-Maine
Theroux has returned regularly since first visiting as a child in the 1950s. He loves everything about Maine, especially its long coastline. "It has one of the most dramatic coasts. The great trip is to just go up Route 1, ideally late spring or early fall. You can drive from Boston to Portland and then just keep going along, Freeport, Brunswick, Rockland, up past Camden, then Bar Harbor. It goes all the way to Canada." visitmaine.com
"Hard to get to but worth the trip," is how Theroux describes these mostly uninhabited 70 islands off the coast of Scotland. He recommends visiting Skara Brae, a Neolithic settlement and UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the lovely harbor at Kirkwall, the largest town. "People have been living there since prehistoric times and they have produced a lot of poets, writers, and musicians. I never stopped dreaming about these islands and the fresh fish," he says. visitorkney.com
-Bali Theroux was so moved by the happiness in Bali, long a fantasy vacation destination, that he considered staying. "It's the grace and aesthetic appeal. I just love the colors, the artistic sense of the Balinese. They can do anything. They can weave, they can carve, they can dance, play instruments, sing. Their houses are beautiful, their clothes are beautiful, they have temples, they have the most wonderful dances and ceremonies." Many travelers head to Bali's beaches but traditional crafts and ceremonies can best be seen inland around the town of Ubud. balitourismboard.org
Theroux spent a lot of time in Costa Rica's driest province, Guanacaste on the northwest Pacific coast. It has many resorts, is on the Pan American Highway and is easily accessible by air from the USA. Happiness here is related to simplicity. "They seem to practice the politics of enough, the economics of enough. They don't want more than they need," Theroux says. visitcostarica.com
-Egypt It has one of the oldest cultures on Earth, plus a friendly populace and welcoming feel. Theroux especially likes the Nile. "Egypt has the world's treasures, thousands of years of accumulation of Egyptian culture, the Pharaonic culture, not just the Pyramids, but temples all along the Nile, from Alexandria on the Mediterranean to Aswan and on to Abu Simbel." Numerous tour operators offer river cruises and guided excursions along the Nile. egypt.travel
-Thailand Thailand is both famously foreigner-friendly and inexpensive, making it attractive to expats in retirement. Theroux loves the welcome, the food, the educated populace and the weather, but he also stresses the immense variety of travel opportunities. "There's coastal Thailand, jungle Thailand, mountainous Thailand, and if you're there you can easily visit Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, India," he says. tourismthailand.org
-Malawi Despite what Theroux describes as "a really terrible government," he loves this African nation, where small villages are self-contained societies that take care of their own. He suggests a visit to Lake Malawi. "It's a very big, deep lake, with hotels all along the lakeshore. If I were a tourist, that's where I would go, and there are also game parks in the north where you can see elephants and giraffes and other animals." malawitourism.com
-Hawaii Theroux lives in Hawaii and attributes his prolific writing to the happiness he feels there. First-timers should make sure to visit multiple islands, as they're all different. "Each island has its own character, its own sense of pride," Theroux says. "If you're not happy on one island, just find another." gohawaii.com
"The food in Sicily, the wine, the weather, the crops they grow, all are wonderful things. It's a very hospitable place, and Palermo is one of the great cities of Italy and of Europe too," Theroux says. Because of its proximity to North Africa, it's different from the rest of Italy. He suggests getting there via ferry from Sardinia, train from Naples, or on a cruise ship. Italiantourism.com
-Trobriand Islands Also known as the Kiriwina Islands, Theroux detailed this complex Pacific society off the coast of New Guinea in his book The Happy Islands of Oceania and describes it as one of the most liberated places he has ever been. "It's a place where I felt welcome, yet the people didn't want anything from me. They are perfectly content with what they have," he says. "Like the Orkneys, it is far offshore and a hard place to get to, but worth it."
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