Hebrides, Scotland
Why go: A whisky boom, ancient stone circles, white-sand beaches and community warmth
Scattered along Scotland’s wild Atlantic coast, the Hebridean islands have long lured travellers with their heart-quickening sacred sites, castaway beaches and tight-knit communities. And this year, many have much more to brag about.
At the northern tip of the Outer Hebrides, Lewis is unveiling a long-awaited visitor centre for the Calanais Standing Stones, the mystical cruciform-shaped stone circle that predates Stonehenge. For the first time, Historic Environment Scotland will also introduce a visitor fee, helping safeguard 5,000 years of Neolithic history.
Far to the south, landing at Barra Airport’s unusual tidal beach runway still feels like stepping back in time. The island of chalky bays and medieval Kisimul Castle is gaining its first whisky distillery, putting the tiny village of Borve on the global spirits map. Whisky is already in the DNA of Islay in the Southern Hebrides, and demand for heavily peated single-malt Scotch continues to reshape the island. In whisky terms, it’s the last square on the Monopoly board – and 2026 will see the arrival of two new distilleries, taking the island’s total to 14.
First up is Laggan Bay Distillery from the brains behind other established Scottish spirit brands, including Rosebank, Glengoyne and Edinburgh Gin. Later in the year, visitors will be able to explore Portintruan Distillery, located outside Port Ellen where French luxury empire LVMH have opened the island’s first immersive, whisky-themed hotel, Ardbeg House.
There’s a sense that the whole island has been created as a perfect, almost smug, example of heartwarming Scottish hospitality. Tempted to visit? Book ahead for Fèis Ìle, Islay’s annual whisky festival, in May. – Mike MacEacheran
Hirotaka OzawaIshikawa, Japan
Why go: Traditional crafts and award-winning sake
On New Year’s Day 2024, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake devastated Japan’s remote Noto peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Two years on, local leaders are urging visitors to return to help support the area’s renewal.
In the prefecture’s south, the city of Kanazawa is just a bullet train ride from Tokyo and is home to Kenrokuen, one of Japan’s most famous gardens, as well as a thriving world of traditional crafts. Travellers can step inside gold-leaf workshops and try their hand at making their own silk-dyed Kaga Yuzen pieces. But it’s further north, in quake-hit Noto, where visitors can make the greatest difference. Here, “farmhouse inns” invite guests to join seasonal activities like rice planting, with proceeds helping to sustain families and the centuries-old terraced rice paddies of Shiroyone Senmaida.
The Noto peninsula is renowned across Japan for its seafood, centuries-old Wajima-nuri lacquerware and award-winning sake crafted by legendary Noto toji (master brewers). Many local breweries are once again operational, thanks to efforts like the Don’t Stop the Noto Sake project, which funnels revenue back to earthquake-damaged breweries.
Visitors who stay in family-run inns, eat at reopened local restaurants or buy traditional crafts from local artisans are helping to keep Ishikawa’s unique traditions alive at a moment when they are most at risk. It’s a chance to stand with communities rebuilding their homes and cultural heritage, ensuring this storied region thrives for generations to come. – Mizuki Uchiyama
Getty ImagesKomodo Islands, Indonesia
Why go: Prehistoric wildlife, delicate reefs and habitat preservation
Rising from the turquoise Flores Sea, the Komodo Islands remain one of the planet’s great wildlife theatres. Within this Unesco World Heritage-listed national park, pink-sand beaches meet savannah hills, coral gardens teem with manta rays and the world’s last wild population of Komodo dragons roams freely.
In 2026, Indonesia will mark the park’s 45th anniversary with new conservation programmes and visitor-management measures designed to protect both dragons and delicate reefs. Improved access – direct flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to the gateway town of Labuan Bajo – makes it easier than ever to reach, while strict permits and ranger-led treks ensure tourism revenue supports local communities and habitat preservation. Travellers can explore by day-boat, stay in eco-lodges on nearby islands or sail between remote bays on traditional phinisi vessels for a deeper connection to the archipelago.
