2020 Travel Awards: The Best Adventures, Hotels, and Guides in the World

The Chicest Place to Get Well: Shou Sugi Ban House, New York

This new Japanese-inspired wellness retreat 90 miles east of New York City is stocked with everything you need to chill—meditative gardens, a spa, fitness classes in an open-air pavilion, a detoxifying infrared sauna, a transporting sound bath, hydrotherapy sessions. You can even consult with a shaman, if that’s your thing. The kitchen is overseen by Noma veteran Mads Refslund and offers mostly plant-based meals served at a communal table just a few feet from the open kitchen. The result: a highly curated but not at all fussy escape from the thrum of daily life. — Lori Leibovich

Dominica: A Caribbean Island Is Reborn

Far from your typical rum-soaked getaway, Dominica is more like the island cousin of Costa Rica, covered in volcanoes, hot springs, rain forests, and cliff-rimmed coastline. In 2017, it was devastated by Hurricane Maria, but Dominica is coming back in a big way. And you can now end a trek along the 115-mile Waitukubuli National Trail at the island’s first five-star stay, Cabrits Resort & Spa Kempinski, on the border of Cabrits National Park, perhaps the Caribbean’s most overlooked ecological treasure. — Jen Murphy

The Best Backcountry Hut: Thelma Hut, Colorado

One of Colorado’s most beloved under-the-radar experiences has long been Opus Hut, set deep in the backcountry of the San Juan Mountains. Last year, its owners began managing a sister property, Thelma Hut, with a soaring steal-beam and wood design. The lodge sleeps eight, and you need to leave your car on the Million Dollar Highway for the half-mile hike in. But once there, you have complete solitude, with hiking or backcountry skiing up to 13,000 feet literally right out the front door. “You’d otherwise be snow camping,” says Allison Kingsley, who helps run things. All the food is provided, so no need to carry it in. And it’s just 11 mountain miles away from Opus Hut, so you can link the two in a multiday epic. — T.W.

The Most Over-the-Top Fishing Lodge: Rifflin' Hitch Lodge, Canada

On its surface, this inn in northern Labrador is downright quaint, with log construction, a river-stone fireplace, and caribou-antler chandeliers. But it’s what’s sitting out front that truly elevates it: two helicopters and a Cessna floatplane, your taxi rides each morning to one of the best Atlantic salmon rivers on the planet. In the evenings, an in-house chef will prepare the most elaborate meal you can have in an off-the-grid property, everything from moose steaks to chocolate soufflé. At $75,000 for an all-inclusive four-day stay, this is life-list-level pricing. But when you and seven of your buddies go home, you’ll have more big-fish tales than anyone, including flying to the coast to pick up a few chunks of glacial ice for happy hour. Because, really, what’s a fishing trip without a single malt on a 10,000-year-old cube? — R.K.

Be a Navy Seal for a Day: Trident Adventures, Hawaii

Founded by two retired U.S. Navy SEALs, Oahu’s Trident Adventures specializes in diving for run-ins with sea turtles and other marine creatures. But they also offer a rare opportunity to adventure like a SEAL for a day—without all of the hardcore training. Participants jump out of a helicopter for a tandem skydive at 10,000 feet, take tactical shooting lessons at a private gun range, then make a jump from a helicopter into the Pacific waters. With experienced SEALs setting the pace (and overseeing safety), all you have to do is enjoy the ride, which is easier said than done. — Jill K. Robinson

Most Jaw-Dropping Mountain View: Hoshinoya Fuji Hotel, Japan

Situated on a forested hillside, the crisp modern rooms at Hoshinoya Fuji feel like personal space-age treehouses, each pod with its own stunning view across Lake Kawaguchi to majestic Fuji-san. The experience of staying here is a riff on the Japanese practice of forest bathing—it offers special digital detox stays, as well—augmented with an array of particularly well-thought-out flourishes. Snuggle under a blanket while enjoying a breakfast delivered to your balcony in a picnic basket. Sign up for the sunrise canoe trip on the lake. Or spend your time on the Cloud Terrace, a massive series of decks in the forest, where you can take a class on how to smoke various foods, watch a classic film projected on a screen strung between trees, or sip on some Japanese whiskey next to a campfire while Mount Fuji dominates the skyline in the distance. — T.S.

The Chicest Eco-Hotel Ever: Downtown Camper by Scandic, Sweden

This 494-room accommodation in central Stockholm balances two great Swedish loves: industrial chic and nature. Interior steel pillars crack open with moss. Urskog skateboards decorate the muted walls. And a giant net with oversize pillows lets you hang out over the lobby, literally. Even the rooms, with window daybeds and co-living spaces, come scented with a tailor-made aroma evoking a vanilla-tinged campfire. Activities include yoga and group bike rides. Come evening, head to the Nest—the spa and rooftop pool—for cocktails just as the Nordic sun turns the city pink. — T.N.

