Best Countries For Tourism in the World

Thailand is the easiest first trip abroad for most Indian families, and it still gives you the most for the money. Bangkok covers temples, malls and street food, the southern islands run from the busy beaches of Phuket to the quieter bays around Krabi, and the north around Chiang Mai brings hill country, night markets and elephant sanctuaries. Flights take about four hours. Packages average around Rs 35,000 per person.

The UAE fits a lot into a short trip, which is why it works so well over a long weekend. Dubai has the Burj Khalifa, desert safaris, dhow dinners and the big malls, Abu Dhabi adds the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Ferrari World, and Sharjah keeps the older souks and museums. Flights from most Indian cities take three to four hours. Packages average around Rs 44,000 per person.

Vietnam gives you a lot of country for a modest budget. Hanoi and the limestone bays of Ha Long sit in the north, Hoi An and Da Nang hold the middle with tailors, beaches and lantern-lit lanes, and Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta anchor the south. The food is a reason to go on its own. Flights run about five hours. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

Known For : Gardens by the Bay Universal Studios Singapore Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is the country on this list you can manage with small children without much effort. Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, Universal Studios and the zoo fill three or four days, the metro reaches everything, and the hawker centres keep food costs sensible even when hotels do not. Flights take about five and a half hours. Packages average around Rs 57,000 per person.

Best Time: January to November

271 Singapore Attractions

Indonesia is really several holidays under one flag. Bali alone covers rice terraces and waterfalls inland at Ubud, beach clubs and long sunsets at Seminyak, and the cliffs of Nusa Penida a boat ride away. Beyond it, Java has Borobudur and live volcanoes, and Raja Ampat has some of the best diving anywhere. Flights take six to eight hours via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Packages average around Rs 42,000 per person.

Sri Lanka fits beaches, hill country, wildlife and old cities onto an island you can circle in ten days. The train from Kandy to Ella runs through tea estates, Yala and Udawalawe are good for leopard and elephant, and the south coast around Mirissa and Unawatuna is where most people finish. Flights are under three hours from South India. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

Nepal is the simplest and cheapest country here for an Indian passport, and the mountains are the reason to go. Kathmandu has Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and Durbar Square, Pokhara sits under the Annapurna range for paragliding and lake days, and Chitwan adds rhino and tiger country. Trekking runs from short Poon Hill walks to Everest Base Camp. Packages average around Rs 22,000 per person.

Malaysia is good value and unusually varied for a short trip. Kuala Lumpur has the Petronas Towers, Batu Caves and some of the best Indian food outside India, Langkawi and Penang cover beaches and street food, and Borneo adds rainforest, orangutans and the diving off Sipadan. Flights take about five hours. Packages average around Rs 48,000 per person.

Known For : Stay in an Overwater Bungalow Ithaa Undersea Restaurant Scuba Diving in Maldives

The Maldives is the shortest flight to a proper beach holiday from India, at three to four hours. Most resorts have an island to themselves, so the real choice is which island suits you, from budget guesthouses on Maafushi to overwater villas with reef access off the deck. Snorkelling and diving are the main activities. Packages average around Rs 89,000 per person.

Best Time: December to April

102 Maldives Attractions

Japan rewards a longer trip because the country changes so much as you move through it. Tokyo is dense and modern, Kyoto keeps the temples, gardens and old geisha districts, Osaka is the food city, and Hokkaido and the Japanese Alps bring snow and hot springs. The rail network makes it easy to string together. Cherry blossom lands late March to early April. Packages average around Rs 141,000 per person.

Turkey sits across two continents and travels like two countries. Istanbul has the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar along the Bosphorus, Cappadocia has the rock valleys and the balloon flights at dawn, and the coast around Antalya and Bodrum handles the beach half. Pamukkale and Ephesus fill the gap between them. Spring and autumn are the comfortable months.

Georgia has become one of the better value trips in the region for Indian travellers. Tbilisi has sulphur baths, balconied old houses and a lively eating and drinking scene, Kazbegi puts you under the Caucasus within a few hours, and Batumi covers the Black Sea coast. The wine region of Kakheti claims some of the oldest winemaking anywhere. May to September is the easiest stretch.

