Every year, the Matador Network staff travels the world. Some journeys are to the edges of where humans can survive, like Antarctica. Some are to cities — Paris, Riyadh, New York City. Others are closer to home, or even our hometowns themselves. As the calendar year wraps up, we, like many, reflect on where life took us. This year, those collective experiences helped us narrow down our favorite trips of 2023 to decide which we recommend most by type of travel: adventure, wellness, sustainability, emerging destination, and the airline that got us there the most seamlessly.
There were disagreements, of course. The perfect place for one person may be overshadowed by another’s. The many stories that we’ve published about the destinations and businesses nominated helped inform our conversations and debates. As did a 100-point system with 10 criteria custom to each category that can be found at the end of each award announcement. In the end, one won out in each group.
These are the 2023 Matador Network Awards for our favorite Airline, Adventure Destination, Wellness Destination, Sustainable Destination, and Next Big Destination.