Where Do You Want to Travel?

Puerto Rico

A year and a half after Hurricane Maria slammed into this United States territory and other Caribbean islands with devastating force, Puerto Rico is on the rebound. The number of daily flights is still below normal, but tourism officials say that cruise ship traffic is healthy, hotel room occupancy is climbing back to prehurricane levels and many major attractions are open or partly open. A big draw to start the year: performances of the musical “Hamilton,” with Lin-Manuel Miranda reprising his lead role, at the Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré in San Juan to raise funds for arts organizations on the island. A new entertainment complex is under construction near the Convention Center in San Juan. District San Juan (or District Live! as it will be known locally) will feature movie theaters, restaurants, a zip line tower and a 6,000-seat concert hall and is scheduled to open by year’s end. And cruise lines are finding a new destination: Port of the Americas in the south-coast city of Ponce, where passengers can visit museums, a boardwalk and the plaza with its historic firehouse.

Hampi, India

At the height of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 16th century, Hampi thrived as one of the largest and richest cities in the world. Its architectural legacy lives on in the southwestern state of Karnataka with over 1,000 well-preserved stone monuments, including Hindu temples, forts and palaces. Spread over 16 miles near the banks of the Tungabhadra River, and surrounded by a sea of granite boulders, the Unesco World Heritage site has been notoriously difficult to reach, until now. TruJet recently began daily direct flights from Hyderabad and Bangalore to Ballari, a 25-mile drive from Hampi. Travelers can stay in the newly refreshed Evolve Back Kamalpura Palace or at Ultimate Traveling Camp’s new Kishkinda Camp, which introduced 10 stately tents in December. Outfitters Black Tomato and Remote Lands now offer journeys in the region, from guided archaeological tours to rock climbing and river jaunts in basket boats

Columbus, Ohio

With a revitalized riverfront and booming downtown, Columbus is already one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Now, it’s poised to become the model for the future of innovative urban transportation, with self-driving shuttles carrying travelers along the Scioto Mile, which recently completed a massive revitalization, adding 33 acres of riverfront green space for festivals, water sports and outdoor art. (The newly opened National Veterans Memorial and Museum also sits on the Scioto Peninsula.) Among the newest dining options are Veritas, which specializes in small-plate offerings; Service Bar, run by the young chef Avishar Barua, a veteran of New York’s Mission Chinese and WD-50; and in the North Market neighborhood, veggie-forward Little Eater. The ultracool Short North Arts District offers access to the city’s notable local businesses like the new fashion store Thread and the original Jeni’s ice cream store. But don’t skip Italian Village and German Village neighborhoods, where innovators and dreamers have opened destination shops like Stump Plants and Vernacular and bars like Cosecha.

Panama

Two new Pacific island resorts are expanding Panama’s west coast appeal, not far from the marine preserve around Isla Coiba. Cayuga Hospitality recently opened Isla Palenque in the Gulf of Chiriqui, with eight casitas and one villa on a lush 400-acre island. Besides offering access to seven beaches, mangrove kayaking and whale-watching, the resort grows some of its own food, has furniture made from fallen trees and maintains a no-plastics policy, including subbing papaya shoots for straws. In the Gulf of Chiriqui, Islas Secas Reserve Panama Lodge will open in January on a 14-island archipelago. The solar-powered, nine-bungalow lodge will offer sport fishing and scuba diving, and will compost food waste and recycle water for irrigation. A Ritz-Carlton Reserve property is also under construction in the Pearl Islands.