Now we can travel overseas again, you’re probably already dreaming of your next trip to an exotic location. But there’s one place close to home that you shouldn’t skip.
The Scenic Rim region in southeast Queensland has recently been named one of the best places to visit in 2022 by travel publication Lonely Planet.
The list is broken down into countries, regions and cities and the Scenic Rim is the only Australian spot to make the list.
It placed eighth among the top 10 areas to head to in the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2022 guide.
Read: World’s best cities revealed
The Scenic Rim was named for its “diversity of attractions” – with the guide pointing out its rainforest adventures, “the misty slopes of Mount Tamborine town packed with cafes, cellar doors and galleries” and “hatted restaurant Homage, which specialises in creative paddock-to-plate fare”. It also called attention to Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm, Summer Land Camels, and the area’s “epic landscapes and charming country towns offering a tasty slice of rural life, with cracking Queensland hospitality in plentiful supply too”.
Read: 41 experiences to put on your Queensland must-do list
On the top regions list, the southeast Queensland spot is in impressive company. Westfjords in Iceland took out first place, West Virginia in the US came second and China’s Xishuangbanna placed third. Next came Kent’s Heritage Coast in the UK, Puerto Rico, Shikoku in Japan and Chile’s the Atacama Desert – while Canada’s Vancouver Island and Burgundy in France closed out the rundown.
While the Scenic Rim is the only Australian location to make the 2022 guide, Auckland in New Zealand topped the list of the 10 best cities for 2022 – with Lonely Planet noting that New Zealand’s “biggest and most diverse city has always been beautiful, but one unpredicted consequence of COVID-19 has been the blossoming of Auckland’s cultural scene, putting a fresh spotlight on exciting local creativity”.
Other cities named include Taipei in Taiwan, Freiburg in Germany, Atlanta in the US and Lagos in Nigeria – as well as Nicosia/Lefkosia in Cyprus, Dublin in Ireland, Merida in Mexico, Florence in Italy and Gyeongju in South Korea.
Read: Where to escape the crowds in Queensland
On the list of best countries, Cook Islands took out the number one spot, followed by Norway, Mauritius, Belize, Slovenia, Anguilla, Oman, Nepal, Malawi and Egypt.
For more information about Lonely Planet’s full Best in Travel 2022 lists, visit its website.
Which of these regions, cities and countries would you most like to visit? Have you explored the Scenic Rim region? Let us know in the comments section below.
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