The single best place to visit this year? With so many cool cities to explore and fun new things to do, that’s quite a tricky title to award, but HelloSafe, an insurance comparison site, has had a go at it.
The company has analysed a bunch of countries and given them an overall score, based on how safe and affordable they are, how much social media engagement they draw and how they fare in a climate index based on rainfall and ideal temperature.
Topping the list with a score of 75.8 is Albania, the beautiful Mediterranean country that’s become a go-to alternative to Greece and Croatia over the last few years. The beaches are so nice here that Albania’s coast was Europe’s overall top trending destination for 2025, according to this report.
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Spots worth visiting include Ksamil, a ‘squiggle of interlocking coves, miniature islands, forested headlands and lagoons that sparkle in the late afternoon sun’, and Dafina Bay, a protected nature reserve on the Karaburun peninsula. You can read more about our favourite stretches of coast in our guide to Albania’s best beaches.
However, Albania’s inland regions are spectacular, too. HelloSafe named visiting the preserved valley of Theth, in Albania’s Alpine region, as one of the best things to do this year, and it does look phenomenal. It’s an area littered with alpine pastures, dense pine forests and lakes, all with a striking backdrop of sharp peaks.
Colombia claimed second place with a score of 72.2, and Laos claimed third place with 71.9. Read on for the full top 20, and check out the study in more detail here.
These are the best places to visit this year
- Albania
- Colombia
- Laos
- El Salvador
- Serbia
- Saudi Arabia
- Kazakhstan
- Bhutan
- Bahrain
- Guatemala
- Mongolia
- Armenia
- Puerto Rico
- Ghana
- Uruguay
- Andorra
- Tanzania
- Samoa
- Moldova
- Sri Lanka
Did you see that the pretty European capital named the world’s happiest city in 2025?
Plus: Are Portugal’s beaches really disappearing?
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