LP’s top 10 destinations for 2010

By Carlo Alcos On November 16, 2009 · 19 Comments

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So, is drawing names out of a hat the main criteria for this list?

Maybe it’s just me, but Lonely Planet’s list of the Top 10 Countries to Visit in 2010 seems a little, well, weak. For the most part, they are countries which are already frequented by travelers and tourists. Hardly groundbreaking stuff.

Here’s the list:

Photo: fdecomite

El Salvador
Germany
Greece
Malaysia
Morocco
Nepal
New Zealand
Portugal
Suriname
USA

Yes, I do know that lists are always subjective and everyone’s going to have their own opinion, but really, what gives?

What is it about 2010 exactly that should attract more people to New Zealand, Germany, or Greece?

Portugal? I’m pretty sure folks were headed there on their European circuit already. I can almost forgive the U.S. inclusion — although the Obama excitement is dying down — seeing as the exchange rate is so favourable right now.

How about these

Canada is hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2010. Seems to me a great year to visit. Start out west in Vancouver, put your head down, and barrel eastward all the way to Newfoundland.

How about South Africa for the FIFA World Cup? Or even after. Post-cup might be a great time to be there.

Russia is launching Peru’s first nanosatellite in November 2010. That seems as good a reason as any to check out Peru and drop them a congratulations in person.

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What do you think about LP’s list? Do you agree/disagree? Are you more psyched now to visit any of these destinations in 2010? Share below!

About The Author

Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos is the editor of Brave New Traveler and co-founder of Confronting Love. He blogs about his travels and life in general at Vagabonderz.com. You can also find him at the yoga studio and tweeting away as @vagab0nderz.

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http://www.paul-sullivan.com Paul Sullivan

Wow, Carlo you are right. I checked the original article and there is NOTHING specifically 2010-friendly about any of them! Their “explanations” are simply descriptions of the country – and largely cliched at that. Perhaps they are trying to promote the places where their guide sales are down? Well done for re-balancing the scales a bit.

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/vagabonderz Carlo Alcos

“Perhaps they are trying to promote the places where their guide sales are down?” Didn’t think of that!

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/candicew86 Candice

Woot, props to Newfoundland. I watched the olympic torch being paraded around downtown on Friday…olympic fever has begun! And it’s contagious.
Nick

To be fair, if you are interested in travel (heck, just turn on the TV) you know that the World Cup is in South Africa and the winter Olympics in Canada and in that respect they are obvious choices. I think the LP article is actually pointing to places that can go unnoticed to some degree. Instead of automatically going to Australia for a holiday check out New Zealand, joining the hordes in Thailand? Go south into Malaysia.

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/vagabonderz Carlo Alcos

Hi Nick…the Canada, South Africa, and Peru suggestions were meant to be tongue-in-cheek. The point was that from what they wrote, there is just as much reason, perhaps more, to include these in the list. I felt it was a bit arbitrary.

And I am actually quite shocked at how many people don’t know where the winter games are next year. Then again, I’m in Australia. Their celebrated freestyle skiing gold medalist at the last games is actually Canadian!

http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com andrew farrand

I was disappointed by LP’s list too, like many others. here’s my thoughts: http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com/2009/11/lonely-planet-polls-self-disappoints-readers.html

Why didn’t LP decide to poll their own readers? it’s a no-brainer…
http://www.eighthourlayover.com Dan

I definitely see a reason to include Germany on the list this year. I’m trying to see if I can make it…the Oberamergau Passion Play, involving literally an entire town of people, and put on for the purpose of giving thanks for being spared from the plague in the middle ages. Definitely a reason to make a trip to Bavaria!
http://milesofabbie.com Abbie

I agree that the list seems a bit basic. I have LP’s book about travel desinations for 2009, and it was good – maybe they’ve slipped a bit
http://www.kaleidoscopicwandering.com JoAnna

For no particular reason except that it’s underrated, undervisited, super cheap and diverse, I would add Honduras to this list. I just got back, and, seriously, there’s no one there. In fact, the tourism industry is hurting so badly there right now that many places are offering low season prices for the upcoming high season. It really is a spectacular country … I’m already planning my next trip!
http://www.rmccoll.co.uk Richard

I find it interesting that Suriname is on that list, principally because it is fascinating, I was there some years ago and wrote about the forgotten Scottish settlements

http://heritage.scotsman.com/people/Distant-outpost-for-the-Scottish.2814098.jp

But, while fascintating the prices are kind of restricting. I would recommend the country to any traveller though.

While I cannot criticise any of the locations picked by LP I cannot feel that the list is a bit loose. I just get the feeling that they just whacked some locations up there and then left us to debate the issues.
joshua johnson

weak.

Nothing about this list cries out to me. It is soooo 2009.
http://bit.ly/all_inclusive Liam Walker

Definitely it’s not the most surprising list from LP. Greece, Nepal and New Zealand are the only ones I consider should be in there. If they are supporting El Salvador, probably they should mention an all-time top destination: Mexico and it’s Riviera Maya. I’ve visited some places around the world and definitely, I’d rather spend my vacations in the Mexican paradise, than in El Salvador or Suriname…
Greetings,

Liam
http://nancythegnomette.com Nancy

Boo. While these places are great I would have loved to see them include more recent buzz places like Romania, Samoa, Korea, or Chile.
Nic

I couldn’t help but add, I would be more than happy to go to any of the places on that list in 2010… Maybe it’s because i am only starting out in my travels and i am reasonably inexperienced compared to everyone who commented here, but I would be so excited to see and experience ANY of the people / cultures listed… For me, 2010 is a good year to start traveling ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE!

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/vagabonderz Carlo Alcos

Hey, great point Nic, it all depends on your perspective!

Best of luck in your travels next year. Are you a Matador member yet? If not, make sure you sign up. It’s a great community of travelers, so if you have any questions or just want to talk about travel/writing/photography (anything really) it’s a good place to do it.

http://matadortravel.com

http://offtrackplanet.com Backpacking

Check out this much more interesting list of “Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations for 2010″…http://offtrackplanet.com/headline/otps-top-10-backpacking-travel-destinations-for-2010/
http://www.gomadnomad.com Stephen

Yep, It’s weak. Agreed.
http://BohemainBackpacker.com Rachel Brown

Another more interesting and specific Top 10 List to check out
“Top 10 Hippie Backpacker Destinations”

http://budurl.com/10BestHippieSpots

and more Top 10s at http://BohemianBackpacker.com
http://www.ritztours.com Travel Package Deals

One place you forgot to mention is Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo. That’s also something that doesn’t occur frequently and is quite an interesting event. On top of that, Shanghai (as well as the rest of China) is an interesting place to visit!

LP’s top 10 destinations for 2010

How about these

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