Cambodia‘s Siem Reap is top destination in Asia and second in the world, according to millions of travellers who use the travel review site TripAdvisor. Of course, Temple Town being our home, we have to agree.
And we rarely agree with the TripAdvisor’s restaurant and hotel rankings. There are some surprising inclusions on TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Traveller’s Choice Destinations as the lists are officially called.
I mean Goreme, while lovely, is an odd inclusion on a worldwide list. As is Athens, although having updated a couple of LP Greece books years ago, we have a soft spot for the Greek capital. Queenstown is a fantastic launching pad (literally) for some wonderful experiences and the lake views are breathtaking, but is it really more popular than Hong Kong, Dubai and Sydney?
We definitely think Siem Reap is deserving of its placing and there are a lot of our favourite cities on the Top 25 list, including Marrakech at number one, Istanbul and Hanoi in third and fourth place respectively, along with Rome, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, and Barcelona.
It’s funny seeing our former home of Dubai at #24 followed by our hometown of Sydney at #25. Call us biased but we think Sydney should be in the top 10 and Dubai and Hong Kong are infinitely more interesting than Queenstown and Goreme.
But it’s worth keeping in mind that the winners of the 2015 Travelers’ Choice Destinations weren’t voted on. They were determined by an algorithm taking into account the quality and quantity of the millions of reviews, ratings and rankings for attractions, hotels and restaurants in 469 destinations over a 12-month period.
TripAdvisor Top 25 Destinations in the World
- Marrakesh, Morocco
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Prague, Czech Republic
- London, England
- Rome, Italy
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Paris, France
- Cape Town, South Africa
- New York City, USA
- Zermatt, Switzerland
- Barcelona, Spain
- Goreme, Turkey
- Ubud, Indonesia
- Cusco, Peru
- St Petersburg, Russia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Athens, Greece
- Budapest, Hungary
- Queenstown, New Zealand
- Hong Kong, China
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Sydney, Australia
The Top 25 Destinations in Asia list is also interesting. It’s great to see so many cities in Vietnam there, but odd that Saigon and Hue, along with Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Phnom Penh, Seoul and Taipei are way below Denpasar and Seminyak. And as for Pattaya being on there. Please. And where on earth is Luang Prabang? Easily one of Asia’s most enchanting towns.
TripAdvisor Top 25 Destinations in Asia
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Ubud, Indonesia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Hong Kong, China
- Hoi An, Vietnam
- Denpasar, Indonesia
- Seminyak, Indonesia
- Beijing, China
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Jaipur, India
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Hue, Vietnam
- New Delhi, India
- Tokyo, Japan
- Shanghai, China
- Singapore, Singapore
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Mumbai, India
- Pattaya, Thailand
- Jaisalmer, India
- Lijiang, China
- Seoul, South Korea
- Taipei, Taiwan
Of course we all know that TripAdvisor is not without its issues, including fake reviews, and factors must come into play such as the influence of hotels and restaurants on customers to review, which drive views up the rankings. Still, it’s always fun to discuss these things, and as David Thompson said recently, it’s only a list.
In case you’re interested, here’s a link to all of the TripAdvisor 2015 Travellers’ Choice lists. Don’t even get me started on the Beaches list.
Terence’s portrait of the smiling woman above? She’s a rice farmer from a village on the outskirts of Siem Reap whom we met on the Day in the Life of a Village experience we did with Beyond Unique Escapes. I could tell you that she was happy to learn that Siem Reap is the top destination in Asia and second in the world, but I’d be lying. She was actually delighted that she had a good crop of rice, some of which I helped to harvest. More on that soon.
So what do you think of the TripAdvisor top destination lists? Are any of your favourite spots on them? Do you think there are any major oversights?
I saw this floating around the internet, but didn’t click on it as I assumed it would be mostly rubbish, but I have to say they picked some interesting ones and cities that you may not think of at all. The thing with Goreme, is I would consider it and it s surrounding Cappadocia towns all together as one of the coolest sets of towns anywhere, but not Goreme on its own. Looks like I have to get to Siem Reap on the double!
Agree, Jacqueline – I do love the whole area but I would not rate Goreme as a destination in itself. Siem Reap is a very cool little city – very dynamic; new stuff opening all the time. And while the temples truly are stupendous, there is so much more to do in the town and the surrounding countryside to warrant a longer stay. Do let us know if you get here. Thanks for dropping by!
Hi lara, i live in bali and was wondering if by denpasar they meant “bali” generally? Mind you, for a more authentic indonesian eating experience (cost and taste) denpasar wins hands down!
Hi Noel, because they have Ubud and Seminyak on the list, I’m assuming they must mean Denpasar, right? I’m embarrassed to say that we didn’t spend any time there. Promise to next time. Any eating tips?