{"id":509347,"date":"2025-10-18T11:55:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/509347\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:55:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:55:29","slug":"pretty-quiet-english-region-the-cotswolds-will-be-one-of-the-biggest-travel-destinations-in-the-world-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/509347\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty, Quiet English Region The Cotswolds Will Be One of the Biggest Travel Destinations in the World in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the days get colder and darker, you might find yourself thinking more and more about next year\u2019s holidays. One of the best cures to the winter blues is getting a summer trip or two booked into the diary, but that requires a lot of planning. If you\u2019re looking for a destination that you\u2019re guaranteed to enjoy, Expedia<\/a> might be able to help.<\/p>\n

The booking platform\u00a0has\u00a0just revealed where it reckons the world\u2019s top trending destinations are going to be for 2026. It says that the destinations on its list go \u2018beyond the crowds\u2019, and is made up of spots \u2018where global interest is rising fast, even in destinations that haven\u2019t yet gone viral\u2019. Intriguingly for anyone currently\u00a0in the market for a staycation, one of the top 10 was in the UK.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Cotswolds<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0was named as one of Expedia\u2019s top trending destinations. Whilst\u00a0the famously picturesque area of England isn\u2019t\u00a0exactly a hidden gem or an up-and-comer,\u00a0it is true that\u00a0the Cotswolds has gained a lot of international attention in recent years. According to Expedia, there was a 39 percent increase in international interest for the\u00a0area in 2025 when compared to 2024.<\/p>\n

And the Cotswolds is\u00a0popular for a reason. The ideal traditional English countryside getaway, the region boasts countless\u00a0cute little towns complete with winding cobbled paths, babbling brooks and postcard-perfect thatched roofs.<\/p>\n

Bibury: The \u2018most beautiful village in the world\u2019 in the Cotswolds<\/p>\n

One Cotswolds town in particular \u2013 Bibury \u2013 made headlines recently when it was named the most beautiful village in the world by Forbes<\/a>. For anywhere else that kind of exposure would be welcome, but Bibury was already suffering so much from overtourism that the local council had been considering banning coaches full of visitors from entering at all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bibury,
\nPhotograph: iLongLoveKing \/ Shutterstock.com <\/p>\n

Whilst we at Time Out agree that Bibury is gorgeous, but there are just too many tourists. If you want to actually beat the crowds, try instead one of our favourite Cotswolds village alternatives, some of which we reckon are actually even prettier.<\/a><\/p>\n

Plan your Cotswolds trip<\/p>\n

If your heart is still set on Bibury, we\u2019ve got a helpful guide on exactly how to access\u00a0the place from London<\/a>. But if you\u2019re willing to cast a wider net,\u00a0Time Out\u2019s top\u00a0thing to do in the region is pay a visit to Sudeley Castle and Gardens<\/a>, and we\u2019ve got a\u00a0thorough list of great things to see and do in the Cotswolds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In terms of which towns to try out,\u00a0Bourton-on-the-Water is known for its romance<\/a>,\u00a0but Castle Combe has been the set for several big films (War Horse and Stardust, for example), so it depends on\u00a0your interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Cotswolds vacation can get pretty pricey, so\u00a0we also have a list of the region\u2019s best budget hotels,<\/a> helping you can explore without breaking the bank. Bigger budget?\u00a0Cottages\u00a0on Airbnb\u00a0are\u00a0a more luxe option<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay in the loop:\u00a0sign up to our\u00a0free Time Out UK newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the days get colder and darker, you might find yourself thinking more and more about next year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,11648,393,4884,11649,183,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-509347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-categories-travel","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-news-transport-travel","13":"tag-travel","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115395044130992388","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}