The best holiday destinations for 2024

Our pick of the top destinations and the most exciting hotel openings for your luxury holidays in 2024 

As we look ahead to the new year, the travel industry is poised to enter an exciting new phase. We are seeing emerging trends that prioritise meaningful tailor-made experiences, sustainable practices, and technology’s role in making travel more convenient and personalised. Additionally, exciting new luxury hotels, experiences and cruise and expedition ships are launching with creative new offerings for luxury travellers looking to make their luxury holidays evermore unique and meaningful in 2024.  

Start the year off rejuvenated with £500 $600 flight credit per couple for new trips booked before 22 December 2023 and travelled before July.* Let our experts plan a bucket-list trip to kick start your 2024. 

Our best holiday destinations for 2024

Greenland promises plenty of beautiful landscapes and seemingly endless horizons and is becoming increasingly popular with clients due to its remoteness and undiscovered location. It is also a surprisingly brilliant destination for a broad mix of travellers. Firstly, for family holidays in 2024 – a summer stay at Camp Kiattua can expose youngsters to the great outdoors in a magical way – from whale watching and fishing among icebergs to foraging with a chef or hearing mystical stories from ancient folklore.  

Aurora Expeditions, specialists in luxury adventure small ship polar cruising, said: “Greenland is remote, undiscovered and truly ‘one of a kind’, so is a perfect destination for clients who are into scenery and photography, active (especially hikers and climbers) and those looking to learn more about new cultures. Guests can experience majestic mountains and glacier fed streams, as well as beautiful rocky gardens in the summer months.

This beautiful stretch of the Yucatán peninsula has seen a huge surge of new hotel openings recently. Casa Chablé and The St. Regis Kanai Resort has opened this year, followed by the Riviera Maya Edition at Kanai. Not new but refreshed is Maroma, a Belmond Hotel, which reopened in August 2023 after a year-long closure with 10 new oceanfront suites and Latin America’s first Guerlain spa.

Not that hotels are the only draw: The last section of the new Maya Train project, which connects Cancun and Tulum, is expected to open by early 2024. The route will take in several cultural and historic sites, including Chichén Itzá, making it more accessible and will connect travellers to other destinations in the state of Quintana Roo, including Bacalar, Playa del Carmen, and Puerto Morelos for combination beach holidays in 2024.

Many travellers know the historic capital city of Quito and the incredibly biodiverse Galápagos Islands but Ecuador is often overlooked as a destination and instead chosen as a pitstop. Now one of the best holiday destinations 2024 is the time to visit Ecuador’s stunning Pacific coastline. From surf towns like Montañita to the preserved beaches and cloud forest of Machalilla National Park, coastal Ecuador is packed with outdoor adventures and stunning scenery. There will also be a new luxury boat off the coast of Ecuador by Kontiki Expeditions, due to launch in early 2024. 

Pounded by the pandemic, India suffered through a grim 20-month closure, only reopening to travellers at the end of 2021. However, at long last 2024 is primed to be the year visitors return to this stunning country.

While many travellers will opt for Rajasthan’s royal palaces and desert jewels, there’s good reason to discover Uttar Pradesh on your next trip. The state is home to classic attractions including the Taj Mahal, in Agra, but also the Ganges River ghats of Varanasi, the nation’s holiest city. The new draws here include Vana, a wellness retreat in the Himalayan foothills of Dehradun managed by Six Senses and has beautiful suites with balconies and terraces overlooking the surrounding forest and gardens. 

From the spectacular wildlife to the beautiful national parks and beaches, Tanzania is absolutely bursting with visual splendour, and when high-speed internet was installed at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro last year, it was just the latest example of the new era dawning in Tanzania. Additionally, this year Air Tanzania launched new routes to the UK, in a bid to transform the country’s largest airport in Dar es Salaam into a transport hub, while construction on the country’s first toll expressway also began.

There are some very exciting upcoming openings in Tanzania too, including Singita Milele which will be an expansive villa opening in the Serengeti in May 2024. Singita Milele will accommodate up to ten guests, and will be equipped with a boma, outdoor sala, infinity pool, jacuzzi, and even a 10-person movie room – ideal for your 2024 family holiday. 

Botswana’s primary attraction is its vast wilderness. From the endless palm-covered islands of the Okavango Delta to the moonscape saltpans of the Makgadikgadi region, it’s the perfect destination for anyone seeking pristine, unfenced surroundings. There has also been a huge surge in new micro camps this year too, including Natural Selection’s new North Island Okavango, already arguably the epicentre of ultra-luxury safari in sub-Saharah Africa. New for 2024 includes the new Atzaro Okavango, opening in March 2024 and Natural Selection’s new Tawana opening in May 2024.

After more than a decade of construction, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Egypt may at last open in late 2024. Expect more than 1 million square feet of exhibition space, treasures including a 40-foot-high statue of Ramses II, pristine outdoor gardens, and an expansive plaza from which visitors can take in the desert surroundings.

Another region of Egypt that we have seen a surge of interest for recently is the Siwa Oasis in the far West of Egypt. Whilst it is a schlep to get to (10 hours by road from Cairo, with a stop off in Alexandria) on arrival discover a hidden gem of tranquillity and enchantment, thanks to its fascinating Berber history, incredible sand dunes and beautiful scenery. The hotel scene is also getting a refresh with a new Mandarin Oriental slated for downtown Cairo in 2024 and the forthcoming 200-room Four Seasons Hotel Luxor  is scheduled to debut in 2025.

Get in touch today with our destination experts to find the best holiday destination in 2024 for you.