20 places for 2026

Saadiyat Island’s growing museum district gives the city a culture-first route, while the Grand Mosque, mangroves, Corniche, and Yas Island broaden the trip beyond gallery openings.

Build the journey in layers: Algiers and Constantine for urban history, Timgad or Djémila for Roman archaeology, then only a properly guided southern extension toward Djanet and the Sahara.

Northern Kenya offers a quieter safari landscape shaped by the Ewaso Nyiro River, rare regional wildlife, community conservancies, Indigenous knowledge, elephant care, and unusually clear night skies.

South of Santiago, vineyard routes meet hacienda landscapes, small towns, horse culture, fire-led cooking, and dark skies. Santa Cruz is the practical base for a deliberately slow circuit.

The BBC entry centres on Osa: rainforest, Pacific beaches, Corcovado National Park, mangrove waterways, and small operators connecting wildlife experiences with local conservation.

A historic Gulf of California town gives access to whale watching, sea-lion colonies, desert islands, kayaking, missions, and the Sierra de la Giganta. Wildlife seasons should shape the itinerary.

Highway 101 links public beaches, headlands, fishing towns, lighthouses, forests, tide pools, and whale-watching viewpoints. Treat it as several coastal regions instead of one hurried drive.

The city’s 2026 story combines the United States’ 250th anniversary with major sport, public art, museums, neighbourhood events, and the historic district around Independence Hall.

Restored streets in the Zona Colonial meet museums, Caribbean food, merengue and bachata, carnival energy, and beaches beyond the capital. Give the historic centre time outside event days.

Lakes, rail trails, forests, hot springs, and craft communities frame a more reflective route through Japanese Canadian internment history and community-developed memorial sites.

Pair Montevideo’s rambla, markets, tango, and carnival culture with Colonia’s historic core and an Atlantic coast of wetlands, surf towns, fishing villages, dunes, and Cabo Polonio.

The island chain rewards careful choices: Lewis for Calanais and Gaelic culture, Barra for beaches and a tidal runway, and Islay for distilling traditions. Ferries and weather set the pace.

Look beyond the Bay of Kotor: Cetinje, Lake Skadar, Durmitor, and the Prokletije mountains reveal how coastal heritage, birdlife, glacial landscapes, and long-distance trails fit together.

European Capital of Culture programming meets winter cycling, Nordic-Arctic food, sauna culture, public art, nearby islands, and long seasonal shifts in light along Finland’s northern coast.

Portugal’s historic birthplace pairs a walkable medieval core, castle and ducal palace with contemporary culture, green-city projects, hill views, and the nearby Citânia de Briteiros.

Combine Kanazawa’s gardens and craft workshops with a carefully researched Noto Peninsula stay. Family inns, local restaurants, lacquerware, seafood, and sake can directly support recovery.

Labuan Bajo is the gateway to ranger-led dragon encounters, savannah ridges, pink beaches, coral gardens, and manta habitat. Permits, guides, and marine rules are central—not optional extras.

The capital brings together Khmer collections, Royal Palace architecture, riverside life, markets, difficult twentieth-century history, Modernist design, and a fast-growing contemporary scene.

Rarotonga offers an accessible introduction to island life, mountain trails, and lagoon culture; Aitutaki adds a luminous reef-and-motu landscape where marine stewardship matters.

Approach the national park as living Aṉangu country: begin at the Cultural Centre, choose respectful base and gorge walks, follow photography guidance, and never treat the closed climb as an option.