Elaine Glusac•August 4, 2025

Meet the new trips of a lifetime.

This story is part of our Trips of a Lifetime collection in honor of 25 years of Virtuoso, The Magazine.

When it comes to favorite destinations, it’s hard to dispute the classics – Paris is always a good idea, New Zealand has a lock on cinematic landscapes, and do we even need to discuss Italy’s perennial allure? The best part: Repeat visits only deepen the bond. After all, places, like travelers, don’t stand still. They’re constantly evolving, revealing new unsung corners to wander, milestone events to celebrate, and fresh approaches to take, such as a full-blown wellness retreat in the middle of an African safari.

We’ve always got our eyes on where travelers are going, thanks in part to the annual Virtuoso Luxe Report, culled from Virtuoso advisors’ intel on the year’s top travel trends and locales. We gathered insight from Luxe Reports between 2014 and 2025 to create this cumulative ranking of the past decade’s top ten destinations. They’re places we’ve been writing about in the pages of Virtuoso, The Magazine for 25 years now – and we’ll never tire of them, because there’s always something new to discover.

A Costa Smeralda calling card.
Getty Images

1. Italy

Settle into the (new) coast with the most.

The Vatican’s baroque glory, Tuscany’s inviting vineyards, Lake Como’s enduring style: Italy’s appeal is beyond broad. The Costa Smeralda – Emerald Coast – of Sardinia pushes that range to encompass granite headlands, turquoise bays, and sun-bleached strands, plus easy access to the 60-something islands of the Maddalena archipelago, where rock formations dissolve into pink-sand beaches. On land, trails link coastal villages and sprawling Bronze Age settlements, and a bounty of resorts channel la dolce vita at the beach. Peak choices include the 75-room 7Pines Resort Sardinia and its four secluded coves; the villagelike 121-room Cala di Volpe, a Luxury Collection Hotel; and Belmond’s 100-room Romazzino, one of our favorite new hotels of 2024. Just like the beloved Amalfi, we predict the Costa Smeralda will quickly become a legend.

Guided tours of Bastide du Jas de Bouffan, Paul Cézanne’s former home, highlight the artist’s legacy.
Michel Fraisset

2. France

Celebrate French art, from the city to the Côte d’Azur.

France debuts a trio of prominent exhibitions in 2025. In Aix-en-Provence, impressionist Paul Cézanne’s home and studio reopened this summer as a permanent museum with more than 100 of his artworks. In Toulouse, the French-art-focused Musée des Augustins will reopen after a four-year renovation of its fourteenth-century-monastery home. And in October, Paris’ Fondation Cartier moves into a classic 1855 Haussmann building in the place du Palais-Royal, modernized by architect Jean Nouvel. Chase good art (and the light that inspired it) aboard Tauck’s soon-to-debut 130-passenger Lumière on a 13-night Paris-to-Monte-Carlo sailing on the Rhône and Saône rivers. Departures: Multiple dates, April 2 to October 30, 2026.

FYI: “In Southern France you can trace the footsteps of legendary artists through a mesmerizing route – Van Gogh in Arles, Monet and Picasso in Antibes, Chagall and Matisse in Nice. But my personal favorite is the medieval village of Saint Paul de Vence, with the Fondation Maeght and intimate galleries such as Catherine Issert. It’s a collector’s paradise.” – Céline Swicegood, Virtuoso travel advisor

Small footprint: Kateka’s eight suites are spread across six villas.

3. South Africa

Pair a safari with the sauna.

In South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park, a new lodge is leaning into the concept of nature as medicine, marrying wellness programming with wilderness exploration. Guests of the eight-suite Kateka have access to nearly 40,000 acres within the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve via game drives, guided bush walks, and helicopter flights. Between wildlife watches and sundowners, there’s yoga, art therapy, and meditative beading classes; Chinese cupping and crystal chakra massages; and Himalayan salt sauna and ice-plunge circuits. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a 60-minute spa treatment for two.

Chester Osborn, the site’s chief winemaker, designed the d’Arenberg Cube.

4. Australia

Sip shiraz in the wine region Aussies are buzzing about. 

Sure, a first visit down under calls for the requisite greatest hits, but getting off the beaten track rewards travelers with a thirst for discovery. Right now, South Australia’s under-the-radar darling is the Fleurieu Peninsula, a stretch where coastal drama and national parks meet farmland and more than 80 vineyards. Virtuoso travel advisors can work with on-site tour connection Southern World Australia to create a custom itinerary on the peninsula that balances indulgence and adventure, including exclusive access to biodynamic rising star Yangarra Estate Vineyard in the McLaren Vale wine region, hikes to the rock pools of the precipitous Onkaparinga Gorge, and tours of d’Arenberg Cube, a five-story Rubik’s-like building with vineyard views that’s home to restaurants and a museum devoted to wine making. Bonus for North American travelers: The first nonstop flight between the U.S. and South Australia debuts this December. Departures: Any day through 2026.

FYI: “Home of Plenty is one of many cool places to visit in the emerging Currency Creek wine region. Or, if you’ve been to enough wineries – because there are heaps of them around the Fleurieu – head to Fleurieu Gin. They have distilleries for gin and vodka, great light meals and platters, and beautiful views to go with it all.” – Natasha Pirone, Virtuoso travel advisor

Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa’s lobby and (right) garden lounge.

5. England

Live out a Pride and Prejudice fantasy.

