tents on a beach with a bonfire at night

Lonely Planet's 2023 Best in Travel list is out – and I wanted to give you a little "behind the scenes" look at what it took to put this year's list together.

Our careful selection process – which involves Lonely Planet staffers, our network of contributors, as well as travel experts outside of Lonely Planet – takes several months to complete. We take nominations, narrow that list down, and then a panel evaluates which ones make the cut.

Thirty destinations landed on the Best in Travel list this year, which we broke into five categories – eat, journey, unwind, learn and connect – to give you a better way to choose your next adventure for 2023.

Once our Best in Travel list was set, the fun really began.

Our video staff chose five incredible destinations from that list and fanned out to Nova Scotia, New Mexico, Accra, Jordan and Lima – where we had experts on the ground ready to show us around.

For everywhere else, we wanted you to hear straight from people who live in our selected destinations about what makes it special, plus where you should eat, stay and go.

We contacted writers around the world to tell them their hometown (or adopted hometown) made our list – and asked if they could design a trip to celebrate the occasion. Sharing this news with these incredible writers was my favorite part of the job over the last few months.

The result is a robust collection of videos and written itineraries from people we can't wait for you to meet.

This truly is a team effort involving everyone at Lonely Planet. A big thanks to all of our staff working behind the scenes who keep Lonely Planet turning, but a special shout out to the engineers, designers and photo team who have spent countless hours building this year's Best in Travel site.

Now jump in! We can't wait to hear how this year's Best in Travel inspires your next adventure.