The 2025 Good To Go List represents the most exciting moments of what travel can offer for the curious, intrepid and responsible Wanderlust traveller. From milestone anniversaries to groundbreaking cultural events, this list reminds us that travel keeps us connected to the world and to each other. It’s about engaging with places in a way that celebrates heritage, supports communities and brings stories to life. When we visit destinations thoughtfully, we not only experience their beauty and culture but also contribute to their growth and resilience. By visiting these 25 Good to Go countries, cities and regions, you have the unique chance to be part of something meaningful.
Too Good to Miss
From new openings to poignant anniversaries and jubilant festivals, these adventures and experiences deserve your attention in 2025
Great adventures
Batumi, Georgia
Step aside, Penrhyn Quarry in North Wales! Georgia is set to open Europe’s new longest zipline in June. Set high on Chirukhi Mountain (100km east of Batumi), it rises above an alpine village that is popular with walkers in the summer months. The wire is set to span 1,750m and offers incredible views across the surrounding meadows, hills and traditional dark-wood houses.
France
In the land of the yellow jersey, our eye has been taken by some new cycling trails. Top of the list is the 275km La Régalante, which officially opened last year and crosses Brittany. Starting in Nantes, it ends at the medieval majesty of Mont-St-Michel and takes in the Gothic towns of the Fougères region en route. Meanwhile, Normandy’s spa town of Bagnoles-de-L’Orne has reinvented itself as a running, cycling and walking haven, creating 800km of new trails through its forests and countryside. If you’re feeling fit, you could even link both via the classic 450km Véloscénie cycling trail from Paris to Mont-St-Michel.
Portugal
Hopes are high among hikers for the new 3,000km Palmilhar Portugal, the world’s longest loop trail. As well as having sections accessible to those with reduced mobility, the aim of this epic hike is to entice travellers away from Portugal’s overcrowded hot spots, leading them through some 100-plus lesser-visited towns, villages and sites. A first section opened in Alenquer last July, with new routes through the cork forests of Alentejo and the mountains of Trás-os-Montes following soon after. It won’t be completed until 2027; in the meantime, an app guides hikers along the finished sections.
South-east Alaska, USA
Glaciers, dense rainforests and whale-rich waters await in south-eastern Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, which celebrates its centenary this year. Mark the site’s 100th birthday with a stay at Glacier Bay Lodge, whose day catamaran tours lead travellers into the icy wilderness. Alternatively, book a small-ship cruise with Alaskan Dream Cruises: their new Wild Alaska Odyssey itinerary spends ample time in the glacier-stitched park and explores the remote, waterfront communities of Wrangell and Kake.
Cultural connections
Catalonia, Spain
All eyes are on Catalonia’s local producers and chefs as it takes on the title of World Region of Gastronomy in 2025. A tweaked version of the Grand Tour of Catalonia driving route is set to highlight its local food icons. But it’s the region’s traditional food events where you’ll find the real stars. In Lleida’s much-loved snail festival (May) or the rice-planting events of the Ebro Delta (June), which invite visitors to trudge its flooded fields, you can taste the roots of Catalonia’s celebrated food scene.
Denmark
With Simon Reeve’s upcoming TV series on Scandinavia likely to stoke interest in the region, our attention turns to Denmark. A host of new art openings fill 2025, including the northernmost branch of the National Gallery in Thy and a major expansion to the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, featuring a Skyspace installation by artist James Turrell. Just as intriguing is a new light rail system that expands into Copenhagen’s suburbs, from Lundtofte Park to Ishøj Station. From the latter, a new 2km path lit by installations is set to open this summer, leading to the ARKEN Contemporary Art Museum.
Jamaica
If things had turned out differently, Jamaica's Bob Marley would have been 80 in 2025 (on 6 Feb). It lends a poignancy to this year’s Reggae Month, which regularly takes over clubs, stage shows and the waterfront of Kingston in February. A detailed programme is rare in advance, but there is no shortage of ways to connect with Marley in the meantime, with tours taking in the home where he lived when he died and the Tuff Gong recording label that he created.
