On October 29 Lonely Planet will publish its “Best of 2016”, a compilation of travel destinations that will attract a lot of attention next year. Ten regions will gain in popularity, starting with Transylvania in Romania, where the city of Cluj-Napoca is looking forward to meeting art fans and its Airbnb hosts are waiting for reservations.
Based on the criteria of special events, ongoing buzz, value for money and that extra something that is wholly subjective and inexplicable, this Australian/British guide has named the coolest travel destinations for 2016, for which reservations will have to be made soon before hordes of tourists arrive.
Clear blue waters and sublime beaches are not necessarily in fashion now. The hottest destination is in Europe, in the Romanian region of Transylvania, where adventurers can meet up with free-roaming wolves and bears and become vampire hunters in Brasov. “Transylvania is experiencing a renaissance,” outlines Lonely Planet. As a matter of fact, Uber, the mobile app which connects you with a driver, has recently opened an office in Bucharest.
Italy is expected to make its mark with the Friuli wine region, which is currently somewhat overshadowed by its neighbor, the Veneto region. Lonely Planet notes that “[t]he word may be out, but this is still a very little visited destination, even by other Italians.”
France also has a place in this top ten with an unexpected representative in the form of Auvergne. The travel specialist sees the region as a little-known treasure, elaborating that “[i]ts glacier-carved valleys and volcanic peaks are more reminiscent of Iceland than the heart of France, but somehow it has long been overlooked for being too peaceably rural. But that’s all changing, as French travellers weary of tourist-clogged rivieras seek escape” in Auvergne which “has responded by reinventing itself with ambitious art projects and a portfolio of wilderness adventures, without ever losing its small-town charisma.”