25 must-visit places and must-do experiences named for 2026
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Not booked your 2026 vacation yet? Get moving, as the must-visit destinations lists for next year are starting to drop.
 
The venerable travel guide Lonely Planet published its “Best in Travel 2026” book on October 21, featuring a list of 25 great places and 25 great experiences to try out in the year ahead. It’s accompanied by a set of unique itineraries curated on the new Lonely Planet Journeys travel-planning service.
 
CNN Travel caught up with Nitya Chambers, Lonely Planet’s executive editor and senior vice president of content, to find out what made the cut and why.
 
Best places
One of Chambers’ favorite picks on this year’s list? Brazil’s “Little Japan,” otherwise known as the Sao Paolo neighborhood of Liberdade.
 
“Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan; 2 million claim connection to Japanese descent in Brazil,” she says. Liberdade was “really full of surprises. The anime-inspired street art, the oriental garden. It’s rumored to have the best ramen outside of Tokyo, although I’m sure that’s always a heated debate.”
 
Another urban pick is Mexico City. Chambers “cannot say enough great things about it. History, food, culture, art! And it was walkable. It was incredible.” The bougainvillea-strewn neighborhoods of Coyoacan, La Roma and La Condesa all get a shout-out from Lonely Planet this year.
The US selections on the destinations list are Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota – also featured on National Geographic’s Best of the World list for 2026 – and Maine.
 
“Maine has such a unique culture in the United States,” says Chambers. “So coastal, so much hiking in nature. The beauty there is really distinctive and the (four) national parks there are amazing.”
 
A forest hike in the springtime is recommended, and don’t miss the heron rookeries; the colonies can support up to 500 birds.
 
Over on the western edges of Europe, Tipperary is a “truly a hidden gem,” she says. It’s Ireland’s largest inland county and “a lot of folks just pass through on their way to the Wild Atlantic Way (coastal trail). But I think Tipperary really has one of the most beautiful and underrated driving routes.”
 
And in Asia, the island of Phuket is best known for its “tropical honeymoon, romantic vibe,” but more people are now discovering it as a work-and-travel spot for digital nomads.