Every autumn the big trend forecasts land, and every autumn they say roughly the same things in slightly different fonts. Mood boards. Buzzwords. A survey of 30,000 people who mostly want a cheaper flight. Useful, sure. But they rarely tell you where the travellers we write for are actually spending their time and money.
So we did our own research. We spent the year looking across luxury hospitality, wellness, rail, cruise and food, and we tracked what sells out within hours, which openings have waiting lists before they’ve even opened, and what our readers keep messaging us about. Then we connected the dots ourselves.
What we found looks a bit different from the headlines. Bigger journeys. Slower trains. Longer lives. Holidays you do rather than lie through. You won’t find this exact list in the big forecasts, and that’s rather the point. This is our take, and we’d bet on every one of them.
How we chose
No borrowed surveys and no recycled press releases. This list is ours. We looked at where demand is quietly moving across travel, wellness and hospitality, at the journeys that sell out in an afternoon, the lodges with year-long waiting lists and the questions our readers ask us again and again. We spotted the patterns first, then went looking for proof. A trend only made the cut if we could point you to a real journey, lodge, ship or train where you can live it right now. We’ll keep this list updated as 2027 unfolds (and yes, we’ll tell you if we got one wrong).
1. The Bucket List Revival
Best for: Memories you’ll be retelling at every dinner party for the next 40 years
Where to try it: Viking’s Total Eclipse on the Nile, Egypt
Why it’s a 2027 trend: Here’s what we kept noticing: the “one day” trip has quietly become the “this year” trip. Our readers aren’t waiting for retirement any more. They’re pulling dream journeys forward, booking 18 months out and planning whole years around a single, unrepeatable moment. Antarctica used to be for hardened explorers. Now it’s the trip everyone seems to be secretly saving for. And 2027 has a once-in-a-century event that has eclipse chasers in a frenzy. Life is short. The penguins (and the moon) are waiting.
Why you’ll love it: On 2 August 2027, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Egypt, and at 6 minutes and 23 seconds it will be the longest until 2114. Watching the sky go dark above Luxor, the ancient city of the sun god, is about as close to time travel as any of us will get.
Viking’s twelve-day itinerary is the most elegant way to see it. Prices start from £6,995, and the new Viking Sekhmet carries just 82 guests in 41 outside staterooms, so you won’t be elbowing anyone for the view. Don’t miss Karnak at sunrise. The dates are set by the heavens (literally), so book now.
2. The Activity-Led Escape
Best for: People who get bored by day two of the sun lounger
Where to try it: Explora, Patagonia and Iceland
Why it’s a 2027 trend: We’ll be the ones to say it: the “flop and do nothing” holiday has lost its shine. The forecasts love to talk about rest. What we’re seeing is the opposite. People want to come home having done something, whether that’s a summit, a long ride or a properly hard hike. Holidays are becoming the reason to train, not the reward for stopping. Solo travellers in particular are using active trips to meet people. Sweat, it turns out, is the new small talk.
Why you’ll love it: Nobody does adventure-with-a-hot-tub better than Explora. Its Patagonian network keeps growing, with Explora El Calafate in Argentina and Explora Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve in Chile opening in December 2026. The idea is simple and brilliant: private lodge-to-lodge flights and overland routes link everything, so Patagonia becomes one uninterrupted journey. You hike glaciers all day, then come back to a massage.
Want something colder? Explora has also launched its first winter itinerary in Iceland, with departures in February and March 2027. Think ice caves, black-sand beaches and northern lights you earned. It’s a tough job, etc.
3. Longevity Retreats
Best for: Anyone who wants to be dancing at 95
Where to try it: The Emory, London; Layan Life at Anantara Layan Phuket, Thailand; Mandarin Oriental, Venice
Why it’s a 2027 trend: Everyone’s talking about “wellness”. We think that word is already out of date. Spa days were about feeling good this weekend. Longevity is about feeling good in 2057. The new breed of retreat swaps cucumber water for blood panels, sleep tracking and a plan you actually take home. Six Senses London has opened with its own longevity clinic, and hotel groups are now building entire brands around the idea. Wellness has stopped being a treat. It’s becoming an investment.
Why you’ll love it: The launch we’re watching most closely is Minor Hotels’ Life Longevity, which became a standalone global brand in October 2026. Its flagship retreat at Anantara Layan Phuket blends medical diagnostics with traditional Thai healing and personalised programmes. Our favourite part is the aftercare. The aim is an ongoing relationship with your health rather than a one-off detox you’ve forgotten by Tuesday.
Closer to home, The Emory’s City Circadian Reset is a minimum two-night retreat in Belgravia, with red-light therapy and supplements to take home. In Venice, a Longevity Spa has opened at the San Clemente Palace, which became Mandarin Oriental, Venice in April 2026. A private island in the lagoon, plus a plan to live longer? Delectable.
