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Planning a trip is often a pleasure, but when the world is in turmoil, it comes with a weight that’s difficult to ignore.
You might find this feeling familiar: you find somewhere beautiful – maybe a bucket list destination, somewhere you’ve always wanted to see. You start researching it and allow yourself to get a little excited. The cuisine, the culture, the landscapes…everything seems perfect, and then the news cycle intervenes, and before you know it, the excitement fades.
It can be tempting to postpone the whole thing – out of uncertainty, or a vague sense of guilt, or because even far-flung destinations may be off-limits due to unreliable or unsafe connections along the way.
But withdrawing from the world isn’t always the answer. Travel, done thoughtfully, is an act of curiosity and connection, and there’s still extraordinary beauty out there to be found.
With this in mind, here are eight safe and spectacular travel destinations you can book now. And if you’re ready to book your trip, check out thousands of deals available through our website using the button below.
1. Croatia
Croatia has been steadily climbing the global travel rankings for years now. And in 2026, it’s well and truly arrived – ranked fifth among the world’s most coveted destinations according to the Virtuoso Luxe Report, and thoroughly deserving of every bit of the attention it’s getting.
What makes Croatia so compelling and enduringly popular is the sheer, almost overwhelming variety of it. This is a country where you can spend a morning walking the limestone streets of a UNESCO-listed medieval city, an afternoon swimming in water so crystal clear you can count the pebbles 12 feet below you, and an evening eating succulent fresh seafood on a harbour terrace as the golden sun drops behind the hills. All in the same day, all without feeling rushed.
Dubrovnik is the obvious draw for those of you who love a little history and heritage, and it really is breathtaking: the old city walls, the marble streets, the views out over the sparkling Adriatic. But Croatia is a big, long country. With 1777km of stunning coastline along the mainland alone (there are also 718 islands, 389 islets and 78 reefs too), there’s a lot to be said for exploring further afield.
Hvar is sun-drenched, glamorous, and blessed with over 2,700 hours of sunshine a year. Plitvice Lakes National Park – 16 emerald lakes connected by waterfalls and wooden walkways, that you’ve almost certainly seen on Instagram already – is one of those places that makes you feel like you’ve discovered Eden.
And the Istrian Peninsula in the north, with its higgledy piggledy Venetian hilltop towns, world-class truffles, and outstanding wine, has an entirely unique character – a sort of Italy analogue, but with a culture and cuisine that’s Croatian through and through.
2. Italy
Italy has been a firm holiday favourite long before Audrey Hepburn hopped on a Vespa in Roman Holiday – and since then, it’s only become more beloved.
If you’re looking for a dose of la dolce vita, Italy is as safe a bet. From the jagged Dolomites and the glassy lakes of Lombardy and grandeur of Rome, to the sweet scent of lemons in the air along the Amalfi Coast and the perfect pizzas of Napoli, Italy is a cultural powerhouse.
The food, the wine, the art, the architecture, the piazzas, the Aperol spritzes sipped on those terraces as the sun fades, the sense of civilisations layered across millennia…Italy is spectacularly beautiful and perfect for every pace and preference.
In fact, the only danger you might face is the ever-present tourist trap. Our tips are to steer clear of menu boards with photos on main strips, instead searching side streets for tiny trattorias (menus handwritten on chalkboards are a green flag), and to visit the must-see but overcrowded attractions first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid huge queues.
3. Portugal
Portugal pretty much has it all: reliably good weather, outstanding food, deeply beautiful landscapes, genuinely warm people, and a cost of living that still feels refreshingly reasonable compared to so much of Western Europe.
Lisbon and Porto are both world-class cities – full of history, beautiful architecture, and (so the locals say) what the Portuguese call saudade…the bittersweet experience of feeling happy to have experienced something but sad that it can’t last.
Beyond the cities, awaits Portugal’s main draw: its wild and windswept Atlantic coast, the sun-baked plains of the Alentejo, and the magnificent golden beaches and world-class golf courses of the Algarve. Portugal is a superb destination for those looking for the ultimate sun holiday. You can choose an all-inclusive poolside escape, a non-stop golf break, a surfing and yoga adventure, or a quieter exploration of the small towns and villages inland from the coast.
4. Canada
Canada is a destination of staggering variety that one could take a lifetime to fully explore…and you’d have an incredible time doing it. The practical appeal of Canada is obvious: it’s got excellent infrastructure, a warmth of welcome from the famously friendly Canadian people that consistently catches visitors off guard in the best possible way, and cities that manage to be cosmopolitan and cosy at the same time.
For 2026 specifically, Canada is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup alongside the USA and Mexico, with matches in Vancouver, Toronto, and several other cities from June onwards. Even if football isn’t your thing, the atmosphere that hosting a World Cup brings to a city – the colour, energy, and collective joy – is something well worth experiencing, and you can definitely consider this a real “pro” of visiting this year.
The country stretches gloriously in every direction across eight different climates and a truly breathtaking diversity of landscapes. It’s a pure playground for those who appreciate the untouched outdoors.
