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HERE’S WHERE TO GO
IN 2023

Friday, December 30, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we kickstart the new year with our annual top travel picks, discover the real House of Dragons, explore how an 18-year-old Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein … and see what Earth would look like if all the ice melted.

A group of sperm whales near the surface of the ocean

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDY MANN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

How do you pick the very best places in the world to go?

Should you go to the Azores for whale watching (sperm whales, above) and other natural escapes? Journey to low-key Karpathos, which is trying to avoid the over-touristed fate of better-known Greek islands? Float through Southern Africa’s Okavango Delta, where you can track a zebra herd wading through the water?

Yes, yes, and yes. These three sites made this year’s “Best of the World” list of 25 breathtaking places and experiences. What else is on our list?

See the full story here.

Please consider getting our full digital report and magazine by subscribing here.

A person in traditional clothing sits in a semi-circle of candles

PHOTOGRAPH BY KIKE CALVO, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Slow travel: You can get to Laos’s former imperial capital by a new bullet train, but the city of Luang Prabang is best seen—like several other choices of ours—at a more leisurely pace. Above, candles surround a young nang keo dancer. See our best slow destinations, plus our top history and heritage sites.

Two stand up paddle boarders navigate a canyon river

PHOTOGRAPH BY BEN HORTON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Getting the heart rate up: If travel means physical exertion, we’ve got you covered. Utah’s rugged landscapes make our top 5 list for adventure travel. (Two adventurers paddleboard down the Colorado River in Moab, pictured above by Nat Geo Explorer Ben Horton.) See more adrenaline-pumping adventures. Read our full list.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A person smells two types of marijuana

PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNN JOHNSON

Science seeks to unlock the secrets of marijuana (Above, Damaris Diaz checks the smell and stickiness of medical marijuana she sells in Los Angeles.)

How Europe came to fear the vampire. Related: How Vlad became Dracula

The real House of Dragons? This Slovenian cave—and the critters are flourishing

11 spectacular night sky events in 2023

A ‘contest’ prompted Mary Shelley to write 'Frankenstein'—and create modern horror

Lava built this island—then entombed these towns in stone

What would the world look like if all the ice melted?

Visions of the Apocalypse revealed the fears of medieval Spain

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A picture of a column of rock with the Milky Way galaxy in the sky

PHOTOGRAPH BY VICTOR LIMA, @VICTORLIMAPHOTO

Celestial lights: In this 20-second exposure, the Milky Way stretches above the Monjes de La Pacana rock formation in Chile’s hyper-arid Atacama Desert. And that yellow-green glow in the background? It’s not light pollution. It’s airglow caused by atoms in our atmosphere absorbing solar radiation.

Related: What microbes in the world’s driest soil can teach us about life on Mars

EXTREME MICROBES

LAST GLIMPSE

An aerial picture of a train coming out of a tunnel and crossing a valley on a bridge

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ROB LEWIS PHOTOGRAPHY, SWITZERLAND TOURISM

Family adventure: From bird watching in Colombia to a chocolate train ride in Switzerland, our editors have selected five top kid-friendly destinations worldwide. Each dodge the crowds and are full of wonder for all ages. (Switzerland’s Bernina Express, above, traverses 55 tunnels and nearly 200 bridges through the Alps.) See our top family travel picks. Catch the full list.

ARE WE THERE YET?

Readers, let us know where you are thinking of traveling in the new year. Or is there a place you think we should include in our next list? Let us know at [email protected].

This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Sydney Combs, and David Beard. Have feedback? Email [email protected]. Thanks for reading!

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