The Best Places to Travel in January

Looking forward to the new year we always get chills—and not just because, for many of us, it’s when it’s actually chilly outside. No, we’re excited about the prospect of new adventures, new outlooks, and maybe even a new haircut.

After the rush of the holidays, January is a time to relax and figure out ways to entertain ourselves. Maybe with some snowy sports in the winter capital of Minnesota (ice golf or beard-growing, anyone?), swimming with seahorses in the Bahamas, or dancing with wolves in Yellowstone via a snowshoe safari. We might kick back in Baja California Sur with some whale watching, or embrace the glamor of Utah with the Sundance Film Festival (while we’re there, maybe also walk in the footsteps of some Real Housewives). There’s plenty of options, both warm and cold.

Then pay tribute to those who paved the way for our liberties. January 16 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time to reflect on the history of civil rights in our country. And just a few days later on January 20, Inauguration Day, it becomes all the more poignant to reflect on how far we’ve come.

The long, skinny island of Eleuthera in the Bahamian archipelago may look like a worm on the map, but its length is filled with pure delight, for decades the island has been attracting celebrities with its wild beauty and pink beaches. There’s now a new reason to visit: the recently-established 548-acre Seahorse National Park, which includes a mile-long saltwater pond believed to hold the highest concentration of seahorses in the world. The park also holds one of the longest dry cave systems in the Bahamas. Add one or two of the island’s "Blue Hole” sinkholes that the Bahamas is famous for, and you have an itinerary of adventure.

But if you’re there to relax, there’s plenty of that as well. The Cove, a resort that feels like a private island and is regarded as one of the best properties in the country, offers two beaches and private bungalows, as well as snorkeling excursions to Seahorse National Park. The celeb favorite Potlatch Club has also recently reopened as a boutique hotel after a multiyear renovation.

Minnesota may have some of the coldest winters in the Lower 48, but they sure know how to make the most of it. The Sandstone Ice Fest (Jan 12–14) offers ice-climbing clinics in Sandstone, while Icebox Days (Jan 17–25) in International Falls gets wacky with frozen turkey bowling, canoe racing on ice, and a “Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run.”

The second annual World Snow Sculpting Championship (Jan 15–26) sees teams competing against the backdrop of the St. Croix River in Stillwater, while the St. Paul Winter Carnival (Jan 23–Feb 2) offers shenanigans from a beard-growing competition to ice-fishing tournaments, ice palaces, ice golf, dog coronations (why not?), and parades. It’s part of the Great Northern Festival, an 11-day extravaganza across Minneapolis and St. Paul, with additional events including outdoor orienteering challenges, climate-focused lectures, art exhibits carved out of ice, and live podcast recordings. Plus snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and skijoring, where competitors are pulled along on skis by dogs, who hopefully get plenty of treats for doing all the work.

Burns Night (January 25) is an exaltation of the life and works of Scottish bard and national poet Robert "Auld Lang Syne" Burns. Dating back to 1801, on the 50th anniversary of his passing, this birthday celebration usually takes place as a supper in Scottish homes called a Burns Supper, with a meal of haggis (sheep offal) and neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes), with music, poetry recitations, and plenty of whisky. If you don’t have any in your neck of the woods, January is the perfect time to go to the source—and the 25th is on a Saturday, which means you can go deep with the revelry. You won’t even have to stray far from where you’re staying: hotels like The Fife Arms, a former Victorian coaching inn with a carved wooden chimney that depicts scenes from the works of Burns, throws its own Burns Night Dinner.

While you’re in the Scottish Highlands, visit the lush and gorgeous mountains and lakes, a.k.a. lochs in its national parks. Go whisky tasting on the magical island of Islay. Or—and this might be the most fun of all—invite some frenemies, book a castle, and plan your own Traitors party.

There’s no need to go to far-flung places for a safari: Winter in America’s national parks comes with its own kind of animal magnetism. In Yellowstone, animals like bison, elk, and moose move down to lower elevations to forage—and happen to be much easier to spot against a blanket of fresh white snow. (Watch out for shed antlers in December and January.)

And right behind those massive herbivores, stalking their prey? Gray wolves. You might actually hear them first, howling into the still silence (another plus for national parks in the winter). To see them, take a snowshoe safari, trekking as the animals do in an unrivaled backcountry experience. Or just keep your eyes peeled—you may see some couplings as courtship season arrives in February (if you want to see the babies, they’ll pop out around April). Yellowstone is best for looking at lupines, but you can also get lucky at Grand Teton, Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, and Katmai and Denali in Alaska.

Panama doesn’t usually enjoy much fanfare, and that’s a shame. Nestled between the Pacific and the Caribbean, it is both convenient—taking US dollars and using the same electronic voltage as the US—and blissfully gorgeous, with volcanoes, clear waters, wild jungle, coral reefs, nine inhabited islands, and private island resorts like the over-the-water Nayara Bocas del Toro that are ideal bases for snorkeling and diving. In fact Aubrey Jackson, a travel advisor with Fora, considers Panama the Miami of Latin America. “It seamlessly blends breathtaking natural beauty, the awe-inspiring Panama Canal, a rich tapestry of cultural influences and luxurious accommodations,” she says.

Of course you must spend a few days in Panama City, and not just because of the canal (which really is quite an engineering wonder). There you’ll find Biomuseo, the world’s first biodiversity museum, designed by Frank Gehry, and the Museo de la Mola, featuring traditional textile art made by the Guna Indigenous community. Wander through Casco Viejo, a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site that dates back to 1673. And take in some tunes. January is when the Panama Jazz Festival happens (Jan 13–18), this year in its 22nd iteration in the suburb of Ancón and since its inception uniting jazz artists, educators, and jazz fans from all around the globe.

Pueblos Mágicos are places named so by the Mexican government for their “magical” qualities, whether that be history, beauty, or fantastic legends. One town you are almost certainly familiar with is Tequila, home of the world renowned (and dangerous) spirit. But most of the pueblos mágicos are lesser-known, designed to attract visitors to cultural regions they might not have thought of before. Such is the case with Loreto in Baja California Sur, full of murals, old Spanish missions, and handmade tortillas. While everyone heads south to Los Cabos, head up the Sea of Cortez to this natural wonder at the gateway of the Loreto Bay National Marine Park, with jagged rock formations, inviting waters, and rich marine life.

In January you’ll especially be rewarded, as that’s when blue whales typically arrive to settle in the warm waters and give birth. (Other times of the year you’ll see pods of dolphins.) The park also has five uninhabited islands to explore, with beaches to historical sites. On the other side of the peninsula gray whales make themselves known in the remote lagoon of Magdalena Bay, where whales will swim right up to the boat.

Winter outdoors in Utah is a feast for the eyes, especially gorgeous when the red rocks become blanketed with white snow. And it’s definitely a feast for the ears when the crowds of summer finally dissipate. But when fans of the silver screen think of January in the red rock state, their minds turn to one thing: the Sundance Film Festival, this year running from January 23 to February 2. Founded in 1978 as a small celebration of indie films, it now spreads out over Park City, home of the ski-in distillery, with screenings and parties and plenty of notable celebrities in fashionable but hilariously impractical clothing.

Maybe you’re more the reality television than the movie type, and you’re in luck. Whether you’re a Hulu Secret Lives of Mormon Wives fan, a Bravo Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fan, or don’t discriminate, we’ve got the definitive reality television guide to Utah. Want to see where Mormon wife Mayci J Neeley decided to celebrate her birthday with the MomTok gang? Or Real Housewife Heather Gay’s cosmetic laser lab? Don’t worry. We won’t tell.

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