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20 Mar 2025

Where our travel experts go on holiday

Planning a getaway? Here’s where the Which? Travel team recommend visiting in 2025

Naomi Leach

From dancing salsa with locals in vibrant cities to escaping to deserted coastlines and spiritual mountain hideaways, the Which? Travel team loves every type of holiday.

But in an effort to narrow down our favourites and inspire your 2025 trip, our writers and editors have shared both where they choose to holiday and the locations they dream of visiting one day.

Standout destinations we recommend include an under-the-radar Portuguese district, the spellbinding Slovenian lakes and a picturesque Scottish archipelago.

We never accept freebies when we visit a destination, so you can trust that our views are impartial and our experiences similar to what any holidaymaker might find.

Read on for the locations that impressed the Which? Travel team and that we think you should consider visiting in 2025.

Get more unbiased advice on the best destinations plus money-saving holiday tips with our free Travel newsletter

Favourite destination: Japan

Naomi Leach, deputy editor: Almost 20 years ago, I tagged a whirlwind stopover in Tokyo to the end of a backpacking trip and was wowed by the unfamiliar food, neon-lit nightlife and glittering cityscape that felt like glimpsing into the future. When my too-short visit came to an end, I vowed to return one day (with a bigger budget).

It took until 2024 when the yen plummeted to an all-time low against the pound for me to finally make that trip, for Which? Travel. While much had changed, my love for the country was reignited. Tokyo is still innovative and intoxicating but it was the mountain hot-spring towns, boho seaside resorts and forested ancient shrines that made the biggest impression. I’d happily return again and again to Japan. If you can, go and immerse yourself in its countryside, culture and incredible gastronomy, while it’s more affordable than ever.

Book your Japan adventure with Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs) Trailfinders or Destination2

Japan is home to two of the world's best cities.

Dream trip: The Greek islands

Naomi Leach: I’d love to sail around the different regions, docking at a different island each day, discovering local villages, swimming in dreamy coves and gorging on fresh Mediterranean cuisine.

Book a package holiday to Greece with WRPs Kuoni, Jet2, or Olympic Holiday.

Unsure which Greek island would suit you best? See the destinations rated highest for beaches, food and drink, scenery and value for money.

Favourite destination: Setúbal, Portugal

Kate Pasola, senior writer: Perhaps the biggest compliment you can give a holiday destination is to move there. That’s what I did in 2024 after spending several holidays in Setúbal, one of Portugal’s most overlooked districts. The area is perhaps most well known for being home to Comporta, a beach town often dubbed ‘The Portuguese Hamptons’ for its posh restaurants and famous faces. However, it offers so much more: wild beaches, stunning pine forests and storks nesting atop striped beach houses. And if Comporta is The Hamptons, then the north-westerly Costa da Caparica is Venice Beach. There, you can people-watch the skaters, surfers and locals walking their dogs until the sun sets in the sea. Or, for a deserted island experience, head to Praia de Galapinhos, with its powdery sands and jewel-tone waves.

Perhaps you won’t even feel like joining the tourist throngs on the streets of Lisbon once you’ve tried Setúbal. But if you do fancy it, you can easily drive over the iconic red bridge or take a seven -minute ferry ride from Cacilhas.

Find a hotel in Setubal with Booking.com

Want to plan a cheaper trip in 2025? Read our 28 ways to save money on holidays.

Dream trip: South Korea

Kate Pasola: When I visit, I want to see it all - from craning my neck at Seoul’s LED patchwork of flashing billboards to exploring the volcanic landscapes, seawater spas and lava-tube caves of Jeju Island, plus all 11 of the country’s Unesco world heritage sites.

Book an escorted or self-guided tour of South Korea with Which? Recommended Provider Audley Travel

Favourite destination: The Hebrides

Trevor Baker, senior researcher/writer: When I visited the West Coast of Scotland for the first time, I was living on the Costa Blanca. This meant that the things that might put you off - the weather, basically - was a relief from the Spanish sun. Everything else about this part of the world was perfect. The basalt pillars of Fingal’s Cave on Staffa - one of the world’s great natural wonders. The white sand and tranquility of the Hebrides’ own Holy Island - Iona. The whimsical comic interlude provided by all those clifftop puffins.

Even the food was delicious everywhere we went, from grilled langoustines served at Cafe Fish on Mull, soundtracked by the waves crashing outside, or rollmops like I’ve never tasted before - sweet, fresh and tangy - looking out over Ben Nevis. A bit of a breeze, and the occasional spot of rain, is a small price to pay.

Book a trip with HF Holidays or find a place on Booking.com in the Outer Hebrides or Inner Hebrides

Old Man of Storr in Skye was a top rated UK walk, find a scenic route close to you

Dream trip: Borneo

Trevor Baker: It's top of my list as I'd be keen to go on mountain treks and see the rainforests, unspoilt beaches - and orangutans in their natural environment.

