A WORLD OF CHOICES
Out with the old travel destinations, in with the new
Promising ourselves we’ll travel more is a popular New Year’s resolution. But this year, how about not just traveling more, but traveling different — outside of your comfort zone and away from those clichéd holiday hot spots?
Here are six diverse destinations that might pleasantly surprise you in 2016.
FOREST OF DEAN, ENGLAND
The understated beauty and mystery of this obscure elbow of England, tucked between the River Severn and the Welsh border, has crept into three of the all-time great movie franchises. “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling once lived in the Forest of Dean and it features in her books and their film adaptations. “Lord of the Rings” writer J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired by its labyrinth, Puzzlewood, in the 1920s. And scenes for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” were shot in that same magical maze. The ancient 42-squaremile forest remains an atmospheric oddity, from vertigo-inducing views above Symonds Yat to the subterranean solitude of Clearwell Caves.
MARTINIQUE, LESSER ANTILLES
As if crystal seas, balmy beaches and laid-back island culture weren’t escapist enough, Martinique ups its Eastern Caribbean exotica by also being French — not just French-speaking or a former colony but an overseas department of France. So this 400,000-population paradise is in the European Union, uses the euro and, yes, has French as its official language (although Antillean Creole is also universal). A true tourism twofer, it’s a tropical postcard overlaid with European culture — world-class cuisine, topless sunbathing and all. Although U.S. citizens make up only 1% of visitors, direct flights from Miami and New York have lately made Martinique more accessible to Americans.
BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK, TEXAS
Incredibly, this 311,000-acre desert averages about seven visitors per day. Billed as “the Other Side of Nowhere,” it offers the antithesis of L.A.’s frantic asphalt rat race without requiring so much as a passport. A mountainous landscape stretching along the Rio Grande where it forms the U.S.-Mexico border in far west Texas, Big Bend Ranch State Park is not for the fainthearted. While lodging is available and most of its campsites are vehicle-accessible, high-clearance four-wheel-drive is required for some 70 miles of unmaintained roads. The rewards include spectacular hiking, biking, horseback riding, rafting and canoeing (including guided tours). Yet the park’s greatest asset remains its sheer seclusion.
MACAU, CHINA
If you like Las Vegas, you’ll love Macau. A backwater Portuguese colony until China assumed sovereignty in 1999 (though no Chinese visa is required to visit), this 11-square-mile coastal enclave embraced gambling with a vengeance and within just eight years had overtaken the Sin City Strip in the number of gaming venues. Many of Macau’s 33 casinos will sound familiar to American visitors, including the Venetian Macao (the world’s largest casino and seventh-largest building), Sands Macao and Wynn Macau. Yet Macau’s real trump card is that almost literally in the shadow of these brilliant behemoths lurk timeworn temples, evocative colonial architecture and bucolic fishing villages that seem blissfully unaware of the neon explosion nearby.
SPLIT, CROATIA
Settled for at least 1,700 years, Split’s quaintness defies its status as modern Croatia’s busiest passenger port, offering both a fascinating destination in itself and a picturesque base from which to explore the stunning Dalmatian Coast. History seekers and shoppers alike disappear into the warren of narrow lanes and arched alleyways making up Split’s old town which, since Croatia’s mid-1990s independence, find designer-brand outlets somehow seamlessly coexisting with ancient wonders such as the fortress-like 4thcentury Diocletian’s Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Panoramic views from the storied belfry of the Cathedral of St. Domnius are well worth the giddying 366-step climb.
MACKINAC ISLAND, MICHIGAN
Lake Huron’s Mackinac Island has been attracting tourists since the 1880s and today is listed as a National Historic Landmark, 80% of which is protected as Mackinac Island State Park. Although also known for world-class sailing, its annual Lilac Festival and famously delectable fudge, Mackinac’s chief allure for visitors from the traffic-clogged Southland might be its longtime ban on cars (with the exception of emergency and construction vehicles). The resulting prevalence of pedestrians, bicycles and horse-drawn carriages enhances the 4.4-square-mile island’s pervading Victorian aura, which is exemplified by the 390-room Grand Hotel — a breathtakingly stately landmark that has hosted everyone from Mark Twain to Vladimir Putin.