From the icy frontiers of Antarctica to the beaches of Zanzibar, here are the 20 best places to travel in the coming year.
There will be plenty of events worth traveling for in 2026. The Winter Olympics are coming to Italy in February, the FIFA World Cup will sweep across North America in June and in July, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday.
But alongside those calendar highlights, there are plenty of other reasons to pack a bag and hop on a plane—whether it’s to dine at the latest culinary cathedral or see a dazzling museum exhibition.
From Greece to Grenada, here are Forbes Travel Guide’s 20 top places to travel in 2026:
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi has long been the cultural capital of the UAE. In the Saadiyat Cultural District, buildings like the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s floating starry dome and the new falcon-winged Zayed National Museum are just as noteworthy as the treasures inside them. While art lovers await the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi next year, travelers can peruse new destinations, including the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the digital art museum TeamLab Phenomena. The area also has a Five-Star hotel, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
Antalya, Turkey
The most popular destination in the Turkish Riviera draws travelers seeking relaxation along its warm turquoise waters. Over in Kemer, luxurious all-inclusive resorts also deliver. Amid pine forests, the sleek all-suite Maxx Royal Kemer Resort has six pools and three beaches. Regnum Carya entices with a pristine coastline, seven pools and 557 rooms. And both resorts have a waterpark for families.
Antarctica
One of the hottest destinations for 2026 is the frozen continent. Sail there in style aboard expedition ships like Ponant Le Commandant Charcot, a 245-passenger polar icebreaker (which made FTG’s 2025 Edge List for adventure travel) with an Alain Ducasse restaurant. Silversea will help passengers ease into the voyage with its first hotel, The Cormorant at 55 South, opening in Puerto Williams, Chile, in 2026. The world’s southernmost hotel will be the gateway for Silversea’s luxurious Antarctic ships, like the all-suite Silver Endeavor.
Croatia
Croatia continues its tourism boom, climbing to the fifth most popular global destination, according to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Travel Report. It’s no wonder—the Eastern European country has everything from Dubrovnik’s well-preserved Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture to Hvar’s sun-splashed shores. See the island aboard Four Seasons I—the hotel company’s first yacht will debut in the spring with voyages along the Dalmatian Coast. Helmed by cruise trailblazer Captain Kate McCue, the vessel will include the Funnel Suite with a showstopping floor-to-ceiling wraparound curved-glass window.
Dallas-Fort Worth
If travelers want to catch some World Cup action next summer, Dallas will stage more games than any of the 16 host cities. But there’s plenty more going on around town: pop into the new National Juneteenth Museum, which honors stories of freedom, and the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, an underrated attraction that will unveil a 16,000-square-foot expansion. The city will also welcome the new Martin Brudnizki-designed Knox hotel, and in the spring, local institution The Stoneleigh will transform into an Autograph Collection property with a bold new look and restaurants from acclaimed chef Michael White.
Emerald Coast, Florida
On Florida’s scenic Emerald Coast (along the panhandle), 16 beach neighborhoods make up South Walton. Upscale boutique getaways such as Rosemary Beach’s The Pearl Hotel, Santa Rosa Beach’s WaterColor Inn and Inlet Beach’s Camp Creek Inn face the Northeast Florida waters. And divers will soon want to travel to Destin-Fort Walton Beach—the SS United States, once the world’s fastest transatlantic liner, will be sunk off the coast by May and become part of the world’s largest artificial reef.
Grenada
One of the Caribbean’s hidden gems, Grenada offers rugged beauty across its three islands. It boasts 40 pristine beaches—most notably Grand Anse, anchored by the contemporary Silversands Resort—as well as 30 dive sites and the world’s first underwater sculpture park. The country is known for its spices (including nutmeg and turmeric), chocolate (there are six producers) and rum (it’s home to four distilleries). Reaching this paradise is also easier than ever, thanks to Delta’s new daily nonstop service from Atlanta.
Hudson Valley, New York
Just an hour’s drive from Manhattan, New York’s Hudson Valley provides a leafy, picturesque backdrop that’s ideal for slow travel—the trend of leisurely immersing oneself into a destination. Try it out in a cabin at Wildflower Farms, with its 140 acres of meadows and woodlands, or at Troutbeck, an historic hotel that inspired everyone from Teddy Roosevelt to writer Henry David Thoreau.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles’ calendar is so jam-packed with great sports events next year that the city will require repeat visits. L.A. will host the NBA All-Star Game (February 13-15), the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship (June 2-7) and eight World Cup matches (including the June 12 opener for the U.S. National Men’s Team). Outside of sports, renowned Copenhagen restaurant Noma will launch a much-anticipated spring residency. On the culture front, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art from Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas will debut in September, while the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will open a new building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor in April that will house its permanent collection.
Mallorca
From stargazing trips to chasing the Northern Lights, astrotourism has soared in recent years. On August 12, eyes will be on the skies for Spain’s first total solar eclipse in more than a century. One of the best places to witness the phenomenon is Five-Star Jumeirah Mallorca, which sits high on a clifftop overlooking the Mediterranean and the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. The hotel will throw a four-day Celestial Celebration with a lunar-themed cocktail reception, galas and wellness experiences like new moon rituals.
