Fifty or sixty years ago, traveling abroad for most people was an unrealizable dream. Only the wealthy with lots of free time could afford to travel to a foreign country for a vacation and even for them the idea of ​​going to South America, Africa or Asia would have been virtually unthinkable.

The development of air transport in recent decades has changed all that. Today, your often dreamed trip to Cambodia, Uganda, Bolivia or even Antarctica can easily become a reality. More and more people from many different countries and of all ages are catching the bug of traveling all the time.

The most remote places on earth are now accessible to the intrepid traveler. Whether it’s the remarkable Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean or Lake Baikal in Siberia, or Aitutaki in the South Pacific, none of the destinations in this book should take much more than two days of total travel time from a major airport, Provided you have the determination, energy and money to go there, of course. Truly the world is now your oyster.

Some of the must-see destinations are great wonders of nature, but most are the creations of human beings (towns and cities, cathedrals, castles, museums, gardens and markets), all testament to the industry, ingenuity and perseverance of human beings. The humanity. Some of them, like the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal or the Acropolis, are famous throughout the world but many are little known. If you were to visit the spectacular Dakhla Lagoon or the beautiful temple of Wat Tham Paplong, for example, there is still a good chance that you will be the only tourist there.

To be sure, travel and tourism can have a detrimental effect, as visitors to some of the world’s most famous cities and landmarks can attest. Some particularly popular places, the city of Venice or the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, for example, can at certain times of the year be, and feel, almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of visitors and their delight at finally reaching their long-awaited visit. forced. The visiting destination may be clouded by the presence of too many human beings. Sometimes you can drastically improve the experience if you simply avoid taking your trip during the busiest time of year. Venice or Florence are still beautiful in the winter months. The Valley of the Kings is equally amazing in August, although it is true that the weather will be hot.

There are also many positive and important benefits of international travel and tourism, now probably the largest single business in the world. Some of these, such as tourist spending and employment provision, are quite obvious. Yet others are arguably just as important, if not as obvious: the breaking down of national barriers, an understanding of other people’s habits, thinking and cultures, a shared pride in the fruits of the efforts of others.

Of course, traveling to your must-see destination can often be just as interesting and fun as getting there. The people you meet, the hotels you stay in, the meals you eat, the trips you take on the local trains, buses or taxis – once you return home, your memories or your visit will be of the trip and of the whole experience and not only of the destiny itself.