The holiday landscape has changed. Have you kept pace? If you haven’t started thinking about your 2027 holiday yet, you may already be behind the curve. That’s not scaremongering, it’s simply the reality of how the travel industry has shifted in the past few years. The travellers who are securing the best experiences, the most coveted hotel rooms, and the premium seats on long haul flights are, in many cases, planning eighteen months or more in advance. 2027 is already being booked, and the trends shaping those plans are fascinating.
After more than 25 years working in the travel industry, I’ve seen trends come and go. Some are fleeting fads affected by world events, while others represent genuine, lasting shifts in how we think about holidays. What’s happening right now feels very much like the latter. Travellers are more considered, more adventurous, and refreshingly, more willing to invest in quality and experience.
Travellers looking to book holidays for 2027 are planning earlier than ever before, securing flights, accommodation and once-in-a-lifetime experiences well over a year in advance. From luxury safaris and escorted tours to premium rail journeys and tailor-made itineraries, the best long haul holidays for 2027 and 2028 are already attracting strong demand.
Here’s what’s driving the travel market heading into 2027, and where in the world people are heading.
Perhaps the single most significant shift in traveller behaviour is the move towards early booking, and not just by a few weeks. We’re seeing holidaymakers planning twelve, fifteen, even eighteen months ahead. This isn’t panic buying; it’s considered, strategic planning driven by a desire to secure the very best options at the right price.
Premium options are naturally limited. Think a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, a private guided tour of Kyoto’s temples, or a cabin on the Eastern & Oriental Express; they fill up quickly, and the travellers who know this are acting accordingly. Equally, the best rooms at sought-after hotels and lodges, and the most competitive business class fares are never available at short notice. The message is clear: if you want 2027 to be truly special, start planning now.
This shift also reflects a broader change in how people value their holiday time. Rather than taking several shorter breaks throughout the year, many are channelling their budget and their annual leave into one or two longer, more considered trips. Which brings us neatly to the next trend.
The days of the purely passive beach holiday are not over, far from it, but the appetite for combining relaxation with genuine experience has never been stronger. Travellers increasingly want to come home with stories, not just a tan.
We’re seeing more holidays built around events: a Formula 1 Grand Prix holiday in a far-flung location, an England cricket tour to the Southern Hemisphere, a cultural festival, a music event with genuine local flavour. These anchor experiences give a trip purpose and shape, and they’re proving enormously popular.
Beyond events, there’s a strong movement towards combining what might once have been seen as separate holiday types. A safari in southern Africa without a beach holiday afterwards feels, to many, like leaving the job half done.
Scenic rail journeys are another expression of this: the journey itself becomes part of the experience, rather than simply the means of getting from A to B.
Experiential travel is also about authenticity. People want to understand the places they visit, to engage with local culture and cuisine, and to go home feeling they’ve scratched beneath the surface. This is reflected in the growing popularity of guided and escorted tours, which offer structure and expertise without sacrificing depth.
We can see a notable consolidation of holiday spend happening, and it’s producing some interesting results. Rather than taking three or four shorter holidays, with a city break here, a European beach holiday there, a growing number of travellers are redirecting that budget into one or two genuinely exceptional long haul trips.
The consequences of this are playing out across the industry. Business class and premium economy cabins are in higher demand than ever, with many travellers arguing, entirely reasonably, that if you’re flying to Australia or South Africa, you may as well arrive feeling human. Four and five-star hotels and lodges are seeing strong forward bookings, and there’s a clear preference for smaller, more intimate properties over the larger resort-style hotels.
This isn’t simply about spending more money for its own sake. It’s about recognising that the way you travel, the comfort of your flight, the quality of your accommodation, the level of service you receive, shapes the entire experience. Travellers are making that connection more explicitly than ever.
This is perhaps the trend that surprises people most when I mention it, but it makes perfect sense on reflection. At a time when artificial intelligence can generate a point-to-point itinerary in seconds, there’s a strong and growing movement away from those algorithmically produced, off-the-shelf packages, and a move towards something far more personal.
Travellers planning considered, multi-destination long haul trips are increasingly turning to experienced travel specialists who can craft something genuinely tailored to them. Something aligned to their interests, their pace, their budget, and their ambitions. A good travel expert doesn’t just book flights and hotels; they design a journey. They know which lodge offers the best game viewing in a particular season, which train journey is worth the premium, which local guides are exceptional, and how to piece together an itinerary that flows beautifully.
