Earlier this year Getaway polled its online audience for their views on a host of travel-related preferences, from their favourite reserves, overland routes, campsites and even farmstalls to the top three destinations on their bucket list, passport stamp they are most proud of and preferred holiday gear. More than 2000 responses poured in – everything from photos and recipes to personal accounts. These choices have resulted in the Reader Issue, a comprehensive guide to almost 200 holiday ideas for 2013.

“At Getaway, we’re always looking to bridge the print and online divide; we are thoroughly immersed in both these worlds. This issue is our way of combining the best of both by bringing our large online community into the magazine,” explained Sarah Duff, Getaway web editor and guest editor of the January issue.

“In the digital space we have 200 bloggers, 40 000 Facebook fans and 15 000 Twitter followers who share their travels with us on an almost hourly basis. It turns out many of them travel as much as we do. We’ve combined their invaluable feedback into ‘the best of everything.'”

One story in particular stood out and earned its author, reader Anton Crone, his own feature in the magazine. “Anton tackled an epic journey from Cape Town to Tanzania in the most unlikely of overlanding vehicles – a Smart car convertible. His story reminded us of what African travel is all about – exploring, getting off the beaten track and discovering magical landscapes and interesting people,” said Duff.

Getaway’s Reader Issue is on sale from Wednesday, 19 December.