From gorilla trekking in Rwanda to nights out in Nashville – The Sun travel team reveal their top destinations from 2023
WE have travelled far and wide this year to provide you – our wonderful readers – with holiday inspiration and tips.
The Sun Travel team has ticked off bucket-list trips, amazing first-time experiences and much more to show you the best trips out there.
Here, we reveal our favourites from 2023.
Lisa in Rwanda
FOR me, 2023 was a year of amazing animal encounters.
Back in March I joined British Airways’ inaugural flight to Guyana.
The only English-speaking country in South America, it’s a land of pristine rainforests, awe-inspiring waterfalls and fascinating wildlife.
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Even in the capital Georgetown, its botanic gardens are home to a dizzying array of birdlife.
We spotted everything from macaws to toco toucans.
But it is when you travel into the interior that the real animal magic appears.
Flying over hundreds of miles of rainforest, we spent two nights at Karanambu Lodge.
Once a family-run cattle ranch, it is now an eco-tourism success story with former guests including David Attenborourgh and naturalist Gerald Durrell.
While the giant otters that make their home on the Rupununi River remained elusive, cowboys led us on a successful search for the giant anteater.
Less welcome wildlife included the bat that dive-bombed my mosquito-netted bed in the early hours and had to be encouraged to leave my hut.
But November saw me tick off one of my all-time bucket-list adventures – gorilla trekking in Rwanda.
As the capital Kigali played host to the first World Travel & Tourism Council summit in Africa, we were fortunate to be given permits to trek in the Volcanoes National Park.
While it can take hours to search for the wild mountain gorillas, arriving in the wet season meant the Susa family were feasting on the bamboo found at the base of the national park.
You get one precious hour with the primates as you observe them in their natural habitat just feet from you.
From the mighty silverback male, through boisterous juveniles to the proud mothers and their babies, the experienced guides know every member of the family intimately and recount their stories as you look on in awe.
Sophie on her Caribbean cruise
UNTIL this year, I’d never visited the Caribbean nor been on a cruise, but in 2023 I ticked both off in one hit.
In March, P&O Cruises’ new 18-deck ship, Arvia, set sail for Barbados for a naming ceremony on a white sand beach with shows from Olly Murs and the ship’s godmother, Nicole Scherzinger.
Having now visited seven Caribbean countries in just a few days, I can say with certainty that the locals make a mean rum-punch, which is best drunk while sunning yourself on a catamaran in the clear ocean.
The cruise has shore excursions aplenty – think rum-tasting (yes, more rum), snorkelling with turtles and dining in a mountain-top restaurant that offers unbeatable views of St Lucia’s mighty Pitons.
When it comes to summer getaways, though, I prefer to go short haul.
There’s a reason Spain often tops the list as Brits’ fave holiday destination each year and you can’t go wrong with a week in Ibiza.
Seafood restaurants serving sizzling lobster caught a few hours earlier, beachfront bars with sheltered cabanas and an untameable nightlife scene are what tempt me back to the White Isle year after year.
Hope in Cadiz
MY first full year as a digital travel reporter has been packed with plenty of “pinch me” moments.
I went on my first trip to America, flying to the Big Apple for the opening of Virgin Hotels New York City.
I also had my first business-class experience on the same trip thanks to Virgin Atlantic.
And I can’t forget my first Formula One experience in Doha, where I watched Max Verstappen be crowned World Champion in October.
Thanks to Qatar Airways, I was spoilt with F1 Paddock Club tickets too.
While these long-haul destinations were truly exciting, Cadiz, a port city in the south of Spain, stole my heart.