What are the best tropical vacation destinations for 2026? — featuring Island Hopper TV

0:00 What's going on everybody? Today we're going to show you the best tropical destinations for you to travel around the world. We're taking into consideration the beauty of the land as well as the price, the accessibility of these locations. So, if you're someone who loves tropical places, these are the

0:15 very best. We do have 15 places for you to consider. First up, we're going to Costa Rica here in Central America. Central America is a beautiful place, but Costa Rica is the gem for many years running. Now you have the Pacific Ocean side which is the most famous. In the north you have Papagayo. As you go

0:33 further south you come into the Ncoya Peninsula. Just above that you have Tamarindo. And then you go into Manuel Antonio and some of the beautiful natural parks along the Pacific coast. If you go into the interior you have volcanoes, waterfalls, just a very beautiful place in La Fortuna near

0:53 Arinel Volcano. If you go to the other side of the country, you have the you have the Caribbean side, which is also famous. You have several parks over there and lots of wildlife in Costa Rica. And you can see why this place is so famous. Now, as far as Central America goes, it is more expensive than

1:13 other places like Panama or maybe El Salvador or Guatemala. So much to see in Central America. Now, we're headed to Southeast Asia. This here is Thailand, known as the land of smiles because of the friendly people you'll find all across the country. You can go to the beaches in the south in the Andaman Sea.

1:34 They have so many islands. They call it the Maldes of Thailand. But it's really a special place. You're not going to get overwater bungalows, but you will get beautiful beaches. Phuket, Kosamui, Krabby, [music] and then in the north you have places like Shang Mai. There's temples up

1:50 there. They have rivers that you can go and take out the waterfalls. So much to see and do in Thailand. It's been one of the most visited countries by tourist year in year out. And for good reason. It is a warm climate. in December, maybe in the north in the mountains, you might get a little bit of nippy weather, but

2:13 for the most part, Thailand all across the country year round sunshine and tropical temperatures. I would say Thailand is a must visit for anyone looking to travel, but if you're coming from North America, you'll probably want to stay for longer than a week just because of jet lag. We're going to check

2:30 out some other places around Southeast Asia later and we will put timestamps down below so you can hop around the video. Here we are now in Hawaii known as the Hawaiian Islands. They have five main islands. You have Kauaii, Aahu, Maui, Machai, and the Big Island. My personal favorite is the Big Island. But

2:52 no matter where you go in Hawaii, you're going to feel like you're in a very special place. So beautiful. Each island has its own majestic personality as they say. Some people like Maui, some people like the big city in Honolulu, Wii Ki on Aahu. Other people love Kauaii because of the Nepali coast. It just depends

3:14 where you go. But everyone who goes there, they love Hawaii. Although they're not such a big fan of the high prices. There is ways to travel around. You can watch our travel guides we've done on Hawaii and you can check the links down below. Then you have the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Now Mexico is

3:31 considered North America and Riviera Maya is on the Yucatan facing the Caribbean side. There are more areas to Mexico that are tropical but really just focusing on the area known as Riviera Maya from Tulum all the way south to a place like Bakalar and then going up towards say Cancun you have Padel

3:54 Cararman. You could even include Merida inside of that Yucatan kind of area. Just an amazing place you must check out. Now, we're actually headed to the Indian Ocean to say shells just off the coast of Africa here. This is a special island known for its beaches and tropical paradise. It's kind of like a

4:14 honeymoon paradise. People go here with couples and it's a romantic area. It is an archipilago of 115 islands located just northeast of Madagascar. It's also known as the richest country in Africa by per capita income. So, it's going to be a lot higher quality than you're going to get on the mainland. You have

4:38 inner and outer islands. They have the world's [music] largest granite boulders. Many of the islands feature these large, unique granite boulders on their beaches. You have a wide variety of biodiversity. So, it's a hub for ecoourism and a great tropical destination. Now, we're actually headed to the Caribbean

4:57 Sea. There's so many islands out here. Everything from Cuba to the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispanola with Haiti. Then you have Puerto Rico, Jamaica. You also have several other islands known as the Lesser Antilles or the Greater Antilles. Places like Barbados out here. You have St. Barts,

