Figured I would write this down, mostly for myself, but also for others if they want to see how I rate places since I have been to a decent amount and am continuing to go to more. I’ll obviously adjust this a good amount as well as my opinion of places might change over time, etc. I’ll also only be rating places I have been to since retirement, with the exception of Kenya and Russia (since I loved both of them), and a couple of other specific exceptions for regions that I had visited pre-retirement and during retirement. Within each category, they are more-or-less going to be rated chronologically, since it would be way too dumb to rate every single place in order…figured that doing tiers would be far more practical. Any place with a “+” is post-retirement.
I guess a rough description of these would be:
5* – All-time great spot
4* – Excellent, excellent destination that is worth travelling halfway around the world for
3* – Very enjoyable. Sort of the bare minimum of a *great* destination for me, and pretty much all of these had at least one “wow” moment for me
2* – Cool spot, but only really worth doing if already in the area, i.e. not worth going too far out of your way for
1* – Not worth going to
5*
- Burning Man (this is honestly a 6*)
- The Serengeti (Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania)
- The Tibetan Plateau (Ladakh and Lahaul&Spiti in India, Upper Mustang in Nepal, Tibet in China)
- Chernobyl
- Guatemala (Tikal, El Mirador Trek, Antigua, Volcan Pacaya, Volcan Acatenango, Hobbitenango)
- Tajikistan (as of now my single favorite trip I have ever taken)
- Kyrgyzstan (Alay Mountains Horse Trek, Karakol, Ala Kul Trek, Bishkek, Burana)
- Iraq (Baghdad, Babylon, Najaf, Ur, Samarra, and the nicest people to date that I have ever met, by far)
- Cambodia
- Galapagos
- Bolivia (Sucre, Uyuni Salt Flats + Altiplano tour, Cochabamba, Toro Toro National Park, La Paz, Tiwanaku, Huyana Potosi Summit – 6088m technical hike!!!, Santa Cruz)
- Afghanistan (Kabul, Balkh, Mazar, Bamyan, Band-e Amir National Park, Herat, Kandahar)
- Sumatra
- (+) Xinjiang (Kashgar, Tashkorgan roadtrip, Turpan, Urumqi)
4*
- Western Russia (Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, Volgograd)
- Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh minus Varanasi (Agra, Lucknow)
- Karnataka (Hampi, Mysore, Kabini Tiger Reserve, Doddagaddavalli, Belur, Halibedu, Shravanabelagola, Nuggehalli, Bangalore)
- Tamil Nadu (Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram, Madurai, Rameswaram, Chettinad, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Darasuram, Thanjavur, Trichy, Chennai, Kanchipuram)
- Driving through AZ and Utah, including the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park
- Namibia (Etosha National Park, Solitaire, Sossusvlei, Aus, Kolmanskop, Luderitz, Fish River Canyon, Quiver Tree Forest)
- Victoria Falls on the Zambia side
- Jordan (Amman, Aquaba, Wadi Rum, Petra, Umm Ar-Rassas, Madaba, Ajiloun, Jerash)
- Uganda (Kampala, Lake Bunyoni, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Lake Mutanda, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest)
- Tanzania minus the Serengeti (Kilimanjaro Trek and Summit, Ngorongoro National Park, Zanzibar)
- Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, Shahrisabz, Bukhara, Toprak Kala, Khiva, Angren, Kokand, Rishton, Andijan)
- Greece (Athens, Corinth, Mycenae, Mystras, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora, Mount Olympus, Aigai, Thessaloniki)
- Southern Italy (Rome, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Napoli)
- Southern England (London, Dartmoor, Glastonbury Tor, Bath, Castle Combe, Stow-in-the-Wold, Bristol, Canterbury, Dover, Burwash, Wartling, Oxford, Northampton)
- Argentina (Buenos Aires, El Calafate, El Chalten, Ushuaia)
- Indian Kashmir (KGL Trek, Srinagar)
- Kanto (Tokyo, Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone)
- Madagascar
- North China (Beijing, Yungang Grottoes, Pingyao, Longmen Grottoes, Xi’an)
- + Coron and Apo Reef
3*
- New York City (if this counts, lol)
- Kenya minus the Masai Mara (Nairobi, Amboseli National Park)
- East China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou)
- Rajasthan (Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur)
- Singapore and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Melaka); plus living in Singapore after
- Myanmar (Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake, Yangon)
- Maharashtra (Mumbai, Elephanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad)
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Nice, Eze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence)
- Driving through Nevada and California, including San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Yosemite National Park, Muir Woods, Pinnacles National Park, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, Tahoe, and Reno, but excluding Burning Man and Vegas
- Western Turkey (Istanbul, Edirne, Izmir, Ephesus, Bergama, Alacati, Cesme, Antalya, Sagalassos, Termessos, Perge, Aspendos, Side)
- Ukraine minus Chernobyl (Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv)
- Egypt (Hurghada, Luxor, Cairo, Aswan + Abu Simbel (these two were pre-retirement))
