Thrillist's 2019 destination list, curated by contributors. My submissions: Boracay, Seoul, Leipzig, and Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.

Just seven years ago, the coastal country was on the cusp of a debilitating debt crisis – local businesses shuttered, young professionals fled. But a determined economic turnaround later, Portuguese shores are once again riding a wave of resurgence, from the capital Lisbon to the southernmost banks of the Algarve.

With hundreds of shopping and street food stands laid out in airy expanse, Greenway Night Market in Hat Yai outdoes other Thai markets. Barbara Woolsey navigates the ins and outs of this hip and happening commercial trading ground.

Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, has opened an exhibition of its hefty gold reserves after recalling half of its bullion from foreign vaults.

Iceland is Mother Nature’s favorite plaything. This little island nation dangling from the Arctic Circle, with its ethereal geothermal terrain, is always finding new ways to stun.

Despite talk of a hotel industry bubble, the low-cost Motel One is expanding. To compete with high-end hotels and home-sharing, it's investing in fashionable furnishings.

Knuckle down on a meaty sandwich at a Bavarian butcher, tuck into some late-night poutine in Montreal, ravage a bowl of northern Thailand's rich curry soup, brave a Þorramatur platter during Iceland’s "Ugly Food Festival," learn South African history by devouring a bowl of bunny chow, and try a rare Indian beef dish in Kerala.

It was a brutal winter day in South Iceland, but I wasn’t about to complain. We’d only barely made it to Hveragerði, about 25 miles east of Reykjavik, in a snowstorm.

Iceland's a wellspring of inspiration, from unearthly landscapes to female entrepreneurs, and Greece is where dancing grandmas and beautiful islands epitomize living your best life.

If you look at photos of Dubai in the 1960s, right before the petrodollars started flooding in, how different it appears now is dumbfounding. Ratchety abras delivering fish and pearls have been replaced with luxury yachts. Open-air souks have been ousted by air-conditioned mega-malls. Today, the city boasts driverless trains, and pretty soon, helicopter taxis.

In Munich, and the state of Bavaria, it’s not just brewing beer that’s an art form: so is consuming it. There’s an unspoken code of how to drink like a proud southern German: Always clutch your beer Maß, or litre mug, with just one hand. When you toast, make strong eye contact. And bring your own snacks – carrying outside treats into the beer garden is not just allowed, it’s polite.

If you’re a traveler, you can hardly escape a bucket list reference these days. (To pick but one example, Thrillist has used the phrase more than 100 times in headlines over the years. We even made you one in case you weren’t up to the task.) It’s edging toward cliché, yes, but bucket lists endure because they’re so pithy. If you’re really sitting down to articulate the places you want to go and things you want to do before you die, you’re a little macabre and a lot carpe diem.

New Year’s Eve celebrations in central Berlin will include a women’s safe zone for the first time, in the hope of preventing a repeat of mob attacks on female revellers during festivities in Cologne two years ago.

There’s a village in Bali where American expats cavort on scooters, surf swells, and beach verandas all year round. No, this isn’t the Eat, Pray, Love crowd -- these are Silicon Valley exiters, social media influencers, artists, and miscellaneous “woke” folk living their best lives, as seen on Instagram.

The iconic but illegal Preussenpark food market could become a victim of its own success as officials clamp down over hygiene and safety regulations.

It’s what German passengers will miss the most about Air Berlin – shuttle service to Mallorca and those cute chocolate hearts.

There’s nothing worse than an airport luggage crisis to kick off a trip after you thought you'd packed like a champion . Travelers often pack for security screenings under the misconception that if it can’t go in carry-on, it can be checked in. In reality, the rules of checked baggage are more confusing than the rules for carry-on.

It was the most surreal case of culture shock I’ve ever had: hopping into a van in Cape Town’s clean, pristine Waterfront district, and 20 minutes later getting out in a slum packed with makeshift homes of aluminum and tarp.

Greece is the most beautiful country in the world, says every Greek person ever. That famous pride aside, if you’ve ever been to the Greek islands, you know there’s no arguing. An overabundance of gorgeous beaches, leathery pensioners who’ve still got the taverna bumping, and the best-tasting tomatoes ever are just a few of the things you won’t find anywhere else.

For years, I dragged my feet on visiting South Africa. Too far, I said. It wasn’t until this year, when I finally gathered the time and funds to visit a friend in Cape Town that I finally got it. If this country isn’t on your list of must-visit destinations, at least scribble it there in pencil. It is a journey you must set out to make, to the farthest edge of perhaps the world’s most challenging continent for American travelers. But it’s a trip you’ll never forget, nor regret. What you’ll find