This is why Colombia must be #1 in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017
Lonely Planet has revealed its top 10 travel destinations for 2017. And Colombia is in second place. Pretty awesome, but for sure it has to be the top spot. This is why:
# 1 All year round
Since Donald Trump is elected for president, thousands of Americans are looking to flee the country. Friendly Canada is popular as the possible new home-away-from-home. According to Lonely Planet it is the best travel destination for 2017. And true, Canada is beautiful. But how to survive the cold winters? Colombia is a place you can visit all year round – so even if the tickets are cheap – because seasons hardly exist over here.
# 2 Diversity
After Brazil Colombia offers the greatest diversity of flora and fauna in the world. None of the nine other countries in the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017-list come close. In fact, if you look at the biodiversity per square kilometer, Colombia even beats its immense neighbor. Colombia occupies 0.8 percent of the globe, but provides 10 percent of global biodiversity. Colombia has 1821 species of birds, 467 species of mammals, 518 reptile species and 51.220 plant species. That’s amazing!
#3 Life is a beach
Like #1 Canada and #3 Finland, Colombia offers mountains and azure lakes. And like #4 Dominica and – we cheat a bit – #6 Bermuda a Caribbean coast can be found. Colombia is loved by both the active outdoor enthusiast as the culture spotter and the beach lover. So if you like an active holiday full of culture and enough time to relax: Colombia has it all.
#4 Undiscovered
Most countries in the top 10 in Lonely Planet have in common that they are more or less still undiscovered by tourists. And often there is a dark past causing this. #10 in Ethiopia has a history of famine in the mid-eighthies, while #9 Myanmar suffered – even more recently – from a military regime. Colombia was long associated with violence. The countries surrounding Colombia in the top 3 – Canada and Finland – never had such a bad image. Good for them, but as well a bit boring. Colombia is far more adventurous.
#5 Keep it cheap
Colombia made it as well to the top ten of cheapest countries in the world. Only one other country in the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017 can beat Colombia: Nepal. So Colombia is the perfect holiday destination for every budget traveller.
#6 Improve your Spanish
It ain’t very likely that you are interested to speak fluent Finnish, Amharic (Ethiopia) or Burmese (Myanmar). However, Spanish is a language you would probably like to manage. Colombia is a great place to pick up your first words, or improve your Spanish since the Colombians speak clearly and slowly.