Azerbaijan is compact enough to cover properly in under a week. Baku has the walled Old City, the Flame Towers and a long seafront promenade, while a short drive out reaches the mud volcanoes at Gobustan and its prehistoric rock carvings. Further north, Quba and Sheki bring mountain villages and old caravanserais. Flights are about five hours from Delhi.

Bhutan is the easiest Himalayan country to reach from India and the least crowded once you are there. The climb to Tiger's Nest above Paro is what most people come for, while Thimphu and Punakha add fortress dzongs, weaving workshops and wide river valleys. The country limits visitor numbers on purpose. Entry rules for Indian passports differ from other nationalities, so check the current position before booking.

Egypt is a history trip more than a beach one, though it has both. The Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum sit outside Cairo, Luxor and Aswan hold the temple sites with Nile cruises running between them, and the Red Sea coast at Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada covers the diving. October to April is the sensible window.

Switzerland is expensive but hard to fault if mountains are the point of the trip. Interlaken, Zermatt and Grindelwald put you under the Jungfrau and the Matterhorn, the rail passes make day trips simple, and Lucerne and Geneva handle the lake and city side. Summer is for hiking and the trains, winter for skiing. Budget for transport as much as for hotels.

Italy holds more famous sights per kilometre than almost anywhere. Rome has the Colosseum and the Vatican, Florence the Renaissance galleries, Venice the canals, and the Amalfi Coast and Sicily cover the south and the sea. Trains link most of it in a few hours. April to June and September to October are the comfortable months, while August is both hot and crowded.

France works as one trip or as several. Paris covers the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the day out to Versailles, the Riviera around Nice and Cannes brings the Mediterranean, and the Loire, Provence and the Alps each stand on their own. Trains from Paris reach most of it in a few hours. Late spring and early autumn are the easiest times to travel.

England is the familiar first Europe trip for many Indian travellers, helped by the language and the direct flights. London alone fills several days with the Tower, the museums and the West End, and Oxford, Bath, the Cotswolds and the Lake District are all short train journeys out. Summer has the longest days, though the weather stays unreliable all year.

Known For : Black River Gorges National Park Underwater Waterfall Seven Coloured Earth of Chamarel

Mauritius is the beach holiday that suits families as well as couples. The north around Grand Baie has the busier beaches and the boat trips, the south and west are quieter with Chamarel's coloured earth and Black River Gorges, and the reef keeps the water calm for snorkelling. Indian food is easy to find. Flights take about six hours from Mumbai.

Best Time: April to June and September to December

146 Mauritius Attractions

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

Seychelles is the quieter and more expensive of the Indian Ocean options. Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are the three islands most people combine, with granite boulders on the beaches at Anse Source d'Argent and Anse Lazio and short ferry hops between them. It suits a slow week rather than a packed itinerary. Flights are around five hours from Mumbai.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

Greece splits neatly into the mainland and the islands. Athens has the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the museums, Delphi and Meteora sit a few hours out, and the islands run from Santorini's caldera views to the beaches of Crete, Rhodes and Naxos. Ferries connect most of them. May, June and September avoid both the peak crowds and the worst heat.

Spain gives you very different cities inside one country. Barcelona has Gaudi's buildings and the beach, Madrid the galleries and food markets, Seville and Granada the Moorish palaces, and the Balearics and Costa del Sol the coast. Trains between the big cities are fast. Spring and early autumn work best, since central Spain gets very hot in August.

Oman is the quieter Gulf country and the better one for landscape. Muscat has the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and the old souk at Mutrah, the Wahiba Sands cover desert camping, and the wadis and forts inland around Nizwa fill a few days more. Salalah turns green during the khareef season from June to September. Flights are about three hours.

Cambodia is often a short add-on to Vietnam or Thailand, but Angkor alone justifies the trip. The temple complex outside Siem Reap takes two or three days to see properly, sunrise at Angkor Wat included. Phnom Penh covers the royal palace and the harder recent history, and the coast at Kep and Koh Rong stays quiet. November to February is the dry, cooler window.

