2025’s Top Five Essential Destinations and Experiences You Can’t Miss

Air travel is expected to soar in 2025, highlighting our unyielding desire for global exploration.

Like many travelers, I have an extensive list of places on my wishlist for next year. While stunning landscapes and delicious food motivate me, it’s cultural engagement that truly drives my adventures. I enjoy taking part in activities that allow me to connect with local communities, ensuring my travel expenditures support them and enhancing my understanding of their customs.

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This mindset allows me to travel with both joy and responsibility; I strive to maintain that equilibrium on every trip.

With this perspective, here are the places I hope to discover in 2025, along with the cultural experiences I am eager to engage in at each destination.

Egypt


Giza, pyramids, travel, tourism, bucket list, Egypt, Japan, Brazil, 2025,

The ancient pyramids of Giza loom behind the gardens of the Mena House hotel in Cairo, Egypt. Image: Shawn Baldwin/Bloomberg

Egypt.

Naturally, I intend to see the iconic pyramids of Giza and the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Following this, I’d travel to Aswan, a city by the Nile in southern Egypt, to visit Nubian villages known for their colorful murals, blue-and-orange mud houses, riverside cafes, and local markets.

Read: A 3,000-year-old ‘lost city’ could boost Egypt’s tourism

On Agilkia Island, I plan to visit the temple of Isis, the goddess associated with magic and fertility, who holds a vital place in Egyptian mythology, before proceeding to Abu Simbel, renowned for the colossal statues and temples constructed by Ramses II. I also intend to unwind at Hotel Al Moudira in Luxor, featured in our Where to Go in 2025 guide, after my explorations.

The cultural experience I’m most looking forward to: a day trip to Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in Harrania village, Giza, where I would watch and learn from female artisans creating vibrant handwoven tapestries. The setting is beautiful, and it also provides an opportunity to acquire a unique keepsake.

Greece


Greece, Zykanos, beach, holiday

Image: Shutterstock

The Greek islands have piqued my interest partly because I have a friend in Athens, and the allure of enjoying delightful mezes, gyros, and baklava is hard to resist.

Avoiding Santorini and Mykonos, I find the idea of visiting the tranquil island of Paros, a suggestion from my Pursuits colleagues, particularly attractive. I am drawn to the stunning rocky beach coves along the Aegean Sea and the opportunity to explore local taverns and the car-free village of Lefkes in central Paros, celebrated for its Cycladic architecture characterized by whitewashed buildings and blue shutters.

Nonetheless, I would gladly take a leisurely weekend trip to Athens, choosing a hotel along the Athens Riviera. United Airlines has an extensive summer schedule for transatlantic flights from Newark, New Jersey, to the Greek capital, starting on March 6.

Read:
Europe’s travel destinations are evolving this summer
Greece revived its economy – but had an advantage SA lacks

With several new coastal hotels located just a half-hour’s drive away, it’s easy to plan both city and beach escapes in one visit before the busy tourist season begins.

The cultural experience I look forward to: a pottery-making workshop with Volto, a design and art space situated in Antiparos village, where guests will learn about pottery history while acquiring basic skills. At the end of the workshop, participants get to paint and finish a piece to bring home as a personalized memento.

Japan


Japan, Bucket list, travel, 2025, cherry blossom

Visitors near the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, Japan. Image: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg

Fun fact: In college, I took enough Japanese courses to communicate effectively. Yet, I have yet to visit the country, and I sense it’s time for an update.

October seems to be the ideal month for a visit — it’s when Japan showcases its stunning fall foliage, an event locals cherish as much as the cherry blossoms. This tradition is referred to as momijigari, or “red leaf hunting.” I’d also like to attend the Expo 2025, which centers on sustainable innovations — a theme that particularly interests me.

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Read: Disney bets on cruise market revival with its new Japan-based liner

For first-time visitors to Japan, sampling sushi at Tokyo’s fish markets and having a night in a traditional inn is a must. Both activities are on my agenda. I’m also thrilled at the thought of taking a ride on the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyushu, as recommended by Pursuits’ own Brandon Presser, to stay in popular hot spring resorts like Beppu or Yufuin, where I also hope to enjoy onsens and indulge in Fukuoka tonkotsu ramen. Just imagining it makes my mouth water.

The cultural experience I’d love to undertake: a self-guided hiking experience in central Kyushu, commencing in Beppu, which includes scenic paths on Omyijuma Island and a night at a rural farm, all arranged by a community-centered tour operator named Oku Japan.

Seychelles

This stunning archipelago, located 1,000 miles off the eastern coast of Africa, has captured my imagination—especially as it is rapidly developing as a viable competitor to the Maldives. Take Bernard Arnault’s luxury hotel brand, Cheval Blanc, which opened on Mahé on December 1. The eyes of the world will also focus on the Seychelles as it prepares to host the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup from May 1-11 — a first for Africa.

The combination of my favorite sport amidst breathtaking island scenery and Creole culture seems like a perfect mix of experiences.

Read:
‘Club Med beach resort will be a game changer for SA tourism’ – Absa CEO
Why Tsogo Sun sold its stake in the iconic Maia Resort for R465m [July 2020]

With a predominantly Creole population, Seychelles is also rich in diversity, home to descendants of various immigrants including Europeans, Indians, Chinese, and Arabs. I’m excited to dive into the islands’ multicultural heritage — possibly through a food tour or a visit to the market in Mahé.

Island hopping is essential, whether I’m exploring the lush forests of Curieuse to see giant tortoises or visiting the Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, famous for its tall sea coconut palm trees. (Fun fact: Sea coconuts have solid flesh with no water and are found only in a few islands in Seychelles.)

The cultural experience I’m most eager to participate in: The Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts hosts activities focused on preserving the islands’ cultural heritage. I’d love to take part in “Grandmas Savoir Faire,” a full-day workshop at Le Domaine de Val de Près, a Creole cultural village on Mahé, where I can learn various Seychellois traditions, from coconut basket weaving to cooking Creole seafood dishes.

This also includes a moutya folklore dance lesson — a vibrant tradition accompanied by drumming, which was brought to the islands by enslaved Africans in the 18th century.

Brazil


Rio de Janeiro

Buildings along the beach in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

Duolingo is assisting me in mastering basic Portuguese phrases—I’m heading to Brazil in February and wish to be well-prepared! My primary goal is of great personal significance: recreating a photograph of my parents standing next to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. That picture hung in my home for many years, inspiring my love for travel.

After that, I plan to immerse myself in the vibrant Carnival festivities in Rio, with its colorful outfits and energetic dance performances. If I build rapport with the locals, they might invite me to join in and learn some samba steps.

The cultural experience I’m looking forward to: The “Rio Little Africa” walking tour, which highlights Rio de Janeiro’s African heritage and its links to the transatlantic slave trade. This is part of a movement I reported on in 2024 that centers around Brazil’s renewed initiative for Black heritage tourism.

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