When the time comes to begin working on our annual travel trends of 2026 list, I get to thinking about the year that’s just passed (somehow always so much quicker than the last) and the trends that shaped how we traveled. If I could sum up 2025, it would be the year that we let the stars dictate our destinations; sought out intrepid supper clubs; detoured to lesser-known spots and tried our (ranch) hand at cowboycations (thank you, Yellowstone).
So what can we expect from 2026? Set-jetting will take a period drama turn thanks to new screen adaptations of Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, the quest to discover our ancestry will drive us to new parts of the world, and bathhouses will be the first port of call for mingling with the locals. Museums will become more immersive than ever; pre-security areas will be transformed into places where we want to linger and hang out; and heading out to sea will be the best way for some serious star spotting.
These are the 18 travel trends likely to guide how we see the world in 2026. —Sarah Allard
1. Luxury train hopping
What’s the trend? The new golden age of luxury rail travel keeps gaining momentum, with demand surging year over year for slow-cruising itineraries that go, well, off the beaten track. Yes, many new lines have opened around the world. But many routes last only a few days. For instance, La Dolce Vita Orient Express launched eight round-trip itineraries, all departing from Rome, in April 2025, with each lasting from one to four nights. But well-heeled travelers want more than a few nights of Gilded Age cosplay—increasingly, they’re stringing together multiple luxury rail journeys into romantic, multi-week trips spent hopping from one train to the next.
Why will it matter in 2026? New routes to new destinations are driving the trend in 2026, with travel agencies packaging multi-rail journeys catering to the demand for luxury train hopping. For the third year in a row, specialist travel agency Railbookers has brought back its headline-grabbing Around the World By Luxury Train trip, which visits nine countries in 60 days for the eye-watering starting price of about $130,000 per passenger. But due to demand, Railbookers is also launching four shorter month-long itineraries next year; these link beloved routes such as the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express and South Africa’s Rovos Rail with some of the new lines, including Belmond’s Britannic Explorer, which set out on its first UK journey in July 2025. Belmond, the LVMH-owned dominant player in luxury rail, continues to expand its global footprint, with a new line of its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train embarking in May 2026 from Paris to the Amalfi Coast. Every segment of the rail market is seeing increased demand—even adventure travel specialists Explore Worldwide reported rail bookings for 2026 are up 41 percent year over year. But it’s the upper-market journeys that continue to steal the spotlight, which will continue into 2027 with the long-anticipated launch of a new Orient Express train from Accor. —JD Shadel
2. Ancestry travel
What’s the trend? With series such as Who Do You Think You Are? and Long Lost Family drawing devoted viewers, the urge to reconnect with heritage has shifted from pastime to pilgrimage. As Rachel Foley, the founder of Ancestors from Ireland and genealogy consultant at Sheen Falls Lodge in County Kerry, observes, “Finding where your ancestors came from allows you to know your place in Ireland’s story.” In Italy, My Bella Vita Travel turns research into route: the specialised tour operator builds family trees from government archives, follow up with boots-on-the-ground investigation in the towns, and craft itineraries that let travelers walk the streets their forebears once knew. From genealogical cruises through Ancestry.com’s travel arm to hotels offering expert consultations, trips now start with a family tree.