct British Airways flights from London to Tbilisi launching next spring make this one of the most exciting new adventure destinations.
How: World Expeditions is the first UK operator to offer the option to trek selected sections of the long-distance trail. The 10-day Transcaucasian Trail Hike Georgia costs from £1,790pp, including full-board accommodation. Flights extra. Departs July 15, August 12 and September 9. Visit worldexpeditions.com
Alberta, Canada
Several millennia after they mysteriously disappeared from our planet, dinosaurs are set to sweep the stage once more in 2025. TV viewers can expect to see a revamped popular series Walking With Dinosaurs, while a reboot of cult movie Jurassic World is also due for release. The BBC used a dig site at Pipestone Creek Bonebed in Alberta for much of their research, where a 72-million-year-old skull was recently unearthed. Tourists can visit the site as part of a tour with the Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum, which can also arrange rafting rides hunting for fossils. Dinosaur Provincial Park is another destination packed with finds.
How: My Canada Trips offers a 10-night Alberta, Lakes and Glaciers trip from £2,719pp, including B&B accommodation, car hire and flights. Visit mycanadatrips.co.uk