The World's Greatest Soak: Vök Baths, Iceland

Located along the country’s unspoiled eastern coastline, these hot baths are a series of geothermal floating pools on Lake Urriðavatn. The pools mimic the look of vakir, natural ice-free patches in the lake that form in winter due to the hot spring beneath. After a dip, at the lakeside bistro you can sip tea made from homegrown herbs or try a Vök-inspired craft beer produced using the springs’ pristine water and local hops—surely the purest IPA ever to touch your lips. — Jayme Moye

Our Favorite Innovator: Luis Vargas, Founder of Modern Adventure

When Luis Vargas started brainstorming the inaugural trips for his travel company, Modern Adventure, his mind went to people rather than places. To provide a deeper travel experience, Vargas decided to tap in-the-know tastemakers like Michelin-starred chef Gavin Kayser, and Oregon wine icon David Adelsheim, as trip leaders. “A destination comes into sharp relief when viewed through the lens of someone’s passion,” says Vargas. To date, his company has 50 guides in the fields of art, food, wine, design, and fitness. Highlights for 2020 include a coffee tour of Colombia and a design-focused trip to Japan with Tung Chiang, of Heath Ceramics in San Francisco. —Jen Murphy

The Best Water World Resort: Turtle Bay, Hawaii

Located on Oahu’s North Shore, the epicenter of surf culture, this 800-acre resort just might be the best place in the world to explore every ocean sport man has dreamed up: sailing on catamarans, outrigger canoeing, snorkeling, shark diving, whale watching, SUPing, swimming with turtles, and, of course, surfing. Back on land, the property has more than enough activities to satiate everyone, too, including two championship golf courses and a spa. — R.K.

The Most Rollicking Après-Ski Bar: The Nugget Mountain Bar, Colorado

When Durango local Kevin Wright bought this 1960s mining hut, he detested the idea of turning it into another Airbnb property. “Vacation rentals are a dime a dozen in ski towns,” he says. “But who doesn’t want to drink in an old cabin?” So Wright remade the joint, a half-mile south of Purgatory Resort, into the area’s most cherished après dive bar. The bar top is made from old skis, the windows perfectly frame the surrounding peaks, a food truck serves pork belly sliders, and its giant deck has become known for live music. There’s even a complimentary shuttle to take you home. — Jen Murphy

Madagascar: Africa's Hidden Paradise Gets a Tourist-Friendly Upgrade

This Texas-size island off the southeast coast of Africa is best known for its lemurs, dwarf chameleons, and other rare creatures. But its extraordinary baobab forests, eroded limestone towers, and reef-lined coast makes it perhaps the world’s most overlooked adventure land. In the north, the Emerald Sea is a kitesurfing paradise, while the central crater lakes of Andraikiba and Tritriva offer prime mountain bike terrain. For the best of land and sea, though, stay at beachside Masoala Forest Lodge. This tented treehouse provides endless options for treks in the protected rain forest and kayaking in the mangroves. — Jen Murphy

The Coolest Beachside Eco-Resort: Discovery Rottnest Island, Australia

Rottnest Island, 90 minutes by ferry from Perth, is a stunning nature preserve made up of 20 crystal-blue bays on the Indian Ocean. But for years there was nowhere to stay. That changed in 2019 with the unfortunately named but decidedly cool Discovery Rottnest Island resort, built right into the beach dunes. The property is dotted with 83 high-end tents, each with its own porch and connected by a maze of boardwalks. There’s a pool, outdoor showers, and a restaurant grilling sustainably sourced fish. It’s glorious, for sure; just don’t call it glamping. — Mickey Rapkin

The Best New Services to Get You Out There

Adioso

Not every trip is a straightforward journey from point A to point B on two exact dates. With the website Adioso, you can be way more flexible, searching for the best and cheapest flights to, say, “Europe,” “great places to ski,” or even “somewhere warm” based on a broad date range and approximate trip length. This allows you to choose the perfect destination based on the most affordable flights in the time frame that you want.

Timeshifter

Plug in your flights a few days before departure and this app reveals the best times to nap and when to have or avoid caffeine, light, and melatonin. It’s simple but effective at beating jet lag.

Scott’s Cheap Flights

This email newsletter does all the deal sleuthing for you, offering alerts on cheap fares originating from your home airport. There’s a free service, but the paid newsletter ($49 per year) gets you access to deals earlier. It also gives you a heads-up on airlines’ so-called mistake fares, which can be ridiculously low (and short-lived). Without this service, it’d be nearly impossible find a better deal on your own.