The irony is a pleasing one. In an age of automation, the human touch has never been more valued. For complex, multi-destination long haul holidays, personal service and expertise remain genuinely irreplaceable.
So where is everyone going next year? The destination trends for 2027 are as interesting as the behavioural ones. Here’s a region-by-region look at what’s generating the most excitement.
Japan’s popularity shows absolutely no signs of waning, and guided tours of Japan are the standout product for 2027. There’s a very good reason for this: Japan is endlessly rewarding, but it’s also a destination where language is a barrier and having an expert alongside you transforms the experience. The language, the culture, the etiquette, a good guide opens doors, both literally and figuratively.
From the iconic bullet train journeys and Kyoto’s ancient temples to the extraordinary food culture of Osaka, and the serene beauty of rural Hokkaido, Japan delivers on every front. It’s also a destination where early booking is particularly important; capacity in quality accommodation and on guided departures is limited, and 2027 slots are filling steadily.
Thailand is reinventing itself, at least in the eyes of discerning travellers. The traditional Bangkok and Phuket combination, while still popular, is giving way to something more textured. Chiang Mai in the north is drawing visitors with its extraordinary temple culture, its vibrant food scene, its proximity to the hill tribes, and its reputation as one of Southeast Asia’s most liveable and explorable cities. Similarly, spending some time with rescued elephants at the Elephant Hills project in Khao Sok National Park is attracting visitors wanting an ethical wildlife experience, and to help with conservation.
This is the experiential travel trend in action: travellers are seeking a Thailand holiday that goes a little deeper, moves a little slower, and feels a little more naturally Thai.
Vietnam holidays remain perennially popular, and for 2027 the demand for escorted tours and authentic experiences is particularly strong. This is a country that rewards curiosity, the history, the landscapes from the limestone pinnacles of Ha Long Bay to the rice terraces of Sapa, the food, the warmth of its people, and an escorted tour gives you the confidence to engage with all of it properly. Demand for quality, small-group departures is high, so early booking is advised.
Whether it is the mythical Eastern & Oriental Express from Singapore into Malaysia’s rainforests, or Vietnam’s S-Journey rail linking Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh, a luxury rail experience remains so much more than just a train journey. Travellers are looking for comfortable and spacious cabins, top quality service, and constant changing views. Both rail options deliver all of this and then some.
South Africa may be the story of the moment in long haul travel, and the numbers bear that out. Direct flights from London to both Cape Town and Johannesburg are frequently at or near capacity towards the end of 2026, a strong indicator of where the market’s enthusiasm lies. Airlines such as Virgin Atlantic have even switched capacity away from the troubled Middle East to add more frequency to South Africa. Several factors are converging to make the country hugely attractive.
England’s cricket tour of South Africa starting in December 2026 and carrying on into January 2027 has brought the country into sharp focus for sports fans, many of whom are combining the cricket with broader South African experiences.
But the growth goes well beyond sport. The Garden Route, one of the world’s great self-drive journeys, running along the southern coastline through forests, lagoons, and charming towns, continues to attract visitors in significant numbers. Safari-wise, Kruger National Park remains the headline act, but there’s meaningful growth in demand for malaria-free alternatives, particularly in the Eastern and Western Cape regions. Lodges in these areas offer superb game viewing, the ‘Big 5’ is achievable, without the need for malaria prophylaxis, making them especially popular with families.
For those seeking something a little different on the safari front, Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province is well worth knowing about. Less visited than the Kruger, this reserve offers an exclusive and intimate wildlife experience, with exceptional lodges and reliably excellent sightings. It is, in short, exactly the kind of hidden gem that the current generation of discerning traveller is looking for.
If South Africa is the accessible, crowd-pleasing option, Zambia is the connoisseur’s choice, and proud of it. This is a destination for experienced safari-goers who understand that the most extraordinary wildlife encounters often happen when there are very few other people around. Zambia’s parks, particularly the South Luangwa Valley and the Lower Zambezi, offer that rarity: a true wilderness, exceptional guiding, and a sense of being genuinely immersed in the bush.
