The best places to travel in 2023

The arrival of a fresh new year opens the door to endless travel possibilities. What’s hot for 2023 and where are clients ahead? OFFSHORE caught up with multiple travel industry professionals to get the inside scoop on what’s selling and what’s popular.


Tauck’s chief operating officer Jeremy Palmer sees a “continued rebound in travel as we move further past Covid.”

Not only will more people be “coming off the sidelines,” he believes that many who travelled in 2022 will be travelling again in the coming year.

“Europe is a traditional hot spot and it continues to do very well — despite some concerns about the Ukraine war in the eastern areas of Western Europe,” Palmer tells Travel Courier. “Within Europe we’re seeing great interest in both Ireland and Switzerland. Farther afield, our bookings to Japan are very strong, reflecting three years of pent-up demand there.”

For the time being, he says concerns about the economy haven’t had much of an impact on bookings across the North American market.

“People are largely setting aside any financial worries and they’re booking their upcoming trips with real excitement and enthusiasm,” he adds.

European destinations are also boding well for luxury travel advisor Kemi Wells, the founder and president of Wells Luxury Travel.

Portugal continues to be a hot spot and great value for Europe,” she notes. “Croatia and Greece are still hotspots.”

Along with a lot of interest for Dubai, New Zealand and Scotland, Wells reports that expedition cruises are also strong.

“The other big one is Africa for safari,” she shares. “I have younger clients and families prioritizing wanting to make this happen.”

Overall, she’s cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.

“I know there are fears of the recession and we are all feeling the inflation, however, in the ultra-luxury space that my team and I work in, I feel like this bracket of clientele are not holding back and still are spending and are planning to spend in 2023 on these memorable trips,” she says. “Clients are not hesitating to pay our professional planning fees either, we now charge $125 an hour.”

As a whole, Jeff Roy, Collette’s executive vice president of revenue management and pricing, points to Europe for representing the tour operator’s highest volume of travel.

Some of the hottest itineraries for the year are: Greece Island Hopper, Italy’s Amalfi Coast to Puglia, Sicily and Its Isles/Old World Sicily & Malta, Discover Tuscany and Irish Splendour.”

Notably, Roy says tours in Costa Rica and the Canadian Rockies & Glacier National Park option are also doing well.

“Aside from Europe, we’ve seen travellers head to explore Africa,” he notes. “Our Colours of Morocco and Exploring South Africa, Victoria Falls, & Botswana Small Group Explorations tours have been specifically popular there.”

From Antarctica and Central America to the Galapagos and Hawaii, Bruce Fougner, the president of Lloyds Travel, says adventure travel destinations and expedition cruises are coming in hot. Active land itineraries like trekking the Camino de Santiago in Spainare also doing well. Notably, he says clients are no longer putting of bucket list trips. 

“The time may be limited to travel to small bucket list destinations where crowds are currently not as regulated — Angkor Wat, Petra and the Serengeti come to mind — and places that either require a permit or are controlled such as Machu Picchu, Egyptian Ruins, and visits to the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda, will soon become even more difficult to access and will require serious advance planning,” adds Fougner.

For clients looking to get away from the crowds, he suggest booking in the off season.

“Or look to countries farther afield, in Europe… look to Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Latviafor amazing value,” he says. “For those looking for a beach and adventure vacation, Costa Rica offers much better value than Hawaii; Porto over Paris for great dining and culture; Hanoi instead of Bangkok and Split Croatia instead of Rome.”

Meanwhile, Darci Murray of Personal Travel Management, is seeing demand across destinations that allow travellers to step back in time.

Morocco is really popular. Admiring the methodical process of making rugs… the tanneries and the traditional tea services that take place. Hearing the mosque bells and the sound of prayer,” she says. “Jordan, Turkey and Tanzania are also popular destinations.”

BY: ANN RUPPENSTEIN

B&B mansion in Mexico City reopens with gorgeous renovations

Ignacia Guest House, a boutique bed and breakfast located in Mexico City’s Colonia Roma neighborhood, recently completed an extensive renovation and added four new rooms and additional amenities.

