Top Travel Destinations for 2026 and 2027

Travel is always changing quickly, but I'm here to help you keep up on what's happening right now! Some destinations are becoming dramatically more crowded, while others are finally getting the attention they deserve. Travelers are increasingly prioritizing experiences that feel truly memorable — whether that’s safari in Africa, small-ship cruising in the Mediterranean, luxury train journeys, wine-focused travel, or expedition trips to places like Greenland and Antarctica.

Some of the best destinations right now are iconic places like Japan, Italy, and Patagonia — just experienced in smarter, more immersive ways. Others, like Albania and South Korea, still feel a little ahead of the curve.

So if you’re planning travel for 2026 or 2027, these are the destinations I think are especially worth watching — along with the best ways to experience them. And of course — if you're interested in learning more about the travel options in any of these destinations — please reach out!

Note: If you're looking for a cruise-specific article, check out my trends to watch in cruising for 2026, or if you're interested in beach & tropical vacations, check out "Top Beach & Tropical Travel Destinations for 2026 and 2027."

Japan

Japan has fully evolved from “trendy destination” into one of the most compelling travel experiences in the world right now. Now may be one of the best windows to go before demand becomes even more intense.

Part of what makes Japan so compelling is how many different types of travelers it appeals to at once. You have:

• Incredible food & sake

• Luxury hotels and ryokans

• Cherry blossoms and fall foliage

• Deep cultural traditions

• Quirky modern culture

• Modern design and technology

• High-speed, scenic rail travel

• Skiing, hiking, and nature

Although Tokyo and Kyoto continue to dominate most Japan itineraries, more travelers are starting to branch out into smaller destinations that offer a quieter, more local feel. Osaka has become a major draw for food-focused travelers, with everything from tiny late-night street food stalls and izakayas to some of the country’s most exciting modern restaurants. Mountain retreat towns, contemporary art destinations, luxury ryokans, and world-class ski regions are becoming just as appealing as the major cities — especially for travelers looking for a slower, more immersive experience.

Karuizawa, a sophisticated mountain escape favored by Tokyo residents, has become increasingly popular for its cooler climate, forest scenery, hot springs, and understated luxury atmosphere. Near Hiroshima, the Seto Inland Sea region — including the architecturally striking area around Simose — is attracting travelers interested in art, design, and coastal scenery. Hakone continues to evolve into a major wellness and luxury retreat destination, blending traditional onsen culture with modern ryokans and spa-focused stays. And in northern Japan, Niseko remains one of the world’s standout ski destinations, famous for its powder snow and growing luxury hotel scene.

Cruising Japan is also becoming dramatically more popular, especially for travelers intimidated by the logistics of moving luggage between cities or navigating trains independently. Cruise lines like Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Viking, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, and Oceania Cruises are expanding Japan itineraries quickly.

And for travelers who love trains? Japan is arguably the greatest rail-travel country in the world. There are even experiential trains that include food and sake pairings on-board, among many other options.

Ready to start planning your Japan getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

Argentina

Argentina feels like multiple bucket-list trips combined into one country.

You can pair:

• European-style Buenos Aires

• Mendoza wine country

• Patagonian glaciers and hiking

• Luxury estancias (ranches)

• Antarctic expedition departures

And somehow it all still feels relatively underrated compared to much of Europe.

Buenos Aires continues to attract travelers looking for incredible food, wine, architecture, nightlife, and value. Mendoza remains one of the best wine destinations in the world for travelers who love immersive winery experiences and dramatic scenery.

And Patagonia? Still one of the most awe-inspiring landscapes on Earth. This is the kind of destination that feels almost surreal in person — massive glaciers, jagged mountain peaks, turquoise lakes, dramatic hiking trails, and landscapes that seem to stretch forever. Travelers can pair luxury lodges and estancias (ranches) with outdoor adventure, whether that means hiking in Torres del Paine, exploring Los Glaciares National Park, horseback riding through wide-open landscapes, or cruising past glaciers and fjords at the southern edge of South America.

Argentina also works beautifully for cruise extensions:

• Antarctica expeditions departing from Ushuaia

• Patagonia fjord cruises

• South America luxury cruise itineraries

Ready to start planning your Argentina getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

Italy Beyond the Obvious

Italy will never not be popular. But travelers are increasingly moving beyond the classic Rome-Florence-Venice circuit. Some of the regions exploding right now:

The Dolomites especially are becoming huge among travelers wanting a mix of luxury hotels, hiking, wellness, alpine scenery, food & wine, and shoulder-season travel.

