If you’re looking to travel the world, there’s no shortage of recommendations of where to go or opinion on what to do and see. The Huffington Post recently published an article that collated the favorites of Pulitzer Prize winners, world champion athletes, entrepreneurs, artists and more. Forbes turned to serious globe trotters and standouts in the travel field for input.
While there’s an obvious bent towards identifying obscure places that people have stumbled upon in the journeys of their lives, I found it comforting that places close to home also feature (two places that I consider ‘home’, Auckland, New Zealand and the Lake District in Cumbria, UK are in my favorites).
Images of these places tend to say it all, but I was particularly taken by the explanations people gave about why they chose a certain location as their favorite, and the thought given for the emotions they so carefully attached. There were some common themes. Magical and overwhelming scenery. Remote destinations and no interruptions. Bare feet and no attitude. The people.
Scientist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond spoke of New Guinea: “Within this island, you get the whole world…you can stand on a coral reef and look up at a glacier…there are hundreds of different tribes with hundreds of different languages, so from a human point of view, it is the most exciting place in the world.”
CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg spoke of The Lau Archipelago, Fiji: “Great storytelling, and a never-ending feeling of community and love that lives with you forever.”
Author Lalita Tademy spoke of Positano, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy: “Up on the cliffs, perched up above everything, watching the ocean, the boats. It was just stunning. I spent so much time on the balcony, just staring. It was inspiring… Gorgeous.”
Places that make you think and that make you reflect on life. They don’t need to be far flung. They’re out there.
And remember as Snoopy and Charlie Brown know, “in life its not where you go – its who you travel with.”
