Tripadvisor Summer Travel Index Reveals East Coast and Florida Beaches as America’s Most Sought-After Summer Destinations

Myrtle Beach Leads East Coast Surge While Cancun Tops International Destinations as Travelers Plan Getaways

NEEDHAM, Mass., April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tripadvisor, the world’s largest journey steerage platform, right this moment launched preliminary findings from its upcoming Summer Travel Index revealing the highest and trending summer time locations for U.S. vacationers in 2026.

The knowledge reveals a desire for East Coast seashore locations, with Myrtle Beach main home journey searches. These accessible coastal locations provide family-friendly enchantment and actions that cater to vacationers of all ages, from water parks and seashore actions to cultural sights and native leisure. Internationally, Mexico and the Caribbean proceed to dominate, with Cancun as the highest summer time journey vacation spot for the third 12 months in a row, providing world-class diving and snorkeling experiences in addition to proximity to iconic cultural heritage websites.

Destination preferences shift throughout vacation weekends within the U.S., with the information revealing that vacationers are selecting long-weekend journeys to locations like Anaheim, California, and Orange Beach, Alabama, for Memorial Day, and to seashore hotspots like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Clearwater, Florida for 4th of July.

Summer Travel Index: 2026 Top Summer Destinations
Summer journey searches reveal a balanced mixture of beloved seashore getaways and iconic city locations.

While the well-loved Myrtle Beach takes the lead this 12 months together with three high Florida seashore locations, metropolis icons additionally high the listing, with high cities together with New York, Chicago and Vegas all included. Internationally, Cancun takes the lead with U.S. vacationers, with Paris and London rounding out the highest three, reflecting sturdy demand for European cultural hubs all through the highest 10.

Top 10 Fastest Growing Destinations Based on YoY Growth

Year-over-year comparisons reveal that Florida coastal cities and Caribbean islands are gaining recognition with vacationers this summer time, whereas worldwide vacationers are discovering new locations throughout Europe, the Caribbean and Asia.

Memorial Day Weekend Travel Trends

Memorial Day weekend trending locations showcase new favorites gaining traction with summer time vacationers. Coastal locations like St. Pete Beach and Orange Beach, and cultural locations like Rome and Toronto are seeing elevated search exercise, whereas Anaheim – house to top-rated Disneyland Park – seems set to be a preferred selection for prolonged weekend getaways.

4th of July Weekend Travel Trends

Trending locations for the 4th of July vacation present traveler preferences shifting towards seashore locations like Virginia Beach and Panama City Beach, and entertainment-focused cities like Pigeon Forge – house to the Dollywood Theme Park.

Summer Experience Trends and Activities

Summer vacationers are prioritizing curated experiences on their holidays. Cultural excursions and heritage experiences are the most well-liked with U.S. vacationers, adopted by out of doors actions and journey excursions that permit them to discover their locations in distinctive methods.

Top Experiences Booked for Summer:

• Cultural Tours
  • Best of the Best Cultural Tours embody:
• Historical & Heritage Tours
  • Best of the Historical & Heritage Tours embody:
• Adventure Tours
  • Best of the Best Adventure Tours embody:

Methodology

Site behavioral knowledge sourced from first celebration visitors knowledge on the Tripadvisor platform for searches made by vacationers within the U.S. and U.Okay. between February 1 – April 10, 2026 for journey between June 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026.

About Tripadvisor, Inc.

Tripadvisor, the world’s largest journey steerage platform*, helps hundreds of thousands of individuals every month** develop into higher vacationers, from planning to reserving to taking a visit. Travelers throughout the globe use Tripadvisor’s web site and app to find the place to remain, what to do and the place to eat based mostly on steerage from those that have been there earlier than. With greater than a billion evaluations and contributions, vacationers flip to Tripadvisor to seek out offers on lodging, ebook experiences, reserve tables at scrumptious eating places and uncover nice locations close by.

Tripadvisor LLC is an entirely owned subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP). The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. personal and function a portfolio of journey media manufacturers and companies, working underneath numerous web sites and apps.

* Source: SimilarWeb, distinctive customers de-duplicated month-to-month, March 2026
** Source: Tripadvisor inner log recordsdata

SOURCE Tripadvisor