Meanwhile Sardinia is attracting travelers searching for Mediterranean beauty without quite the same level of over-tourism as parts of the French Riviera or peak Amalfi. 

Puglia has become especially popular for its whitewashed coastal towns, masserie farmhouse hotels, olive groves, and incredible southern Italian food culture, while Sicily offers a dramatically different side of Italy with volcanic landscapes, ancient ruins, vibrant markets, wineries, and one of the country’s most distinctive culinary identities.

Italy also works exceptionally well as part of a Mediterranean or Adriatic cruise itinerary — and the rise of smaller luxury cruise and yacht-style itineraries in the Mediterranean is one of the biggest travel shifts happening right now. Think Windstar Cruises, Explora Journeys, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Silversea Cruises, Ponant, Oceania Cruises, Viking Cruises, and Emerald Cruise yachts.

Ready to start planning your Italian getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

South Korea

South Korea has quietly become one of the most exciting destinations in the world for travelers who love the energy of a big city but still want culture, food, nature, and design woven into the experience. This has become one of the coolest destinations in the world for travelers who love:

• Food

• Design

• Beauty & skincare

• Fashion

• Luxury hotels

• Nature

• Nightlife

  
  

Wanderlust Magazine named it Destination of the Year recently — and it’s easy to see why. Seoul especially feels incredibly dynamic right now. One minute you’re in a historic palace complex; the next you’re in a hyper-modern luxury district, underground cocktail bar, or insanely creative café. Beyond Seoul, travelers are increasingly exploring coastal cities like Busan, mountain temples, hiking regions, cherry blossom destinations, and luxury wellness stays.

And for cruise travelers, South Korea increasingly appears on Northeast Asia itineraries paired with Japan — so you could cross two destinations off this list at once, while minimizing logistics of travel!

Ready to start planning your South Korean getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

African Safari

Safari travel is having a massive moment right now — especially among travelers prioritizing meaningful experiences over purely luxury consumption. And honestly? Safari changes people. Whether it’s watching elephants at sunset, seeing lions in the wild, sitting among the meerkats at sunrise, sleeping under the stars, or even enjoying bush breakfasts… it’s one of the most emotionally memorable trips many travelers ever take.

One of the biggest shifts happening in safari travel is the move toward smaller camps, more conservation-focused experiences, private reserves, fewer vehicles, and more immersive luxury. That means higher prices, of course — with a minimum investment of $1000 per person, per day — but it's worth it.

South Africa remains one of the best overall safari entry points because it combines:

• Excellent wildlife viewing

• Luxury lodging

• Easier logistics

• Wine country

• Cape Town

• Strong value compared to East Africa

But Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, and Zambia all offer dramatically different safari styles that are worth exploring.

To learn more about safari, visit my safari page here or reach out to chat!

Greenland, Iceland, and the Arctic & Antarctic

Cold-weather and expedition travel is having a huge moment right now — but these destinations are actually very different experiences from one another.

Iceland is usually the easiest entry point into cold-weather adventure travel. It combines dramatic scenery with relatively easy logistics, making it ideal for travelers who want a mix of nature, luxury, wellness, and road-trip freedom without feeling too remote. Think:

• Waterfalls and black sand beaches

• Volcanoes and lava fields

• Geothermal lagoons and hot springs

• Northern Lights

• Dramatic coastal drives

• Boutique luxury hotels

• Adventure activities like glacier hiking or snowmobiling

Greenland feels far more remote, rugged, and expedition-oriented than Iceland. This is less about cute towns and road trips — and more about massive icebergs, deep fjords, tiny settlements, and dramatic Arctic landscapes that feel almost untouched. Most travelers experience Greenland via expedition cruise, often on smaller luxury or adventure-focused ships. The appeal here is the sense of scale and isolation. It’s one of those places that genuinely makes people feel small in the best possible way. Greenland is especially appealing for:

• Experienced travelers

• Expedition cruising

• Photography

• Arctic scenery

• Travelers wanting something less conventional than Iceland

“The Arctic” can mean several different regions — Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, Arctic Canada, Greenland, or parts of northern Scandinavia — but generally the experience centers around wildlife and remote exploration. Arctic expeditions tend to feel more wildlife-focused than Antarctica, with a stronger emphasis on remote exploration and changing ice conditions. This is where travelers go hoping to see:

• Polar bears

• Walruses

• Whales

• Massive glaciers

• Sea ice

• Remote fjords

Antarctica is still the ultimate bucket-list expedition for many travelers.

