The 70 Most Beautiful Places in the World

They are the places that stop you in your tracks, the views that etch themselves into your memory for a lifetime: mountain peaks, desert valleys, ocean reefs. Each has a home in our list of the 70 Most Beautiful Places in the World, as recommended by a panel of explorers, scientists and travel journalists who make it their mission to visit the far reaches of our home planet.

How many have you been to?

It doesn’t have the household name status (or visitor count) of the likes of Tahiti or the Maldives, but Palawan is truly one of Asia’s most serene tropical destinations. I’ve fond memories of the boat transfer from El Nido’s port to a private island resort named Cauayan, zipping past towering limestone karsts jutting from dazzling aquamarine water.

Travis Levius is a freelance travel journalist, speaker and travel writing instructor. He is a member of The Points Guy Advisory Panel and can be found criss-crossing continents with a pen and a pad for the most well-known brands in travel.

No matter how many times I take the winding, cliff-hugging route along Greater Cape Town-based Chapman’s Peak, my heartbeat skips. One glance at the honey-colored slopes running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean and it’s clear why it’s considered one of the world’s most beautiful coastal drives.

Travis Levius is a freelance travel journalist, speaker and travel writing instructor. He is a member of The Points Guy Advisory Panel and can be found criss-crossing continents with a pen and a pad for the most well-known brands in travel.

I took a voyage to the bottom tip of the Earth, and have yet to witness a destination more pristine, brutal, majestic and arresting than the Antarctic Peninsula. The Lemaire Channel in particular—with its corridor of snow-capped mountains plunging into the sea before giving way to an endless field of white ice patches on which seals sunbathe—is an incredible reward for intrepid travelers willing to explore the White Continent.

Travis Levius is a freelance travel journalist, speaker and travel writing instructor. He is a member of The Points Guy Advisory Panel and can be found criss-crossing continents with a pen and a pad for the most well-known brands in travel.