Where should you travel in 2027? I don’t want to give you the obvious list. We’re not going to talk about Paris. We’re not going to talk about Rome. We’re not going to talk about Santorini. They’re fabulous and everybody loves them. Today we’re talking about the destinations I think are about to have their moment: places where you can still come home and say “you have to go,” instead of “you have to go, but prepare yourself for 48,000 other people who had exactly the same idea.”
Travel destinations have a life cycle. First travelers discover them, then Instagram discovers them, then TikTok discovers them, then everybody else does. Suddenly that little $140 boutique hotel is $475, and you’re wondering what happened to your vacation budget. So let’s get there before that happens. Grab your passport. Here are the eight destinations I’d be looking at for 2027.
1. Albania
Albania (however you want to say it) sits across the Adriatic and Ionian seas from Italy, just north of Greece. When you’re in Corfu, it’s literally right there. It feels like you could reach out and touch it.
There are parts of the Albanian Riviera where you’ll look around and think, “Why haven’t we always been coming here?” Turquoise water, mountains dropping toward the sea, little coastal towns, historic villages and Mediterranean food (I never thought I would, but I really love it). You get that gorgeous Mediterranean feeling without defaulting to Greece, Italy or Croatia. Look at places like Ksamil, Sarandë, Himarë and Dhërmi. Please forgive my pronunciation.
Albania isn’t a secret anymore. Tourism has exploded there, so when I say “before everyone discovers it,” Albania is already halfway through the discovery process. The clock is ticking, people.
Good to know (checked October 2026): Albania’s statistics office (INSTAT) counted about 12.5 million foreign arrivals in 2025, up from about 11.7 million in 2024. Source: INSTAT.
My advice: don’t fly into Albania and immediately race to the beach. Spend a little time exploring. You have UNESCO towns like Berat and Gjirokastër, the Albanian Alps and the Riviera. Albania can be a beach vacation, a road trip, an adventure trip or a gorgeous addition to a bigger Balkan itinerary.
Samantha’s secret spot: Himarë. Ksamil gets the Instagram attention, but Himarë can feel a little more relaxed: beautiful coastline, beaches and that Mediterranean atmosphere, without needing the destination to entertain you every second.
Who should go: couples, friend groups, adventure travelers, people who love Greece and Croatia but want something different, and anyone who likes being able to say, “I went there before it got huge.”
The Albanian Riviera: turquoise water and Mediterranean food, without defaulting to Greece or Croatia.
2. Slovenia
What if Austria, Italy and Croatia had a ridiculously attractive baby? You’d get something pretty close to Slovenia. Americans often overlook it, because we look at a map of Europe and immediately point at Italy, France and Spain. Meanwhile Slovenia is sitting there saying, “Hello, mountains, lakes, wine, medieval towns, gorgeous capital city. I’m right here.”
Start with Ljubljana: charming, walkable and green, with cafés along the river and beautiful architecture. It has that European city atmosphere without feeling like you’re tackling Paris on a Saturday afternoon. Then go to Lake Bled. Yes, you’ve seen the pictures of that blue-green lake with the church on its tiny island and the castle perched above, but don’t stop there. Go into the Julian Alps, see the Soča Valley, drive through the countryside and explore Slovenia’s wine regions. Who doesn’t like a little wine? Americans are starting to figure Slovenia out, so don’t be the last one. Go before everybody else.
Worth the splurge: stay somewhere beautiful in the countryside for a couple of nights. This isn’t a destination for a generic hotel and a checklist of attractions. Slow down, eat, drink wine, look at the mountains and live your European main-character life. (When I stayed in the Cotswolds this summer, I kept saying I was going to go frolic in the countryside with my basket. Go do that.)
Who should go: Italy lovers, foodies, wine lovers, outdoor travelers, couples and anybody who wants Europe without spending every vacation standing in line.
Lake Bled in Slovenia: see the famous view, then keep going into the Julian Alps and wine country.
3. Vietnam
This one may shock you, because it’s not in Europe. Vietnam isn’t undiscovered, but it’s definitely making the rounds. Every time I turn around, somebody tells me they’re going, and I hadn’t heard that much in all my years of travel. I think it’s entering a completely different stage of popularity with American travelers, because people are realizing how much you can experience in one country.
In the north you have Hanoi: crazy energy, street food, scooters everywhere, the Old Quarter and coffee culture. There’s Ha Long Bay, and there’s Hoi An, which might be one of the most photogenic places in Southeast Asia, with lanterns, amazing food, historic streets and beaches nearby. Ho Chi Minh City brings a whole other energy. Add beaches, countryside, mountains and luxury resorts, plus strong value once you arrive.
One bite you can’t miss: impossible, because Vietnam is basically an entire vacation organized around “What are we eating next?” Pho, bánh mì, fresh spring rolls, bún chả and Vietnamese coffee. I don’t drink coffee, but if you’ve never had Vietnamese egg coffee, don’t make that face. Just try it. The rule is we taste it first and judge later. (Unless it’s fish. We all know I won’t touch anything that swims in the ocean.)
And don’t try to do Vietnam in six days. The country is long, the distances are substantial and you need to pick your priorities. A properly planned Vietnam itinerary is a very different trip from randomly throwing Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City into a booking engine.
4. The Azores
A lot of people don’t even know what the Azores are. Last year I had the pleasure of visiting these lovely islands, and it was completely by accident. I was supposed to go to Dublin, and I was super bummed, but the Azores were absolutely beautiful.
These Portuguese islands sit out in the Atlantic Ocean. If your dream vacation involves volcanic landscapes, crater lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, whales and dramatic coastline, you’ve arrived. Think Hawaii meets Iceland meets Portugal, except it’s very much its own thing. People call it the Hawaii of Europe.