Tallinn, Estonia
Held every five years, Estonia’s UNESCO-listed Song and Dance Festival (3–6 July) is an incredible expression of joy and singing. The event first took place in Tartu in 1869. Since then, the celebrations have moved to Tallinn’s showground (Lauluväljak), though a flaming torch is still carried from Tartu to kickstart the event. The festival begins with a 5km procession through the capital before some 40,000 singers, orchestral musicians and folk dancers perform in one of the world’s largest choral events.
Washington DC, USA
‘The Fabric of Freedom’ will be the theme for WorldPride 2025 (17 May–8 June), taking place in the USA’s capital city, whose own annual Pride celebrations have been running for 50 years. The event will send an important message of unity as it unfolds against a divisive political backdrop. Festivities will centre around the WorldPride Parade and include a concert headlined by pop star Shakira. Activists will also join together for a poignant march to the US Capitol, while other highlights include artisan markets, street food and free live music.
Maine, USA
The voices of Maine’s Indigenous peoples come to the fore at the brand new Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, located in the wild north-eastern Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The Monument – which spans wildlife-rich forests and the East Branch of the Penobscot River – forms part of the homelands of the Indigenous Penobscot Nation. Poised to open to the public in spring 2025, the new centre tells the story of the Wabanaki peoples (the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes) through a series of artistic exhibits, focusing on themes including the river, the importance of Atlantic salmon and the night sky.
Historic moments
Glasgow, Scotland
This city marks its year-long 850th-anniversary celebrations in style in 2025. Highlights include the three-day Clyde Chorus music festival in May and a self-guided food trail that launches in April, promising to delve into Glasgow’s culinary history. Look out, too, for a pop-up social history exhibition that features a now-rare chance to see pieces from the collection of the People’s Palace, which is under renovation until 2027.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) offers distance to reflect on a city that has little time for nostalgia. It may have colonial relics (Notre Dame, Opera House) and war sites (Cu Chi Tunnels, War Remnants Museum) galore, but HCMC’s economic success, arts scene and nightlife rarely get the attention they deserve. The arrival of the much-delayed metro system in 2025 only adds to the sense that it now sets the pace for Vietnam and its visitors. Catch the Reunification Express train north from here to royal Hue and colonial capital Hanoi to see what we mean.
Jersey, Channel Islands, UK
The reopening of St Helier’s opera house – the home of Jersey’s new National Ballet company – should arrive in time for the revival of TV classic Bergerac this spring, a show that made a star of the island in the 1980s. Later in the year, all thoughts turn to Liberation Day (9 May), marking 80 years since the German occupation of Jersey during the Second World War ended. Drop by the War Tunnels to learn the remarkable story of a little-known era.
The Cook Islands
This year sees the 60th anniversary of self-rule in the Cook Islands, and its people are in a mood to celebrate. The big show comes on Constitution Day (4 Aug), though the Te Maeva Nui celebrations are held on Rarotonga across the surrounding week, as life on the island comes to a standstill. The festival doubles as the islands ’biggest cultural event, with nightly performances, a parade through Avarua and daily markets.
Rising stars
Peru
The opening of Lima airport’s new expansion in January offers hope that non-stop flights will finally resume from the UK this year. At the very least, it means improved access to a country where travellers are now looking beyond Machu Picchu. A new flight from Lima to Huarez in the Cordillera Blanca, the world’s highest tropical mountain range, offers a fresh challenge for hikers, while newly launched riverboats and luxury stays are opening up the Peruvian Amazon, which sees a fraction of the visitors its Brazilian cousin receives.
Sierra Leone
With Air Sierra Leone (the country’s new national carrier) launching its first flight from London Gatwick to Freetown in December, it’s suddenly much easier to explore a country finding its feet after years of struggle. With an expanded airport, improved roads and infrastructure, and luxury hotels such as the much-touted new Hilton set to open in Freetown, travellers will find a comfy base for trips to the wilderness of Gola Rainforest National Park or the slave history of Bunce Island.
Thessaloniki, Greece
It has taken 22 years to complete Thessaloniki’s metro system, largely because of the 300,000 historical finds discovered while creating it. Many of these are now exhibited at its stations, and a second line is set to follow later this year. The metro should help thin the 60,000 cars that clog the roads daily, making it an exciting time to explore this UNESCO City of Gastronomy’s food scene. Grab yourself a bougatsa pastry and hit the many food markets.
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