In winter and summer, the Canadian Rockies are among the most jaw-dropping mountain landscapes on earth. The Icefields and Lakes of Alberta are like something from a dream: pristine, clear, and made for hiking. And in Newfoundland, you’ll find dramatic fjords, endless boreal forests, and even an area of exposed earth mantle, one of the few places in the world where you can see this.
5. New Zealand
New Zealand offers the kind of natural beauty that can sometimes make you feel sorry for everywhere else. Two islands that, between them, contain everything from mountains, fjords, and geothermal plains, to ancient forests, world-class vineyards, and some of the finest long-distance walking trails on earth. The seas are full of magnificent mammals and incredible marine life.
The cultural heritage in New Zealand is a reason in itself to visit the islands, and learning about the history and culture of the Maori adds a depth and richness to a visit that goes well beyond the landscapes. The food scene, particularly in Auckland and Wellington, is outstanding and, for some reason, consistently underestimated.
It is, in honesty, a long flight from the UK. But remoteness brings rewards, and New Zealand is one of those destinations that rewards every hour of the journey tenfold. And right now, when so many of us are craving places that feel peaceful, spacious, and properly far from the world’s noise and chaos, it couldn’t be a better choice.
6. Iceland
There are places in the world that simply can’t be adequately described or explained in advance – where no amount of photographs or descriptions quite prepares you for the reality of standing there, amongst it all. And Iceland is one of those places.
The landscape is unlike anywhere else on earth: from the black lava fields stretching to the horizon, the pristine glaciers you can hike across, the steaming geothermal hot springs that sit snugly in the middle of extraordinary, almost incongruous terrain, and – if you’re lucky – the Northern Lights dancing across the sky from autumn through spring in what can only be described as nature’s inbuilt laser show. You’ll try to photograph it all, and you’ll likely fail to do it justice, and that’s fine. The solution is to put your phone away and just take it all in!
Reykjavik is small, walkable, culturally rich, and quietly brilliant – a city with a thriving food scene, a genuinely unique arts culture (this is Bjork’s country, after all), and the kind of easy social scene that makes solo travel here particularly rewarding, if that’s your bag. In summer, the midnight sun turns the country golden and strange, but in the best way.
A word or two of practical honesty: Iceland can be pricey, especially at its peak times, so it’s worth taking this into account when planning your trip. The incredible geography has its caveats, too; volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula has been ongoing, and it’s always worth checking the latest situation before you travel, and taking out comprehensive travel insurance in case an unforeseen seismic shake-up interferes with your trip in any way.
For the rest of Iceland – which is to say the overwhelming majority of it – the experience is as extraordinary and safe as it’s always been.
7. Austria
Despite its chocolate-box villages and picture-perfect alpine bliss, Austria manages to feel incredibly down-to-earth. It’s also one of Europe’s safest destinations, and just a short hop from the UK, with an average flight time of two hours and 15 minutes.
For a city break destination, Vienna is top tier. It’s the kind of place that makes a long weekend feel both deeply satisfying and wholly insufficient; the grandeur and heritage of the coffee houses alone justify the journey. These expansive, elegant and unhurried rooms are like a step back in time, places where you can sit for two hours over a single mélange, and people-watch undisturbed. The city’s museums are also world-class, the architecture is extraordinary, and the food scene – stretching well beyond schnitzel – has been quietly excellent for some time.
Beyond Vienna, Salzburg (Austria’s fourth largest city) offers Mozart, mountain backdrops, and enough Baroque grandeur to occupy an architecture enthusiast for days – not to mention the Sound of Music tours you can take through the city and into the mountains. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and earns every bit of that distinction.
But of course, the Austrian Alps are probably the main reason to visit Austria, whether in winter when the snow-covered peaks offer endless excitement on ski or snowboard, or in summer, when the hiking trails are clear, and the mountain huts are open. Hiking here in spring or summer is magnificent, and if you time it right so that you’re there when Austria’s famous edelweiss is in bloom (June-July), you’ll feel like you’ve found yourself in heaven on earth. So good you might just yodel.
8. Costa Rica
Costa Rica punches well above its weight. It’s a small country that manages to contain an almost absurd array of natural wonders within its borders. Rainforests and cloud forests, volcanic majesty, and two coastlines (one on the Pacific, one on the Caribbean) that are each spectacular in completely different ways.
It’s one of the world’s great eco-tourism destinations, a place that has made sustainability and environmental protection a genuinely central tenet in how it operates and welcomes visitors.
Over a quarter of the country is protected national parkland, and as a result, the wildlife here isn’t something you have to seek out, but it will almost certainly find you. Scarlet macaws overhead, sloths in the canopy, sea turtles nesting on the beach at night – this is a place that’s almost fantastical in its natural bounty.
Costa Rica also happens to be consistently ranked among the happiest countries on earth, and it shows. The people are warm, the pace is unhurried, and the unofficial national motto – pura vida, meaning ‘pure life’ – isn’t just something they say, but something they live.
Final thoughts…
The world hasn’t stopped being a wonderful, beautiful place that wants to be explored. It’s simply, for now, in flux, and has become a little more limited in terms of where we can safely go.
But the thing about being in flux is that it’s temporary – and, in the meantime, all eight destinations above are ready and waiting.
Have you been to any of the above destinations? Let us know your tips and hints in the comments below. We always love to hear from you!
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