30 Travel Trends and Destinations for 2025

There are many reasons to vacation, but, here at HGTV, we seek out places and experiences packed with visual interest, beauty and inspiration. This is a bucket list for the traveler who's willing to book a hotel just for a bespoke china pattern or track down which bath linens a hotel uses because you love the embroidery. Here’s a look at the most popular travel trends and destinations for 2025 through a design lens.

Cold climates are still trending hot. The 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report said “ice-olated escapes” are the No. 1 travel trend this year. And in Pinterest’s 2025 predictions, “mountain ranges will become the go-to travel destination” with searches for ski outfits up more than 250 percent. For snowscapes, Iceland continues to be the indie darling of the travel industry and it’s worth the hype — especially during the winter for glacier hiking and ice cave tours. And when it’s time to dethaw, Iceland has no shortage of geothermal baths from the Mývatn Nature Baths in the North to Sky Lagoon outside Reykjavik. This Blue Lagoon alternative features private showers and changing rooms, which is fairly uncommon for European hot springs and spas. The water isn’t blue, but the hardscape and design throughout the spa are just as noteworthy, from infinity-edge geothermal pools to a series of high-concept saunas and steam rooms such as this dry sauna with a dramatic, modern wall of glass overlooking the water.

Most travelers can’t splurge on every facet of a trip, but more travelers are willing to splurge on specific premiums, such as buying single seats on private planes with Jettly or renting Disney Vacation Club points to stay in Disney theme park timeshares without becoming a member via third-party vendors such as DVC Rental Store. And then there’s the recent explosion of rideshare-type apps for renting yachts or booking someone’s pool for the day. You can even crash posh hotel spas for the day with ResortPass. The app offers day rates for many high-end resort pools and other amenities for a fraction of the cost of booking an actual stay.

Several fare-booking sites have said Asia is trending big time — especially Japan. This forecast is on the heels of more airlines offering direct flights to Asia from the U.S. West Coast. Alaska Air Group, which owns Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines, will start offering direct flights to Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan from Seattle in 2025. And while getting to Tokyo from the States is easier than ever, another popular Japanese city for tourists is outperforming Tokyo in searches. Kayak said interest is up for both Sapporo and Osaka and the latter will host the World Expo 2025. Osaka Castle, one of the most famous castles in Japan, isn’t the oldest or the largest. It’s actually a newbie by ancient castle standards. It’s been built and rebuilt a couple of times — war, a casual lighting strike, etc. — and its current form isn’t even a century old yet. Still, it’s packed with exhibits and looks downright alluring in the Spring among all those cherry blossoms.