The Philippines is spread across more than seven thousand islands, so the trip is really a choice of two or three. Palawan has the lagoons of El Nido and the Coron wrecks, Bohol has the Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, and Siargao is the surf island. Boracay handles the resort end. Flights connect through Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, and November to April is driest.

Known For : Hong Kong Disneyland Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Tian Tan Buddha

Hong Kong is a short, dense trip that punches above its size. The Peak tram, the Star Ferry and the harbour skyline fill a first day, Disneyland and Ocean Park cover families, and the markets in Mong Kok and the temples in Kowloon fill the rest. Hiking trails and beaches sit half an hour from the centre. October to December is the most comfortable stretch.

Best Time: October to December (Autumn)

337 Hong Kong Attractions

Australia is a long flight and a big country, so it works best over two weeks. Sydney has the Opera House and the harbour, Cairns is the base for the Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne covers coffee, laneways and the Great Ocean Road, and Uluru sits in the centre. The seasons run opposite to India, so December to February is high summer there.

New Zealand is the trip for landscape and the outdoors. The North Island has Auckland, the geothermal pools at Rotorua and the Hobbiton set, while the South Island brings Queenstown for bungee and skiing, Milford Sound for the fiords, and glacier walks on the west coast. Most people drive it. December to February is summer there.

Qatar suits a stopover or a short break rather than a long trip. Doha has the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum, the Souq Waqif and the Corniche walk, with dune bashing at the inland sea an hour out. The stadiums built for the 2022 football World Cup are still in use. October to March is the only pleasant window.

Jordan is small enough to cover in a week and holds two of the region's best sights. Petra takes a full day on foot through the Siq to the Treasury and the Monastery, Wadi Rum adds desert camps and jeep runs, and the Dead Sea is an easy float before flying home. Amman and Jerash cover the Roman ruins. March to May and September to November are the comfortable months.

Germany rewards a road or rail trip more than a single-city stay. Berlin covers modern history and museums, Munich has the beer halls and the Alps within reach, the Romantic Road links castles including Neuschwanstein, and the Rhine and Black Forest fill the west. Christmas markets run through December. May to September is otherwise the easiest time.

The Netherlands is easy to cover on a short trip because the trains are quick and the country is small. Amsterdam has the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and the canals, Keukenhof opens for the tulips from late March to mid May, and Rotterdam, Delft and the Kinderdijk windmills are all day trips.

Austria works well as a music, mountains and coffee-house trip. Vienna has the palaces, the opera and the museums, Salzburg brings Mozart and the Sound of Music countryside, Hallstatt sits on its lake, and Innsbruck opens onto the Alps for skiing and summer hiking. December brings the Christmas markets. June to September suits the mountains.

The Czech Republic is one of the better value trips in central Europe. Prague fills most of it, with the castle, the astronomical clock, Charles Bridge and a strong beer and jazz scene, while Cesky Krumlov and the spa town of Karlovy Vary make good overnight trips. May to October is the pleasant stretch, with December for the markets.

Croatia is mainly a coastal trip. Dubrovnik has the walled old town and the wall walk, Split is built around a Roman palace, and the islands of Hvar and Korcula are short ferry rides away. Inland, Plitvice Lakes has the boardwalks and waterfalls and Zagreb is the capital. May, June and September avoid the peak crowds and cruise traffic.

Portugal is the cheaper end of western Europe and easy to travel. Lisbon has the trams, the tiled facades and the pastries, Porto has the river and the port cellars, Sintra's palaces are a short train ride out, and the Algarve holds the beaches and the sea caves. Surfing is strong along the west coast. Spring and early autumn are best.

South Africa combines a safari and a city break in one trip. Kruger and the private reserves around it cover the big game, Cape Town has Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula drive and the winelands at Stellenbosch, and the Garden Route links the two coasts. May to September is the best game viewing.

Kenya is the other great safari country and often the easier one to reach. The Masai Mara is the headline reserve, with Amboseli offering elephants against Kilimanjaro and Lake Nakuru the flamingos. Nairobi, the capital, has its own national park on the city edge. Diani and the Mombasa coast add beach days. July to October is peak game viewing.

