There’s something undeniably magical about planning a new year of travel – that exciting moment when you’re staring at a blank map, vreating your best places to visit in 2026 list, imagining all the best 2026 places your passport could take you.
Endless possibilities, fresh excitement, and the thrill of discovering a destination that completely steals your heart.
Every year, after spending a few days wandering through WTM in London – meeting tourism boards, hearing the newest trends, and stumbling across places I’d barely even heard of – my mind feels like it’s overflowing with inspiration.
I leave with a notebook full of scribbles about best places to visit in 2026, new obsessions, and a travel bucket list that somehow keeps getting longer.
Naxos, Greece – The Island of Golden Beaches & Slow, Soulful Living
Out of all the places I’ve visited in 2025, Naxos is the one that quietly slipped into my heart and has absolutely refused to leave.
If you dream of Greece but want something calmer, more authentic, and far less chaotic than, Santorini or, this is the Cycladic island you’ve been looking for.
Naxos is everything you wish a summer on a would be – long, golden sandy beaches that seem to stretch forever… clear turquoise water, tiny white washed villages tucked into the mountains and tavernas where the food is so good it makes you emotional (I’m not exaggerating – I had one bite of Naxian cheese and immediately started planning my return).
MALDIVES
Best Time to Visit: January through April
As someone who spends at least a few weeks each year in the Maldives, I can’t make this list without including these stunning tropical islands on my list of the top places to go in 2026.
I’ve been lucky enough to stay in quite a few of the top hotels in the Maldives, and I shareThe Maldives are made up of over 1,000 tiny islands dotted with palms and fringing reefs in the clear warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Wherever you are in this chain of islands, you feel like you’re a world away from everything else.
You can opt to lay on the beach on a private island, take a boat trip to a white sand bar in the middle of the ocean, and fall asleep with the waves lapping under your overwater bungalow. The Maldives may be known for luxury hotels, but there are as well.
SOUTH AFRICA
Best Time to Visit: May through October for safari and November through April for Cape Town
South Africa is a large country and a popular travel destination in Africa for a reason. It’s known to be one of the best (if not the best) game-viewing countries in the entire world. Here you’ll find all of the Big 5 – elephants, lions, leopards, Cape buffalos, and rhinos.
South Africa was a life-changing trip for me. I felt very small, and I felt like I saw how we could be and should be living. Staying at a lodge in South Africa is a special opportunity. Your guides are conservationists who are the best in the business. They love the land and the animals and want to help you better understand how to protect them.
We stayed at in Kruger National Park at all three of their luxury safari lodges. Staying at the Royal Malewane is the experience to end all experiences in South Africa. Malewane Lodge is a bush-style luxury lodge with front-row seats to the wildlife in Kruger National Park. Farmstead has the most contemporary style of the three while Waterside is the most colorful and aptly named for the view of animals enjoying the watering hole.
Cape Town makes a perfect stopover before or after your safari. has made a name for itself in South Africa, and it deserves all the attention it gets. The Royal Suite was a dream come true. We didn’t have enough time to do everything on our list, but the penguins on Boulder Beach are a must see.
South Africa has to be on your bucket list if you love wildlife, being in the wild, luxury stays, and/or conservation as it checks off all of these boxes and more.
Thailand
Thailand remains a favourite international destination due to its vibrant culture, stunning beaches, and warm hospitality. Whether exploring bustling Bangkok, relaxing on the islands of Phuket and Krabi, or discovering ancient temples in Chiang Mai, Thailand offers something for every traveller. The country is known for its street food, wellness retreats, nightlife, and adventure activities, making it a well-rounded and exciting destination to visit in 2026.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a compact yet diverse island nation offering a perfect mix of nature, culture, and history. From golden beaches and misty hill stations to wildlife safaris and ancient temples, the country surprises visitors at every turn. Destinations like Kandy, Ella, Sigiriya, and Galle showcase scenic beauty and heritage. With its calm atmosphere, friendly locals, and growing eco-tourism initiatives, Sri Lanka is emerging as a must-visit destination for meaningful and scenic travel in 2026.
