Where to Travel in 2027: The Ultimate Destinations for Every Holiday Style

Choosing where to go on holiday should be a fun experience. In reality, however, it usually involves endless hours of researching, lots of umming and ahhing, before briefly considering maybe Albania? before and eventually booking the same Bali holiday you’ve been on three years in a row (nothing wrong with Bali, of course, but in 2027, it’s time to try something new, okay?) 

If you love a holiday but hate the research, Lonely Planet has blessed us once again with its annual Best in Travel list for 2027, featuring 25 destinations and 25 experiences its writers and editors reckon deserve a spot on next year’s itinerary (beyond the usual Paris-Tokyo-New York-London route). 

There are Patagonian lakes, tiny Maldivian islands, Chinese food capitals, Caribbean volcanoes and, somewhat closer to home, a little corner of northern NSW you may previously have driven straight through on your way to Byron.

Of course, 50 recommendations still leave one fairly important question: where should you go? After all, everyone has different budgets and different travel styles. 

So, we’ve gone through Lonely Planet’s 2027 picks and matched them to different styles of holidays, whether you’re looking for somewhere cheap, somewhere romantic, somewhere to take the kids, or somewhere you can disappear for two weeks where no one can reach you. 

Where to Travel in 2027 Based on Your Travel Style

If you want your money to go further in 2027, Da Nang is the perfect place. Sitting on Vietnam’s central coast, the city combines long stretches of beach with markets, excellent food and easy access to some of the country’s biggest attractions. You’ve got the Marble Mountains nearby, Hoi An roughly down the road and Hue within striking distance if you’ve got the annual leave to spare. 

Lonely Planet reckons you can travel Da Nang on less than 1,000,000 Vietnamese dong per day (about $55 AUD). And even if you want to splurge a bit, luxury hotels, restaurants and experiences tend to compare much more favourably with Aussie prices.

Da Nang truly is a budget adventurer’s paradise because it has a little bit of everything; My Khe Beach gives you kilometres of sand and warm water, the city has an epic seafood scene and, when you’ve had enough facedown time, you’ve got temples, mountains and some of Vietnam’s most beautiful historic destinations nearby.

• Go for: Beaches, food and exceptional bang for your buck.
• Best time to visit: February to May for generally good beach weather.
• Don’t miss: A day trip to Hoi An.

Best for Couples: Veneto, Italy

You could go to Venice. You probably should go to Venice at least once. But Lonely Planet’s 2027 recommendation isn’t simply Venice; it’s the entire Veneto region, and that’s what makes this such a good couples trip. Essentially, someone has taken wine, pasta, mountains, beautiful old Italian towns and one of the world’s most romantic cities and conveniently put them in the same region.

Start among the canals of Venice before heading into Prosecco country, continue through Verona and Valpolicella, and eventually find yourselves beneath the frankly ridiculous mountains of the Dolomites.

Specifically within the Veneto region, you’ll want to visit Padua, Vicenza and Treviso, which receive a lot less tourists, alongside the vineyards and mountain landscapes further inland.

Spring in the Veneto region also brings sparser crowds and lower prices around the cities and vineyards, while September and October can be particularly good in the Dolomites as summer crowds disappear.

• Go for: Wine, food, stunning scenery and saying “shall we just move here?” at least twice a day.
• Best time to visit: April–May or September–October.
• Don’t miss: Getting out of Venice and into Valpolicella or the Prosecco Hills.

Best for Families: Prince Edward Island, Canada

Taking the kids overseas doesn’t necessarily mean spending seven days queueing for rides while wearing matching shirts.  Places like Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island, offer a much slower but equally fun alternative.

Think sandy beaches, red cliffs, kayaking, cycling and enough seafood to turn your children into lobster snobs before primary school.

There’s also Anne of Green Gables country around Cavendish, Prince Edward Island National Park and plenty of small towns that make the island very well suited to a road trip.

Summer is the best time to go for warmer beach weather, and you’ll want to give yourself around a week if you want to really explore the island rather than racing through it.

The downside for Australians is obvious: Canada isn’t exactly around the corner. But if you’re already planning a bigger Canadian or North American trip, PEI could offer a very welcome antidote to dragging the family through another enormous city (or theme park).

• Go for: Beaches, outdoor adventures, seafood and a genuinely relaxed family road trip.
• Best time to visit: June to September.
• Don’t miss: A lobster supper.

