It’s human nature to feel the need to summarize the year when it ends. And I’m no different, as I scour the stats on my travel blog to see what posts ranked highest and what destinations, hotels, travel tips and travel trends attracted the most attention throughout the year. Here’s what I’ve found for this year.
First off, let’s start with the hot destinations:
• Puerto Rico scored best this year, and specifically (and perhaps surprisingly) the small city of Yauco, which sits on the island’s south coast. It’s all thanks to Yaucromatic, a colorful street art project that’s covered parts of the city in vibrant new works. My coverage of this decidedly photogenic, open-air exhibition topped the charts as the most popular LatinFlyer post of the year. And my video of the exhibit — made even better by the presence of a group of dancers — was the number 4 top ranking travel video on my YouTube channel, as well. Clearly, people are hungry to see more unique and accessible works of art when they travel, and Puerto Rico is filling that need.
See more of my Puerto Rico travel tips, hotel reviews and coverage in LatinFlyer’s Puerto Rico travel section.
• Guadalajara, Mexico, has landed in the number two spot this year. One of my posts, 4 Cool and Offbeat Things To Do in Guadalajara, was the number 5 most popular article of the year. Ranking at number 4, meanwhile, is an even more offbeat entry: The Weirdest Donut Shop I’ve Ever Seen is in Guadalajara. Mexico’s second-largest city is, indeed, a sophisticated metropolis, and the diversity of things to do here is evident in my recent coverage.
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WANT MORE MEXICO TRAVEL TIPS? Visit LatinFlyer’s Mexico travel section
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• Mazatlan, Mexico — often called the “Pearl of the Pacific” — is also well represented in the top five lists for this year on LatinFlyer.com. It’s named one of The 2 Best Places in Latin America to Live in the number 3 top post this year on the travel blog, while on the LatinFlyer YouTube channel, my video tour of the spacious suite where I stayed at the El Cid El Moro Beach Resort in Mazatlan was the number 5 top video the year.
Next, the hottest hotels of the year:
I love doing hotel tours and reviews on video, and several Mexico hotels ranked high on LatinFlyer’s YouTube channel this year (in addition to El Cid El Moro Beach Resort, mentioned above). My tour of a luxurious suite at the stately Quinta Real Guadalajara hotel ranked as the number 6 most popular video of the year. The stylish MO17 Boutique Hotel in Queretaro ranked as number 3, while excitement about the brand-new Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos certainly helped to propel that video hotel tour to the number 2 position. The Sheraton Buganvilias Puerto Vallarta beach resort takes the honors for having the number 1 video of the year.
All in all, it’s been a great year of travel — discovering places I’d never seen before and also revisiting some of my favorite destinations. I’ve included the full ranking lists for both the travel blog and the YouTube channel and encourage you to check out the posts and videos. I’m always eager to hear about your own travel tips and vacation experiences, and am ready to answer your questions, too. Happy New Year, and here’s to a 2020 filled with exciting travel opportunities!
Top 5 Travel Posts of 2019 on LatinFlyer.com
- Street art of Yauco, Puerto Rico https://departurelevel.com/puerto-rico/street-art-splashes-across-the-streets-of-yauco-puerto-rico/
- 3 Ways to Get from Cholula to Puebla, Mexico https://departurelevel.com/mexico/3-ways-to-get-to-cholula-from-puebla-mexico/
- Are These the 2 best places in Latin America to live? https://departurelevel.com/travel-tips/are-these-the-2-best-places-in-latin-america-to-live/
- The weirdest donut shop I’ve ever seen is in Guadalajara https://departurelevel.com/mexico/the-weirdest-donut-shop-ive-ever-seen-is-in-guadalajara/
- 4 cool and offbeat things to do in GDL https://departurelevel.com/mexico/4-cool-offbeat-things-to-do-in-guadalajara-mexico/
Top 5 Travel Videos & Hotel Reviews of 2019 on LatinFlyer’s YouTube Channel
- Sheraton Buganvilias Puerto Vallarta 589 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LugRoGS3ts&t=13s
- Room Tour of the New Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos 205 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmDfiv9nCcg&t=88s
- MO17 Boutique Hotel in Queretaro 197 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNp_SS-WlWA&t=105s
- Yaucromatic: Yauco, Puerto Rico Street Art Project 149 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bgdz3haC2U
- Suite Tour at El Cid El Moro Beach Resort in Mazatlan 143 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITWQKdhDk_o&t=5s