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Top Destinations To Celebrate New Year’s Eve

Looking for the most festive places to celebrate New Year’s Eve? We’ve rounded up some of the world’s best New Year’s Eve locations so you can start 2019 with a bang! Grab a drink, your best party outfit, and a noisemaker. Feast your eyes on spectacular night scenery, from firework festivals to surreal Northern Lights. Make New Year’s Eve unforgettable with our list of top destinations across the globe.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve in style at world-famous destinations:

Boracay Island, the Philippines

Best New Year’s Eve Parties: Boracay, Philippines (image via Shutterstock)

If you’re looking to spend the holidays soaking up some sun and sand, then head to Boracay Island! Spend the day island hopping and witness an incredible sunset on a scenic cruise, before hitting one of the Philippine’s liveliest New Year’s Eve parties. You can choose from several parties across the various beaches on a pub crawl.  Bring your friends or meet new ones as you mingle with the crowds, and dance the night away. Cap off the last day of the year by heading to Station 2 at midnight for an epic fireworks show.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Best New Year’s Eve Parties: Edinburgh, Scotland (image via Shutterstock)

With origins in  the Viking celebration of Winter Solstice,  Hogmanay is a spectacular outdoor festival. Stretching out for three days, calling it a great New Year’s party would be an understatement. It starts off with a procession of torches around Parliament Square to Calton Hill. Day two is a day of street parties and musical festivals, with four – five tons of fireworks blasting over Edinburgh castle to welcome the new year. Hogmanay culminates with what feels like a country-wide chorus of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

New Year’s Eve over Copacabana Beach (image via Wikimedia Commons)

Rio pulls out all stops when it comes to New Year’s Eve. Come dressed in white (for good luck) with flowers in hand, and head to Copacabana Beach for one of the wildest New Year’s Eve parties in the world. Enjoy dancing and live performances by the beachside. Once the clock strikes midnight, toss your flowers into the sea as an offering to the Sea Goddess before heading back to party.

Koh Phangan Island, Thailand

Best New Year's Eve Parties Around the World: Koh Phangan, Thailand
Best New Year’s Eve Parties: Koh Phangan, Thailand (image via Shutterstock)

You’ll want to pace yourself for this one, as the typically laid-back beach paradise of Thailand transforms into one of the most fired up celebrations in the world. Hop from bar to bar and down flaming shots. Join in fire limbo games before making your way to Haad Rin Beach for a spectacular fireworks show as the clock strikes midnight. The party starts at sunset and stretches all the way into New Year’s Day afternoon— or for as long as you can party!

Reykjavik, Iceland

Best New Year's Eve Parties Around the World: Reykjavik, Iceland
Best New Year’s Eve Parties: Reykjavik, Iceland (image via Shutterstock)

A New Year’s Eve vacation in Iceland always makes for a great holiday, because of its breathtaking scenery and the elusive Northern Lights (READ: Where to See the Northern Lights: Last-Minute Northern Lights Tour). Celebrations start as early as 4 p.m., with bonfire parties scattered all over the city—a  tradition meant to burn away the past year’s bad luck and negative energy. Afterwards, experience Iceland’s party scene and head to the bars and nightclubs with some newfound friends (Icelanders are also known to be quite friendly), before catching a national display of fireworks to welcome the new year.

If you could choose to be transported anywhere in the world to spend NYE, where would you be? If you still have no clue, check out these links below for more New Year’s Eve ideas and book your trip with KKday!

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