- South Africa (Cape Town, Hout Bay, Muizenberg, Cape of Good Hope, Simons Town, Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Bloubergstrand, Umkomaas, Durban, Johannesburg, Kruger National Park (kruger was before retirement))
- Mexico (Chichen Itza, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Merida, Palenque, San Cristobal, Oaxaca, Monte Alban, Puebla, CDMX, Teotihuacan (Teotihuacan was pre-retirement))
- Driving through Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, including Glacier National Park (very good), Grand Tetons (eh), and Yellowstone (very mediocre)
- Eastern France (Lyon, Colmar, Reims, Strausbourg)
- Northern France (Paris, Bayeux, Tours, Chenonceaux, Amiens, Versailles, Chartres, Mont St. Michel, Rouen)
- Bosnia (Sarajevo, Mostar)
- Iceland in the winter
- Peru minus the Amazon (Cusco area, Lima)
- Ecuador (Quito, Cotopaxi National Park, Riobamba – Unfortunately was not able to attempt a summit on Chimborazo (closest point to outer space!) because of protests, but I did manage a free helicopter evac out of that…maybe a 4* or 5* if I was able to attempt and summit Chimborazo)
- Himachal Pradesh minus the Lahaul and Spiti district (Shimla, Kinnaur, Manali)
- Uttarakhand (Rishikesh, Gaumukh Tapovan Trek, Gangotri)
- Gujurat (Ahmedabad, Rani ki Vav, Modhera, Adalaj, Champaner Pavagadh, Anand)
- North Island New Zealand (Auckland, Hobbiton, Waitomo Caves, Tongariro National Park, Wellington, Kaitoke Forest, Putangirua Pinnacles) – would absolutely be lower if you are not an LOTR fan
- South Island New Zealand (Christchurch, Mount Sunday, Wanaka, Queenstown, Fiordland National Park, Mount Cook National Park) – definitely the better of the two New Zealand islands
- Komodo
- Chubu (Takayama, Kanazawa)
- Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji, Nara, Koyasan)
- Palestine (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron)
- South China (Guangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong)
- + Morocco (Rabat, Chefchaouen, Tangier, Volibulis, Meknes, Fes, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Casablanca)
- + Cebu (Moalboal, Malapascua)
- + South Korea (Seoul, Bukhansan National Park)
- + Yunnan (Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Dali, Kunming)
- + Meghalaya (Shillong, Sohra)
- + Australia (Outback, Sydney, Blue Mountain National Park, Melbourne)
2*
- Boston, Philly, Chicago
- Madhya Pradesh (Khajuraho Temples, Sanchi Stupa, Udayagiri Caves, Heliodorus Pillar, Bhojpur, Bhopal)
- Nepal minus Upper Mustang (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Poon Hill Trek, Muktinath)
- Sri Lanka (Dambulla, Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Colombo)
- Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai)
- Indian Punjab (Amristar, Wagah Border, Chandigarh)
- Odisha (Konark, Puri, Bhubaneswar)
- West Bengal (Calcutta, Darjeeling)
- Bali
- Driving through Colorado, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Denver
- Maine (Portland, Acadia National Park)
- Mozambique (Maputo, Vilankulos, Bazaruto)
- Honduras (Copan, Utila)
- Georgia (Tbilisi, Mestia to Ushguli Trek, Kutaisi, Stepantsminda, Mtskheta)
- Armenia (Yerevan, Garni, Geghard, Echmiadzin)
- Northern Italy (Florence, Bologna, Ravenna, Milan, Venice)
- Spain minus Barcelona (Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada)
- Northern England (Leeds, York, Yorkshire Moors, Whitby, Liverpool, Nottingham (pre-retirement))
- Scotland (Edinburgh, Scottish Highlands)
- Ireland (Dublin, Glendalough, Kilkenny)
- Puerto Rico
- The Amazon (Tambopata in Peru)
- Telengana (Hyderabad, Warangal)
- Fiji
- Java (Yogyakarta, Prambanan, Borobodur, Surakarta, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park) – tbh Yogyakarta was a cool city but the rest of it was VERY underwhelming
- Chugoku (Hiroshima, Miyajima)
- Kyushu (Nagasaki, Fukuoka)
- Israel (Tel Aviv, Caeseria, Acre, Masada, Eilat, Timna Park)
- + Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- + Kerala (Thiruvanathapuram, Kumarakom, Kochi)
- + Taiwan (Taipei, Jiufen, Yangmingshan National Park)
- + Assam (Internship in Guwahati and Gogamukh, Kaziranga National Park)
1*
- Varanasi – all of the worst stereotypes of India on steroids
- Goa – churches are OK I guess, beaches mediocre
- Monaco
- Las Vegas
- Barcelona – the single most overrated place I have EVER visited in my life. I am in awe at the outsized reputation of this city
- Croatia (Split, Dubrovnik) – to be honest the more time passes, the less I think of Croatia. just such bleh sightseeing
- Dubai – nothing negative but not worth more than a few hours imo
Favorite regions: Central Asia (Tajikistan/Afghanistan/Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan…Xinjiang sort of counts here and China), India (diverse enough to count as a region), China (same as India), and to a lesser extent I would say sub-Saharan Africa as a whole
Favorite “trips”: Pamir highway roadtrip in Tajikistan, Tibet roadtrip in China (including the 3 day Mount Kailash kora trek!), El Mirador jungle trek to see Mayan ruins in Guatemala, Afghanistan roadtrip, jungle trekking in Sumatra to see wild orangutans, and the Serengeti and Masai Mara safaris in Tanzania/Kenya.