5:18 Martineique, Dominica. So many islands in the Caribbean Sea. I spent some time going to as many as I can. There's a lot of islands out here. And I've been to the British Virgin Islands, the US Virgin Islands. So many to go to. It's hard to pick just one, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say those Virgin

5:38 Islands between the BVI and the USVI, that'd be a great place to start. Believe it or not, Bahamas and Turks and Caos are not considered the Caribbean. Neither is Bermuda, but for the sake of geography, we're just going to call it all the Caribbean. So, include those in there, even though technically they're

5:57 not. But you can also go to the Dominican Republic and places like Puntaana, get cheap, affordable, all-inclusive hotels, beautiful experience in Dominican Republic. So, it's just such a diverse area to explore. Even Cuba comes up on the list. So hopefully you guys get out to the

6:14 Caribbean if you're in the States at some point in time. All right. Now, from the Caribbean, we're headed back to Africa. This here is Tanzania. Now, Tanzania is a very unique place because it has a beautiful side of the beach like Zanzibar. That's a very famous, beautiful turquoise water. And then in

6:36 the interior, you have places like Mount Kilimanjaro. And then you have wildlife excursions around the Serengeti or maybe going to the Angoro Angoro crater. [music] So if you're coming to Tanzania, you're going to get safari, you're going to get tropical paradise beaches and you get lots of culture. Tanzania might just

6:56 be one of the best destinations to visit in all of Africa. And it's a total tropical paradise. Lots to see and do out here. And now we're headed out into the Indian Ocean. This here is the Maldes. Now, I did visit the Maldes in January. They said that that's when the weather is the best, but the truth is

7:16 you can visit Maldes any time of the year and you may get monsoon or not. But Maldes is up there with some of the best turquoise water you'll find anywhere in the world. I swam in the Maldes and it is as good as advertised when you're out there swimming. The overwater bungalows are very nice, although expensive.

7:37 People tend to go there on a honeymoon or a couple's retreat, but I did see families in the Maldes. It's just a very expensive place, so prepare for that. The quality is luxurious and the beaches are spectacular. So many different island atalls all around. You have to take boats or sea planes to get around.

7:59 It's an underwater paradise as well. People swim with whale sharks. Check out the coral reefs all around. You never know what kind of marine wildlife you'll find out there in the Maldes. Another thing that I really like about Maldes is [music] island hopping. If you guys can try and get a tour, but the big thing is

8:21 staying in Mali is not where you want to be though. That's the most densely populated island in the world. [music] So, when you get to Maldes, don't stay on Mali. Go out to some of the outer islands and stay at one of those hotel resorts. Although, I did stay one night on Mali. I just don't think you're going

8:41 all the way to the Maldes to stay in the most densely populated place in the world. And we're staying out here in the Indian Ocean. This time, we're headed out to Maraas, which is an island nation known for its volcanic activity. It's 1,240 mi off the sea coast of Africa. It is a small island. It's only 65 km long

9:05 and 45 km wide. Lots of sandy beaches though. They also have what is called the underwater waterfall which is a unique place if you wanted to check that out. And people go up to the uh Peton and check out the mountain there. But the country is home to a unique natural attraction like the seven colors of

9:26 earth. And as with many tropical paradises around the world, you're going to get marine biodiversity like whales or whatever you have underneath underneath the surface there, whether it be coral or fish. Now, we're actually headed out to the Philippines. A great place to check out and explore coral

9:45 reefs. Always make sure you don't step on or damage coral reefs. You always want to leave it how you found it. But the Philippines is a spectacular place. 7,500 islands, so many tropical paradises. I've been to Sikihor, Sabu, Lucan, Borakai, Palawan, Koron, Elito, Siri. So many beautiful places around

10:07 the Philippines. If you haven't been there before, get ready for adventure. It is a true adventure destination. For those of you who want adventure, you'll find it in the Philippines. [music] just like Thailand, but I would say Philippines is a little bit more of an extreme adventure. You can also find it

