In a little over two months, 2015 will end. If you're starting to map out your holiday trips for the next year, perhaps Lonely Planet's recommendations will get you started on the right foot.
The travel guide experts at Lonely Planet has recently put together a list of the best destinations for 2016, which is based on the results of an annual survey.
"The list highlights the top ten countries, cities and regions, selected through a process that includes Lonely Planet's authors, editors and bloggers and tweeters," Lonely Planet explained in its official site. "They come up with a list of hundreds of the best places to see in the world, which is then whittled down by a panel of Lonely Planet travel experts who assign each location on the shortlist with a score based on a variety of criteria."
With that, here is the list of top 10 countries to visit next year:
1. Botswana
2. Japan
3. USA
4. Palau
5. Latvia
6. Australia
7. Poland
8. Uruguay
9. Greenland
10. Fiji
The top 10 best regions on Lonely Planet's list are the following:
1. Transylvania, Romania
2. West Iceland
3. Valle de Viñales, Cuba
4. Friuli's wine regions, Italy
5. Waiheke Island, New Zealand
6. The Auvergne, France
7. Hawaii, USA
8. Bavaria, Germany
9. Costa Verde, Brazil
10. St Helena, British Territories
The 10 best cities are as follows:
1. Kotor, Montenegro
2. Quito, Ecuador
3. Dublin, Ireland
4. George Town, Malaysia
5. Rotterdam, the Netherlands
6. Mumbai, India
7. Fremantle, Australia
8. Manchester, UK
9. Nashville, USA
10. Rome, Italy
Botswana's position as the top-ranked 2016 travel destination is said to be down to its "gorgeous" wildlife and landscape.
"The land-locked African country, which will celebrate 50 years of independence next year, is known for its rare combination of desert and delta, as well as its vast array of wildlife," The Independent noted. "A total of 17 per cent of the country is dedicated to national parks and in 2014 the Okavango Delta became Unesco's 1,000th World Heritage Site."
Of Japan, Lonely Planet said that its cities and countryside are both worth the sight as the former "are expertly crafted odes to futurism where the trains whirr by in the blink of an eye" and latter is "otherworldly, with all-continents-in-one landscapes that blend alpine peaks with shimmering shores," as noted by MailOnline.
The USA was praised for its "spectacular and surreal landscapes" that are the stuff of road trips.
Which ones have you visited? Where will you go next?
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