Next tier would be Spiti Valley roadtrip in India, Ladakh roadtrip in India, horse trekking in southern Kyrgyzstan, scuba liveaboard in the Galapagos, roadtripping across AZ and Utah, roadtripping across Namibia, and day hiking in Argentine Patagonia. Post-retirement, I would add the Kashgar-Tashkorgan roadtrip in Xinjiang.
Overall favorite countries are India, then China, then a gap, and then Guatemala and Tajikistan. Next tier is probably Cambodia/Tanzania/Iraq/Afghanistan. Favorite in Europe is Russia. And the most photogenic countries were Japan and Uzbekistan. Honestly the Mughal stuff in North India comes quite close to those two as well.
Favorite tourist sites: Chernobyl in Ukraine, the abandoned temples of Preah Khan, Koh Ker, Beng Melea, and Banteay Chhmar in Cambodia, Ellora Caves in central India, Taj Mahal in north India, Hampi in south India, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, Petra in Jordan, Tikal in Guatemala, the Registan in Samarkand, Pompeii and Herculaneum in southern Italy, the Red Square in Moscow (pre-retirement), the pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China (especially the abandoned sections!), and the Potala Palace in Tibet.
Food-wise, I would rank them as:
Tier I: Lyon, Delhi, Amritsar, Tamil Nadu, Xi’an
Tier II: Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, east China, Mexico, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kashmir, Karnataka, Calcutta, Greece, NYC
Tier III: Japan, Afghanistan, Argentina, Italy, Russia/Ukraine, Paris, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, London, Chicago, Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia (this is VERY broad, but for me all vaguely similar), (+) Kerala, (+) Taiwan, (+) Xinjiang
And after that, I don’t think any food has been noteworthy enough to rank. Obviously have still had some fantastic stuff, but hey the world is full of amazing things and some things are just more amazing than others.
Favorite cities (not including Black Rock City or NYC): London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are a clear top tier. Then I would say places like Delhi, Rome, Paris, Mexico City, Cape Town, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg (these two were pre-retirement), and Seoul (post-retirement).
Favorite “old towns”: Khiva in Uzbekistan, Colmar in France, Oxford in England, Suzhou in east China, Lijiang in west China (this was post-retirement), and Suzdal in Russia (pre-retirement).
I am a sucker for high-altitude deserts, so my favorite landscapes so far have been the Tibetan Plateau (Tibet in China, Upper Mustang in Nepal, Ladakh and Spiti in India), the Pamirs and Wakhan in Tajikistan, and the area by the Bolivian Salt Flats. I would add the Tashkurgan area in Xinjiang as well, as a post-retirement trip. After that, I would say the American Southwest, Namibia, and the Serengeti/Masai Mara landscapes of Tanzania and Kenya (though to be honest the wildlife here probably makes me like the landscapes more than I should).
Best overall hiking and trekking was in India and the Andes in South America. Best overall spot for any and all outdoor activities for me is, broadly speaking, sub-Saharan Africa. Favorite hikes/treks…Huayna Potosi (because it was my first technical, and highest altitude to date at 6088 meters/19974 feet), the 3 day circuit around Kailash in Tibet, Acatenango in Guatemala (seeing a live volcano erupt up close every 15 minutes is outrageous), and honestly, Suicide Cliff in Hong Kong. Kashmir Great Lakes is probably up there too, as is the quick 3 day Ala Kul trek in eastern Kyrgyzstan.
Socially, I would say the most fun I have had (which I have tried to remove from these rankings to make them more objective), not counting the US cities, Burning Man, or weddings, and in no particular order, would be London, the El Mirador Trek in Guatemala, Cape Town, Hurghada and Cairo in Egypt, diving in Utila in Honduras, Namibia, Bali, the Cotopaxi Lodge in Ecuador, and Penang.