We’ve been ready to pack our bags and hop on a flight to a fabulous destination since, like, yesterday. Where we’re going? Well, we haven’t quite figured that part out yet, but we know where we’re considering–the safest place to travel in 2025 has just been revealed, and the title was given to one of the dreamiest nordic countries we’ve ever laid our eyes on!
North American-based travel insurance company Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection has been compiling lists of the world’s safest places since 2016, and their 2025 list has been revealed! Claiming the number one spot is Iceland, climbing a whopping eight spots since last year, when it was ninth on the list.
Iceland is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It’s known for many things: expansive glaciers, shimmering northern lights, hot springs and geysers, vast volcanic landscapes and black sand beaches, puffins, and an overall vibrant culture and viking history, which all pairs together to create an overall breathtaking landscape.
The ranking notes that Iceland has one major road and it’s never crowded, so it’s certainly safe when it comes to traffic accidents–you can’t have any if you don’t have any traffic. On the flip side, however, you do need to be aware of volcanoes–Iceland is a volcanic island, and volcanic islands do, of course, sometimes have volcanic eruptions. “But you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more languorous about it than the Icelanders,” says the ranking.
Thankfully for us, low-cost Icelandic airline, PLAY, offers flights directly from New York to Iceland, and it’s constantly doing so at fantastic prices and even giving away flights for free sometimes! Just be sure you have this special travel authorization and familiarize yourself with the 90/180-day rule before hopping on your flight.
As for when to go, Iceland’s off-season is pretty narrow–”a little bit of October and some of April are your only bridges between winter and summer,” writes Berkshire Hathaway. But that’s perfect if you’re northern lights chasing–they’re most visible from late September through March/April.
To determine the ranking, the company used its own data, which dates back to 2016, surveying American travelers on where they’ve traveled in the last five years and how they rate those countries on safety. That info is then combined with other indices and information, including the Global Peace Index, data from Numbeo, and an average of the GeoSure Global scores of the major cities in each country, to give each destination a weighted score, reflecting its overall safety.
The team over at Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection wrote:
Over time, we’ve seen a lot of things change – the pandemic not least among them – and seen generations come and go, but as you’ll see from this year’s list, we’ve also seen a lot of things stay the same. Just like a house with good bones, a destination has a good support structure when it comes to safety. The things that make Switzerland a safe destination for travelers are going to continue to make it safe for travelers a decade from now.
Rounding out the top ten is as follows:
1. Iceland
2. Australia
3. Canada
4. Ireland
5. Switzerland
6. New Zealand
7. Germany
8. Norway
9. Japan
10. Denmark