Travel Dreams: My Top 3 in 2021

Well that’s 2020 done and dusted! It started on a high: an amazing expedition cruise in Antarctica.  The year then ended, somewhat later than planned, in my new home country of Switzerland. 

But the roads and oceans between the two were somewhat bumpy / unprecedented / unusual / surreal / relentless / immobile* (choose your preferred Covid adjective here). It wasn’t a great year to change jobs and change countries. Catching Covid in London wasn’t pleasant. Dealing with visas, travel applications, removalists, emotional farewells, cancelled flight bookings, lockdowns, semi-lockdowns and two hotel quarantines was character-building...

And it was a really slow year for travelling – in 2019 I took over 100 flights, most of which long-haul; in 2020 I flew less than 20, most of them domestic. But 2020 was a good year for rediscovering travel in my old backyard (Australia) and for dreaming about destinations that we will travel to in the future (see below). Being deprived of travel has only made us crave it more; but perhaps we won’t take it for granted like we often did before; we’ll travel more consciously and sustainably; and we’ll actually start to tick off the destinations and sights on our hallowed “bucket lists”. 

So bring on 2021. Bring on the vaccine. Bring on the opening of borders. Bring on travelling again. Here are the 3 places I want to visit this year...

1. Europe, Europe, Europe

That’s a big one… Where in Europe exactly?  ALL of it! 

I recently relocated from Sydney back to my ‘mother continent’ and so now I sit here impatiently in Geneva, one of the best connected cities on the continent, ready to get going. Two of the big reasons for moving were to travel extensively through this great continent, and see more of our family & friends who live here. So if I were still young enough to travel with Contiki (we specialize in holidays for 18-35 year olds) and after a year of virtually no travel then I would be making up for lost time by taking the big one: our 45-day “Ultimate European” trip through 17 countries. This trip has it all: beaches, cities, iconic sights and a stay at Contiki’s very own French Chateau in the Beaujolais wine region, as seen below in all of its (recently refurbished) splendour.

The itinerary also includes a tranquil week in the Greek Islands.  Given that I can’t take 6.5 weeks off work to do the full Ultimate European, I’ll probably have to ‘settle’ for ‘just’ the Greek Island bit this year. It's my favourite relaxation spot in all of Europe so hopefully there will be some island-hopping this summer between Paros, Ios and my all-time favourite Greek Isle, *&%#&^% (...it's so good, I'm not going to name it - but here's a mystery picture from 2019 to whet the appetite).

You can find more details on this epic Europe trip here... or for something a bit shorter then check out contiki.com for our full range of European trips.

2. Walk Like An Egyptian

Not too far from my new home and somewhere that has been on my bucket list since my last visit 20 years ago (which was spent in hotel conference rooms on a work trip). Firstly I’d love to see Cairo and the pyramids (last time I saw them from the window of a 747 – in the dark) and secondly I’d like to head south for a cruise along the River Nile. 

So my choice is Uniworld’s “Splendours of Egypt & The Nile” itinerary onboard the luxurious S.S. Sphynx. Visiting the Temple of Luxur, the Temple of Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Aswan High Dam… 15 UNESCO World Heritage sites in 12 days… food, drinks and sightseeing all included…. leisurely cruising down the river with some epic sightseeing along the way.  After 20 years in the ocean cruise world, I’ve never taken a river cruise so I’m intrigued to see what it’s like. See more details on this trip here.

3. Machu Pichu - And Beyond

Machu Pichu has been on the bucket list for years and we got close in 2018 – but left it too late to book. My pick is from Trafalgar – a 13-day “Land of the Incas” adventure that ticks off not only Machu Pichu but also a host of other Peruvian highlights: Lake Titicaca, driving through the Sacred Valley, the Nazca Lines (remember those in Geography lessons?), the Peruvian rainforest and of course the nation’s capital city Lima. It’s a trip that will connect me with locals, dive into culture and stay in some amazing locations. Plus there’s a lot of ground to cover so Trafalgar will take the stress out of trip.  

Time permitting... I’d also add on an extra week to the holiday to head over to the Galapagos Islands, another bucket list destination, for an expedition cruise like no other.  Find out more about this amazing trip here.

Let's convert dreams into travel

Maybe my plans are ambitious – but I’ll be making every effort to tick off all/some of my Top 3 picks this year.  And if they don’t happen in 2021, well, there’s plenty of time in 2022 too.  Wherever you end up travelling: take care... stop to take it all in... and enjoy the freedom of travel once more.