Readers’ Picks: Your top 8 dream vacations, plus win a trip!

We asked Orbitz Instagram followers which country they’d like to visit and they responded with a wide range of great destinations. Here are your top 8 dream vacations — including a five-way tie for eighth place! And the best part is that we’re going to send one lucky winner and a guest on a trip to the #1 location! Scroll down to see what is—we think you’ll like it—and then go to our Instagram to enter to win after reading the rules here. All we ask isthat when you book your trip, consider taking us with you.

#8: Australia (tie)
Why you love it: No other country of such immense size is inhabited by residents so laid back. Sure, the place is teeming with insects, animals and marine life that are deadly, and the country is largely made up of vast, inhospitable desert, but that hasn’t stopped the land down under from being the place that care forgot. Just try to not be charmed by sunny Sydney or sophisticated Melbourne. Of course, A visit isn’t complete without diving the Great Barrier Reef or a kangaroo encounter—the latter of which is all but guaranteed.

#8: Bali (tie)
Why you love it:
Visiting a tropical island is all about reclining on a white sand beach with paperback in hand, but if that was all you did in Bali—an island in Indonesia—you’d truly be missing out. Bali is home to ancienttemples, distinctive art and architecture, rollicking nightlife, eco resorts and yoga retreats, floral-colored reefs, gargantuan volcanoes and so much more. Come to Bali not only for the beach, but also for an awakening of the mind, body and spirit. And bring a a good pair of hiking/walking shoes; you’re going to need them.

#8: Fiji (tie)
Why you love it: Close your eyes and tell us what comes to mind when you hear the words tropical island? Chances are, whatever you’re imagining, Fiji looks exactly like that. An archipelago of 300 islands inhabited by 800,000 people, you love Fiji because it’s a place to live out the vacation fantasy of your dreams. It is where palm trees sway gently in the breeze, where crystal clear blue lagoons beckon swimmers and divers like a siren’s call and where the word hotel means a thatched hut in the middle of nowhere.

#8: Italy
Why you love it: From the moment we’re old enough to slurp spaghetti noodles, boot-shaped Italy becomes a natural part of our vocabulary. You love for it hundreds of reasons namely people watching in Rome—the Eternal City—and wandering among its romantic piazzas and fabled ruins. There’s also cramped but beautiful Venice, art and culture-filled Florence, the tiny and intoxicating postcards towns lining the Italian Riviera, wine tasting in Tuscany and, lest we forget, awesome pizza. Need we say more?

#8: Brazil
Why you love it:
Can human beings be this gorgeous? The answer is a definite yes. From the moment your feet hit the sand of Rio’s legendary beaches—Ipanema and Copacabana and Leblon to name a few—the site of Cariocas at play makes you want to linger in this large, complex and fascinating country. The rest of Rio—from Christ the Redeemer to a nighttime Samba—also intoxicates, but head inland for a raucous weekend in Sao Paulo, take a boat ride down the Amazon River or follow the coast and plop down on your very own secluded beach.

#7 Bora Bora
Why you love it: There are reasons why we all grin and bare our grueling work lives—aside from the fact that we have to—and counting down the days until a vacation in tropical Bora Bora is one of those reasons. The French Polynesian island is just 11 square miles and has a population of under 9,000 people which lends it an air of privacy and exclusivity for those in need of elbow room. It also boasts big time natural beauty, as in turquoise blue waters, emerald green landscapes and sunsets the color of an artist’s palette.

#6 Spain
Why you love it: Visiting Spain is like being drunk on life all the time. Occupying a majority of the Iberian Peninsula, the country is blessed with more than 3,000 miles of coastline which makes a beachy siesta a worthy afternoon endeavor. But forget for a moment its blessed maritime geography and consider instead madcap and bustling Madrid or elegant Barcelona with its fascinating Gaudi architecture. There’s also flamenco dancing in Seville, clubbing in Ibiza, sharing tapas with friends and so much more.

#5 Iceland
Why you love it: Perhaps the only destination on this list that brings to mind the adjective “quirky,” Iceland is a gurgling, spewing and constantly evolving land of vibrant people and wondrous natural attractions. Only in the coastal capital of Reykjavik is puffin a menu mainstay and lap swimming in geothermal pools a feature of daily life. Elsewhere on the island, blankets of emerald green come face to face with volcanic ash, the ground steams and the coastline reveals icy natural wonders.

#4 Tahiti
Why you love it: If your knowledge of Tahiti comes down to the vanilla bean, we’ve got great news for you—the entire island is just as sweet. Although few among us would actually chuck it all to live on a tropical island, Tahiti makes a compelling case to do just that. In addition to being a pretty face—Tahiti is blessed with black sand beaches, lagoons, waterfalls and two inactive volcanoes—the country has a fascinating culture with a lively emphasis on dance, art and sport. Just try and not be captivated.

#3 Maldives
Why you love it: We’re not the least bit surprised you chose this tropical South Asian island nation—composed of a double chain of 26 coral atolls and 1,200 islands—as one of your dream destinations. Unlike other chart toppers on this list such as Italy and Spain, chances are you’ve never been. The Maldives thus loom large in the imaginations of would be paradise seekers and for good reason: they are every bit the picture postcard vision of azure waters, white sand beaches and endless sunshine.

#2 Norway
Why you love it: Bikini be damned! We’d gladly trade our swimsuits for a fur coat—synthetic of course—and a chance to go deep into the heart of Norway’s fjords where lush green and snow capped mountains rise majestically from narrow inlets of navigable waters. Lovely, cosmopolitan Bergen makes for an excellent base of exploration of western Norway, but you’d never do a sweep of this quintessentially Scandinavian country without spending at least a couple days in the bustling, upbeat capital city of Oslo.

#1 Greece
Why you love it: Greece is the word—and why shouldn’t it be?! For more than 2,000 years this Mediterranean gem has beguiled the world with its early innovations in civilization and government, Greek Gods and Goddesses, and ancient monuments—not to mention fantastic art and mouthwatering cuisine. Dangling like a loose leaf at the end of Europe, you treasure it today because you know that a single visit affords the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Plato and Socrates followed by a beach day in Santorini.

Tagged: Europe, Top 10 Lists