Awesome Travel Destinations for 2026, Sorted by Trip Type
Awesome travel destinations for 2026, sorted by trip type: city breaks, islands and coasts, and wild country, with a summary table and the checks to make before you book.
Fortrip Editorial Team
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The cover photo is a general coastal scene, not one of the places listed here.
Pick the kind of trip you want first, then check the calendar for that place. These awesome travel destinations are sorted into city trips, islands and coasts, and wild country, so you compare like with like.
This page does not give a best month for each place. Seasons depend on weather, water levels, road access and local events, so check the tourism board or a local operator for the month you have in mind.
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Frequently asked questions
How are these awesome travel destinations grouped?+
By how your days will feel: city trips built on walking and meals, islands and coasts where getting there is part of the plan, and wild country where the season decides whether the trip works.
Does this page say when to visit each place?+
No. Seasons depend on weather, water levels, road access and local events, so check the tourism board or a local operator for your month before you book.
Which picks need the most planning?+
Remote picks such as Batanes, the Solomon Islands and parts of the Outback. Ask operators about transfers, flight frequency, weather cancellations and on-the-ground medical support before paying a deposit.
Where should I check visas and safety status?+
Use official sources such as the US State Department's travel advisories or the UK government's foreign travel advice, plus tourism-board and operator pages for each place. We have not checked entry rules or safety status for any pick.
Start a trip Fortrip can actually defend.
Sketch a brief. We come back with an itinerary that reads like a recommendation, not a checklist — and tell you what we’d change about it.
Travel agency CRM software can mean a contact list or a full back office. Split the work into five jobs, check your host agency first, then see what one vendor's published pricing adds up to for five seats.
Places to stay in Quebec City, by traveller: Old Québec on a first visit without a car, Saint-Roch or Montcalm on a return trip, Sainte-Foy or Beauport if you drive or bring children.
The grouping by trip type is our own call, built around how your days will feel rather than where a place sits on a map.
This is a planning reference, not a news feed. For current travel news, read a live news source. Our planning guides cover other trips.
All the picks at a glance
Destination
Trip type
Region
What you do there
Who it suits
Cádiz
City
Southern Spain
Wander the old town, eat seafood at bars and markets
Food-led city-break travellers
Utrecht
City
Netherlands
Walk and cycle the canal-lined centre, take trains onward
Hike the Cirque de Mafate, visit the volcano, use the coast
Hikers who also want a beach
Azores
Island
Atlantic, Portugal
Crater lakes, hot springs, coastal roads
First-time island visitors
Jeju-do
Island
South Korea
Mountain, coastal walks, seafood
Short island add-on to Korea
Batanes
Island
Northern Philippines
Green hills, sea cliffs, stone houses
Patient travellers with flexible dates
Sardinia
Island
Mediterranean, Italy
Beaches, coastal drives, ancient stone sites
Drivers wanting sea and food
Solomon Islands
Island
Pacific
Diving, snorkelling, Guadalcanal wartime history
Experienced long-haul travellers
Botswana and the Okavango Delta
Wild country
Southern Africa
Game drives, boat and mokoro excursions
Wildlife-focused travellers
Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Wild country
South Australia
Ridge walks, dry creek beds, outback drives
Self-drivers who like space
Finland
Wild country
Northern Europe
Forests, lakes, lakeside cabins, sauna
Quiet outdoor-time seekers
Maine
Wild country
Northeast US
Rocky coast, harbour towns, forest trails
US road-trippers
Tipperary
Wild country
Ireland
Rock of Cashel, farmland roads, small towns
Slow drivers
Tunisia
Wild country
North Africa
Roman sites, coastal towns, Sahara edge
History-minded travellers
City trips or nature trips: how to decide
Choose by what you want your days to look like, not by a destination's reputation.
On a city trip, days run on walking, meals and museums. A rainy afternoon can be spent in a café or a gallery, so the month is flexible.
On a nature trip, the season can decide whether the trip works at all. Trails, boat transfers, wildlife and road access all depend on it.
If you can only travel in one fixed month, choose the destination whose weather suits that month, not the other way round. Start with city trips if your dates are fixed. Move to islands and coasts or wild country if you can shift your dates.
City trips
Every pick below follows the same pattern: a one-line answer, what you do there, and who it suits.
Cádiz
Cádiz is an old Atlantic port city in southern Spain that suits a food-led, low-key break by the sea.
The old town is made for wandering: narrow streets, market stalls, seafood bars and sea views at the end of many lanes. Plan to eat standing at a counter at least once.
Suits: travellers who want a relaxed city break with the sea close by.
Utrecht
Utrecht is a compact, walkable Dutch city and an easy base for a first city trip.
It is built around its canals. You can cover the centre on foot, cycle out to the edges and reach other Dutch cities by train.
Suits: anyone who wants a city trip without long transfers.
Cartagena
Cartagena is a walled colonial city on Colombia's Caribbean coast, best for architecture, history and warm-weather wandering.
Days are spent in the old quarter's streets and plazas and along the waterfront. Check the climate for your dates before you book.
Suits: travellers who like a warm city with history.
Belgrade
Belgrade, the Serbian capital where the Sava meets the Danube, rewards curiosity more than a checklist.
Walk up to the Kalemegdan fortress, spend evenings along the riverfront and sample the bars of the old districts.
Suits: travellers who want a lively, culturally layered capital.
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango, usually called Xela, is Guatemala's highland city and a base for staying put and learning.