The luxury lodges here, and there are some truly outstanding ones, combine comfort with authenticity in a way that’s difficult to replicate elsewhere. Walking safaris, pioneered in Zambia, remain one of the most thrilling ways to experience the African bush. If you’ve done South Africa or Kenya and want to take your safari experiences to the next level, Zambia should be firmly on your radar for 2027 and 2028.
Kenya‘s draw remains as powerful as ever, anchored by one of the natural world’s greatest spectacles: the Great Migration through the Masai Mara. Witnessing hundreds of thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara River is a genuinely life-altering experience, and demand for quality camps in the right locations during the migration season is, predictably, fierce.
What’s interesting for 2027, however, is where the growth is coming from beyond the Mara. Tsavo, Kenya’s largest National Park, bisected by the Nairobi to Mombasa highway and roamed by some of the country’s biggest elephant herds, is seeing a significant uptick in interest. Amboseli, with its unparalleled views of Kilimanjaro and its large elephant herds, continues to captivate. And Samburu in the north, with its unique species, the reticulated giraffe, the Grevy’s zebra, and the gerenuk, is attracting travellers who want to move away from the busier circuits and find something a little more personal.
Sydney is back! Australia’s most iconic city has never really been away, but Sydney is back at the very top of the long haul wish list for 2027 and 2028, and there’s a specific catalyst. Qantas is hoping to launch its direct flight from London to Sydney before Christmas 2027 and the prospect of reaching Australia without a stopover has focused attention on the destination in a way that even the most enthusiastic tourism marketing campaign couldn’t achieve. A non-stop flight to Sydney is a genuine gamechanger, removing one of the traditional objections to the journey and putting Australia firmly back in competition with nearer long haul destinations.
Sydney itself needs no introduction: the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, world-class restaurants, the beaches of Bondi and Manly, the Blue Mountains a short drive away. It remains one of the world’s truly great cities, and it will be even more accessible towards the end of 2027.
Perth already benefits from direct flights from the UK, and this access advantage has helped establish Western Australia as one of the most compelling entry points for an Australian holiday.
The city itself is relaxed, modern and confident, with an exceptional food and wine scene. Beyond the city, the possibilities are wonderful: Rottnest Island, a short ferry ride from Fremantle, is home to the quokka and offers cycling, snorkelling, and a thoroughly charming pace of life. Margaret River to the south is one of Australia’s great wine regions, with superb restaurants and a dramatic Indian Ocean coastline. Head north along the coast and you reach the Coral Coast, swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo, the extraordinary Pinnacles, and the vivid turquoise of Shark Bay.
Australia’s great rail journeys are capturing imaginations in a way that links directly back to our general themes of experiential travel, early booking, and the move to luxury. The Indian Pacific, running from Perth to Sydney across the Nullarbor Plain, covers nearly 4,400 kilometres in one of the world’s great rail adventures. The Ghan, travelling from Adelaide north through the Red Centre to Darwin, passes through landscapes that are as extraordinary as anything on earth, remote, ancient, and humbling.
Both journeys offer accommodation in comfortable cabins, excellent food and service, and the incomparable sensation of watching a continent pass by your window. They are perfect long haul additions, and they combine beautifully with a fly drive or extended stay in any of Australia’s gateway cities. Demand is strong and capacity limited, so early booking for 2027 and beyond is essential.
New Zealand has long been one of the most beloved long haul destinations for British travellers, and that affection shows no sign of fading. What is changing, however, is how people choose to explore it. The traditional self drive campervan holiday, for decades the default way to experience the country’s extraordinary landscapes, is increasingly sharing the stage with a more refined alternative: luxury touring and small-group guided itineraries.
It’s a shift that speaks directly to the broader trends we’ve already discussed. Travellers who want to experience New Zealand’s fiordland, volcanic plateaus, Māori culture, and dramatic coastlines in depth, but who also want exceptional accommodation, expert guiding, and the ease of having every detail taken care of, are turning to small group touring in significant numbers. These are not the large, impersonal coach tours of a previous generation, today’s luxury touring product in New Zealand is intimate, carefully paced, and genuinely excellent. The guides are knowledgeable and passionate, the properties outstanding, and the itineraries designed to go beyond the obvious. It’s the perfect expression of quality over quantity, and for a destination as spectacular as New Zealand, it’s a very compelling way to travel.
