Lonely Planet announce the top 10 countries to visit in 2018

Passports at the ready.

Lonely Planet are the world's authority when it comes to all things travel and holiday related. So, when they recommend you visit somewhere, you had better listen. This week they announced the 10 Best Places To Visit In 2018. Here's the list:

10. South Africa  9. China  8. Mauritius  7. Georgia  6. Malta  5. New Zealand  4. Djibouti  3. Portugal  2. South Korea  1. Chile 

Here's why they chose Chile as their winner:

"[A] sinewy sliver of a nation, isolated from the rest of South America (and indeed the world) by the soaring Andes to the east, the vast Pacific Ocean to the west, the bone-dry Atacama Desert up north and the impenetrable wilds of Patagonia down south. From its disparate extremes to the ever-trendier capital of Santiago at its heart, the country’s citizens will unite in 2018 to mark 200 years of independence. Thanks to new non-stop flights from both London and Melbourne, it’s never been easier to catch a plane, raise a glass of pisco sour and toast the celebration."