4. The Hidden Gems
Best for: Travellers who’d rather discover than queue
Where to try it: Samarkand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan; Rocha and José Ignacio, Uruguay (Bahia Vik)
Why it’s a 2027 trend: The trending-destination lists are full of places your neighbours have already been. The magic word for 2027 is “before”: before the crowds, before the cruise ships, before everyone on your feed has posted it. Overtourism has made the classics feel like hard work, and the travellers we hear from want the wow factor without the queues. Two countries top our list.
Why you’ll love it: First, Uzbekistan. If you haven’t stood in Samarkand’s Registan Square as the tiles turn gold at dusk, prepare to have your heart stolen. The luxury infrastructure is finally catching up with the beauty. International hotel brands grew their room count in the country by 272% between 2020 and 2025, and a Ritz-Carlton in Tashkent is set to become Uzbekistan’s first ultra-luxury hotel. Don’t miss the blue-domed tombs of Shah-i-Zinda, or a slow afternoon in Bukhara’s old town. Go now, while it still feels like a secret.
Then there’s Uruguay, South America’s best-kept coastline. Rocha Province sits within UNESCO’s Bañados del Este Biosphere Reserve, and further along the coast Cabo Polonio has pristine beaches, wild birdlife and almost no electricity (your nervous system will thank you). For your base, José Ignacio is the chic choice, with its barefoot glamour and art galleries tucked behind the dunes. Bahia Vik has just 11 multi-bedroom bungalows spread across 10 acres of dunes. Go in March, when the summer crowd has flown home. Stunning.
5. Luxury Nature Stays
Best for: Waking up to birdsong instead of the hum of the minibar
Where to try it: FORESTIS, Dolomites; Eha Retreat, Estonia; Banyan Tree Buahan, Bali
Why it’s a 2027 trend: Forget the infinity pool. Our bet for 2027’s ultimate status symbol is a view of nothing but trees. After years of screens and city noise, a forest path and real silence now feel more luxurious than any amount of marble. The hotels we’re most excited about aren’t adding ballrooms. They’re adding treehouses.
Why you’ll love it: FORESTIS remains the gold standard of forest luxury. It sits at 1,800 metres on the southern slope of Mount Plose, gazing across to the Peitlerkofel massif, and its suites feel more like treetop observatories than hotel rooms. Don’t miss Yera, the restaurant carved into the mountain, where there’s no cutlery (you eat with wooden sticks or your hands) and phones aren’t allowed.
For something wilder, Eha is a 22-guest retreat on Estonia’s Hiiumaa Island, two-thirds of which is forest. In Bali, Banyan Tree’s Buahan has sixteen villas with no walls and no doors, so the jungle is your bedroom. Closer to Spain, keep an eye on Gran Hotel Son Net in Mallorca, whose new treehouse wraps around an ancient tree on the estate. We know, we know. Childhood dreams, but with better linen.
6. Himalayan Spiritual Retreats
Best for: Anyone ready to trade the to-do list for prayer flags
Where to try it: Shinta Mani Mustang, Nepal
Why it’s a 2027 trend: This is the one we think the big reports are underestimating. Wellness is going deeper. The most sought-after retreats aren’t about ice baths. They’re about meaning, and nowhere delivers it quite like the Himalaya, where incense, chanting monks and 8,000-metre peaks all work their magic. Burnt-out travellers don’t just want rest any more. They want perspective, and even the most sceptical of us come home softer.
Why you’ll love it: Our top pick is Shinta Mani Mustang, a Bill Bensley lodge on the edge of one of the world’s last forbidden kingdoms. It sits at 2,800 metres in Jomsom, the gateway to Upper Mustang and the former Kingdom of Lo, which was closed to outsiders until 1992. Built from local stone, it seems to grow straight out of the mountainside. Days are spent exploring ancient monasteries, hidden caves and windswept trails with a private guide.
Five nights is the minimum, and you’ll want every one of them. Don’t miss the food, overseen by chef Santosh Shah, which includes foraging and a 12-course momo feast. We still dream of the momos. For a gentler start, add a few nights in the hills around Kathmandu at Dhulikhel or Namo Buddha, where the monastery views stretch across the whole range. Then think about Bhutan. One retreat rarely feels like enough.
7. The Very Long Voyage
Best for: The sabbatical you’ve been promising yourself for a decade
Where to try it: Oceania Cruises, Silversea, Azamara
Why it’s a 2027 trend: The headlines say we’re all taking shorter trips. We’re seeing a very different group doing the exact opposite. With remote work, career breaks and early retirement on the rise, more travellers can finally take months off rather than days. The world cruise is having a serious glow-up, and the 2027 sailings are the longest and most ambitious in years. Two or three months at sea is the new gap year: a floating home, a different sunrise every morning, and absolutely no packing.
