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2019 - Check Out the Top 2019 Summer Travel Destinations

  • Writer: Emily DeFranco
    Emily DeFranco
  • Aug 28, 2019
  • 5 min read

Updated: Apr 23, 2024

This article was featured in Dekad Lifestyle Magazine's 2019 third quarter issue.




If your social media feeds are bustling with your friend’s vacation photos and your wanderlust has kicked into high gear, check out these summer 2019 travel destinations that are sure to please. Whether you’re looking for pristine beaches and island explorations or deeply historical dives into often overlooked cultures, get your passport and travel diary ready, grab a loved one or some friends, and jet off on an adventure you’ll never forget. What are you waiting for?



Barbados “Crop Over” Carnival 


You’ve probably heard talk about Barbados as a premier travel destination, so isn’t it time you paid a visit? Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation with a largely tourist driven economy. This island has something for every type of traveler.


If you can’t vacation to an island without first visiting a beach (and we son’t blame you), you should be sure to check out Carlisle Bay. This is a beach area with calm, crystal blue water perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. Venture a little deeper into the water and you may even catch a glimpse of a sea turtle! Nearby you can also find restaurants with authentic local favorites and shops with souvenirs. Book a trip on a glass bottom boat to explore shipwrecks and see marine life you might otherwise miss. Barbados also has many parks and botanical gardens where you can see thousands of species of magnificent flowers and plants. 


You can’t make a summer visit to Barbados without joining in the celebration of Crop Over,” the six-week festival that celebrates all that is Bajan. According to Global Urban Events, “the celebration recalls the colonial past when sugar cane was king, and creativity abounds with indigenous art, craft, calypso, flower festivals, folk concerts and revelry at Foreday Morning.” The carnival is popping with dusk till dawn parties, arts and crafts markets, and many culinary-driven street fairs. The climax of the festival, Grand Kadooment, definitely generates the most heat, so try to planning your trip to be there for it! This carnival is bursting with energy, and color and the event is great fun for everyone, even those who prefer to watch masqueraders from the sidelines and not jump right into a costumed band. One of the highlights of this year’s Crop Over is the return of Rihanna who will be performing a can’t-miss concert.



Montenegro


Montenegro is a Balkan country with rugged mountains, medieval villages and a narrow strip of beaches along its Adriatic coastline.  With a vast variety of settings, you’ll have enough to keep every day of your trip interesting and diverse.


On top of your list should be the Bay of Kotor. This fjord has incredible views with mountains rising up from either side and old towns with breathtaking Venetian architecture lining the water’s edge. You can see this area from a cruise ship or a hop-on/hop-off bus, but you should plan to devote at least a day to exploring. Book a ride on the Montenegro Submarine which is a boat with underwater cabins to resemble the feel of a real submarine. Reserve your seat to experience Our Lady on the Rocks island church, a Soviet-era submarine base, and the Blue Grotto, to swim in its neon-blue waters.


There are also many river canyons to explore including the Tara River Canyon, which is the deepest canyon in Europe, and second deepest in the world after the Grand Canyon in Colorado! Here you can get your adrenaline pumping by booking a white water rafting tour. You should also book a guided tour of Lipa Cave where you’ll explore the natural geological rock formations and underground river. Take a train ride to the entrance and descend into the cool underground chamber learning about Lipa Cave’s place in Montenegrin history.



Turquoise Coast, Turkey


The Turkish Riviera, popularly know is the Turquoise Coast is the southwest portion of Turkey’s coastline. Its warm sea, mountainous scenery, fine beaches along more than a thousand kilometers of shoreline along both the Aegean and Mediterranean waters, and abundant natural and archaeological points of interest, have made it a popular national and international tourist destination.


One of the most noteworthy stops on your Turquoise Coast journey is the city of Fethiye. Here you can start your day in the waters of Oludenis Blue Lagoon and then venture to Butterfly Valley where the mountains join the ocean at a pristine, sandy beach. For the more adventurous, you can book a 12-hour safari jeep tour where you’ll explore ancient ruins, a dramatic river canyon, and an idyllic beach. Don’t miss a second of the rock cut tombs of Tlos, natural mud baths, and sea turtle habitats, with a local guide to lead the way. The excursion also includes lunch at a river-side restaurant. 


You’ll also want to make a visit to the city of Antalya where you can take a cable car ride overlooking the Mediterranean sea, panoramic views of the coastal cities and multiple breathtaking waterfalls. Antalya is also a destination for day events like visiting an aquarium and touring options for wanderers like art galleries, shopping and fabulous restaurants.



Helsinki, Finland


Helsinki, Finland’s southern capital, sits on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland. Its central avenue, Mannerheimintie, is flanked by institutions including the National Museum, tracing Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present.


A great way to explore the beautiful sights of Helsinki is to book a sightseeing canal boat cruise where you can absorb the key sights of Helsinki’s shorelines and surrounding archipelagos. Cruise by top Helsinki attractions such as the mighty UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress; see Finland’s fleet of gigantic icebreaker ships; sail into the scenic Degerö Canal, and hear all about Helsinki’s eventful past from the informative onboard commentary.


Speaking of Suomenlinna, be sure to take a daytime excursion to explore all this area has to offer. After a short ferry ride you can enjoy several museums and cafes, wonderful picnic areas, and learn about the history of the area. The Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress was built over six islands in the mid 1700s to protect against Russian invasion when Finland was part of Sweden.


Finally, be sure to take a tour of the southern most part of Finland where you can visit the Nuuksio woods which is home to the country’s reindeer park. Take in the beautiful and serene nature and feed the reindeer with lichen!



Matera, Italy


Matera is a city on a rocky outcrop in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It includes the Sassi area, a complex of cave dwellings carved into the mountainside. Evacuated in 1952 due to poor living conditions, the Sassi now houses a multitude of museums and cultural must-sees.


For those who like a little adventure that’s off the beaten path, be sure to visit Murgia plateau which faces the Sassi of Matera and is the "Regional Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera,” a UNESCO World Heritage sight of Humanity. It’s landscape features a vast rocky hill area marked by deep karstic fissures called “Gravine” and what are known as rock churches.


For a historical lesson you won’t soon forget, visit Matera Sum Ipogeo which is said to be a place where “space and time stop to tell you the history, traditions and culture mix of one of the most ancient cities in the world….it’s pure emotion from the depths of the earth.” This site is well worth the visit. While there isn’t yet a guided tour or many translated readings, you can see how the vestiges of Matera’s underground caves were used as dwellings, shrines, storage, and cisterns to collect water. An audio guide is included and provides useful explanations of each cave area and how inhabitants lived. 



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