Playing—not just watching—sports
Traveling for the love of the game is reaching a fever pitch in 2026 with the Winter Olympics in Italy, the FIFA World Cup in North America, and Formula 1 everywhere from Monaco to Las Vegas. But fans are no longer content to sit in the stands. They want to get off the bench and play too. “Travel isn’t just about relaxation or sightseeing but also about pursuing what lights us up,” says Jacqui Weidman of SmartFlyer, whether that’s on-field meet-and-greets with players at the Super Bowl or getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari and racing around the F1 track. A growing number of hotels are playing into athletic fandom too, says MaryDee Snow of MaryDeeTravel, whose clients attended the Rosewood Little Dix Tennis Cup to play with the pros (and pack in some beach time).
Clamoring for craft
Culinary experiences have long been some of the best ways to immerse ourselves in a destination: cooking classes in locals’ homes, visits to farms where the meal you just had was grown, meet-and-eats with star chefs. These days, advisers are seeing a similar thirst for connecting with a place and its people through its craft traditions. But beyond the specialness of a one-of-a-kind souvenir (that monogrammed leather satchel from Scuola del Cuoio in Florence, that custom-designed shirt by a tailor in Chiang Mai), travelers are keen to literally try their hand at something new. Kerry Fee of Fee&Co says her clients want to learn on trips the skills they otherwise wouldn’t in their busy lives back home, like weaving in Peru or pottery making in Japan: “Time is a luxury, right? So using that time to engage with what speaks to you about a place is really special.” For Marcello Baglioni of Agave Travel Creative, which offers short courses and workshop retreats created in partnership with the Accademia di Belle Arti Rosario Gagliardi Siracusa in Sicily, it’s all about “sharing heritage expertise, honoring the local culture, and safeguarding knowledge for future generations.”
The trips our Top Travel Specialists want to plan for clients this year
Ask me to plan: “A private-charter sailing around Svalbard aboard the world’s first solar-sailing polar vessel, operated by an all-female crew, with onboard scientists and experts providing daily briefings on Arctic history, climate, and exploration. You’ll see and learn about everything from polar bears along the shoreline to whales feeding in remote fjords.”—Virgi Schiffino Kennedy, Lux Voyage
Ask me to plan: “A ‘gas-train-omy’ trip. Take the Eurostar from London to Paris for lunch in a tucked-away locals-only bistro; then the two-hour TGV to Bordeaux for dinner and spa treatments at Les Sources de Caudalie, in the vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte; and then a morning train to San Sebastián in Spain for lunch with one of the city’s secretive Basque gastronomic societies.”—Tom Barber, Original Travel
Ask me to plan: “A jet-setting ‘parties and piety’ trip that visits the best pre-Lenten events in the world, from the grand balls of Carnival in Venice to the Fasching parades in Germany, then onward to Brazil for samba and glitter at Carnival in Rio, and then Mardi Gras in New Orleans. After all that indulgence, 40 days of lean living will feel welcome!”—Jeanne Polocheck, Well Traveled Texan
Ask me to plan: “A journey through Chile’s diverse landscapes, starting on remote Easter Island, for the mysterious moai and vibrant marine life. Then to the glaciers of majestic Torres del Paine National Park, the mesmerizing salt flats and clear night skies in Atacama Desert, and ending in the colorful city of Valparaíso for the local artistry.”—April Schmitt, Divine Travel Company