Tanzania is where most people go for the classic East African safari. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater hold the big herds and the annual migration, Kilimanjaro is the trek, and Zanzibar adds beaches and Stone Town at the end. Most itineraries combine a mainland safari with a few island days. June to October is the dry season.

Morocco packs several very different trips into one country. Marrakesh has the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and the souks, Fes has the oldest medina, Chefchaouen is the blue hill town, and the Sahara camps beyond Merzouga are the desert night. The coast at Essaouira cools things down. March to May and September to November are the sensible months.

China is a long trip because the distances are large and the sights are spread out. Beijing has the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, Xian has the Terracotta Army, Shanghai is the modern city, and Guilin and Zhangjiajie cover the landscapes. High-speed rail links most of it. Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons.

South Korea sits in East Asia and travels easily on its rail network. Seoul has the palaces, Bukchon's old houses, the shopping at Myeongdong and a strong food scene, Busan brings beaches and the seafood market, and Jeju is the volcanic island break. Cherry blossom arrives in early April and the autumn colours in late October.

Taiwan is a compact island east of mainland China and an easy short trip. Taipei has Taipei 101, the National Palace Museum and the night markets, Taroko Gorge cuts through marble cliffs on the east coast, and Sun Moon Lake and the hot springs at Beitou fill the rest. Trains and buses cover it. October to December and April to May are best.

Scotland is a short trip that pairs naturally with England. Edinburgh has the castle, the Royal Mile and the August festival, the Highlands bring Loch Ness, Glencoe and the Isle of Skye, and the whisky distilleries on Speyside run tours. Driving is the practical way to see the north. May to September has the longest days and the best weather.

Iceland is a landscape trip rather than a city one. The Golden Circle covers geysers, Thingvellir and Gullfoss waterfall, the south coast adds black sand beaches and glacier lagoons, and the Blue Lagoon is the usual first or last stop. Northern lights season runs roughly September to March, while summer brings near-endless daylight for driving the ring road.

Armenia is the quietest of the three South Caucasus countries and the cheapest to travel. Yerevan has the Cascade steps, the brandy factories and views to Mount Ararat, while the monasteries at Geghard, Tatev and Khor Virap sit in gorges and cliff edges outside the city. Lake Sevan covers the summer beach days. May to October is the easiest stretch.

Slovenia is small enough to drive across in a day and unusually varied for its size. Lake Bled has the island church and the castle above it, the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park cover the hiking, the Postojna and Skocjan caves run deep underground, and Piran adds a short stretch of Adriatic coast. May to September is the main season.

India belongs on any world tourism list, and for Indian readers it is the reminder of what is already close. The Golden Triangle covers Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, Kerala has the backwaters and Ayurveda, Ladakh and Himachal handle the mountains, and Goa and the Andamans cover the coast. October to March is the main season across most of the country.

The United States is really a set of separate trips. New York, Washington and Boston cover the east, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the national parks of Utah and Arizona cover the west, Orlando is the theme park hub, and Hawaii and Alaska sit apart. Distances are large, so pick one region. Visa processing takes time, so start early.

Laos is the slowest and least developed of the mainland Southeast Asian countries, which is the appeal. Luang Prabang has the morning alms procession, the night market and Kuang Si waterfall, Vang Vieng covers the limestone karsts and river tubing, and the Plain of Jars sits further east. November to February is the dry, cooler window.

Belgium is small, central and easy to add to a wider Europe trip. Brussels has the Grand Place, the EU quarter and the chocolate shops, Bruges keeps the canals and medieval centre, Ghent is the livelier student city, and Antwerp handles fashion and diamonds. Trains between them take under an hour. April to October is the comfortable stretch.

Ireland is a driving trip more than a city one. Dublin has the pubs, Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse, the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry cover the west coast, and Galway is the base for the Connemara run. The Wild Atlantic Way links most of it. May to September has the longest days, though rain is possible year round.