One of the more intriguing trends for 2027 is the surge of interest in cowboy culture and the American West. There’s a clear shift away from the traditional big-city American itinerary, New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, towards something far more rooted in the land. Ranches in Texas, and in the Yellowstone area of Wyoming and Montana, are among the most searched American holiday experiences on Google, with remote and luxury properties particularly in demand.
This is experiential travel at its most elemental: riding horses through vast open landscapes, learning to rope, eating around campfires, and sleeping under skies full of stars. It speaks to something genuinely primal about the appeal of the American West, and it also taps into the broader desire to be somewhere quiet, beautiful, and unhurried. The luxury ranch holiday has expanded significantly in recent years, offering exceptionally comfortable properties alongside genuine Western experiences. Today’s cowboys are very much not roughing it.
Similar to its American neighbour, Canada is also feeling the demand for the Great Outdoors. And Canada’s cowboy culture takes it a step further. The Calgary Stampede, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo, returns from 9th – 18th July 2027 and is drawing visitors for an experience that goes well beyond the rodeo ring itself.
The ten-day festival encompasses food, music, First Nation cultural, and a city that genuinely comes alive in a way that’s unique and memorable. For those interested in Canadian culture at its most vivid and accessible, this is an extraordinary event to build a holiday around.
Right on Calgary’s doorstep, the Rocky Mountains rise up steeply out of the plains, with snow-capped mountains and turquoise glacial lakes just waiting to be explored. The Canadian Rockies remain one of the world’s great natural wonders, and 2027 demand is strong across all formats, including fly-drive itineraries, motorhome holidays through Banff, Jasper and the Icefields Parkway, and the celebrated Rocky Mountaineer train journeys.
The Rocky Mountaineer, running through spectacular mountain scenery in glass-domed carriages, is an experience that sits perfectly alongside a cruise from Vancouver: many travellers are combining a Canadian Rockies journey with an Alaska cruise, creating one of the truly great North American itineraries.
Trending holidays from Freedom Destinations
Tokyo | Hakone | Takayama | Kyoto
Sydney | Blue Mountains | Hunter Valley | Port Stephens | Byron Bay | Brisbane | K'gari | Sunshine Coast
Rapid City | Mount Rushmore | Deadwood | Devils' Tower | Buffalo | Cody | Yellowstone | Jackson
Tokyo | Hakone | Takayama | Kyoto
Sydney | Blue Mountains | Hunter Valley | Port Stephens | Byron Bay | Brisbane | K'gari | Sunshine Coast
Rapid City | Mount Rushmore | Deadwood | Devils' Tower | Buffalo | Cody | Yellowstone | Jackson
If you’re planning a long haul holiday in 2027, booking early has never been more important. Demand for premium flights, luxury lodges, escorted tours and iconic rail journeys continues to grow, while availability remains limited on many of the world’s most sought-after experiences.
Booking your holiday for 2027 well in advance can provide several advantages:
Whether you’re considering a safari in Africa, a tailor-made tour of Japan, a luxury rail journey across Australia or a fly-drive holiday through New Zealand, planning ahead gives you the widest choice and the greatest flexibility.
The common thread running through all of these trends is intentionality. The travellers who are going to have the most extraordinary 2027 experiences are those who plan carefully, book early, and invest in expertise alongside their itinerary. Whether that’s a tailor-made safari through Southern Africa, a luxury rail journey across Australia, a guided adventure through Japan, or a ranch holiday in the shadow of Yellowstone, the holidays that truly stay with you are the ones that are properly thought through.
At Freedom Destinations, our team of travel experts has the knowledge, the relationships, and the genuine passion for travel to help you plan exactly that. We specialise in long haul, tailor-made itineraries designed around you, your interests, your budget, your travel style, and your ambitions. We know which lodges deliver, which guides are exceptional, which train cabins are worth the upgrade, and how to piece together a journey that feels seamless from start to finish. If you want 2027 to be a year to remember, we’d love to help you make it one. Get in touch with the Freedom Destinations team, and let’s start planning.
Richard is the Content Manager at Freedom Destinations and has more than 25 years of experience working within the travel industry. He has travelled widely in Europe, the USA & Canada, Australia & New Zealand, South East Asia, as well as Southern Africa. He enjoys exploring National Parks and other wilderness areas.
