Drive to these super chill mountain towns,
The buzziest destinations to visit this year
THERE’S no better excuse than the dawn of a new decade to spice up the way you spend hard-earned PTO. Whether you dip into New England for a weekend or spend a fortnight traipsing around a small slice of South America, here are six destinations poised to become more exciting than ever in the months to come. And once you’ve worked your way down the list, remember that United Airlines just launched service between Newark and Cape Town — the only nonstop link between the United States and that coastal South African city. Better pack your bags.
Where to go to shut off social media: The Berkshires
The Berkshires have become such a buzzy weekend getaway that one state senator is working to establish a direct Amtrak route between Penn Station and Pittsfield, Mass. However you make your way upstate this summer, be sure to check into Miraval Berkshires, the third location of Hyatt’s wellness brand, which will encourage digital disconnection through designated no-device zones and miniature “sleeping bags” for phones. And although it may be tough to abstain from posting about the verdant 380acre setting on Instagram, the 29,000-square-foot spa will surely help you recover from the transgression.
Where to go to summer like a European: Western Sicily
Say to layovers in Rome: A forthcoming United route to Palermo, Italy, will make it easier than ever to see Western Sicily’s unspoiled hillsides and dramatic coastlines. Instead of showing up with a checklist of restaurants or tourist attractions, rent a house — The Thinking Traveller has more than 90 villas across the island, all of them spectacular. Cook every night, educate yourself on the particulars of Sicilian whites and bop around the rugged beaches and medieval towns. Splurge on either end of the trip at
Villa Igiea (above), a Rocco Forte hotel set to open in June in an Art Nouveau palazzo outside Palermo.
Where to go before any of your friends: Guyana
New Yorkers can more easily access South America’s North Atlantic coast this year thanks to two new nonstop routes from JFK to Georgetown, Guyana. American Airlines’ flight launched in December and JetBlue’s service will begin in April. Immerse yourself in the history, gastronomy and landscapes of Guyana and its neighbors (Suriname, French Guiana and Belém, Brazil) with the new Three Guianas Adventure Tour from South America. travel. You’ll we ave through capital cities and small villages; mountains, rainforests and islands (with tropical wildlife); coffee and cocoa plantations; ecolodges, and more.
Where to go to see the stars: Bozeman, Montana
If you’re all “been there, done that” on Aspen, you’re in luck: This summer, American Airlines will launch weekly nonstop service from LaGuardia to Bozeman, Montana. In April, the city will welcome Kimpton’s first hotel in the state, an adaptive reuse of a 1941 National
Guard Armory building with a rooftop pool and sweeping views of the Bridger Mountains. Visit Yellowstone National Park (about 90 minutes south) or venture two hours east to Tippet Rise Art Center, a five-year-old cultural complex with sculptures (including a piece by Alexander Calder), concerts, and hiking and biking trails, all on a 12,000acre sheep and cattle ranch.
Where to go to “step back” from your hectic
life: Vancouver
No sooner did they vow to “step back” from the royal family did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry do what we’ve all fantasized about: flee to Canada. Vancouver, served by several nonstop flights from New York, is the perfect choice if you’re looking to work up a non-royalstyle sweat. For one, VBT’s new six-day British Columbia tour explores the coast by bike, ferry and sea kayak. Once you’ve ogled dolphins and sampled Dungeness crab, pamper your inner prince or princess at CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver, the only spa in Canada to use products from Codage Paris, an upscale French skincare line.
Where to go to get (almost) as far as possible: Auckland, New Zealand
At nearly 9,000 miles, Air New Zealand’s soon-tolaunch route between Newark and Auckland — set to become the only nonstop between New York and New Zealand — will be one of the longest flights in the world. It will take as long as 17 hours and 40 minutes, so stay awhile on the other side. In May, QT Hotels & Resorts, which runs boutique properties around Australia and New Zealand, will open its 10th location in downtown Auckland. Extend the trip by hopping aboard one of the regular Air Tahiti Nui flights to Tahiti; stretch your limbs at an overwater bungalow before that long flight back home — and back to reality.