Milan and the Dolomites
Some 2 million spectators are expected to arrive in Northern Italy for the Winter Olympics (February 6-22) and Paralympics (March 6-15). Stretching across nearly 8,500 square miles with two host cities (and venues in between), it will be the most geographically widespread Winter Games yet, giving attendees more chances to see the country.
While Italy’s fashion capital Milan teems with shops, art and new hotels (including The Carlton and Casa Brera), the Dolomites region is likely to steal the show with its UNESCO World Heritage-listed craggy peaks. And if you can’t make it there to watch the ski competition—and perhaps take in a run or two—it’s long been a bustling summer destination. Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Gardena Grödnerhof, a family-owned, year-round hotel, puts guests close to the lifts for unforgettable mountain hiking and biking.
Nikko, Japan
Go beyond Japan’s well-trodden tourist paths in Tokyo to explore other worthwhile cities. About two hours from the capital, the sprawling Nikko National Park showcases the country’s natural splendor with mountains, forests, lakes, hot springs and waterfalls (like the dramatic 318-foot Kegon Falls accessible via elevator). Sitting within the park, The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko not only gives guests unfettered access but also organizes outings, like morning temple walks and snow cycling. Children can choose from 32 activities with the hotel’s robust Ritz Kids Scout Program.
Park City, Utah
Deer Valley, the luxurious Utah ski resort, more than doubled its skiable terrain recently to 4,300 acres and added 100 new ski runs, 10 chairlifts and a 10-passenger gondola. Still in development, Deer Valley East Village will soon have North America’s largest “ski beach” and a new Four Seasons. Another winning reason to visit the area: Montage Deer Valley’s Ski with a Champion program lets you hit the slopes with an Olympian.
Peloponnese, Greece
The next destination for “set-jetting”—the trend of traveling to film and TV locations—will be the Peloponnese. Greece’s southern peninsula will take center stage in director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie The Odyssey, as Matt Damon’s Odysseus sails the Aegean on his 10-year journey home to Ithaca following the Trojan War. In Messinia, Costa Navarino resort dives into the epic with a six-stop Odyssey Trail retracing Homer’s hero’s journey and “philosophy walks” with a professor to explore the myth’s themes. Afterward, it won’t be a long way home to the all-suite Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino.
Rajasthan, India
India ranks as the No. 1 international destination with tourism potential, according to a recent report. And those interested in wellness would be wise to venture to Rajasthan in northwestern India. A former 14th-century royal palace with two temples, the sumptuous Six Senses Fort Barwara offers a 30,000-square-foot spa with multi-day journeys that cover everything from yoga to Ayurvedic rejuvenation. Over at Amanbagh, an in-house Ayurvedic physician curates a personalized itinerary of movement classes, mindfulness practices, nutrition and more, while tennis great Novak Djokovic helped create the hotel’s detox program.
Riviera Nayarit, Mexico
Along Mexico’s Pacific Coast, travelers will find a mix of cool surf towns (Sayulita) and chic luxury enclaves (Punta Mita) in the Riviera Nayarit. Adding to its appeal are the adults-only Naviva (the 15-tent Four Seasons hotel opened in 2022) and the forthcoming nature retreat Siari Riviera Nayarit (a Ritz-Carlton Reserve that will debut in the first quarter). Grupo Vidanta also has ambitious plans for its new VidantaWorld Nuevo Vallarta destination, including the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s LUDO aquatic show, the opening of all-suite BON Park Hotel and the debut of BON Luxury Theme Park. The world’s first luxury-focused theme park will admit resort guests only to keep ride lines short and service tailored.
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is ready to step out of Napa’s shadow and take the spotlight as a culinary capital itself. Spanning from the Pacific Ocean to the Mayacamas Mountains, the county is the largest wine producer in Northern California with 18 wine regions and more than 425 wineries, including the innovative Aperture Cellars. The restaurants are just as enticing: SingleThread Farms should top every foodie’s bucket list—flavor-packed, Japanese-influenced cuisine arrives in imaginative presentations featuring the farm’s own flowers.
Washington, D.C.
What better place to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary next year than the nation’s capital? Coinciding with all of the planned festivities, D.C. will open several national museums in 2026 and unveil several other civic upgrades, including the National Geographic Museum of Exploration; a museum under the Lincoln Memorial about the 16th president; an expanded National Air and Space Museum; the largest renovation in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s history; and a new concourse at Dulles International Airport. Plus, The St. Regis Washington, D.C., will reach its own milestone when it turns 100 next year.
Warsaw, Poland
Visitors to Poland’s capital will want to see the Museum of Modern Art’s new minimalist home or the UNESCO World Heritage-recognized Old Town, but the food offerings may top everything else on the itinerary. The thriving culinary scene varies from milk bars, no-frills cafeterias serving traditional fare like pierogi, to fine-dining restaurants like hub.praga or Raffles’ Europejski Grill. Indulge in the city’s famous sweets, including paczki (rose-jam-stuffed doughnuts) and wuzetka (chocolate sponge with whipped cream) at spots like Hotel Bristol’s 1901 café.
Zanzibar, Tanzania
The secret is out about Zanzibar—the East African island welcomed nearly 1 million international visitors in 2025, its strongest year yet. While Stone Town, a UNESCO Heritage Site with an alley labyrinth, markets and mosques, brings in many travelers, the sparkling beach is the big draw. The 67-room Park Hyatt Zanzibar provides the best of both, sitting between Stone Town and the sand.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