Best Beach Holiday: Fulidhoo, Maldives

Yes, we know, the Maldives isn’t exactly a secret. Fulidhoo, however, offers something slightly different from the private-island-resort version you’ve seen about 400 times on Instagram.

The tiny island is just 56km southwest of Malé and can be reached in around 90 minutes by speedboat. You can walk from one end to the other in roughly half an hour, yet the surrounding waters contain world-class dive sites, sharks, rays, sandbanks and the absurdly blue water you came all this way for.

The biggest point of difference Fulidhoo offers is that locals live there. Rather than disappearing into an isolated resort, you’ll find local cafes, fishing boats, Maldivian food and cultural traditions alongside the beaches.

You’ll also find guesthouses rather than exclusively eye-watering overwater villas, potentially making the Maldives more achievable for travellers who previously assumed they’d need to wait until retirement to be able to visit. 

• Go for: Diving, beaches and a more local take on the Maldives.
• Best time to visit: November to April.
• Don’t miss: Diving or snorkelling. Obviously.

Best for Food: Chengdu, China

If your holiday planning typically begins with “What are we eating?”, welcome to Chengdu. The capital of Sichuan province is one of China’s great food cities, where chilli and Sichuan peppercorns produce that addictive combination of heat and mouth-numbing mala found in everything from street snacks to enormous bubbling hotpots.

And we’re not just talking cheap eats. Chengdu was among the first mainland Chinese cities to receive its own Michelin Guide, and the 2027 edition features 15 starred restaurants, including the city’s first restaurant awarded three stars.

You could very easily spend three days moving between dumplings, noodles, hotpot, tea houses and restaurants. But… there are also giant pandas. Around 200 of them live at Chengdu’s Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, which means you can punctuate your Sichuan food marathon with several hours watching pandas sit around eating bamboo. Truly, a flawless itinerary.

• Go for: Hotpot, street food, tea houses and pandas.
• Best time to visit: March to June or September to November.
• Don’t miss: Sichuan hotpot.

Best for Adventure: Bariloche & Argentina’s Lake District

There are holidays where your main physical activity is moving from the pool to the buffet table, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But a trip to Bariloche isn’t one of them. 

Bariloche sits in Argentina’s Lake District on the edge of Nahuel Huapi National Park, surrounded by lakes, forests and the Andes. In warmer months, that means hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and climbing.  Come winter, the region transforms into one of South America’s major ski destinations.

There’s also a major chocolate culture thanks to Bariloche’s European heritage, which feels like a pretty good compensation for all that exercise you’ll be doing. 

• Go for: Hiking, skiing, kayaking and otherworldly landscapes.
• Best time to visit: December to March. 
• Don’t miss: Nahuel Huapi National Park.

Best for Wildlife: Tsavo East & West, Kenya

If an African safari is on the list, 2027 is the year to look beyond the obvious. Together, Tsavo East and Tsavo West form a massive wilderness in southern Kenya known for red-earth savannah, dramatic lava landscapes and huge elephant herds.

And compared with some of Africa’s most famous safari destinations, part of the appeal is the quiet. Tsavo’s horizons are much quieter and less crowded (for now), while the parks are accessible from Nairobi by train or road.

For Australians making the journey to East Africa, we’d be turning it into a bigger trip rather than flying halfway around the planet for a one-week safari.  But if seeing elephants in the wild has always been one of those one day things, perhaps 2027 is the year to make it happen. 

• Go for: Elephants, immense landscapes and safari without the crowds.
• Best time to visit: June to October or January to February.
• Don’t miss: Both parks if time allows; their landscapes and wildlife experiences differ.

Best for Something Completely Different: Oman

Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become familiar stopovers for Australians flying towards Europe. Oman, however, offers something completely different. 

There are desert dunes and mountains, yes, but also wadis filled with clear water, historic forts, traditional souqs, dramatic coastlines, beaches, snorkelling and Muscat’s remarkable low-rise architecture.

All of which means you can spend one day hiking through a canyon, another swimming in a wadi and another wandering a centuries-old town. What more could you want out of a holiday? 

• Go for: Desert, mountains, wadis and culture.
• Best time to visit: October to March.
• Don’t miss: Snorkelling with whale sharks in the Damaniyat Islands.

Best Island Escape: Okinawa, Japan

Japan, but make it tropical. Okinawa is an archipelago of more than 160 islands stretching through Japan’s far south, with clear water, coral reefs, white beaches and a culture that feels much different from mainland Japan.

