11. Portland, USA
Why it’s hot? It’s the gateway to the State’s green spine of forested parks and historic trails
Like the pioneers of old, it’s time to head west – Pacific Northwest to be precise. Wanderlust readers know Portland, Oregon, for its hip reputation – 30-plus microbreweries, a small army of food trucks and the world’s biggest indie bookshop will do that. But it’s also the gateway to the State’s green spine of forested parks and historic trails, and come late May, new direct flights with Delta Air Lines from London Heathrow put the City of Roses back under the travel spotlight.
Cycling is the best way to see Portland – its wide bike lanes put most places to shame. Pedal its bridges and backstreets to get under its skin, then hit the city’s 600-plusfood trucks, with the clusters in downtown Alder and Fifth Avenue two of the best known. Later, escape the pressure of being hip on the trails up nearby Mount Hood.
Fine parks and walks scatter the rest of the state, so explore everything, from driving the original US pioneer route (known as the Oregon Trail) to kayaking the crystal waters of Crater Lake N P. There’s more to Portland than cool beer and ‘voodoo doughnuts’.
12. Christmas Island, Australia
Why it’s hot? Flight times from the UK have now more than halved
Until recently, the easiest way to reach Christmas Island was a four-hour flight from Perth – on top of the 40 soul-squeezing hours it already takes to get to Australia. Step forward Garuda Indonesia. I n addition to new direct links between Jakarta and London Heathrow (14 hours), the airline has also launched weekly charter flights from the Indonesian capital to Christmas Island (50 minutes). Even better, it raises the mouth-watering prospect of splitting a trip between the two.
Fly into Jakarta, spend a few days wandering its old colonial downtown of Kota Tua and hopping the Thousand islands archipelago, before continuing south to ‘Australia’s Galápagos’. Trek tropical forests rich in endemic species, snorkel coral-rich waters alongside whale sharks (Nov-Apr) and listen out for its 80,000 nesting seabirds. Head there now and you might even catch one of the world’s great migrations: the annual 120-million-strong red crab exodus, when the whole island rattles to the clatter of tiny scarlet claws.
