By Maureen O’Hare | CNN

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 Oct. 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 São 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 Coyoacán, 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.

“People are reimagining the way their days and weeks and months look relative to what they do for a living,” says Chambers, and this Thai destination’s beaches, jungles and breezy coastal lifestyle are hitting the spot.

Also on Lonely Planet’s list of places to visit in 2026: Botswana; Peru; Jeju-do, South Korea; Ikara-Flinders Ranges and Outback, South Australia; Cádiz, Spain; Sardinia, Italy; Tunisia; Barbados, Caribbean; Solomon Islands; Réunion; Quezteltenango (Xela), Guatemala; Jaffna, Sri Lanka; Utrecht, Netherlands; Cartagena, Colombia; Finland; Quy Nho’n, Vietnam; British Columbia, Canada; Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Fun times and feasting

The Best in Travel lists 25 experiences to enjoy next year, including food tours in Old Dubai and in Kerala, India.

Chambers’ grandparents hail from Kerala and she says “it’s a real spotlight on the regional food scene, which is rooted in fresh local ingredients. There’s a real history in the locally grown spices: pepper, cardamom, turmeric. Because it’s on the southwest coast, it’s been influenced by trade over centuries and centuries. It’s a really unique cuisine.”

The vibrant food scene in Melbourne, Australia, is another of this year’s picks. With cuisine inspired by Asian, African and Mediterranean influences, it’s “eclectic, energetic and experimental,” says Lonely Planet.

Willamette Wine Country in Oregon is the recommendation for grape enthusiasts in 2026. The “beautiful and accessible” vineyards are said to come with a scarcity of visitors and an abundance of chill. We’ll say “cheers” to that.

Grenada is the place to party in the Caribbean next year, says Lonely Planet, with Spicemas in August the biggest celebration of all. More than 20,000 people arrive on the island for the late-summer extravaganza, so plan ahead.

The legendary nightlife scene in Belgrade, Serbia, is the recommendation for party animals in Europe. It’s “raw, electric and unapologetically wild,” the publisher says.

Unusual stays

Spending the night in a Japanese ryokan is one of Chambers’ “personal favorites on the experiences list.” The traditional travel inns offer “a glimpse of traditional Japanese interiors, gourmet cuisine and hot-spring culture. They are built for relaxation, harkening back to a slower, more analog time,” says Lonely Planet.

Kruger National Park in South Africa was named to Lonely Planet's list of places to visit in 2026.  (Photo by XAVIER DUVOT/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Staying in a train carriage in South Africa’s Kruger National Park is the other unique style of accommodation highlighted in the 2026 experiences list. Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is a hotel on one of Africa’s largest game reserves, where guests can combine luxury living with wildlife-spotting.

Also on the list for 2026: Stay at Hawaii’s Volcano House in Volcanoes National Park.

Adventure

Rapid-rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is a “bucket list, once in a lifetime” experience, says Chambers. “A typical travel itinerary has no place here; you are adapting to the canyon. You wake up, you read the water, you work with the flow.” Free from your online devices, it’s a chance to really be in the moment.

Stargazing in Wairarapa, New Zealand/Aotearoa is another recommended way to connect with the elements next year. “The sky has been there forever, but it is also having a moment!” says Chambers. “Dark Skies are gaining traction as more destinations and parks are earning recognition for ability to view the galaxy.”

Also on the list for 2026: Hiking and wild camping in Tajikistan; exploring the Bathing Trail in Victoria, Australia; cruising the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia; sightseeing by bike in the Philippines’ Batanes Islands.

Animals

Sightings of whales and dolphins are “almost guaranteed” in the North Atlantic waters of Azores, Portugal, says Lonely Planet, and it can be a surprisingly emotional experience. April and early July are the best times to visit.

Namibia is its recommended place to track desert elephants. Make sure to bring your long camera lenses and your binoculars.

Equestrians, meanwhile, are invited to consider riding horses in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains or to take a Creole trail ride through Louisiana.

Also on the list for 2026: Look for jaguars in the wetlands of Iberá, Argentina; become a citizen scientist in the Amazon, Peru.

Sport and culture

Do you prefer flying kicks or flying cholitas? Lonely Planet’s sporting experiences include attending a Premier League soccer game in England. Says the publisher, “Going to a match is not just visiting a stadium: it offers a unique window into the country’s passions and character that you’d struggle to find doing anything else.”

Cholitas, indigenous women in Bolivia, are the sporting stars in their country’s wrestling rings. Wearing traditional long skirts and bowler hats, the regular matches are “part acrobatics, part theatrics,” says Lonely Planet.

Also on the list for 2026: Visit Eileen Gray’s house in Southern France; Deep-dive into street art in Bristol, England.