Historically part of the independent Ryūkyū Kingdom, the islands developed their own traditions, architecture, music and cuisine, influenced by Japan, China and Southeast Asia.

So while you can absolutely spend several days doing very little besides the ocean, this isn’t simply “Japanese Hawaii”. It’s also a great option for Australians who love Japan but have already done Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka. 

• Go for: Beaches, diving, food and a completely different side of Japan.
• Best time to visit: March to early July.
• Don’t miss: The Yaeyama Islands.

Best Road Trip: New Mexico, USA

California has the Pacific Coast Highway. Arizona has the Grand Canyon. Utah has incredible national parks. Meanwhile, New Mexico has just been sitting there looking completely bonkers, waiting for you to notice it. 

The landscape shifts between desert, mountains, canyons and volcanic terrain, while centuries of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo history have created a cultural identity unlike anywhere else in the US.

Add Santa Fe’s art and food scene, Taos, hot springs and stretches of historic Route 66, and you’ve got the ingredients for the road trip of a lifetime. 

• Go for: Desert landscapes, art, and history.
• Best time to visit: April to May or September to October.
• Don’t miss: Santa Fe.

Best Bucket-List Trip: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The Galápagos is a bucket-list country for many people, and there’s no time like the present to tick it off. The volcanic archipelago that helped shape Charles Darwin’s thinking on evolution remains one of the world’s great wildlife destinations, home to giant tortoises, marine iguanas, sea lions, penguins, sharks and species found nowhere else on Earth.

However, it’s not cheap, and it’s not particularly close to Australia. But it’s also a place that’s earned its name as a once-in-a-lifetime trip. You’re not flying all that way for another nice beach or a hotel pool that’s completely unmemorable. You’re going to snorkel alongside sea lions, watch giant tortoises lumber through the wild and see animals that literally exist nowhere else on Earth.

• Go for: Some of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters on the planet.
• Best time to visit: Year-round. 
• Don’t miss: Getting in the water. Some of the Galápagos’ most incredible wildlife is below the surface.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2027: The Full List

For 2027, Lonely Planet has done things a little differently, splitting its 50 Best in Travel recommendations into 25 destinations worth putting on your radar and 25 specific experiences worth travelling for.

25 Must-Visit Destinations for 2027

Region	Destinations
North America	Québec, Canada California’s Coastal Redwoods, USA Maryland, USA Prince Edward Island, Canada New Mexico, USA
Europe	Veneto, Italy Dessau, Germany Swedish Riviera, Sweden Šibenik, Croatia León, Spain
Caribbean, Central America & South America	Montserrat Bariloche and the Lakes, Argentina Granada, Nicaragua Bocas del Toro, Panama
Africa & the Middle East	Oman Rabat, Morocco Tsavo East and West National Parks, Kenya
Oceania	Dunedin and the Waitaki, New Zealand The Tweed, Australia New Caledonia
Asia	Okinawa, Japan Chengdu, China Gujarat, India Da Nang, Vietnam Fulidhoo, Maldives

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25 Must-Do Travel Experiences for 2027

Region	Experiences
North America	Become a temporary lighthouse keeper at Rose Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island Go flightseeing in Alaska Enjoy wine and fine dining in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico Hotel-hop through South Beach, Miami Take the Slow Road through Minnesota
Europe	Road-trip along the historic Route Napoléon, France Sail through the Aeolian Islands, Sicily Walk St Cuthbert’s Way to Lindisfarne, UK Dive into Greece’s underwater world Explore Killary Fjord, Ireland
Caribbean, Central America & South America	Take a Galápagos expedition cruise, Ecuador Dance tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina Take the polar plunge in Antarctica Explore Monteverde’s cloud forest, Costa Rica
Africa & the Middle East	Explore Abu Dhabi’s museums, UAE Take a safari trek through Gombe National Park, Tanzania Explore São Tomé and Príncipe
Oceania	Immerse yourself in art in Australia’s Red Centre Experience Fa’a Sāmoa in Samoa Embark on an ocean adventure in French Polynesia
Asia	Take a longboat into orangutan territory in Malaysia Ride the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India Trek Japan’s Michinoku Coastal Trail Follow a foodie trail through Taiwan Explore the architecture of Astana, Kazakhstan

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