The combined counties of Wexford and Waterford have carved out a spot in Condé Nast's 'Best Place To Go in the UK & Ireland' list for 2024.

Condé Nast Traveller is a long-running travel publications, known for unearthing hidden gems with the assistance of expert contributors from across the globe.

Speaking on the list, the publication stated: "At the end of each year, we look ahead to what’s coming next in the travel world as we pick out the top destinations we’d recommend to our fellow globetrotters for the following 12 months.

"Our expert contributors nominate the destinations that are on the up right now. These nominations make up the Best Places To Go in 2024, in which we shine a light on the places that are due their moment in the sun."

Hook Lighthouse

Of the 12 places on the list the counties of Waterford & Wexford were cited together as a Southeast travel destination - the only Irish destination to make the cut.

The piece details some of the tourist attractions on offer such as the newly refurbished Loftus Hall, a large country house on the Hook peninsula; Hook Lighthouse, the oldest intact operating lighthouse in the world; Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore; the delicious seafood at The Beach House in Tramore as well as the magnificent Mount Congreve House and Gardens.

Mount Congreve. Photo by Colin Shanahan.

Writer Aoife O'Riordan says: "Hop over the border to County Waterford and the recently restored Mount Congreve House, another palatial pile, overlooking the River Suir with dreamy gardens and a café run by The Pantry at CLIFF, a spin-off of Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore.

"When the gates close, you will have the gardens all to yourself if you bed down at Mount Congreve’s fairytale gate lodge, which is available to rent, and the Waterford Greenway, an off-road hiking and biking trail along a disused railway line between Waterford City and Dungarvan, passes right by the edge of the estate."

The eleven remaining spots on the list were located in the United Kingdom, ranging from the city of Edinburgh in Scotland to the town of Beaminster in Dorset, England. You can see the full list here.