Hungary is one of the cheaper capitals-and-countryside trips in Europe. Budapest sits on both banks of the Danube with the Parliament building, Buda Castle, the Fisherman's Bastion and the Szechenyi thermal baths, and the ruin bars fill the evenings. Lake Balaton and the wine town of Eger are day trips. April to September is the main season.

Poland is good value and heavier on history than most of Europe. Krakow has the old market square, Wawel Castle and the Wieliczka salt mine, with Auschwitz an hour away, Warsaw has the rebuilt old town, and Gdansk covers the Baltic coast. The Tatra mountains around Zakopane add hiking and skiing. May to September is the easiest time.

Denmark is a short, easy trip and usually part of a wider Scandinavian one. Copenhagen has Nyhavn's coloured houses, the Tivoli Gardens amusement park, the Little Mermaid statue and a strong restaurant scene, while Legoland at Billund and the castles at Helsingor and Roskilde fill day trips. June to August has the long daylight hours.

Sweden works as a city trip in the south and a wilderness one in the north. Stockholm is spread across islands with the Vasa Museum, Gamla Stan and the archipelago boats, Gothenburg is the easier-going second city, and Swedish Lapland brings northern lights, husky sledding and the ice hotel at Jukkasjarvi. June to August is the long summer.

Israel packs a lot of religious and archaeological history into a small area. Jerusalem holds the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock, Bethlehem and Nazareth sit nearby, and the Dead Sea and Masada are a short drive. Tel Aviv covers beaches and nightlife. Regional conditions change, so check travel advisories before booking.

Saudi Arabia has only recently opened to leisure travel and is still building its tourism side. AlUla has the Nabataean tombs at Hegra, Jeddah's Al Balad old town is a UNESCO site, Riyadh has the Edge of the World escarpment nearby, and the Red Sea coast has largely untouched reefs. Makkah and Madinah remain open to Muslim pilgrims only. November to February is the season.

Known For : Arad Fort Reef Island Al-Khamis Mosque

Bahrain is an island state in the Gulf, linked to Saudi Arabia by a causeway, and suits a short break. Manama has the Bahrain National Museum, the Bab Al Bahrain souk and the Al Fateh Grand Mosque, the Qal'at al-Bahrain fort covers the archaeology, and the Tree of Life sits out in the desert. The Formula One Grand Prix runs each spring.

Best Time: December to March

25 Bahrain Attractions

Kuwait sits at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and works as a short city break. Kuwait City has the Kuwait Towers, the Grand Mosque, the Tareq Rajab Museum and the waterfront malls, with Failaka Island a boat ride out for the Greek and Bronze Age ruins. November to April is the only comfortable window.

Canada is a big country best taken one region at a time. The east has Toronto, Niagara Falls, Montreal and Quebec City, the west has Vancouver, Whistler and the Rockies around Banff and Jasper, and the Yukon and Churchill cover northern lights and polar bears. Summer suits driving and hiking, winter the ski resorts. Visa processing takes time.

Mexico is a long flight from India but covers a lot once you arrive. Mexico City has the museums and Teotihuacan's pyramids nearby, the Yucatan has Chichen Itza, the cenotes and the Riviera Maya beaches around Tulum and Cancun, and Oaxaca is the food region. November to April is the dry season and avoids the hurricane months.

Brazil is a long haul and works best on a longer holiday. Rio has Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf and the Copacabana beaches, Iguazu Falls sits on the Argentine border, the Amazon runs out from Manaus, and Salvador covers the Afro-Brazilian north east. Carnival falls in February or March. Otherwise the drier months run from May to September.

Peru is a long flight but the sights are worth the effort. Machu Picchu is the reason most people go, reached by train from Cusco or on the Inca Trail, the Sacred Valley and Lake Titicaca fill the days around it, and the Nazca Lines and the Amazon at Iquitos sit further out. Lima has become a serious food city. May to September is the dry season.

Zimbabwe is a safari and adventure trip built around one enormous sight. Victoria Falls is the draw, with bungee jumping, white water rafting on the Zambezi and helicopter flights over the gorge, while Hwange National Park covers the big game and Mana Pools the walking safaris. The falls are fullest from February to May.