And honestly, photos barely prepare people for it. The scale of the ice, the silence, the wildlife, the surreal blue glaciers — it all feels almost unreal in person. Most Antarctica trips depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, and are expedition cruises rather than traditional luxury cruises, meaning travelers use Zodiac boats for daily landings and wildlife excursions. Depending on the timing, travelers may see:

• Penguins and chicks

• Whales

• Seals

• Massive icebergs

• Glacier landscapes unlike anywhere else on Earth

What surprises many people is that Antarctica isn’t just about scenery — it’s incredibly active and immersive. You’re not just looking at the landscape from the ship; you’re stepping directly into it.

All these regions work exceptionally well for small-ship expedition cruises with companies like Lindblad x National Geographic Quark, Ponant, Hurtigruten, Antarctica21, Seabourn Expedition, and Silversea Expeditions.

Ready to start planning your cold-weather getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

Mexico City

As travelers are also increasingly realizing Mexico can be so much more than just beach resorts, Mexico City has emerged as one of the most exciting travel destinations right now. Mexico City has evolved into one of the world’s great food and culture capitals — offering incredible restaurants, boutique hotels, museums, architecture, cocktail bars, and neighborhood culture.

Mexico City also pairs extremely well with longer excursions to:

• Oaxaca

• San Miguel de Allende

• Baja California wine country

This is also a destination that obviously pairs well with beach getaways — as that is what Mexico is known for. Check out what's hot in Mexico beach travel right now, as well as other trending tropical getaways in "Top Beach & Tropical Travel Destinations for 2026 and 2027."

Ready to start planning your Mexico City getaway? I’d love to help you find the best multi-day trip, cruise, or custom itinerary — let's chat!

Big Sky, Montana

Not every trending destination for 2026 is international. Luxury outdoor travel in the American West is still booming — and Big Sky continues to sit right at the center of that trend. What travelers love:

• Skiing

• Fly fishing

• Yellowstone access

• Luxury mountain resorts

• Wellness retreats

• Summer outdoor activities

And unlike some ski towns that feel increasingly crowded and commercialized, Big Sky still retains a more spacious, outdoorsy atmosphere. It also pairs beautifully with Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone.

Ready to start planning your Big Sky getaway? I’d love to help — let's chat!

Oregon Wine Country & the Pacific Northwest

For wine lovers who want something more relaxed and intimate than Napa, Willamette Valley remains one of the most exciting wine destinations in the U.S.

— especially for lovers of pinor noir, farm-to-table dining, boutique inns, and scenic drives.

One of the best things about Oregon is how many different trip styles you can combine together:

• Portland food scene

• Willamette wine country

• Bend outdoor adventure

• Columbia River Gorge

• Oregon Coast

• Crater Lake National Park

You can read my article on why Willamette is one of my favorite wine destinations here. And for train lovers, the Pacific Northwest also works beautifully with rail travel routes and scenic coastal journeys.

Ready to start planning your Oregon getaway? I’d love to help — let's chat!

Luxury Train Travel

Train travel deserves its own category entirely because it’s becoming one of the biggest experiential travel trends right now. Bookings for unique, luxury train experiences are surging around the world as travelers increasingly want slower travel, scenic journeys, fewer airport hassles, and more immersive transportation.

Some of the most exciting luxury rail experiences right now include:

• Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

• Glacier Express in Switzerland

• Rocky Mountaineer in the USA & Canada

• Japan luxury rail journeys

• South African luxury trains like Rovos Rail

Ready for your next railway adventure? I’d love to help — let's chat!

So… Where Should You Go in 2026 and 2027?

That depends entirely on your travel style. Want:

• Food and culture? → Japan or Mexico City

• Adventure? → Patagonia, Greenland, or safari

• Luxury and relaxation? → Italy or yacht-style cruising

• Wine travel? → Mendoza or Oregon

• Bucket-list expedition travel? → Antarctica or the Arctic

• Wellness and scenery? → Iceland or the Dolomites

The good news is that travel today is more customizable than ever. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to narrow down destinations, cruise options, safari lodges, train journeys, or how to combine multiple regions into one seamless trip — that’s exactly what I can help with if you just reach out.

Because the best trips aren’t just about going somewhere beautiful. They’re about creating stories you’ll still be talking about years later.