AFRICA & CARIBBEAN _ CU – While we were crystal-balling our predictions for what travel will look like in 2022, we checked in with many of our favorite travel experts to find out where they want to go this year. And just like that, our own travel wish lists have grown much longer, as we suspect yours will, too. We all seem keen to revisit favorite spots with people we love and also to expand our horizons. Here’s to making it happen!
This African is dreaming about returning to Alaska. Not quite around the corner, but the many flights between here and one of my most loved destinations on Earth, Ultima Thule Lodge, are far outweighed by the vast wilderness of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. No need to social distance in 20,000 square miles of dramatic and breath-taking scenery – you pretty much have it all to yourself.
– Nicky Fitzgerald, Owner, Angama Mara, Kenya
I am ringing in 2022 surfing in Barbados, but I have much bigger plans this year. When Covid escalated, I had to cancel two trips that have been flagged in my brain as incomplete, and I cannot move on until I complete these journeys. The first one was to Portofino and the Cinque Terre in Northern Italy; the second was to Japan to attend an international sumo wrestling tournament. After over a year of being grounded, I got back on an airplane in September 2021 for a short trip to Washington and realized how easy it was, aside from the new and changing testing requirements for international entry. Now I am undeterred. I’m fully vaccinated, boosted, and ready to go!
– Bruce Poon Tip, Founder, G Adventures
Ever since I did ancestry.com a few years ago, I’ve been wanting to visit West Africa — Benin in particular. This year I plan to make that dream a reality and finally set foot on African soil. Will I feel a sense of familiarity when I get there? Will “my people” recognize me? I have to go to know!
– Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, writer, editor, on-screen host @JetSetSarah
Traveling is intrinsic to my life, and I am starting the year off by traveling to Antarctica to Wolf’s Fang Camp with White Desert. I imagine it to be one of the purest places I’ve traveled to. Sometime this year, I would like to re-ignite my trip to Gabon, where the forest meets ocean and river, where one can see elephants, spend time on the beach, and witness surfing hippos. Even gorilla trekking is just a stone’s throw away. To me, Cuba feels like a long-lost love, and this year I will finally go and experience the music, culture, and lifestyle.
— Beks Ndlovu, Founder and CEO, African Bush Camps
