January 5, 2009

2009: The Ones to Watch

By The Editors 

Luxury at recession prices. Reinvented beach towns. And the world's hottest emerging destinations. Our favorite picks for the year ahead.

Reports of travel’s death have been greatly exaggerated. With gas prices at a four-year low, a resurgent dollar, and hotel rates dropping, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of the deal. For those who can still afford to travel, there are more reasons than ever to embrace the world’s most arresting destinations. Here are just a dozen of them.

Some, such as Acapulco and Honolulu, are reborn classics now basking in the retro-cool spotlight. Others are enjoying the reverse fortunes of a falling currency, which means places like London, Melbourne and Budapest are not only bursting with hot new places to play and stay at, but are cheaper to visit than in 2008. We’ve also included our favorite picks for the been-there-done-that crowd: rising stars like Doha (stirring a revolution in the art world); Zambia (southern Africa’s next adventure playground); and Laos (finally playing hotel catch-up with Cambodia’s colonial charm). It’s time to hit the road again.

Click here to enter The Dreamlist.