{"id":693267,"date":"2026-01-13T13:59:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693267\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T13:59:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:59:19","slug":"the-hawaii-of-europe-madeira-has-been-named-the-worlds-top-trending-destination-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693267\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Hawaii of Europe\u2019, Madeira, Has Been Named The World\u2019s Top Trending Destination For 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

January can be a bit depressing. Between the bad weather, the dark, and the fact that no one has any money after Christmas, you\u2019re probably in need of a bit of a pick me up, which makes it the perfect time to start browsing holiday options.<\/p>\n

To help you plan your travels,\u00a0TripAdvisor<\/a> has just revealed the \u2018Best of the Best\u2019 winners for its 2026 Travellers\u2019 Choice Awards<\/a>. There are several categories, but one of the most exciting is the \u2018Trending Destinations\u2019, designed to recognise the spots that the ratings website reckons are about to have a big year.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED:\u00a0The best travel destinations for 2026, according to Time Out editors<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The awards are based on data from 2025, looking at both the \u2018quality and quantity of reviews\u2019 that a given place received in the past 12 months.<\/p>\n

After crunching the numbers, the tiny Atlantic island of Madeira<\/a><\/strong> was named the Top Trending Destination in the world. The Portuguese archipelago is sometimes referred to as the \u2018Hawaii of Europe\u2019 thanks to its dramatic volcanic landscapes, stunning blue oceans, and abundance of sandy beaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fantastic
\nPhotograph: schusterbauer.com \/ Shutterstock <\/p>\n

According to TripAdvisor, Madeira\u2019s biggest draws are its \u2018beautiful architecture and mild weather year-round\u2019, although the winters could be a little rainier than you would get in Hawaii. If you\u2019re planning a trip, we\u2019ve got a guide on the best times to visit that you can read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While there are flights from\u00a0major cities like London, Paris, and Lisbon, it\u2019s not the most accessible island. For that reason, it\u2019s\u00a0not as busy as the Canary Islands<\/a>\u00a0and other popular tourist spots. It\u2019s known for excellent hiking<\/a> and stays pretty relaxed for most\u00a0of the year.<\/p>\n

Tbilisi<\/strong>, the capital of Georgia, was the second top trending spot in the world, offering visitors something \u2018straight from the pages of a Gothic fairytale\u2019, according to TripAdvisor. Chicago<\/a><\/strong> came third, thanks to its accessible transport, vibrant cultural life, and excellent food \u2013 you\u2019ve not had real deep-dish pizza until you\u2019ve visited its hometown.<\/p>\n

The top trending travel destinations in the world<\/p>\n

Here are TripAdvisor\u2019s top travel recommendations for 2026, according to thousands of reviews on the site.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  1. Madeira<\/strong>, Portugal<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  2. Tbilisi<\/strong>, Georgia<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  3. Chicago<\/strong>, US<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  4. Quy Nhon<\/strong>, Vietnam<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  5. Puerto Escondido<\/strong>, Mexico<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  6. Milan<\/strong>, Italy<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  7. Glasgow<\/strong>, UK<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  8. Abu Dhabi<\/strong>, UAE<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  9. Recife<\/strong>, Brazil<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  10. San Carlos de Bariloche<\/strong>, Argentina<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ol>\n

    Revealed: The best cheap city break in Europe, where pints are \u20ac2 and Airbnbs are less than \u20ac50 a night<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Plus:\u00a0This is the surprising European city named the best \u2018noctourism\u2019 destination for 2026<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Stay in the loop: sign up to our\u00a0<\/strong>free Time Out Travel newsletter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"January can be a bit depressing. Between the bad weather, the dark, and the fact that no one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[56478,11648,2000,299,5187,11649,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-693267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-audience-location-audience-worldwide","9":"tag-categories-travel","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-news-transport-travel","14":"tag-travel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115888152357300180","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693267","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=693267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}