01 out of 20 : Best places to travel in 2026
By BBC Travel
From a Polynesian island ringed by blue lagoons to the heart of Chile’s wine country, these are BBC journalists’ top destinations this year.
We love Dubrovnik – but so does everyone else. Yet, many visitors to Croatia may not know that nearby Montenegro is also home to beautiful seaside settlements, plus new hiking trails that connect mountain communities. Across the water from always-trendy Buenos Aires, Montevideo offers similar world-class tango, steaks and architecture, and is one of South America’s greenest cities. And while Rome may be eternal, Algeria’s got the ancient ruins without the crowds.
In this year’s guide to the best places to travel, we’re highlighting destinations that offer incredible experiences while using tourism to support local communities, protect the environment and preserve their unique cultural heritage. To compile our list, we tapped BBC staff, our trusted journalists and some of the world’s leading sustainable travel authorities to identify places that are enthusiastically welcoming visitors – and where your trip can have a positive impact.
Keep reading: your next great adventure awaits.
Abu Dhabi
Why go: A blockbuster year of cultural openings – plus new theme park excitement
A sense of anticipation is hanging in the desert air. After years of development, the city’s Saadiyat Cultural District – a project first signalled by the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2017 – is finally entering its defining phase.
The world’s largest digital art museum, TeamLab Phenomena, recently opened, followed by the landmark Zayed National Museum, where visitors can see what the collated dreams of the nation looked like before it struck rich with oil. Pearl diving wasn’t invented in the Emirates, but it has a huge story to tell, as does the influence of Islam, the spread of Arabic and the vision of the country’s founding father: the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Equally new amid the museum scrum is Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which rises above the Arabian Gulf as a succession of giant sugar cubes and is inspired by the region’s geology. And then there’s the much-talked-about, much-delayed, largest-ever Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Expect the cavernous modern art gallery in late 2026 or even beyond that. (Just don’t mention the projected US$1bn/£751m cost.)
Beyond culture, Abu Dhabi is doubling down on theme park tourism. Yas Island’s vast entertainment zone is expanding, with Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi adding a Harry Potter extension and Yas Waterworld building an additional mega-zone of slides and rides. Plans are also progressing for the Middle East’s first Disneyland, set to break ground on Yas in the coming years. It’s all an ambitious experiment that’s a long way from the yards and sand forts that once defined the city. – Mike MacEacheran
