Best Travel Lists: Sunrises, Rooftops & Hidden Gems

A roundup of the lists I get asked about most. All visited, all verified.

Best sunrise spots in the world

1. Mount Bromo, Indonesia – the iconic Pinterest sunrise. Worth the 3am wake-up.
2. Bagan, Myanmar – over 2,000 temples emerge from morning mist.
3. Cappadocia, Turkey – hot air balloons over fairy chimneys.
4. Mount Fuji from Fuji Five Lakes – especially Lake Kawaguchiko in autumn.
5. Haleakala, Maui – sunrise from 10,000 feet above the clouds.
6. Angkor Wat, Cambodia – sunrise over the temple in lily pad pond.
7. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia – mirror reflection on the salt flats.
8. Wat Arun, Bangkok – golden light hitting the temple over the river.

Best rooftop bars in the world

1. SkyBar at Lebua, Bangkok – 64 floors up, where Hangover 2 was filmed.
2. Cloud 9 at Sirocco, Bangkok – even higher than SkyBar, fewer tourists.
3. Aer at Four Seasons, Mumbai – looks over the Arabian Sea.
4. Salon de Ning, Hong Kong – Peninsula Hotel views of Victoria Harbour.
5. Vista, Mexico City – Sofitel Reforma rooftop, sunset over the city.
6. Refugio Selva, Bogota – jungle vibes on top of a luxury hotel.
7. 230 Fifth, NYC – Empire State Building view, comfortable seats.
8. Roof at Plage de Doini, Greek Islands – over the Aegean, sunset perfection.

Best coffee cities for serious coffee people

1. Melbourne, Australia – the world capital of third-wave coffee.
2. Tokyo – traditional pour-over to the next level. Bear Pond Espresso, Glitch Coffee.
3. Reykjavik, Iceland – shockingly good coffee for a country with no coffee plant.
4. Stockholm – fika is a cultural institution. Drop Coffee, Johan & Nystrom.
5. Portland, Oregon – the American capital of espresso. Heart, Coava, Stumptown origin.
6. Lisbon – the best espresso in Europe. Local bicas for 0.65 euro.
7. Vienna – traditional coffeehouse culture, hours-long sitting allowed.
8. Cape Town – Truth Coffee is a steampunk-themed roaster worth the trip.

Best wildlife photography destinations

1. Maasai Mara, Kenya (July-October) – the great migration. 1.5M wildebeest.
2. South Luangwa, Zambia (June-October) – leopards, walking safaris, cheaper than Kenya.
3. Pantanal, Brazil (July-October) – jaguar capital of the world.
4. Galapagos, Ecuador – the only place wildlife doesn’t fear humans.
5. Bandhavgarh, India – highest tiger density in the world.
6. Skomer Island, Wales (May-July) – 30,000 puffins, no crowds.
7. Madagascar – lemurs and species found nowhere else.
8. Borneo – orangutans in the wild, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants.

Best whale watching

1. Husavik, Iceland – blue whales, humpbacks, sperm whales. Original whale watching town.
2. Hermanus, South Africa – southern right whales from the cliff, free.
3. Tofino, Canada – orcas and grays, surf town vibe.
4. Faroe Islands – pilot whales, dramatic fjord scenery.
5. Vava’u, Tonga (July-October) – one of the only places you can swim with humpbacks legally.
6. Monterey Bay, California – more diverse cetacean activity than almost anywhere.
7. Mirissa, Sri Lanka – blue whales close to shore.
8. Bahia de Banderas, Mexico – humpback breeding ground December-March.

Best bird watching

Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru’s Manu national park, Borneo, Madagascar, Iceland (puffins), South Africa, Botswana’s Okavango Delta. For raptors specifically: Israel’s Eilat in October during migration.

How I use these lists

Pick the one thing on a list that fits a trip I’m already planning. Build the trip around it. Don’t try to do the full list – that’s tourism, not travel.

Related reading

• Cost of Living in Mexico City
• Affordable Honeymoon Destinations
• 10 Tuscan Villages

Written by

John Morrison

John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.