Hong Kong
You never have to convince us to visit Hong Kong, home to some of the world’s densest skyscraper clusters (and a skyline that glows differently depending on the hour). But as 2026 rolls in, there are new reasons to be excited and include it in our ‘best places to visit in the world’ roundup. Art Central 2026 is set to return to Hong Kong’s iconic Central Harbourfront from March 25 to 29, 2026, with a VIP Preview on March 24, while nature lovers will notice spruced-up trails across The Peak, Lantau Peak, Tai Mo Shan, and Sai Kung Hoi, complete with improved waymarks and visitor panels.
Additionally, when it reopens mid-year, the Sky100 Observation Deck (closed since May 17, 2025, for major renovation works) will offer a whole new set of heart-thumping experiences. As we predict run-cation to be one of the annual Hong Kong Marathon boasts the highest participation rate in the city, drawing thousands of local runners and elite athletes from around the world, with races ranging from 10 km to a half-marathon and the full marathon.
Naoshima, Japan: One of the world’s best places to visit
Naoshima, the tiny island in the Seto Inland Sea, has quietly become one of the world’s best magnetic art destinations (Kusama’s Pumpkin alone has lured legions of design pilgrims), and is now one of the unmissable places to visit for travellers. On May 31, 2025, the Naoshima New Museum of Art (NNMA) opened under the direction of Tadao Ando, introducing a minimalist space dedicated to rotating exhibitions of Asian contemporary art. Travellers with spring or summer trips to spare will be able to catch the inaugural exhibition featuring artists, such as Takashi Murakami and Cai Guo-Qiang, which undergoes a partial change between May 11 and June 6, 2026.
Mexico City, Mexico
Okay, it’s never ‘not a good year’ to do Mexico City, but 2026 is attracting enough high-profile events and upgrades that the city feels freshly charged, even by CDMX standards. New museums, literally the biggest and a wave of neighbourhood revivals are reshaping everything from San Miguel Chapultepec to the eastern edge of Reforma.
This follows on the heels of major cultural returns, including El Rey León at the Telcel Theatre in early 2026 and the long-awaited reopening of the which has been closed since 2020 and holds one of the world’s most important Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera collections. And for travellers flying in, American Airlines is boosting its Mexico schedule with more than 880 weekly flights from January 6 to 13, a winter capacity increase of over 10 percent, along with a seasonal Chicago to Mexico City route running from October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026.
Canberra, Australia: One of the world’s best places to visit
Australia’s capital is set for a buoyant year, with sunrise balloons drifting over Lake Burley Griffin and a renewed push to put the city back on travellers’ maps. The big driver? The 2025-26, which is pouring targeted investment into tourism, hospitality and major events, is a move designed to strengthen Canberra’s national profile and grow its visitor economy. The free Canberra Balloon Spectacular returns in March, complete with balloon launches and lake cruises (a sunrise favourite). Telstra Tower, one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, is also being revitalised under a government and Telstra partnership.
Medellin, Colombia
Medellín’s tourist lure has long centred on its rapid transformation and creative energy, and the numbers back it up. But if you need just one uncomplicated reason to put Medellín on your bucket list, think about the food. This is a city where Juan Manuel Barrientos’s El Cielo turns dinner into a multisensory ritual, from the famed Tree of Life to its signature Chocolatherapy, and where Memmoria plates Pacific-inspired creations like Nuquí tuna ceviche or the smoked-shrimp Footprints of the Pacific.
Add Carmen’s biodiverse tasting menus and the countryside escape to Martin Mulatto for branzino al fuego, and it is clear that in Medellín, even a single meal can justify the journey. Back to the numbers, international arrivals to the city have grown an estimated 17.2 percent in 2025, while Colombia welcomed 7 million visitors in 2024, a record the country is expected to surpass in 2026.