Located in the vibrant Colonia Roma neighborhood, Ignacia Guest House is an exclusive bed and breakfast with just nine suites, uniting Mexican artisan tradition, history and contemporary design. The restoration of this 1913 mansion celebrates the personality of Ignacia, the mansion’s housekeeper for more than 40 years. With terraces and a harmonious chromatic palette, each guest room creates environments in balance with the entire complex. 

Utilizing the lockdown over the past two years to renovate and upgrade, Ignacia Guest House has expanded the exclusive bed and breakfast blending history, Mexican artisan tradition and contemporary design with the addition of four new rooms and outdoor spaces. Originally opening its doors in February 2017, the name is derived from the housekeeper who looked after this 1913 Porfirian mansion for over 40 years, Ignacia. 

Originally occupying half of the Porfirian mansion, Ignacia Guest House contained a master suite, hall, library, dining room, and kitchen in the historic building, and four rooms, each with its own balcony or terrace in the garden area. After acquiring the rest of the property in early 2022, the intimate property expanded its offering with new amenities and four additional rooms.  Two rooms have been restored in the original house, and two rooms have been newly constructed located in the terrace sharing a common outdoor space adorned with fireplaces and a jacuzzi framed by treetops.

For more information, visit www.ignacia.mx.

This 21-day trip to the Arctic costs $187,000—here’s what it gets you

Thoughtfully curated by the luxury hospitality industry veterans of HL Adventures and led by the Arctic’s foremost experts and guides, The North’s bespoke, three-week itinerary for the Arctic Horizon will cover seven wonders spanning the Arctic Circle.

An intimate group of just 50 like-minded adventurers will explore the edge of the world to destinations normally beyond our boundaries. Together they will take in vast landscapes, view majestic wildlife and partake in rare, authentic experiences with local Indigenous communities.

“As a lifelong explorer of the Arctic, my vision is to make the last frontier accessible to a select few who share my passion and respect for these rarely experienced, untouched regions,” said Founder Jón Olafur Magnussen. “What I am sure will be a life-changing adventure for our guests is the culmination of my life’s work. I am confident our team’s meticulous eye for detail will ensure an unrivalled level of service throughout these most extraordinary destinations.”

Private charter

Typically holding well over 300 passengers, a fully customized Boeing 757-200 has been privately chartered from Icelandair and refitted with 50 lie-flat seats for a more relaxing and restful environment.

A personal chef will prepare destination-inspired dishes, while accommodating dietary preferences, requests and restrictions. A dedicated concierge team and on-board hosts will attend to guests’ every wish and desire. Explorers will receive personalized iPads, detailing the day’s schedule, offering an in-flight entertainment system and showcasing a gallery of photos provided each day by The North’s professional photography team.

Armed with more than two decades of destination management experience, the leaders behind this all-new, once-in-a-lifetime adventure have called upon their elite partners to bring together the finest experiences of each destination. This journey to the last great frontier often only exists in the wildest imaginations of even the most adventurous travelers, but through the expertise and experience of The North’s hand-selected partners, The Arctic Horizon will bring this dream to fruition, without compromising on comfort or service.

Itinerary:

Day 1 – Reykjavik, Iceland
Days 2 – 3 – Ilulissat, Greenland
Days 4 – 6 – Sonora, Canada
Days 7 – 10 – Anchorage, Alaska
Champagne Toast Over the North Pole
Days 11 – 14 – Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Day 15 – 17 – Alta, Norway
Day 18 – 21 – Reykjavik, Iceland

Farewell journey

The trip will conclude with a festive farewell gala dinner at the Arctic Explorers’ Club’s expedition lodge and luxury camp. Founded in 2015, this members-only group of explorers, travellers and friends are a collective of like-minded individuals who have a lifelong interest in the Arctic. In addition to supporting a foundation to educate children around the world about the Arctic, the Club serves as an opportunity for guests to continue their journey together and to create new opportunities each year to further develop knowledge and understanding and explore this world beyond the horizon.

The price of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure is 187,000 USD per person (based on double occupancy; 10 percent supplement applicable for solo travelers). This all-encompassing journey includes travel by privately chartered air, first-class accommodations, all meals, all ground transportation, an extensive selection of excursions and activities, special events and private access, as well as all gratuities.

For more information, visit https://thenorth.is/arctic-horizon