Great destinations for 2017 trips
Here are some destinations that look especially fetching right now. Some of these spots are in the middle of building booms. Some are celebrating historic anniversaries. Some have matured in subtler ways, thanks to tour guides, chefs or hoteliers.
Cuzco-Arequipa Train, Peru
Cuzco is best known as the jumping-off point for the train trip to Machu Picchu. But travelers from Cuzco also can journey by rail to the edge of Lake Titicaca — a stark, startling, 10 1⁄2- hour trip across the high Andean plains to the lakeside city of Puno. (This is one of the highest train trips in the world, topping off at more than 14,000 feet above sea level.)
Starting in May, a new luxury sleeper train, the Belmond Andean Explorer, will offer three-day, two-night itineraries from Cuzco to Puno and on to the city of Arequipa, a UNESCO World Heritage site built with white volcanic rock.
At $1,283 per person and up, the Andean Explorer fare includes meals, open bar, side excursions and extra oxygen to combat altitude sickness.
Belmond (formerly OrientExpress) and PeruRail will operate the trains. Andean Explorer service is also offered for two-day Arequipa-Cuzco, CuzcoPuno and Puno-Cuzco trips at $462 and up. PeruRail will continue to offer more basic service too. Info: Belmond, lat.ms/ andeanexplorer
Park City, Utah
Park City is 45 minutes from the Salt Lake City airport. It has an old-fashioned Main Street. And it has the biggest ski resort in the country: Park City Mountain Resort, which combined with Canyons Resort in 2015, setting off changes all over town.
Chef John Murcko’s Firewood Restaurant opened in December at 306 Main St. At 314 Main, visitors can browse landscape photos at David Beavis Gallery. At 509 Main, get caffeine from Pink Elephant Coffee Roasters. At 738 Main, get a sugar fix at Peace, Love & Little Donuts. At 890 Main, taste wine at Old Town Cellars, a private-label winery. (All opened in 2016.)
By the way: Think twice before booking Jan. 19 to
29. Those are the 2017 Sundance Film Festival dates.
Info: Park City Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, visitparkcity.com
Riviera Maya, Mexico
This Mexican Caribbean coastline, which extends south of Cancun along the eastern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula, has been steadily adding resorts that capitalize on dense greenery and turquoise waters.
At the luxury end, El Dorado Resort, about 30 miles south of Cancun, recently opened 30 palafitos — above-water bungalows with glass floors and private infinity pools. The 92-room Thompson Playa del Carmen, a luxe lodging that opened in 2015, added a 27-unit Beach House in 2016.
The Mayakoba development, which emphasizes sustainability and is home to Rosewood, Fairmont and Banyan Tree hotels, added a 214-room Andaz Resort in December.
The all-inclusive, familyfriendly Ocean Riviera Paradise also opened in December. The all-inclusive, adults-only Unico Riviera Maya, south of Playa del Carmen, is to open in March. Info: Visit Mexico, lat. ms/rivieramaya
San Francisco
Here comes the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, and San Francisco ventures such as the Magic Bus (which does ’60s-themed local tours), San Francisco Love Tours (which uses VW buses with psychedelic paint jobs) and Flower Power Walking Tours will make the most of that in HaightAshbury and beyond.
Find Jimi Hendrix’s old place at 1524A Haight St. (the apartment, above a tobacco shop, is a private residence) and the North Beach coffee shop where Janis Joplin did some singing. Now it’s Maggie McGarry’s Irish Pub, and there’s more singing than ever.
Various street fairs are in the works, including one in Haight-Ashbury in June and ’60s-themed exhibitions are planned at the California Historical Society, the De Young Museum, the Berkeley Art Museum and San Francisco City Hall. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will still be celebrating its May 2016 expansion. Info: San Francisco Travel, sftravel.com
Todos Santos, Baja California
Todos Santos is an artsy, ex-pat-friendly beach town an hour’s drive north of Cabo San Lucas.
The quaint restaurants, shops and uncrowded rough-water beaches are enough to attract visitors, especially surfers.
If you’re a growthfriendly optimist, you may be eager to see the first signs of Tres Santos, an ambitious new resort and wellness community whose short-term plans include 29 residences, restaurant, farm, farmers’ market, desalination plant and the 32-room Hotel San Cristobal, which aims to open in March. If you’re a skeptic, you might have doubts about the project’s water use, its effect on the beach, its potential to grow to more than 4,000 units — and you might be eager to see Todos Santos before there are too many changes. Info: Visit Mexico, lat. ms/todossantos