Quaint villages, lush gardens, high standards, and classic romance: Thanks to Jane Austen, the English gentry endures in our imaginations. This year – the 250th anniversary of the novelist’s birth – Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice superfans can explore her period settings from some of southern England’s most historic hotels. Austen’s Persuasion and Northanger Abbey take place in the spa town of Bath, where the iconic, 45-room Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa offers Austen-themed afternoon tea, and the 42-room Lucknam Park Hotel pays homage with dinners in a walled garden plus archery practice (so Emma) on its 500 acres. In her birthplace of Hampshire, Heckfield Place, a Georgian manor turned 45-room hotel, organizes guided tours of the estates and villages that shaped Austen’s life.

Roasted beet with mole rosa at Puebla’s Augurio restaurant.
Natasha Lee

6. Mexico

Skip the expected in favor of authentic culinary immersion.

Travelers’ interest in Mexico’s culinary bounty (which runs way deeper than tacos and tequila) has sparked a wave of cooking-school openings and culinary tours. In Puebla, a two-and-a-half-hour drive southeast of Mexico City, Oaxaca’s heritage flavors meet the colonial charm of San Miguel de Allende. The town’s visual feast of ornate sixteenth-century churches and glazed Talavera tiles complements a literal one of street-style chalupas (fried and topped tortillas), rich mole sauces (here’s where to find the best ones), stuffed chiles en nogada, and brioche-like cemita bread. In the historic town center, the solar-powered Banyan Tree Puebla offers cooking classes, market tours, and tequila tastings to guests of its 78 rooms. For a deeper dive, Virtuoso on-site connection Journey Mexico balances Puebla sightseeing and Poblano cooking on its five-day private culinary tour. Departures: Any day through 2026.

Exploring the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in Greece.
Getty Images

7. Greece

Pedal through the Peloponnese.

For those crowded out of the islands, the Greek mainland’s mountainous Peloponnese peninsula delivers on the country’s core charms: mythological heroes, time-stilled archeological sites, and kalamata-olive groves – with enough coastline that you’ll never lose a sense of the sea. Close to Athens (about a two-hour drive from the airport), it allows travelers to slow down more quickly, which is exactly the inspiration for Backroads’ relaxed-paced six-day tour through the region. The small-group trip travels the length of the Peloponnese via e-bike, by kayak, and on foot, stringing together the thirteenth-century mountaintop town of Mystras, Venetian-influenced Nafplio (Greece’s first capital), and the beachy island of Elafónisos. Departures: Multiple dates, September 25, 2025, through October 22, 2026.

Pops of color in Santa Cruz de La Palma.
Getty Images

8. Spain

Set sail on a Canary Islands expedition.

Food, flamenco, fine art, and fashion – Spain’s pull endures. The seven-island Canary archipelago, off Africa’s northwest coast, offers a castaway take on the Costa del Sol, and visiting it via cruise ship ups the opportunities to see as many of its outstanding beaches and lush forests as possible. Over ten nights, Ponant Explorations’ 184-passenger Bellot visits four Canaries, starting on Gran Canaria, calling at Tenerife to see Spain’s highest peak in Teide National Park, and stopping at La Gomera to walk Garajonay National Park’s ancient laurel forests. On La Palma, wander the cobblestoned streets of Santa Cruz de La Palma to catch the signature sunny designs of brightly painted Canarian homes before moving on to Portugal’s botanical-rich island of Madeira and, ultimately, Lisbon. Departures: April 16 and April 28, 2026.

Peak views in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city.
Getty Images

9. New Zealand

Zoom in on the North Island.

Travelers flock to New Zealand for rainforest hikes, fjord cruises, deserted beaches, and alpine adventures, but Maori culture pervades life in Aotearoa (the country’s Maori name), as seen on Intrepid Travel’s ten-day tour of the North Island. Time in multicultural Auckland and trendy Wellington bookends Kiwi adventures, including a trip to the Coromandel Peninsula’s Hot Water Beach – where bathers dig their own volcanically heated pools in the sand – and the 12-mile Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a bragging-rights hike around fluorescent emerald and turquoise lakes and through a volcanic field culminating at the active Red Crater. Two days in Rotorua offer opportunities to steep in the town’s famed hot springs, attend a traditional Maori haka dance performance, and savor a Maori meal cooked in an underground oven. Departures: Multiple dates, September 12, 2025, to October 5, 2027.

The indoor-outdoor geothermal pool at Eleven Deplar Farm.
Eleven Deplar Farm

10. Iceland

Take an epic, hot-springs-centric road trip.

Iceland is known as the Land of Fire and Ice, but that’s selling its water features short – waterfalls, thermal springs, and thousands of miles of rugged shoreline leave a distinctly aquatic impression. Travelers following the peripheral Ring Road can dip and dunk their way across the country. Here’s our itinerary: Start at the milky Blue Lagoon, about a 30-minute drive from Keflavík International Airport, before visiting the Sky Lagoon near Reykjavík, and the eight hot pools at the fjord-front Hvammsvík, about an hour’s drive north. Pause on North Iceland’s rural Troll Peninsula, where the 13-room Eleven Deplar Farm occupies a restored fifteenth-century sheep farm with its own geothermal pool and flotation tanks under sod roofs. Finally, continue to the Mývatn Nature Baths, situated in a steaming lava field that draws water from 8,000 feet below. Travel advisors can work with Virtuoso’s on-site tour connections in the country – Iceland Encounter, Luxury Beyond, and Nordic Luxury – to perfect your route.

WorldTravelService

Fresh Travel Ideas for Ten of the World’s Most Popular Destinations