The best places some of the Sun Travel team visited in 2017

THE Sun Travel team have been clocking up the air miles in 2017 to discover the destinations you will want to visit.

We have covered every continent and ticked some very special places off our bucket lists. It has not all been plain sailing.

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Like you, we have had plans thrown into chaos by strikes, bad weather and natural disasters.

But no holiday is perfect and helping you find the best trips for your hard-earned cash is what it is all about.

The newspaper's Travel Editor LISA MINOT and writer JACOB LEWIS reveal their highlights of 2017 and top tips for exploring in 2018.

Favourites from Lisa Minot, the newspaper's travel editor

Desert & Wine in Chile

BRITISH Airways has not had the best of years after an IT glitch crashed its systems worldwide.

Customers also reacted with anger to the end of free food and drinks on short-haul flights.

However, the airline has started flying to some fabulous new destinations and top of my list was a January trip to Chile.

BA’s new four-times-a-week route to the capital Santiago opened up this fascinating country.

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In just five days we took in the best of Santiago, the port city of Valparaiso and the incredible Atacama Desert.

I arrived in the middle of one of the most intense electrical thunderstorms I’ve ever seen — putting paid to our hike into the salt canyons.

But we did manage to spot flamingos on the salt flats, cycle through the desert and take to a hot air balloon to enjoy the jaw-dropping scenery.

This is a bucket-list destination — save, plan and make it one of yours.

GO: British Airways has flights to Santiago from £955 return.

The 14½hr flight is on a new Boeing Dreamliner. To book, see .

Forest fires in France

EVERY year for the past 42 years, I have holidayed with my family at a campsite in the South of France.

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I grew up visiting with my parents then took my own children. With our touring caravans we have enjoyed beachside fun for a budget price — handy with four kids.

But this year we experienced a very different side to the Cote d’Azur and our lovely Camp du Domaine in Bormes Les Mimosas, a 30-minute drive from St Tropez.

Fires set the countryside ablaze, destroyed vast tracts of ­verdant forests and threatened the thousands of locals and tourists.

We were forced to evacuate to the beach as the flames crept closer to our campsite.

Were it not for the valiant efforts of the firefighters plus the Canadair planes scooping seawater to fight the flames from above, all could have been destroyed.

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If you are a caravanner who wants to enjoy a slice of South of France glamour without the A-Lister yacht or 5H hotel bill, give Camp du Domaine a try. It will need all our support in 2018.

GO: A pitch with electricity and water at Camp du Domaine is from £30 per night for a caravan, car and two campers. See .

More than meze in Crete

GREECE remains at the top of any holiday wishlist for Sun Travel readers, its unbeatable combination of fabulous weather, gorgeous food and centuries of history tempting us back year after year.

But it was the ­history of one little island off the coast of Crete that caught my imagination in 2017. Spinalonga was once part of Crete but was cut adrift by Venetian occupiers in the 16th century and a fortress was built.

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Then, at the start of the 20th century, the island became a leper colony.

Now abandoned, the island has been turned into a museum and after the success of Victoria Hislop’s best-selling novel The Island and a TV adaptation, it’s a hugely popular tourist attraction.

Take one of the boats from the village of Plaka or neighbouring Elounda to the island to explore.

GO: OnTheBeach has seven nights’ half-board at the 4H Golden Beach Hotel, Hersonissos from £241, with Gatwick flights on May 13.

See .

Favourites from Jacob Lewis, travel writer

Weird in Japan

JAPAN has a reputation as a pricey holiday option but a trip to the island nation can be done on a budget.

In fact, Tokyo was revealed as the world’s cheapest long-haul city ­destination in the Post Office’s ­Holiday Money Report 2017.

My wife and I flew east last year with tour company Intrepid for a fantastic nine days, travelling to Tokyo, Nikko and Kyoto.

In most countries, culture shock is a bad thing — but every surprise Japan throws will delight as much as confuse you.

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The nation’s wacky reputation did not disappoint as weird and ­wonderful experiences flowed thick and fast.

A few mad memories come to mind: Sipping sake bought from a roadside vending machine, ­stroking massive birds in The Owl Cafe, stripping off for a dip in a traditional onsen hot spring, catching dinner in a fish-for-your-own-sushi restaurant, plus of course, toilets that play music while cleaning your bum.

If you are in Tokyo on a budget, my top tip would be to look out for Kinno-Kura, a tourist- friendly chain of all-you-can-drink restaurants.

GO: A nine-day Japan Express guided tour with Intrepid costs from £1,345 per person. See .

Paris on a budget

BREXIT may have tanked the Pound but my trip to Paris in June was surprisingly affordable.

With visitors staying away after the terror attacks of 2016, hotel prices weren’t too steep and we found cheap places to enjoy France’s famous cuisine.

Arriving in the city centre via Eurostar is as miraculous as the day the rail link first opened and it beats the chaos of using a budget airline any day.

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While the area around the Gare du Nord is not the city’s most famous destination, the nearby Hotel Grand Amour was a Parisian experience in itself.

The retro-chic hotel came with an individually styled room, a great courtyard restaurant and risqué interiors including a pink carpet in an X-rated phallic flower pattern.

Paris in summer is brilliant. We picnicked in parks, wandered the vintage shops of the Le Marais ­neighbourhood and tucked into tasty kebabs at L’As du Falafel, in the Pletzl Jewish quarter.

GO: London to Paris with Eurostar costs from £29 per person one-way. See .

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Lads in Lisbon

FIND an activity to keep the lads busy — that’s how I intended to ­survive my stag do last September. Keen to find a sport besides drinking, I signed everyone up to two days of surf lessons with Surf Lisbon.

It is a reliable hangover cure and the guys at Surf Lisbon even organised transport to and from our apartment.

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With beaches and bars you’ll get the best of a city break and seaside holiday all in one.

We booked an Airbnb in the Bairro Alto district, famous for its small bars, but spent our days by the beach.

The fantastic Time Out food ­market is reason enough to visit, while Park Bar — a bar on top of a car park — has brilliant views of the hilly city.

GO: Surf lessons with Surf Lisbon cost from £49 per person for a full day or £31 for a half day.

For details see .