50 travel destinations to inspire you for 2027, chosen by Lonely Planet

By Maureen O'Hare, CNN

(CNN) — Don’t put your bikini in storage just yet. There’s a new travel season just around the corner and Lonely Planet has released its list of 50 destinations and experiences to inspire your adventures in the year ahead.

The 53-year-old guidebook company launched the Lonely Planet app earlier this year, so explorers can for the first time adopt a triple-threat approach to their trip planning, using the app, the Lonely Planet booking platform Journeys, and the best-selling books.

“We are about to hit 100,000 downloads in five months,” says Nitya Chambers, Lonely Planet’s senior vice president of content and executive editor. “And we’ve created some app-exclusive destination content for Best in Travel.”

The Best in Travel 2027 list, available online and as a commemorative book, was selected by Lonely Planet’s global community of travel experts, and covers everything from longboat trips to orangutan territory in Malaysia to an early Christian pilgrimage route to Lindisfarne in northeast England.

“I think what’s exciting to us is that there’s not just one kind of trip we’re telling people to take. It’s really about finding the experience that speaks to what someone wants from travel right now,” says Chambers, “You know, diving in the Aegean Sea, eating your way through Taiwan” or “eating crabs in Maryland” and “kayaking through Okinawa.”

‘Awe-inspiring and otherworldly’

California’s Coastal Redwoods are one of Chambers’ favorites on the 2027 list. They’re “the tallest trees on Earth. They’re centuries old,” she says. “I think there’s something about standing among them that makes you feel really small in the best possible way, and you’re just still inside of something so magnificent.”

A different kind of immersive experience is offered in Newport, Rhode Island, where visitors can volunteer as overnight or weekly guest lighthouse keepers, taking on chores and general maintenance.

European city picks include Dessau, Germany — home of the revolutionary Bauhaus architecture and design movement — and historic Verona and Padua in Italy’s underrated Veneto region.

“The list is really meant to be a range of experiences that feel really accessible and actionable, and you could fit into a weekend, and things that are awe-inspiring and otherworldly,” says Chambers.

A polar plunge in Antarctica is “a giant bucket list one,” she says. “I think anytime someone goes to Antarctica and comes back, they are like cloaked in awe. Like they have an awe filter on them, and that is how they are engaging with the world.”

Push yourself to new challenges

Monteverde’s cloud forest in Costa Rica is another perspective-changing experience. “You’re standing above the world in something that feels so ancient and so alive,” says Chambers, “and it’s such a different vantage from which to view” our planet.

Wildlife experiences include a safari trek in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, made famous by the late Jane Goodall, who began her pioneering work with chimpanzees here in 1960. Kenya’s Tsavo East and West National Parks are also among the 2027 picks.

Pacific island adventures await in New Caledonia, famous for its UNESCO-recognized lagoons, and Samoa, whose traditional culture known as Faʻa Sāmoa is one of the experiential recommendations for 2027.

The Chinese city of Chengdu is renowned for its Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, but is also a celebrated gastronomical center, and in Kazakhstan, the spectacular architecture of capital Astana gets a shout-out.

“You want to come home slightly changed,” says Chambers. “You want to push yourself to do something that you might not have considered doing, and then you come back a new person.”

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2027

North America

Places

• Québec, Canada
• California’s Coastal Redwoods, USA
• Maryland, USA
• Prince Edward Island, Canada
• New Mexico, USA

Experiences

• Become a temporary keeper at Rose Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island, USA
• Flightsee in the “last frontier,” Alaska, USA
• Enjoy wine and fine-dining in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico
• Hotel-hop South Beach, Miami, USA
• Savor the Slow Road, Minnesota, USA

Europe

Places

• Veneto, Italy
• Dessau, Germany
• Swedish Riviera (Skanör-Falsterbo), Sweden
• Šibenik, Croatia
• León, Spain

Experiences

• Road-trip through history on the Route Napoléon, France
• Sail the Aeolian Islands, Sicily
• Walk St Cuthbert’s Way to Lindisfarne, United Kingdom
• Dive into an unexpected underwater world, Greece
• Be wowed by wonderful Killary Fjord, Co Galway, Ireland

Caribbean, Central America, South America

Places

• Montserrat
• Bariloche and the lakes, Argentina
• Granada, Nicaragua
• Bocas del Toro, Panama

Experiences

• Go on a Galápagos expedition cruise, Ecuador
• Dance sultry tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Take a polar plunge, Antarctica
• Marvel at Monteverde’s cloud forest, Costa Rica

Africa & Middle East

Places

• Oman
• Rabat, Morocco
• Tsavo East and West National Parks, Kenya

Experiences

• Visit Abu Dhabi’s museums, United Arab Emirates
• Take a safari trek in Gombe National Park, Tanzania
• Explore Africa’s unsung island paradise, São Tomé and Príncipe

Oceania

Places

• Dunedin and the Waitaki, New Zealand/Aotearoa
• The Tweed, Australia
• New Caledonia

Experiences

• Immerse yourself in art in the Red Centre, Australia
• Experience Faʻa Sāmoa, Samoa
• Embark on ocean adventures, French Polynesia

Asia

Places

• Okinawa, Japan
• Chengdu, China
• Gujarat, India
• Danang, Vietnam
• Fulidhoo, Maldives

Experiences

• Glide on a longboat to orangutan territory, Malaysia
• Ride the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India
• Trek the Michinoku Coastal Trail, Japan
• Follow a Foodie Trail, Taiwan
• Admire Astana’s architecture, Kazakhstan

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