10:26 down in the area of Indonesia. That whole ring of fire is just amazing tropical paradise. I mean, you could just say the ring of fire. But with beauty comes danger because they get a lot of natural disasters in the Philippines. I've been there during typhoons, earthquakes, volcano

10:44 eruptions. I guess that's what makes it part of the adventure. I mean, Philippines has the spirit of resilience that just keeps on going and it is a beautiful paradise. Uh, just a little bit under siege by nature at times. Now, we're headed down south to another place that gets hit by natural natural

11:05 disasters, Indonesia. In particular, Bali. Now, I could say all of Indonesia, but for this one, I'm just going to hyperfocus on Bali because it is everything you could possibly want in one island. That's why it's become one of the most famous places for digital nomads, remote workers, or even

11:25 adventure tourists. But I want to say there's other places around there like Lombok, which has come up. There's Lubon Bajjo, which is nearby Komodo. And then there's Java, which has a lot of volcanoes. So, the Indonesia archipilago, it even has more islands than the Philippines. Last I checked,

11:44 they said there's around 10,000 islands plus in Indonesia. So, just so much to see and do in that Ring of Fire. I can't get over how amazing it is. You could spend a whole lifetime exploring all of the islands and the beaches [music] and just the amazing nature around this area of the world. It's Southeast Asia for

12:03 you. Spectacular. Singapore is probably your base camp for all of it if you need modern amenities or any sort of uh health care. But uh yeah, Southeast Asia, what a place. Now we're headed out to French Polynesia. This is in the South Pacific, another beautiful place. French Polynesia is

12:23 home to Tahiti. You have Bora Bora. Uh Bora Bora being probably the premier honeymoon destination in the world. Everyone I talk to at some point in time when it comes to travel, they always say, "Oh, I want to go to Bora Bora." Just because of the amazing islands around that area with the volcano right

12:42 there in the middle, the overwater bungalows. Like Maldes, it's expensive. It's a little bit harder to get to than Maldes even. Uh that's part of the adventure. I mean, you've got to arrive into the main island of Tahiti and then you've got to island hop over to Bora Bora by sea plane or a small plane. So,

13:03 that's what makes it fun though. That's part of the adventure, right? And then you can't forget about the underwater world now. We have Sri Lanka. This is known as the teardrop of India. It's a totally separate country than India. very similar culture with food although one is Hindu and the other is

13:23 predominantly Buddhist. So that's the main difference that you're going to notice is just that particular religious custom makes it a difference. Although I would say when I went to Sri Lanka even though it looks small on a map it's incredibly diverse. I mean I would say it was everything that I wanted India to

13:44 be. So if you're trying to go to India, maybe consider Sri Lanka for the first time just because this one had everything that I wanted from India. The thing about India is hard to get around and it's really big. Whereas with Sri Lanka, [music] it's big, but it's kind of small, right? It's a small island.

14:06 And speaking of small islands, we're going out to the Pacific again. This is Fiji. So a bit different than French Polynesia, but very similar. I would say uh another expensive destination, but it has its own unique beauty. So, if you can maybe do both Fiji and Tahiti, French Polynesia in the same trip. Uh

14:27 because if you're going to come over to this side of the world if you're coming from North America or Europe, you're going to be changing time zones. It's probably better to just do all that exploring in one trip and spend two weeks doing it. You know, one thing I want to say about exploring around coral

14:43 reefs or underwater worlds, you've really got to take the time to appreciate and preserve and protect it. It's so easy to get in that water and wear all types of sunscreen and chemicals and not think about the environment. But that kind of stuff really is important to think about. And

15:01 I'm not trying to stand on a soap box here, but we should all take into consideration how to preserve the natural scenery and the ecosystems for later generations and for the wildlife that's there now. Now, let's talk about the Gopagos Island. This is actually where Darwin came up with his

15:20 theory of evolution. Lots of different animals around here. You've got the Gopagos tortoise. You've got crabs. You've got seals, underwater turtles. I mean, there's so much to see and do in the Globigos Islands. These are just off the coast of Ecuador. It is in the country of Ecuador. It's about a 2 and 1 half hour

15:41 flight from Keo. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this one. If you did, please consider watching our best Caribbean islands to visit next. Click that link right there.