Joyful holidays: The happiest destinations and experiences on Earth

AdvertisementSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAThis is why we all travel, right?

For happiness. For joy. For the thrill of discovery, for the experience of the new and the novel and the different.

We travel to feel good. And there are some countries, some destinations and even some experiences where happiness is a given. It’s not something you need to seek – it’s there right in front of you.

There’s happiness in the people around you, happiness in the everyday rituals being practiced, happiness even in the location itself. In this era of global tension, there’s surely nothing more important to all of us than sharing joy and happiness.The following is a list of countries, cities, towns, experiences, rituals, landscapes and more that are happy, they’re inherently joyful.

They range from the happiness of a well-run society that features an obsession with saunas, to the joy of an overnight train click-clacking through the countryside; from an aimless stroll through a new destination, to an impromptu concert in a cosy pub. The thread here is the intense joy not just of the locals but of the people who get to visit, the feeling of happiness that rubs off on those lucky enough to be passing through. If you’re looking to be one of those sharing in the love, these are the places to go, and the things to do when you’re there.

HAPPIEST COUNTRIESFinlandFinland: happy despite the cold weather.Visit FinlandHow do you, as a traveller, rate the happiness of a destination? Is it the way a place makes you feel, the joy it imbues in you personally?

Or would you prefer to trust science? If you’re in the latter camp then you will agree with the selection here of Finland, which has been crowned the happiest country on the planet for nine years in a row by the World Happiness Report, which considers the likes of “life evaluation”, social support and life expectancy. Impressive stuff.

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.New ZealandAdvertisementAustralia, we should mention, is a very happy country.

It comes in at number 15 on the most recent World Happiness Report. Several places ahead at number 11, meanwhile, you will find our Kiwi neighbours, and there’s no denying this is a joyful place to visit. New Zealanders tend to be welcoming and friendly – as long as they’re not playing rugby – with a smile never too far away.

ThailandThailand isn’t called the “land of smiles” for nothing.iStockSpeaking of smiles, here’s the Land of Smiles, a nation that goes through more than its share of political unrest and mass protest, and yet still seems to retain a deeply ingrained sense of joy. Thailand is always fun to visit (as long as you behave appropriately), the sort of place where you can’t help but meet locals and make friends.

BhutanHere is a country that doesn’t do quite so well on the World Happiness Report – it tends to fall somewhere in the middle – and yet it appears to care deeply about the wellbeing of its citizens, given its now-famous Gross National Happiness report. And Bhutan is, for the most part, a place where the comfort of its citizens is obvious. However, it’s not rosy for everyone: citizens of Nepalese origin have long been discriminated against, according to Human Rights Watch.

Costa RicaAdvertisementThis one might be a little surprising: Costa Rica is by far the highest placed Latin American country on the World Happiness Report, and at No.4 it’s the only one to make the top 10. That’s down to the nation’s stable government, good healthcare and employment, and no doubt the satisfaction that comes with living in such a beautiful place of rainforests and tropical shores.

HAPPIEST CITIESCopenhagen – what’s not to like?iStockCopenhagen, DenmarkThere’s a happiness list for cities as well as countries, and it’s unsurprising to find the Happy City Index topped by Copenhagen. Why wouldn’t you be happy living in the gorgeous Danish capital, where bikes rule over cars, where the food is some of the best in the world, where people are healthy and wealthy and well looked after by their government?

Even paying a visit is a joy.Tokyo, JapanClean and community-minded … Tokyo, Japan.

iStockAdvertisementTokyo ranks No.5 on the Happy City Index, and you will soon figure out why. Citizens of the Japanese capital are notoriously hard workers, though they also live in a huge city that’s incredibly clean, with world-leading public transport, and a strong sense of community.

Oh, and more than 10,000 ramen restaurants. If that doesn’t make you happy, I don’t know what will.Malmo, SwedenCross the bridge from Copenhagen into Sweden and you immediately hit Malmo, ranked No.

8 on the Happy City Index and a place that’s largely underappreciated by the tourist masses. This city boasts all the societal benefits enjoyed by Scandinavian nations, with the added benefit of an easily navigable layout and a rela