Book a Bhutan once-in-a-lifetime trip with Which Recommended Provider Destination2 or Trailfinders

Favourite destination: Cuba

Guy Hobbs, principal researcher: I first visited Cuba for six weeks in 2001, having cobbled together the airfare from my summer job at the local pea factory. Back then, you could travel cheaply if you ditched the convertible pesos used by tourists, and lived like a local. So I survived on hole-in-the-wall peso pizzas, hitch-hiked in bone-shaking chevvys (and the odd horse and cart), and drank the local rocket-fuel at casas de la musica (local live music venues) from Havana to Santiago.

I was hooked - seduced by stories of revolutionary struggle, spontaneous salsa in the streets, and the Caribbean sun. When I returned to Cuba some 15 years later for Which? Travel, the international hotel chains had moved in and Cuban tourism had a confident new swagger. But it wasn’t to last. A combination of Covid and new rules meaning you can’t visit the US under the ESTA scheme if you’ve recently visited Cuba, have decimated the tourist industry and plunged the island into economic crisis. Visiting now might mean enduring the odd power cut, but I guarantee you’ll be given the warmest welcome.

Book an escorted tour of Cuba with Which? Recommended Providers Intrepid Travel or Exodus Travels

Paradise doesn't have to break the bank. The 10 best-value Caribbean islands

Dream trip: Italy

Guy Hobbs: My upcoming road-trip north from Venice, through a patchwork of prosecco vineyards, to the spectacular peaks of the Dolomites is a route I've always wanted to explore.

Sizzling summers ruining your holiday? The Dolomites is one of our top destinations for escaping the heat when the mercury starts to rise.

Favourite destination: Słowiński National Park, Poland

Rory Boland, editor: ‘Come to Poland, it is comfortably warm’ is my pitch for the country’s next tourism slogan, because the truth is that Spain, Italy and much of southern Europe have become too hot to enjoy yourself at the seaside in summer. I come to Poland regularly in July and August with almost uninterrupted mid-20s temperatures and little risk of rain, to sit on some of the best beaches in Europe. Almost all of the 400km of Baltic coastline is sandy and spectacular, but Słowiński National Park is truly extraordinary. The 40-metre sand dunes in this Unesco biosphere are the tallest in Europe, and vast enough for a hike in utter isolation.

A visit is doable in a day from Gdansk, but I stay in Łeba– a fishing village on the edge of the park that doubles as a resort in summer and has its own beach, marina and parade of seafood restaurants.

Book a stay in Leba with Booking.com

Dream trip: Chile

Rory Boland: For icebergs in Patagonia, the otherworldly Atacama salt plains and snow-topped stratovolcanoes in the Andes.

Book a tailor-made tour in Chile with WRP Travelbag

Favourite destination: Slovenia

Jo Rhodes, senior researcher/writer: Since returning from a trip to Slovenia for Which? Travel, I’ve been telling anyone who will listen that they should visit. Just a 40-minute drive stands between Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, but they are worlds apart. Bled has the fairytale quality: a teardrop-shaped island with a church steeped in legend and a medieval castle clinging to a clifftop. But Bohinj, hemmed in by the snow-capped Julian Alps, has a wilder beauty and is still largely off tourists' radar.

Add to this a fascinating food scene (inspired by Slovenia's Austrian, Italian and Balkan neighbours) and some brilliant home-grown wines - natural and small-production varieties are having a moment - and you've got all the ingredients of a fantastic holiday. The historic capital Ljubljana is also charmingly compact, with many of its landmarks -such as the elegant triple bridge spanning the river - designed by innovative architect Jože Plečnik.

Book a hotel in Slovenia with Booking.com

Dream trip: Bhutan in the Himalayas

Jo Rhodes: I’m beguiled by its rejection of mass tourism and its culture deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism.

Favourite destination: Seatown, Dorset

Lauren Bell, senior researcher/writer: On a blissful sunny holiday to Seatown, I spent mornings trekking across verdant landscapes overlooking the English Channel, climbing down to dramatic cliff-backed beaches at Seatown and Eype, and taking dips to cool off in the sea. West Dorset has everything you need for a UK break and is less than an hour from iconic spots such as Durdle Door. I’d recommend whiling away long summer days in the glorious Abbotsbury Subtropical gardens, paddleboarding, fossil-hunting or visiting nearby vineyards - such as the Furleigh Estate.

A short drive away is The Parlour. It’s a tasty Italian restaurant where you can dine al fresco if the weather is kind. Squint and you could be in the Tuscan hills. On Seatown Beach, find freshly caught fish at The Anchor Inn - an idyllic spot to finish a there-and-back hike to the South West’s highest point, Golden Cap, or grab a wood-fired pizza from Seatown Slice and watch the sunset from the shingle.

Find a self-catering stay on the Dorset coast with WRP Classic Cottages

Readers have rated more 120 seaside towns and villages across the UK, see how your favourite scored

Dream trip: Canadian Rockies

Lauren Bell: I’d love to trundle by train past the varied natural landscape, including glacier-fed lakes, majestic mountains, ranchlands and alpine forests.

Book a Canadian rail adventure with WRP Great Rail Journeys

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