It's time to start planning your 2020 vacation and National Geographic has you covered. The travel publisher's list of top destinations for the year has just one in Canada. The best trips for 2020 include seeing adorable baby seals on a Quebec island. The Magdalen Islands in Quebec are officially one of the best destinations across the world for people to visit in 2020. National Geographic recommends travelling to the Magdalen Islands to experience the natural beauty of the landscape and the baby seals. "Best Trips is our annual list of where to go, what to know and how to see the world in the year ahead," said George Stone, executive editor of travel at National Geographic, to CNN. The list features 25 destinations from all over the world that have significant and essential travels for 2020 when it comes to culture, cities nature and adventure. The Magdalen Islands are all about nature. View this post on Instagram 📷@lpaudet⠀ L’Aventure Hivernale est de retour cette année encore avec comme activité principale, l’observation des blanchons en hélicoptère à partir du @hotels.accents Château Madelinot. Les indicateurs météos et de glaces sont propices à la tenue du forfait hivernal avec l’observation des blanchons et atterrissage sur la banquise en hélicoptère du 21 février au 11 mars 2019. Serez-vous des nôtres pour vivre cette expérience magique et unique au monde?⠀ .⠀ The winter adventure is back this year with Harp Seal watching at the @hotels.accents Château Madelinot. All the weather and ice indicators show positive results to be able to operate the 2019 Harp Seal watching season by helicopter with landing on the ice from Feb. 21st to March 11th, 2019. Will you join us to live this magical and unique experience?⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #fousdesiles #ilesdelamadeleine #magdalenislands #quebecoriginal #explorecanada #quebecmaritime #quebeccotemer #quebecbythesea #banquise #icefloe #seals #harpseals #harpsealwatching #observationdesblanchons #blanchons2019 #helicopter #helico #helicopters #helicopter #uniqueintheworld #experience #nature #wildlife #natgeo #outdoors #bucketlist A post shared by Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine (@ilesdelamadeleine) on Feb 11, 2019 at 12:16pm PST View this post on Instagram Surreal 💎 . . . #fousdesiles #ilesdelamadeleine #explorecanada #exploreqc #explorequebec #narcityquebec #quebecenphotos #maritimes #nikonphotography #landscape #scenery #redcliffs #cliffs #explore #exploremoreoutdoors #magdalenislands #gulfofstlawrence #wonderfulplaces #quebecmaritime #winterlandscape #islandlife #sundayfunday #surreal #surreallandscape #amazingearth A post shared by Samuel L-Fortier (@samlfortier) on Mar 10, 2019 at 6:24pm PDT View this post on Instagram 📷@helenechevarie⠀ La saison 2019 d’observation des blanchons est maintenant terminée. On souhaite vous compter parmi nous l’an prochain pour vivre cette expérience unique!⠀ .⠀ The 2019 harp seal watching season is now over. We hope to welcome you here next year to live this unique experience!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #fousdesiles #ilesdelamadeleine #quebecmaritime #quebecoriginal #quebeccotemer #quebecbythesea #whitecoats #explorecanada #magdalenislands #nature #helicopters #gulfofstlawrence #harpsealwatching #harpseals #blanchon #helico #icefloe #winterfun #winter #ohcanada #keepexploring #bucketlist A post shared by Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine (@ilesdelamadeleine) on Mar 11, 2019 at 12:00pm PDT Travelling to the Magdalen Islands in 2020 is essential because of the sea ice and the seals who are born there. National Geographic said that travelling there now is a must to "see a beautiful but diminishing world of ice—and the harp seals that depend on it." Four different species of seals can be found around the islands including the harp seal and the gray seal. The harp seals require stable sea ice for their pups to survive. Walking on that sea ice to be able to see those pups is something National Geographic recommends because "when you walk on sea ice, it’s easy to forget that there’s an ocean below you." So take in the frozen landscape with fresh snow, blue skies, cold winds that sound musical and those adorable pups. View this post on Instagram Photo by @DaisyGilardini | Harp Seals in the Gulf of St. Laurence in Quebec, Canada give birth to their pups in February and March on the pack ice. At birth they are yellowish in color but after a couple of days they turn pure white. From here comes the name “white coats”. In the last few years poor ice conditions rose the mortality rates. Scientists say that even if one year's bad ice will not compromise the species, ice patterns over time could have concerning consequences. Follow me @DaisyGilardini for more images and stories behind the scenes. #arctic #seal #harpseal #harpsealpup #magdalenislands A post shared by National Geographic Travel (@natgeotravel) on Aug 4, 2019 at 12:00am PDT View this post on Instagram #たてごとあざらし #アザラシ #baby #phoque #harpseal #canada #babyanimal #blanchon #blanchons2019 #bebedephoque #マドレーヌ島 #magdalenislands #ilesdelamadeleine #iledelamadeleine #ilesdelamadeleine #îlesdelamadeleine #mignon #smile La mère regarder son bébé avec sourire. 遠くからだと表情まで見えないんだけど母さん優しい顔してる。 A post shared by Etsuko_otk (@etsuko_otk) on Mar 7, 2019 at 7:55pm PST View this post on Instagram Final frontier. #stayandwander A post shared by Maurice Li (@maurice) on Feb 3, 2015 at 8:53pm PST While they talk a lot about the ice, you can travel to the Magdalen Islands all year round. There are lots of things to in every season like bike riding and kayaking in the spring and summer and warming up with a hot coffee in the fall. But in National Geographic's opinion, seeing newborn seal pups in the winter is one of the best things the Magdalen Islands have to offer, especially harp seal pups. "The young seals are one of the most captivating creatures on the planet, with obsidian eyes, charcoal nose, and cloud-soft fur," said National Geographic. For the best chance of walking on the sea ice and seeing seal pups rolling around in the snow, National Geographic recommends going in February and March. There are many excursions available to get out and see the pups, even a week-long diving expedition, and a ton of places to stay like hotels, B&Bs, cottages and campgrounds. If you've been looking to discover parts of Canada you've never seen before, the Magdalen Islands have National Geographics stamp of approval. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
