Lonely Planet releases Best in Travel 2027 list

Lonely Planet has released its Best in Travel 2027 list, bringing together 50 destinations and experiences, from California’s coastal redwoods to a Galápagos expedition cruise. The selections are available online and as a commemorative book, according to CNN’s Sept. 22 report published by News8000.

The release also puts the guidebook company’s expanded planning tools in view: its Lonely Planet app, the Journeys booking platform and its books. The timing matters. CNN reported that the app launched earlier in 2026, not simultaneously with the list; the report does not establish a launch date for Journeys.

Lonely Planet’s global community of travel experts selected the recommendations, according to CNN. The result is not simply a list of places to land. It also identifies things to do once there, including temporary lighthouse keeping in Rhode Island, walking to Lindisfarne in England and exploring orangutan territory by longboat in Malaysia.

Lonely Planet’s app adds exclusive 2027 content

Nitya Chambers, senior vice president of content and executive editor at Lonely Planet, told CNN that the app was approaching 100,000 downloads in five months. She also said Lonely Planet had created app-exclusive destination content for Best in Travel. The download figure is the company’s account, rather than an independently verified measure in the report.

For travelers, the documented choices are straightforward: the list can be read online or in the commemorative book, the app carries exclusive destination material, and Journeys serves as Lonely Planet’s booking platform. CNN presents those products as complementary ways to plan a trip.

That does not establish an end-to-end booking system for every recommendation. The report does not specify app pricing, booking inclusions or whether each listed experience can be reserved through Journeys. Treat the selections as an editorial starting point, not a catalog of confirmed packages.

Destinations and experiences are separate choices

The distinction between a place and an experience gives the list its useful structure. In North America, the destination selections include Québec, Prince Edward Island, New Mexico, Maryland and California’s coastal redwoods. The experience selections point toward more specific activities, including flightseeing in Alaska, wine and fine dining in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe, and becoming a temporary keeper at Rose Island Lighthouse in Rhode Island, according to CNN.

The lighthouse recommendation comes with an actual role, not just a scenic overnight stay. CNN describes visitors volunteering as overnight or weekly guest keepers in Newport, with chores and general maintenance among their responsibilities. That is a materially different proposition from simply booking accommodation near the water.

Europe follows the same pattern. CNN lists Veneto in Italy and Dessau in Germany among the destinations, while the experiences include traveling the Route Napoléon in France, sailing Sicily’s Aeolian Islands and walking St Cuthbert’s Way to Lindisfarne. Dessau’s connection to the Bauhaus architecture and design movement gives that city selection a defined cultural focus.

For expedition travelers, CNN’s published list includes a Galápagos expedition cruise in Ecuador and a polar plunge in Antarctica. Monteverde’s cloud forest in Costa Rica is another experience pick. These sit alongside urban, food and cultural recommendations rather than forming a separate adventure ranking.

Montserrat: read beyond the destination name

Montserrat is one of the Caribbean selections in CNN’s published list. A separate Lonely Planet destination guide adds context that helps turn that recommendation into a more specific travel decision.

The guide describes a British Overseas Territory where eruptions of the Soufrière Hills Volcano devastated the capital, Plymouth, and life was rebuilt in the north. Its account emphasizes both that history and the island’s present-day activities: forest hiking, swimming, coastal kayaking and learning about volcanology.

Timing changes the focus of a visit. Lonely Planet describes St. Patrick’s Festival in March as a fortnight of music, food, history and community events leading up to March 17. The commemoration honors enslaved people who attempted a rebellion on that day in 1768, rather than the saint.

The guide also identifies July’s Calabash Festival with traditional arts, storytelling, food and locally made products, while the Alliouagana Festival of the Word brings readings, conversations and workshops in mid-November. Lonely Planet says Montserrat is warm year-round, with storms possible between June and October. Those details give travelers more to work with than the island’s inclusion alone.

Abu Dhabi’s museum pick has a seasonal dimension

Visiting Abu Dhabi’s museums is another experience on the 2027 list, according to CNN. Lonely Planet’s separate Abu Dhabi culture guide places that recommendation within a broader cultural visit, discussing institutions such as the Louvre and Zayed National Museum alongside the historic Qasr Al Hosn fortress.

The guide identifies November through March as the best period for exploring indoors and outside, while noting that prices peak during that season. It says summer temperatures can exceed 42°C (108°F), with high humidity adding to the discomfort. Air-conditioned museums do not erase the conditions between stops.

Lonely Planet also identifies March, April and October as compromise months, with less humidity than summer and lower prices and smaller crowds than winter. It cautions that spring storms can cause problems. For this particular recommendation, the supporting guide makes the trade-off clear: choosing a cultural itinerary still requires choosing a season.

Use the list to define the trip

The strongest way to read Best in Travel 2027 is as a set of trip ideas with different levels of specificity. A destination such as Montserrat leaves room to build around festivals, trails or volcanic history. A guest-keeper stay at Rose Island Lighthouse already defines part of the work involved.

Lonely Planet now offers those ideas across books, an app and a booking platform. The useful next step is not to treat all 50 recommendations as interchangeable. It is to identify the experience that interests you, then use the destination-level reporting to establish when and how that trip fits.