It works for Spanish classes, volcano hikes and day trips into the surrounding mountain villages.
Suits: independent travellers who want to stay a while and mix city life with the outdoors.
Jaffna
Jaffna is the main city of northern Sri Lanka, known for its Hindu temples and distinct Tamil food.
It makes a good second leg on a Sri Lanka trip, away from the usual south and hill-country circuit.
Suits: travellers who want a different route through the country.
Islands and coasts
Islands add one complication that cities do not: getting there. Check flights and ferry timetables for your month before you fix anything else. The photo above is a general coastal scene, not one of the places listed here.
Réunion
Réunion is a French Indian Ocean island that pairs a coast with a volcanic interior.
Inland, you can hike the Cirque de Mafate, a volcanic bowl with villages that have no road access, and visit the Piton de La Fournaise volcano.
Suits: hikers who also want a beach and French-island food.
Azores
The Azores are a Portuguese Atlantic archipelago for travellers who want green, volcanic scenery without a long journey from mainland Europe.
Days go to crater lakes, hot springs and coastal roads. Base yourself on one or two islands rather than trying to see them all.
Suits: first-time island visitors.
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is South Korea's volcanic island, a short, easy island trip within a wider Korea itinerary.
The case for it is the mix: a mountain at the centre, coastal walking routes and local seafood, at a pace that feels far from Seoul even though flights connect them.
Suits: travellers adding an island to a Korea trip.
Batanes
Batanes is the remote northern Philippine option, known for rolling green hills, sea cliffs and stone houses.
Getting there is part of the planning, so confirm flights and any weather-related disruption with operators before you commit.
Suits: patient travellers with flexible dates and no tight connections.
Sardinia
Sardinia is the Mediterranean island for sea, food and room to roam, and it is far easier with a car.
Days divide between beaches, coastal drives, inland villages and ancient stone sites.
Suits: drivers who want a mix of coast and countryside.
Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands are the long-haul Pacific choice, built around diving, snorkelling and wartime history.
The draw is in the water, plus the history around Guadalcanal. Transfers between islands are a big part of the experience.
Suits: experienced travellers who are comfortable with limited services and long journeys.
Wild country and big landscapes
This is where the season matters most. Ask a local operator what conditions look like in your month before you pay a deposit. The waterfall above is a general landscape image, not one of the places below.
Botswana and the Okavango Delta
Botswana's Okavango Delta is a safari trip built around camps, game drives and boat or mokoro excursions.
Ask your operator how water levels affect access and activities in your month.
Suits: travellers who want a wildlife trip and will budget for camps and light-aircraft transfers.
Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Ikara-Flinders Ranges in South Australia is the outback option for travellers who want space and quiet.
Expect ridgeline walks, dry creek beds, big skies and long drives on quiet roads.
Suits: self-drivers who are prepared for remote stretches.
Finland
Finland is the nature trip for forests, lakes and the far north, with a different character in each season.
Lakeside cabins and sauna culture give a trip its rhythm. Decide early which kind of season you want, because the landscape changes sharply across the year.
Suits: travellers who want quiet outdoor time.
Maine
Maine is the domestic nature trip for US readers, built around a rocky coastline and small harbour towns.
Expect lobster shacks, forest trails and a road trip with no flights to sort out.
Suits: Americans who want a nature trip without leaving the country.
Tipperary
Tipperary is a rural Irish county for slow travel rather than headline sights.
The Rock of Cashel anchors a loop of farmland roads, small towns and pubs.
Suits: travellers who prefer an unhurried drive.
Tunisia
Tunisia is the North African option, combining Roman sites, coastal towns and the edge of the Sahara.
Check your government's current travel advice before you plan.
Suits: history-minded travellers who are comfortable following official guidance.
Remote travel destinations and your first long-haul trip
Remote picks such as Batanes, the Solomon Islands and parts of the Outback call for more questions than a city break does. Put these to an operator before you pay a deposit:
How do transfers work between the airport and where you are staying, and who arranges them?
How often do flights run to the nearest airfield, and what happens to your plans if one is cancelled?
What is the cancellation and rebooking policy if weather closes a route?
What medical and communications support exists on the ground?
If this is your first long-haul trip, a city on this list with simple transfers is a safer start than a remote island. You can rough out a route with Fortrip's AI trip planner and then check it against real timetables.
Crowds: how to think about busy places
A busy national tourism year is not, by itself, a reason to avoid a popular place. Country-level arrival totals are national or regional, while crowding is local and seasonal. A country can have a busy year and still have a quiet valley in October. This page quotes no arrival statistics; for them, read the national tourism board's own releases. The photo above is a general coastal scene, not a place from the list.
Two practical ways to avoid crowds work almost anywhere: travel in the shoulder season, and start major sights early in the morning.
Before you book, look for recent local reports for the place and month you have picked, such as tourism-board updates and local news.
Before you book: checks we have not done for you
Visas, entry rules, costs and safety status change, and we have not checked them for any pick above. Use official government travel advisories, such as the US State Department's travel advisories or the UK government's foreign travel advice, plus operator and tourism-board pages for each place. Work through these checks in order:
Entry requirements. Passport validity, visas and any entry forms for your nationality.
Health and safety advice. Official advisories, vaccination guidance and any regional warnings.
Flight and transfer schedules. Frequency, connections and what happens if a leg is cancelled.
Once you have a draft route, you can run it through Fortrip's itinerary validator to catch timing problems before you book.
