Destinations become trendy for a number of reasons, be it a previously underrated city which has slipped into mainstream popularity or a cool new event or facility shining a light on far less travelled places.
It’s always handy to know where is trending for the year ahead, and that’s one of the things Tripadvisor’s annual Travellers’ Choice Awards have unveiled. It describes the ranking of trending destinations as consisting of ‘places our community of travellers already love – and places rising fast for 2026’, which all have high proportions of above-and-beyond reviews.
So, where is everybody travelling to this year? Well, according to Tripadvisor, the world’s top trending destination is (drum roll, please!) Madeira.
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That’s right – over the last couple of years, the Portuguese archipelago has definitely enjoyed more time in the spotlight, but Tripadvisor cites it as a perfect destination for adventurous family holidays.
It’s preferable to have a car if you plan on visiting the islands, and while Funchal and Ponta do Sol are well worth visiting, somewhere lesser known which recently named as one of the world’s best beyond-the-obvious destinations for off-peak sun is São Vicente.
It’s a sweet little village in a verdant valley on Madeira’s north coast, and is a brilliant base for exploring Madeira Natural Park and hiking with stonking ocean views as the backdrop.
Tbilisi, Georgia’s culture-dense capital city, claimed second place, while Chicago sits in third. Scroll on to have a look at Tripadvisor’s full top 20.
The 20 top trending travel destinations for 2026, according to Tripadvisor
- Madeira
- Tbilisi
- Chicago
- Quy Nhon
- Puerto Escondido
- Milan
- Glasgow
- Abu Dhabi
- Recife
- San Carlos de Bariloche
- Vienna
- Menorca
- Taghazout
- Bordeaux
- Cali
- Okinawa City
- Bentota
- Halifax
- Dominica
- Big Sky
🌎 Check out all the places editors think you should travel in 2026.
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