The largest island is São Miguel, and that’s where I send many first-time visitors. You’ve got Sete Cidades with its famous crater lakes, Furnas with geothermal activity and hot springs (I love me a good hot spring), tea plantations, waterfalls, coastal viewpoints and tiny towns where the whole point is not rushing. This isn’t the vacation where you need 12 outfit changes and dinner reservations every night. You’re going for nature.
Flights can be a little wonky because the islands are small, so another option is a transatlantic cruise that stops there. You’ll only have one day there, so you won’t see everything, but you’ll get a taste.
Samantha’s secret spot: Furnas. Give me the geothermal pools, the gardens, the misty volcanic landscape and a slow afternoon. This is exactly the kind of destination where I want travelers to stop trying to see everything.
Who should go: nature lovers, hikers, couples, photographers and whale watchers. If Costa Rica calls your name, the Azores is where you need to go.
The crater lakes of Sete Cidades on São Miguel, the Azores’ largest island.
5. Montenegro
If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you know I love Croatia, and you’ve also heard me say how much I love me some Montenegro. Croatia isn’t exactly hiding anymore, so let’s move a little farther south.
When I took the cruise that stopped there, I had to look up Kotor because I had no idea where we were going. Now I’m dying to go back. Head for the Bay of Kotor, with its mountains dropping dramatically into blue water and medieval towns tucked along the shoreline. Kotor itself is absolutely gorgeous.
Don’t just visit the Old Town. Get out on the water, especially if you didn’t arrive by cruise ship. Find a boat to take you out to explore the bay, because the fjord-like scenery is stunning. We didn’t get to see it on the way in, but we saw it on the way out, and wow.
Tourist trap that’s totally worth it: Kotor’s Old Town. But timing matters. When the cruise ships are in town, it’s jammed. We went later, after everyone had gone back to their ships, and it felt so great: a walled town full of shops, restaurants and bars, and man, did we have a good time. I suggest staying overnight.
Since they’re all right there, Montenegro also combines beautifully with Croatia or Albania for an incredible Balkan itinerary.
6. Colombia (Beyond Cartagena)
When Americans hear “Colombia,” a lot of us immediately think Cartagena. And Cartagena is fantastic. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, and I was shocked by how much I loved it. We did the most fun activity there, and everyone was so very nice.
But Colombia is so much more than Cartagena. For 2027, I’d look deeper, especially at the coffee region: places like Salento and Filandia. Picture rolling green mountains, coffee farms (can you imagine that smell?), colorful towns, beautiful boutique hotels, horseback riding, long lunches and landscapes that make you stop talking for a minute. Then you’ve got Medellín, Bogotá, the Caribbean coast, the Amazon and more. You could create five completely different vacations in Colombia and still not see the whole country.
Worth the splurge: a beautiful boutique property in the coffee region. Wake up and drink Colombian coffee while looking out over the mountains where it’s actually grown. That’s a vacation moment, not an Instagram moment.
7. Northern Spain
This one might surprise you, because I keep telling you not to just go to Spain. When everybody says “I’m going to Spain,” they usually mean Barcelona, Madrid, maybe Seville, maybe Mallorca. For 2027, look north: the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia.
This is a different Spain: greener, with a rugged Atlantic coastline, beautiful villages and, always, incredible food. San Sebastián alone could justify the trip. If you’re serious about eating, this is where you build the itinerary around “What are we having for lunch?”, which frankly is my preferred style of travel.
One bite you can’t miss: pintxos. Here’s the fun part: you don’t sit in one restaurant for three hours. You hop around. Have a drink and a couple of pintxos, then go to the next place for another drink and a couple more. It’s basically bar hopping with snacks, the adult way. And that is how we should be traveling.
8. Greenland
Finally, one for the serious adventure traveler. Everyone is going to Iceland, and they’re missing Greenland. Tourism infrastructure and international access have been expanding, which is putting it on the radar of travelers who used to think it was almost impossible to visit.
This is not your typical vacation. You go for enormous landscapes, icebergs, fjords, remote communities, hiking, wildlife and the feeling that you are very, very far from your everyday life. Expedition cruising is also making Greenland more accessible if you want to experience it without handling every logistical detail yourself.
Who should go: someone who’s already done Europe, the Caribbean, maybe Alaska or Iceland, and is sitting there thinking, “Okay, Samantha, give me something different.” If you’ve done Iceland, it’s time for Greenland. If Antarctica is on your list, Greenland is too.
Which 2027 Destination Is Right for You?
If you’re sitting in your car screaming, “Just tell me where to go,” here’s how I’d match them:
European beaches before prices climb even more: Albania
Romantic European scenery: Slovenia
Food and culture with great value: Vietnam
Nature, without doing Iceland or Hawaii again: the Azores
You love Croatia but want something different: Montenegro
You’re a foodie: Northern Spain
South America with culture, mountains, amazing food and a little Amazon: Colombia
You want your friends to ask, “Where on earth are you?”: Greenland
Go One Country Over
Here’s what I want you to remember about travel in 2027: stop choosing your vacation based entirely on where everybody else is going. You don’t have to stop going to Italy or Greece or Paris. Those places are popular for a reason. But every once in a while, go one country over. Go one island farther. Take the train another two hours. Look at the destination you can’t quite pronounce yet (I struggled with that this entire episode).
Some of my favorite travel memories happened in places where I didn’t already know exactly what was going to happen. Get off the beaten path. Those are the trips where you come home and your friends say, “Wait, where did you go? I’ve never even heard of that place.”
If one of these destinations just made you open your calendar, don’t open 17 browser tabs next. My team at Fabulous Adventures Travel can help you figure out where to go, how long to stay, which cities are worth your time, what’s worth the splurge and what you can skip, so your 2027 trip starts with excitement instead of six weeks of research.
