At the onset of summer and crunch time for vacation planning, there is one person I wanted to speak with: Yolanda Edwards. The founder and creative director of Yolo Journal—a print magazine and Substack newsletter that distills what is cool in travel and culls advice from people with great taste who travel a lot—Edwards knows the best in travel. I first discovered the magazine in my hotel room at the Mezzatorre Hotel in Ischia when I was traveling to Italy in the summer of 2019 and was immediately struck by Edwards’ eye and insightful recommendations. In short, she is ahead of the curve about the best destinations to travel to and the exact hotels and restaurants to visit once you’re there.
Though she is now an arbiter of travel, it wasn't always part of Edwards' life growing up. “My parents lived quite humbly (...) and travel just wasn’t a part of their life,” she explains. But around the same time she started to figure out her personal style, she started to dream about travel. “Of course I didn’t have the means to look the part or do the things that I had pinned to my bedroom wall (those Calvin Klein ads shot by Bruce Weber of the model Josie in Santorini definitely and literally changed my life), but I spent my money buying the magazines that showed me this life I could dream about—and the locations were always the thing I fell in love with the most,” Edwards tells Who What Wear. “When my high school best friend’s parents invited me along on a European tour, I went, and it changed my life forever.”
Propelled by her fascination with travel, Edwards spent her early career at Conde Nast Traveler before launching Yolo Magazine, “to make a travel magazine I felt might be more aligned with how people want to travel now,” she explains. “We do black books on cities around the world, travel planners for countries we know everyone wants more inside intel on, and share our (and our friends’) discoveries from around the world. It’s really gratifying to work on it, especially after years of being only print and social, because it allows us to work with so many different people who have great intel, but aren’t great writers. Because after all, when you’re on the road and you’re looking for a solid suggestion, you want it from someone who gets it, and isn’t just good at writing about it.”
Curious to get an inside look at the best 2023 travel destinations, I asked Yolanda Edwards to share her recommends. Ahead, the six places that made the cut and everything to pack.
Yolanda's Tangier travel recommendations:
"Marrakech is beautiful and special, but we think this port city has incredible gems to discover. While Tangier has a history of being a louche, slightly edgy city that attracts a European creative expat crowd, a new generation of creatives are reinvigorating its arts scene. Jasper Conran’s second property, Villa Mabrouka, is opening this spring in the former private residence of Yves Saint Laurent. (His first one is L’Hotel in Marrakech, in a chic little riad filled with his own art collection.) I adore the Nord Pinus, which has the sexiest entryway to a hotel, gorgeous bedrooms, and the best breakfast with a view. And I love the Villa Josephine for its decor, garden, and pool—and if you want to be just a little bit outside of the medina."
Yolanda's Italy travel recommendations:
"How about, anywhere that you haven’t heard of is worth checking out?! Seriously, anytime we go somewhere that’s off the grand beaten path itinerary, from a tiny beach town like Grottammare in Le Marche, to a charming beach resort in Sicily like Le Calette, to a food destination like Parma, we are always shocked by how few tourists are there, and how completely magical it is. Of course there is a universal love for Italy, but given that, we suggest trying anywhere except the usual suspects, unless you’re going in the deepest of off seasons, if you want to experience it the way you’re dreaming about it."
Yolanda's Guatemala travel recommendations:
"Guatemala was sort of a no-go for travel for a long time because of political unrest in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But as a result, traditional culture has been really well preserved and not overly commercialized by tourism. You’ll want to visit the ruins of Tikal in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, with over 3,000 ancient temples and other stone structures—the Family Coppola Hideaways’ La Lancha is a great place to stay nearby, with just a few thatched cottages up on a hill overlooking the lake. Then you could travel down to Antigua, a gorgeous and brightly painted colonial-style city with great food, crafts, a cathedral, and a large foreign expat community—the Coppolas have a hotel there too, Posada del Angel; Las Cruces is also beautiful and filled with antiques and art. And then continue on to lake Atitlan, to visit some of the villages on the lake, which still have thriving textile traditions—particularly in San Juan, where there are a few women-run arts collectives. Stay at Casa Palopo, a former private home turned boutique hotel now run by a Guatemalan woman. You might even get to see the volcano spewing sparks at night."
Yolanda's Greece travel recommendations:
"The Peloponnese, a huge peninsula off the mainland, is one of the most beautiful regions in all of the country–but somehow the islands get all of the attention. You can skip the ferry and puddle jumper scheduling and do the most epic road trip through the Peloponnese, starting with the Corinth Canal, historie Mycenae, and then an overnight in Nafplia at the iconic Nafplia Palace. Then meander down to Monemvasia and stay at the Kinsterna, one of my favorite hotel stays ever. The Mani Peninsula is a must, and along the way, stop at the Byzantine complex of Mystras. Overnight at the Kyrimai, which has an epic seafront location, and is a great place to plant yourself and explore from. If you’re feeling really ambitious and want to head to the original site of the Olympics, you can continue west, where there are a multitude of hotel options, from the Costa Navarino to the Amanzoe."
Yolanda's Bhutan travel recommendations:
"Bhutan reopened the 250-mile-long Trans-Bhutan trail last year, an ancient pilgrimage route through Himalayan mountains and villages that connects hundreds of historic and religious sites. Tourism in Bhutan is highly regulated—generally you need to travel with a guide, and the country raised its tourism tax to $200 per visitor, which goes towards conservation. Friends who have traveled there on and off for years have said that because it’s so closed off, it remains pristine and beautiful, without all the crowds and commercial tourism infrastructure of Nepal, and with a well-preserved traditional Buddhist culture. Ordinarily I don’t recommend staying in Amans, because they don’t always fit in to their locale, but Amankora is a circuit of five lodges throughout the country, a mix of traditional 17th-century structures and modern builds that blend into the surroundings—including their lodge in Paro, which is near the legendary Tiger’s Nest monastery, if you’re up for a challenging hike."
Yolanda's Galicia travel recommendations:
"We recently did a Spain Travel Planner and my friend, the Spanish-born designer Álvaro González, got me really excited about this region of Spain I didn’t know much about. On the northwest coast of the country, it has more in common weather-wise with Brittany or Ireland than it does with what we think of as sunny Spain. Santiago, its Florence-like capital, is where the end of the Camino de Santiago spills out. (Stay at the Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos, have a tapas lunch at Abastos 2.0 and dinner at Casa Marcelo). From Santiago, you can head towards Finisterre and the seaside towns of Muros, Malpica and Carnota for unspoiled beaches and amazing seafood in authentic little restaurants. Architect David Chipperfield has had a house in the little fishing village of Corrubedo for 30 years, and recently he and his wife and daughter renovated and opened Bar do Porto, as it was the only bar in town and had closed down. Inland is Albariño wine country—a friend of Alvaro’s recommended A Taberna do Trasno for lunch. Ribeira Sacra is another Galician wine area, with old vineyards planted in steep hillsides. You can stay at the Parador de San Estevo, housed in an old monastery with minimalist décor. Alvaro’s one essential recommendation is to be sure to visit the Sargadelos porcelain factories near the town of Ribadeo in the North of Galicia, housed in the most amazing mid-century complex."
Next: I Just Booked a Summer Trip to Italy—29 Pieces That Are Already In My Cart
from Who What Wear