Where to go in 2027: three lists, read together
Lonely Planet, Skyscanner and Expedia published their 2027 picks within three weeks of each other. They measure different things. Read together, they tell you where to go and when to book.
Three “where to go in 2027” lists landed in three weeks. Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel came out in late September, Skyscanner’s best-value list on 8 October and Expedia’s destinations of the year on 15 October. One is taste, one is airfares, one is search demand. None of them is a forecast of a good trip. Laid side by side, they make a decent shortlist, and they tell you something about timing that the lists themselves never say.
Three lists, three different rulers
Before you take a pick from any of them, it helps to know what each one is counting.
Its writers and editors nominate places from their own recent trips. The 2027 edition names 25 destinations and 25 experiences, and the stated theme is slowing down, dodging crowds and finding something a bit more meaningful.
It ranks the places where average fares fell most against the year before, then checks that hotel prices are competitive too. Bilbao tops the list with fares down 66%.
It compares growth in flight and hotel searches from 1 Sep 2025 to 27 Jul 2026 with the same period a year earlier. South Lake Tahoe wins with searches up 195%. Six of its ten also pass an internal check for places that aren’t overcrowded.
So a Skyscanner pick is a place that got cheaper, which usually means fewer people wanted it last year. An Expedia pick is a place more people are looking at, which means it will be busier by the time you arrive. Lonely Planet’s picks are the places that tend to get busier because they were picked. Hold all three thoughts at once.
Where the lists agree
The overlaps are the interesting part, because two rulers pointing at the same place is a stronger signal than one.
| The place | Who picked it | Why it keeps coming up |
|---|---|---|
| The Tweed, northern New South Wales | Lonely Planet and Expedia (searches up 35%) | Byron Bay’s quieter neighbour, with the hinterland and the river |
| Japan beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka | Okinawa (Lonely Planet), Hyogo (Expedia, searches up 95%) | Hyogo is home to Himeji Castle, which now charges visitors more than residents |
| Croatia’s coast, not Dubrovnik | Šibenik (Lonely Planet), Pula (Skyscanner, fares down 20%) | Both are old Adriatic towns with islands offshore and far fewer cruise ships |
| Northern Spain | León (Lonely Planet), Bilbao (Skyscanner, fares down 66%) | Cooler summers, serious food, and the Camino passes through León |
| Québec | Lonely Planet, plus Québec City is among Google Flights’ fastest-growing Christmas searches | French Canada at Christmas, with snow that arrives on schedule |
| Vietnam’s centre and north | Danang (Lonely Planet), Hanoi trending for Christmas on Google Flights | Good value, short flights from Australia, and a long shoulder season |
The Japanese pair deserves a note. Hyogo is the prefecture that holds Himeji Castle, which raised its entry fee for non-residents to ¥2,500 on 1 March 2026. That doesn’t make it a bad pick. It does make it worth reading what Japan charges visitors now before you budget.
The full lists
Lonely Planet’s 25 destinations, grouped by region. The Caribbean, Latin America and Asia get more entries than Europe this year.
- North America: Québec; Northern California’s coast and redwoods; Maryland; Prince Edward Island; New Mexico.
- Europe: the Veneto beyond Venice; Dessau in Germany; Skanör-Falsterbo on Sweden’s south coast; Šibenik; León.
- Caribbean and Latin America: Montserrat; Bariloche and the Argentine lakes; Granada in Nicaragua; Bocas del Toro in Panama.
- Africa and the Middle East: Oman; Rabat; Tsavo East and West in Kenya.
- Asia and the Indian Ocean: Okinawa; Chengdu; Gujarat; Danang; Fulidhoo in the Maldives, picked as the local-island alternative to resort islands.
- Oceania: Dunedin and the Waitaki; the Tweed; New Caledonia.
Expedia’s ten, with the search growth: South Lake Tahoe (195%), Hyogo (95%), Punta del Este in Uruguay (65%), Sedona (55%), Busan (50%), Holbox in Mexico (45%), Perugia (35%), the Tweed (35%), Niagara-on-the-Lake (35%) and Chichester in England (30%).
Skyscanner’s ten, with the fall in average fares: Bilbao (66%), Wrocław (47%), Bordeaux (34%), Zurich (33%), Ancona (31%), Rhodes (22%), Pula (20%), Carcassonne (20%), Fez (19%) and Krabi (15%).
Pick one and tell me roughly when. I’ll check what’s open in that month, how the days join up, and whether the dates you’re thinking of land on a festival or a closure.
Pick with your own filter, then book on the data
The lists won’t tell you when to go. Two other data sets will.
Go in the shoulder. Byway, a flight-free trip planner, reports off-season departures up 1.5 times year on year, with September alone up 1.6 times, and names April to May and September to October as the new sweet spot. That matters for this year’s picks. Oman, Gujarat, Rhodes, Carcassonne and the Veneto are all places where July is something you endure rather than enjoy.
Book international flights about three months out. Google Flights’ October data puts the lowest average international fares 89 days before departure, with a low range of 50 to 133 days. Domestic fares bottom out at 39 days. Leaving on a Monday and returning on a Tuesday or Wednesday saves about 14% against weekend flights, and a connection saves about 20% against nonstop.
Add the new fees. A fair number of 2027 destinations are introducing or raising tourist charges, from Thailand’s planned arrival fee to Glasgow’s new levy. We keep a running list of the taxes arriving in 2027. If the pick is in Europe and you’d rather not fly between cities, the night train network has changed a lot this year too.
Skyscanner’s fares are down because demand was down. Zurich, fourth on the list at 33% cheaper, is not about to stay cheap once a list says it is. Price the flight now, not after you’ve planned the week.
What the lists don’t tell you
Expedia measures searches, not whether anyone had a good time. A place on Lonely Planet’s list gets busier because it’s on the list, which is the opposite of what the list is for. Skyscanner’s price drops can reverse by the time you read this. And the lists aren’t all in yet. National Geographic’s Best of the World and Condé Nast Traveller’s picks usually land between late October and December, and Frommer’s hasn’t published its 2027 list. If your favourite is missing, wait a month before deciding it’s unfashionable.
Which 2027 list should I trust most?
None of them alone. Lonely Planet is the most considered, Skyscanner is the most practical for a budget, Expedia tells you where the crowds are heading. A place on two of the three is the strongest signal.
Is it too early to book for 2027?
For flights, Google Flights’ data says international fares are lowest around 89 days before departure, so for a March trip the window opens in December. For hotels in small places like Šibenik or Montserrat, book earlier. There aren’t many rooms.
Will these places be crowded now that they're on a list?
The Lonely Planet ones, somewhat, and mostly in peak months. Go in April, May, September or October and the effect is small. The Skyscanner ones got cheaper precisely because fewer people went.
Which picks suit a trip from Australia?
The Tweed and Dunedin are short hops. Okinawa, Danang, Busan, Krabi and New Caledonia are direct or one-stop flights. Oman and Gujarat work well on the way to Europe.
- Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2027, the 25 destinations, via Time Out (23 Sep 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2027, destination notes, via Yahoo Travel, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Skyscanner best-value destinations for 2027, via Time Out (8 Oct 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Expedia destinations of the year 2027, via Time Out (15 Oct 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Google Flights holiday travel trends 2026, booking windows and trending searches (5 Oct 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Byway travel trends 2026, off-season departures up 1.5 times, checked 16 Oct 2026
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