2026 Sebastian Luxe Travel Trends Report
A field guide to what’s next and what’s just very expensive marketing.
The view stepping into Nekajui, the new Ritz Carlton Reserve property
1. The Soft-Life Itinerary: The New Slow Travel Trend
The world is tired. Travelers are very tired. I’m tired.
Which is why 2026 is shaping up to be the year everyone politely declines the 7 a.m. guided tour and instead chooses happiness in the form of a long lunch with a great view.
“Soft life” is not laziness. It is strategy.
This year’s clients want fewer obligations and more beautiful moments. Afternoon swims. Early dinners. The kind of linen that wrinkles attractively. Spa appointments booked with the enthusiasm.
Where I’m seeing it: the Swiss Alps in June, Greek islands in September, and Mallorca in May.
What it means in practice: fewer bullet points, more breathing room.
2. Europe, But Make It Cozy
Festive season is undergoing a glow-up.
People are trading Caribbean villas packed with relatives they tolerate for European cities with people they actually enjoy.
Paris for hot chocolate at Angelina and streets decked for Holidays.
Amsterdam for seeing twinkle lights reflecting on the canals while drinking Gluhwein.
London for The Connaught’s toddies.
The new December flex is not a tan. It is a perfect coat, a Christmas market, and a fireplace suite you swear you will never leave.
3. The Return of the Real Honeymoon
The performative instagram honeymoon is over.
Couples have decided they’re exhausted, in love, and not interested in spending their first week as newlyweds directing drone cinematography.
Instead, they want Bali for the first time, done properly.
Or Lake Como in shoulder season.
Or a Costa Rican week of reading on balconies and rediscovering room service.
Less content, more connection.
It is refreshing.
4. Quiet Luxury Family Travel: The Resorts With the Best Kid’s Club
The Dreamy Kid’s Club at the new Ritz Carlton Reserve, Nekajui where parents can drop off their children between 8 am and 4pm
This is my Roman Empire.
Parents are tired of choosing between romance and childcare. They want both. They deserve both. And hotels are finally catching on.
Nekajui.
Four Seasons Papagayo.
Astir Palace.
Forsthofgut.
Even the Swiss resorts are leaning in.
The emerging ideal is simple. A place where the kids are thrilled, and you have no idea what time it is.
5. The One-Trip Year
Instead of four chaotic weekends, travelers are choosing one beautiful, intentional, cinematic trip.
Alps to Amalfi.
Riviera to Rome.
Lisbon to Marrakech.
Athens to Paros.
I’m building more multi-country itineraries than ever. They’re complicated in the spreadsheet but deeply satisfying in the execution.
6. Wellness as a Social Scene: The Spa Is the New Bar
The hottest social scene in travel is not the lounge. It is the sauna.
People are meeting friends for cold plunges, not cocktails.
Spas now have playlists.
Swiss-style thermal circuits are the new Aperitivo.
Wildflower Farms, Bürgenstock, SHA, Villa Honegg.
It is all very wholesome and only slightly competitive.
7. Beyond the Obvious Beach
My clients have officially “done” the Caribbean. Now they want places with personality.
The Azores.
Madeira.
Menorca.
Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula and Papagayo.
Antiparos
The new formula is fewer umbrellas, more point of view.
8. Design as Destination
More and more travelers are choosing hotels for their architecture alone.
The hotel is the destination.
The trip simply accommodates the lighting fixtures.
Aman Nai Lert Bangkok.
Six Senses Rome.
COMO Alpina Dolomites.
The Maybourne Riviera.
Rosewood São Paulo.
If you’re traveling 10 hours, you may as well sleep somewhere that makes you want to rearrange your whole house when you get home.
Amanzoe near Porto Heli in Greece
9. The Digital Detox That Isn’t Fake
People are done pretending they’re off-grid.
The new luxury is moderation.
Enough Wi-Fi to post a photo.
Enough boundaries to sleep eight hours.
Resorts with phone baskets, but no sanctimony.
Clients want rest, not renunciation.
10. The Comeback Trip
There is a quiet longing for places from our past lives.
Paris before children.
Bali before responsibilities.
St Barths before drone footage.
Athens before everyone realized it was cool again.
People want to feel like earlier versions of themselves. Nostalgia is the new novelty.
11. Book It Like You Mean It
If 2025 was the year of “let’s wait and see,”
2026 is the year of “I’m not missing this again.”
My clients are booking earlier, choosing better rooms, locking flexible rates, and skipping the last-minute roulette. They want certainty and joy at the same time.
When everything feels unpredictable, planning becomes a pleasure.
12. The Luxury of Local
Not every trip needs a passport.
Sometimes the cure is closer.
Hudson Valley.
Carmel.
Nantucket.
Kennebunkport
A room with crisp sheets and a lobby that smells like eucalyptus.
People want weekends that restore them instead of weekends that feel like errands with nicer towels.
Final Thought
The throughline this year is not extravagance.
It is intention.
Whether it is a ski week in Zermatt, a villa in Paros, or a four-night escape to Wildflower Farms, 2026 travelers are choosing trips that feel real, grounding, and emotionally aligned.
Less noise.
More narrative.
Travel that feels like life, but softer.
More Stories in This Style
If you like travel writing that feels personal, lightly opinionated, and genuinely useful, here are a few more pieces you might enjoy:
• From Acropolis to Amanzoe: The Ultimate Luxury Greece Itinerary (The Dolli & Amanzoe)
A thoughtful guide to pairing The Dolli with Amanzoe for a trip that feels glamorous without trying too hard.
• Luxury Swiss Spa Guide: Thermal Baths, Wellness, and Sauna Culture in the Alps
A deeply unsexy, completely sincere look at robes, rituals, and the national art of relaxation.
• Jet Lag with Kids: Essential Coping Strategies for Long-Haul Flights
A gentle, strategic approach to getting the getaway you want.
• Nekajui Ritz-Carlton Reserve Review: The New Standard for Costa Rica Luxury (2025)
Sunsets, whales, thoughtful design, and the funicular everyone asks me about.
If you’re planning your own 2026 trip and want help choosing the right resort for your style at no extra cost to you, you can start planning with me right here on our website. We book these properties all the time and can match you with the spot that actually fits how you travel. If you prefer to double check our credentials, you can peek at my Fora advisor page or Virtuoso profile and read our Testimonials. Either way, we’ll take care of the details so you can focus on the fun.