Sure, there’s lots of groovy places on the globe. But if you’re making vacation plans, be aware that only Santiago, Chile ranks ahead of the San Juan Islands as the place you want to be in 2011.

That’s according to the New York Times, which, in a travel article posted Jan. 7, rated the San Juans as No. 2 on its list of “The 41 Places to Go in 2011”.

Earning special mention in the article are San Juan Island’s Mitchell Hill, Watmough Bay Preserve on Lopez, the San Juan County Land Bank and Orcas Island chef Lisa Nakumura and her Eastsound eatery, Allium Restaurant.

Other destinations of note include such exotic locales as Milan, London, Koh Samui, Thailand, the Republic of Georgia and Iceland.

— Scott Rasmussen