Where to Go Next Year?

Let’s go! It’s time to plan 2020 vacations, update bucket lists, and armchair travel around the globe with the world’s best travel writers.

By Maryann Jones Thompson

Get excited: It’s time to dream about where to go in 2020!

Ever feel overwhelmed trying to keep track of all the new places and experiences you want to share with your kids or your friends? We sure do…

That’s why we created this page with links to all ROAM’s recommendations for great family adventures, as well as the latest go-to lists from other travel publishers.

Whether you trust the advice of Lonely Planet, Wanderlust, Afar, Outside, National Geographic, New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Frommer’s, Travel & Leisure, Fodor’s or another travel publisher, bookmark this page and you’ll find their picks for the places you should consider going next year – or someday. We’ll keep this page updated with new “best vacation” recommendations as they’re published.

While many popular destinations from just five years ago can be too crowded to enjoy today, travel writers continue to fan the globe to try and spread the love of tourists around more evenly. These lists of ideas include a wide variety of new, interesting, exciting, beautiful and undiscovered spots that might deserve a spot on your family’s vacation bucket list.

Whether you trust Lonely Planet, Wanderlust, Afar, Outside, National Geographic, New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Frommer’s, Travel & Leisure, Fodor’s or another travel publisher, read below for the best ideas for places to go with your kids in 2020.

Where to Take the Kids in 2020?

ROAM’s 19 Best Family Adventures for 2019 What list to check first? ROAM’s picks for our most memorable trips of the year – of course! ROAM Reports are written by real parents who’ve really been there – with their kids. Our stories deliver not just inspiration but the details you’ll need to pack your kids and go.

We’re flattered to see many of our 2019 recommendations echoed in the 2020 top-spot lists from major publishers (see below). Whether you’re planning for summer, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween or Easter break – or even a “Parent Escape” break from the little ones – ROAM’s got tons of ideas for trips with kids, as well as recent, on-the-ground reports from unique family holiday spots around the world.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2020 My go-to travel guides for the past three decades have picked Bhutan, Uruguay, and Morocco in their Top Countries list for the coming year, and Budapest and Tunisia in their picks for Best Value. Click here for more of LP’s 2020 lists.
CNN Travel’s 20 Best Places to Visit in 2020 – CNN’s new travel coverage is fabulous, as evidenced by their interesting and inspired list of destinations for 2020: Tunisia, New Caledonia, Kyushu, Dominica and good ol’ Wyoming are on their list, in addition to spots ROAM loves like Chile’s Lake District, Sri Lanka, D.C., and Vancouver.
New York Times’ 52 Places to Go in 2020 Yes, 52 places take a while to flip through but the NYT makes it worth your time with a gorgeous online gallery previewing the spots its 52 Places Traveler will go. We were psyched to see Kampot and La Paz on the list (check ROAM’s family travel tales from Cambodia and La Paz). In 2019’s 52 Places list, I loved Sebastian Modak’s coverage of Japan’s Setouchi Islands, Santa Barbara, New Zealand’s new Paparoa Track, Danang, and Russia’s Lake Baikal.
National Geographic’s Best Trips of 2020 Love these ideas! From the Canary Islands to Guatemala to Tohoku to Mendoza to Tasmania, most of NatGeo’s list is going straight to my bucket list.
Frommer’s Best Places to Go in 2020 How ‘bout a trip to the new national park in Indiana’s dunes? Trading the “overtouristed” for the “overlooked,” Frommer’s recommends a mix of familiar-and-unfamiliar, near-and-far spots including Chad, Oaxaca, Plymouth, and Maastricht.
Fodor’s “Go List” 2020 The guidebook publisher lists 52 spots to aim for in the coming year, organized by region, from Athens (Georgia, not Greece) and Athens (Greece, not Georgia). It also includes a Spotify playlist to download before you go.
Fodors’ “No List” 2020 In today’s world of overtourism, Fodors boldly advises travelers on spots and activities to avoid for the coming year. For 2020, the guide book publisher takes a stand against elephant riding, climbing the Matterhorn, snorkeling the Florida Keys and Cozumel, as well as travel to Capetown and Komodo.
Conde Naste Traveler’s 20 Best Places to Go in 2020 CNT editors pitch this compilation as not only a list for the year but for the decade, recommending exotic locales from Armenia to Mokpo to Metz to Rwanda to Southwest Michigan!
Wanderlust’s World’s Top 10 Alternative Wildlife Experiences 2019 Do your kids want to see wildlife but you want to see it in the wild? Check out this list of less-popular spots for sea-and-land creature encounters around the world.
Afar’s Best Trips and Destinations: Travelers’ Choice Awards 2019 Thousands of readers vote for their best spots to visit around the globe. This results in a list of very popular, overtouristed places. But look to the bottom of this page for their list of favorite tour providers in a variety of categories for ideas about new itineraries and outfitters.

Bookmark this page! As new recommendations for the best places to go are published, ROAM will add them to this page. Until then, bon voyage!

Maryann Jones Thompson – December 2019

ROAM Founder & Editor

After a thousand years in publishing as a business journalist, ghostwriter, content strategist and market researcher, Maryann brings her experience traveling as a backpacker, businessperson, expat and mom to writing and editing for ROAM.