For those seeking adventure with purpose, Komodo offers a rare balance: close encounters with prehistoric wildlife, thriving marine biodiversity and a national park using tourism to safeguard its extraordinary ecosystem. – Pier Nirandara
Diane SelkirkLoreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Why go: Wildlife-rich waters, desert islands and conservation-led adventure
As the 30th anniversary of Loreto Bay National Park approaches, its conservation story continues to deepen. The park protects more than 200,000 hectares of the Gulf of California – home to blue whales, sea turtles and colonies of California sea lions – and remains one of Mexico’s most influential grassroots-lead environmental wins
Now, the region is expanding its protected areas. Two new national parks – Nopoló and Loreto II – are under careful development, opening up thousands of hectares of desert canyons and mangroves and wildlife corridors for travellers to explore.
But Loreto’s appeal reaches beyond its landscapes. Here, conservation is woven into daily life. Former fishermen, now trained naturalist guides, lead kayak trips through desert islets and whale-watching outings that double as citizen-science experiences. Visitors can help identify migrating blue whales, join coastal clean-ups, or take part in annual conservation festivals that fill the plaza with music, food and storytelling. For community connection, local groups and cooperatives host guided desert walks and communal suppers where travellers share just-caught seafood with families and artisans.
With its historic mission, whitewashed streets and the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range rising behind it, Loreto feels both small-town intimate and majestically expansive – a place where visitors can join a hopeful story of ecosystems recovering and communities leading the way. – Diane Selkirk
Shafik MeghjiMontenegro
Why go: The dazzling Bay of Kotor and unspoilt wilderness
One of the world’s youngest sovereign states, Montenegro celebrates its 20th birthday in 2026. With a population of fewer than 650,000 people and a patchwork of Illyrian, Roman, Ottoman and Yugoslav influences, this fledgling Balkan nation has become primarily known for its coastline – particularly the glorious fjord-like Bay of Kotor with its well-preserved Venetian outposts and walled old towns. Its Adriatic resorts are increasingly popular with travellers looking beyond the crowded, trending coastlines of neighbouring Croatia.
Yet, few visitors explore the nation’s interior, where riverine plains give way to karst cliffs and forbidding peaks. Highlights include the pint-sized former royal capital of Cetinje, where a cluster of monasteries, palaces and museums provide a glimpse into the country’s history, and the biodiversity hotspot of Lake Skadar, one of the most important bird reserves in Europe, with some 281 species.
But Montenegro’s dramatic mountains are the real draw. The Prokletije range is one of the continent’s few surviving wildernesses, a realm of jagged peaks, dense forests and glacial lakes home to wolves and bears. It is also veined with hiking routes, including a section of the Peaks of the Balkans, a 192km hiking trail that also passes through Albania and Kosovo and aims to use sustainable tourism to stop the abandonment of remote mountain communities and generate income for their residents. – Shafik Meghji
Getty ImagesOregon Coast, US
Why go: Fresh ways to explore one of the US’s most dramatic coastlines
Stretching nearly 370 miles from the dramatic cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge in the north to the towering redwood forests in the south, the Oregon Coast is a mesmerising mix of brawn and beauty. Wave-pounded shorelines splash against dense evergreen forests, lonely lighthouses poke their heads over the moody fog and migrating whales breach offshore from small-town fishing communities. And thanks to a 1967 landmark bill, Oregon is the only state in the nation whose entire coastline is free and public to everyone.
Though less visited than California’s coast, the white-sand beaches and brooding headlands along this stretch of US-101 are one of the country’s bucket-list road trips. But according to Kaitlyn Brajcich from Sustainable Travel International, those without their own wheels and EV owners will find more ways to experience the area in 2026.
“A seasonal shuttle now links Portland with coastal destinations, and a growing EV-charging network makes plug-in road trips more seamless. For those who prefer to pedal, bikes are available in many towns, or you can take on the 370-mile border-to-border [coastal cycling] route,” Brajcich said.
Brajcich adds that freshly caught seafood now stays closer to home thanks to a new effort to keep Oregon’s catch local, which supports communities that have long relied on these waters. Mobi-Mats laid over the sand and free beach wheelchairs enable more visitors to enjoy the shore, as does a new partnership with Wheel the World that maps inclusive lodging and experiences. And hotel stays booked through Every Stay Gives Back support the environmental nonprofits protecting this rugged, much-loved coast. – Eliot Stein