Why you’ll love it: The headline act is Oceania’s 244-night Epic Global Adventure, which calls at 150 ports in 64 countries across six continents. Can’t spare eight months? Oceania’s 127-night Continental Explorer ends in Doha in May, and Azamara’s world cruise can be booked in one of 12 shorter segments. That’s perfect if two or three months is your sweet spot.
Silversea’s “Three Oceans” is the most intimate of the bunch. It sails from Los Angeles on 8 January 2027 aboard the 596-guest Silver Dawn and arrives in Copenhagen on 7 June, taking in 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the way. At the very top, a two-bedroom Owner’s Suite costs $568,400 per person. Come on, it’s five months of your life! Our tip: pick a voyage with lots of overnights in port, so you can eat dinner ashore instead of sailing away at dusk.
8. The Sleeper Train
Best for: Romantics who believe the journey really is the destination
Where to try it: Seven Stars in Kyushu, Japan; La Dolce Vita Orient Express, Italy; Belmond’s Britannic Explorer, UK
Why it’s a 2027 trend: Falling asleep in one place and waking up somewhere else entirely, with real sheets and breakfast brought to your cabin, is the most civilised thing in travel. Our readers are tired of airport queues and want the journey to feel like part of the holiday again. New routes and revived classics are launching across Europe and Asia, and the best cabins are going faster than many five-star suites. That tells us everything.
Why you’ll love it: The hardest ticket of all is Japan’s Seven Stars in Kyushu. Places are usually allocated by lottery, and some hopefuls wait years without ever getting on board. The good news is that Abercrombie & Kent has two guaranteed departures for 2027. Inside, you’ll find wood panelling, exquisite textiles and the Jupiter salon car, which has a tatami-floored tearoom. No, really. A tearoom. On a train.
In Italy, La Dolce Vita Orient Express is adding a Portofino loop and a new stop on its Truffle Route for 2027. In Britain, Belmond’s Britannic Explorer turns London to Cornwall into a three-night affair, all cornflower-blue carriages and unhurried countryside. And if you’d rather go north, JR East is launching a new overnight train from Tokyo to the Tohoku region in spring 2027. Pack a good book. Leave the laptop at home.
9. The Food Pilgrimage
Best for: Travellers who plan their whole trip around dinner (we see you, we are you)
Where to try it: Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka; San Sebastián to Bilbao; Fes
Why it’s a 2027 trend: The forecasts talk about “foodie travel” as if it’s a side quest. We think it’s become the whole point. The new rule for 2027: decide what you want to eat, then work out where to go. More and more of us are booking flights for a single dish, a market or a chef’s counter we’ve been obsessing over. Our take? Don’t stop at one city. Eat your way across a whole region.
Why you’ll love it: City-to-city food itineraries are the smartest way to do it. In Japan, start in Tokyo’s basement food halls (read: heaven in Tupperware), take the bullet train to Kyoto for kaiseki and the stalls of Nishiki Market, and finish in Osaka, where takoyaki is basically a religion. In Spain, spend three days hopping between pintxos counters in San Sebastián’s old town, then head to Bilbao for its fine-dining scene. In Morocco, Fes is having its moment, and a morning in the medina with a local cook is worth any tasting menu.
For the serious planner, Trip.Gourmet’s 2027 Fine Dining List names 744 restaurants across 105 cities in 40 countries. Pick three, join the dots, and call it a holiday. Don’t skip the street food in between. It’s often the best bite of the trip.
10. The Concierge Villa
Best for: Families, friends and anyone who’s done sharing a pool with strangers
Where to try it: Sani Resort, Greece; One&Only Kea Island, Greece
Why it’s a 2027 trend: The resort isn’t dead, but it’s been politely moved aside. In 2027 the ultimate stay is your own villa, with a pool nobody else uses, a chef who knows how you like your eggs, and a concierge who’s already booked the boat. Well-heeled travellers are choosing private homes over hotel suites, and they now expect concierge, a private chef, housekeeping and in-villa spa treatments as standard. If there’s one image that sums up luxury travel in 2027, in our view it’s the villa.
Why you’ll love it: The cleverest hotels are answering with villas inside their own grounds, so you get privacy and full service at once. In Greece, Sani Asterias has gone big on beachfront residences with private pools and a dedicated concierge, while One&Only Kea Island offers vast seafront residences.
What’s not to love? Breakfast on your own terrace, a spa therapist who comes to you, and the hotel’s restaurants a short buggy ride away when you fancy company. The best villas sell out first, and hotels are releasing villa prices earlier than ever, so book summer 2027 now. Hear, hear.
So there it is: our take on 2027, and not a recycled survey in sight. The only question left is which one you’re booking first. We’re starting with the eclipse. Obviously.
