Travelling is one of the great joys and privileges of life. In the 21st century, we’re able to cross continents in a matter of hours and visit places that feel worlds away from what we’re used to. But you don’t always have to journey so far to get that travel-induced dose of serotonin. In fact, Rough Guides has just named two places in the UK among 25 of the very best spots in the world to ‘find joy’ in 2025.
Next to seeing sloths in Costa Rica, taking the trip of a lifetime to Madagascar and singing Welsh songs in Patagonia, Rough Guides recommends exploring somewhere closer to home and taking a trip to Pembrokeshire, Wales next year. Specifically, ‘joy of taking a last-minute boat trip to Caldey Island from Tenby’.
One Rough Guides reader said: ‘I hadn’t been here since I was a child myself, and revisiting the island, with its soft-sand beach, beautiful chapel and seal-studded coves, with my nephews was an absolute joy.’
The guide also recommends the ‘joy of being kind to strangers’ in Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk, following a story from a reader who had helped an elderly man while on holiday there and, to say thank you, his daughter gave them loads of local recommendations while they were staying in the area.
They said: ‘We followed her advice to the letter and our holiday was much richer for it! I learned even when you’re holidaying in your own country, there are treasures to uncover when you take time to connect with local people.’
So, what are you waiting for? Make 2025 the year that you strike up conversations with strangers and explore the amazing places right on our doorstep.
Travelling in 2025
Feeling inspired? There’s no better time to start planning for 2025 than now. To help you out Time Out has a list of the 25 very best new things to do in the UK in 2025. And if you need even more inspo, these three UK hotels have been named the best to visit next year in Condé Nast Traveller’s Gold List 2025 and two British destinations have been named the ‘most underrated’ in the world to visit in 2025.
ICYMI: This beautiful new 20-mile walking trail has just opened in Bath
Plus: The UK’s poshest suburbs have been named – do you live in one?
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