With many vacation locations affected by some fairly extreme overcrowding problems in the meanwhile, no one desires to spend their hard-earned annual depart combating for a single sq. inch of sand.
Cue Expedia’s 2026 Island Hot List, a helpful roundup of the fast-rising island locations travellers are flocking to as an alternative of the busy hotspots. From sleepy European hideaways to fancier spots that received’t completely blow your funds, these underrated islands are shouting at you to drop your luggage and loosen up. Here are those to e book proper now, earlier than the key is out.
The prime trending island locations
Taking the highest spot for 2026 is St. Lucia, a Caribbean paradise of golden sand seashores and cliffside accommodations. At Jade Mountain, rooms solely have three partitions, so your personal infinity pool seems out on the mountains with zero glass in the best way.
You can simply escape the resort to hit the Gros Islet avenue events for rum and recent fish proper off the grill, or drive a rental automotive instantly into the crater of the dormant volcano to slather your self within the pure mud baths. The steaming black water smells strongly of rotten eggs, nevertheless it’s loaded with pure iron and sulfur that locals swear will soothe any sunburns or pesky mosquito bites.
Following proper behind is Porto Santo, a sleepy little island within the Madeira archipelago residence to a nine-kilometre stretch of golden sand. But this isn’t simply extraordinary sand – it’s made from historic coral and seashell sediments mentioned to alleviate muscle ache and arthritis.
The native wellness centres actually bury your total physique as much as your neck in sizzling, 40C sand to let your pores and skin soak up the therapeutic minerals. It’s additionally the place Christopher Columbus lived for a number of years, and you’ll nonetheless go to his stone home down by the primary harbour.
In third place is Praslin within the Seychelles, residence to the Vallée de Mai forest, a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site the place you possibly can hike beneath large, uncommon Coco de Mer palm timber. It can also be the one place on earth the place you possibly can spot the uncommon Seychelles black parrot within the wild.
Syros in Greece is available in because the fourth-most trending island vacation spot this yr. Known for its wild fennel, you possibly can spend your days consuming crispy marathopita (fennel pie) and heavy, fennel-stuffed pork sausages whereas ingesting ouzo in Ermoupolis. The capital here’s a grand, vibrant city impressed by nineteenth-century Italian opera homes, supplying you with a little bit of tradition with out the eye-watering Mykonos costs. The island can also be providing cat lovers a free keep on the island, in return for cleansing, feeding, socialising younger rescues and ‘kitten cuddling’. Sounds like a purr-fect vacation.
The full Expedia Island Hot List 2026
Here is the complete listing of islands that it is best to add to your vacation bucket listing.
- Sanibel Island, Florida, USA
Check out the most underrated journey locations in Europe for 2026.
Plus: The European locations going through extreme water shortages proper now – and what it means to your vacation.
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