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Italy, among the world’s top destinations, reigned atop three categories: favorite global, honeymoon and family destination Where are upscale travelers in the know heading for their getaways? The Virtuoso Luxe Report has the inside scoop on the world’s top destinations for the year ahead. Published each year, the report surveys Virtuoso’s expert travel advisors around the globe on the hottest trends they see for the year to come. Read on to discover where everyone from families to adventure-seekers to honeymooners are off to in the coming year.

Our lodge in The Gambia (Footsteps Eco-Lodge) was perched upon the edge of a protected area of forest known as the Koofung Forest Park. As a result, it was a renowned spot for birdwatching. Now, I’m going to be totally honest here. I have never ever seen the appeal of birdwatching. There I said it! I’ve always dismissed birds and been focused on larger, more powerful animals such as big cats. However, this indifferent perception was starting to change. Last year I went on safari in Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka and was mesmerised by the colourful array of birds I saw. Our guide would give snippets of information about them and I became excited every time I managed to capture one with my lens. At Footsteps Eco-Lodge many of the guests we had encountered were keen ‘birders’. They sat with their binoculars and a couple had some mighty impressive cameras, their zoom lenses coated in a camouflage wrap. I even heard rumours that the BBC’s wildlife presente...

After not seeing any shipwrecks at the Skeleton coast, I was determined to hit the rest of our road-trip at full speed and really embrace every moment of it. I knew the next part of the trip would take us somewhere really exciting - OK, I know I've said that about everywhere in Namibia but Namibia is an exciting place, alright? We woke up to a dreary, overcast day in Swakopmund and I reluctantly succumbed to pulling on a pair of leggings and a hoodie. There was a terrible chill to the air and as I looked up, a white sky stretched on for as far as the eye could see. Hopefully the weather would pick us as the day went by. Last night I made a couple more adjustments to our itinerary. Today's drive was meant to be a 4 hour drive to the heart of the Namib desert. I managed to cut it down to a 3 hour drive and push back the next 2 campsites. There's a big difference between a 3 hour drive and a 4 hour drive and after some incredibly brutal drives this t...

by Alyssa Ramos The Dramatic Departure “Hey so, listen to me OK? I..eh..love you, and…I will miss you, a lot. ” Mr. TDH said meaningfully as he hugged me tightly in the cold, misty, dark, early hours of that last Saturday morning in Muizenberg. My response was nonexistent since my face and arms were buried in his chest as I tried to keep warm and ignore the fact that I had to leave him  and  the IVHQ volunteer program in South Africa already. ‘This does not look like a safari vehicle,’  I thought, peeking a judgmental eye out from under his muscular arm to observe the dark tinted windows while the seemingly sketchy-looking tour guide loaded my luggage into the weird cargo pod behind the van. I thought I could see people moving inside but wasn’t particularly wary of it. I was too focused on my nose freezing off and the fact that in a few hours, I would be hanging out with lions and Crocodile Dundee while Mr. TDH was on a plane back to Istanbul.  S...