New Zealand named as one of the world’s top countries for 2018

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New Zealand named as one of the world’s Top 10 Countries for next year by Lonely Planet.

“Twenty-five years ago, long before it was retrofitted to resemble Middle-earth, New Zealand began actively attracting adventure-seekers. A sweet suite of trails, the Great Walks, encouraged exploration of the country’s exquisite topography, taking tramping travellers through some of the world’s most extraordinary wilderness.”

“Now, for the first time since the nine-track network was launched, a new Great Walk is under construction. The Paparoa Track and Pike29 Memorial Track, which commemorates the 29 miners killed in 2010, will form a magnificent multi-day trail through the South Island’s wild and wonderful west coast. Hikers can get a taster of the walk’s dramatic scenery on four existing trails.”

Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Countries 2018 are:

  1. Chile
  2. South Korea
  3. Portugal
  4. Djibouti
  5. New Zealand
  6. Malta
  7. Georgia
  8. Mauritius
  9. China
  10. South Africa

Lonely Planet’s writers and experts spend time on the road in almost every destination on the planet, and each year they report which destinations are set to take off, offering travellers the best experience available. The destinations selected for Best in Travel meet specific criteria.

It could be that something special is going on in the year ahead, or there’s been recent development and a lot of buzz about the place; that it offers travellers new things to see or do; or that the Lonely Planet team of experts thinks it’s been overlooked and underrated and suggests travellers visit before the crowds do.

Other Best in Travel 2018 highlights include:

  • The Top 10 Cities to visit in 2018: Seville, Spain; Detroit, USA; Canberra, Australia; Hamburg, Gemany; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Antwerp, Belgium; Matera, Italy; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Guanajuato, Mexico; and Oslo, Norway
  •  The Top 10 Regions to visit in 2018: Belfast & the Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland; Alaska, USA; Julian Alps, Slovenia; Languedoc-Roussillon, France; Kii Peninsula, Japan; Aeolian Islands, Italy; Southern USA; Lahaul & Spiti, India; Bahia, Brazil; and Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic.