The United Arab Emirates missed out on the top 10 world’s happiest countries for 2018, as the Gulf nation ranked 20th out of 156 countries. But, it was the happiest country in the Middle East, scoring the most positively in the Arab world with high levels of happiness. Still, who took the top spot?!

For many people, the joy of travel is to get away from the crowds, explore new trails, spot rare wildlife and taste local food off the beaten track. From national parks to the northern lights, travelling should be about discovering something truly remarkable.

Today we are more likely to use Instagram to choose our next travel destination than we are to use travel brochures!

As we often spend time exploring and escaping to new places on Instagram, 2017’s most instragrammed cities were not a huge surprise to us. The popular Big Apple took the top spot, with New York sites Times Square and Central Park, taking second and third for the most instagrammed locations of 2017.

There’s still 2 months left to enjoy of 2017, but when it comes to staying up -to-date withtravel trends you need to be organised, schedule your dates and book flights to your travel destinations.

We’ve prepared the essential list of top travel destinations in 2018, which will help you start planning your getaways. So here is where you should you be travelling in 2018...

The thought of watching the re-runs of FRIENDS in your PJs is certainly tempting but seriously, just take a scroll down your Insta-feed — people are discovering exotic islands, travel searches are skyrocketing and here you are — debating whether to go by chronological sequence or watch your favourite episodes first.

It’s high time you switch the laptop off and start planning the next non-virtual experience of your life. And you don’t have to do a lot of work — Airbnb and Pinterest have done half the work for you.

It may be the biggest cliché in photography but sunrises are the cliché we live for. The sight of this giant star rising from the East is breathtaking — no matter the location. The sunrise doesn’t care whether we watch it or not, it will keep on being on beautiful — even if no one bothers to look at it.

But there are a few places around the world where, travelers say, the sunrise will melt your soul. Below are the top 10 to ignite your wanderlust.

In our boxed imaginations, a village can be quaint; it can be rustic and of course, it can be serene.

But have you ever thought of a lonely village as creative or artistic? Probably not.

The unfiltered beauty of the world is far above the limited power of our mind. One such stark example is an isolated (and underrated) village in the Northern part of Romania.

Life is a tough cookie. There are times when things don’t go as planned, when expectations end in disappointments and when you wake up feeling tired every morning. It’s God’s way of telling you to take a deep breath, let go and step back.

It’s time to acquaint yourself with the person you’ve become — and there is no better remedy than finding yourself when lost in nature's wonders. Travel far and wide and chances are you’ll meet yourself.

You may own every ring from Middle-earth but your craze for The Lord of the Rings is nothing compared to that of Akhil Suhas – a 21-year-old photographer who travelled far and wide to witness the magical New Zealand — as #GandalfTheGuide.

Suhas, a student of the University of Auckland travelled 9,300 miles to visit various locations where the fantasy trilogy was set.

If your travel bucket list is filled with cities like Paris, Rome, New York and Zurich then we suggest you either carry a few extra thousand dollars or make a change of plans — because these cities are amongst the most expensive holiday destinations in the world.