Where to go for 2026: the best holidays by season
Travel is one of the few things we invest in that stays with us long after it’s over. The difference between a good holiday and a great one is rarely cost, but care. Knowing when to go, where to stay and how to move through a place at the right pace.
That kind of judgment comes from experience. From being there repeatedly, across seasons, understanding what changes and what matters. Knowing which tables in Santorini face west for sunset and are worth booking weeks ahead. Knowing where a gondola should begin for a quieter first impression of Venice, or which alpine retreat actually works for a family travelling with younger children rather than older ones.
Oroko Travel is an Irish-owned luxury travel company designing tailor-made journeys for people who value their time and want to travel well. Founded in 2017 its travel designers spend time on the ground each year, refining a network of hotels, guides and experiences that allow travel to feel considered and seamless. At its core is a simple idea: travel, at its best, removes friction. It replaces uncertainty with confidence, choice with clarity and effort with ease. That’s what decades of first-hand experience delivers.
This is the moment to plan with intent, looking ahead to where timing makes the difference.
Spring is the most balanced season to travel. Cities feel lighter, reservations are easier to secure and the pace is naturally more considered.
It is also one of the best times for rail journeys. Oroko Travel’s rail holiday collection centres on journeys where the experience is shaped as much by the route as the destination. At its centre is the holiday aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Begin in Paris, with time for galleries and Left Bank cafes, before boarding for an overnight journey through the Alps. Dinner is served by candlelight; the bar car carries on late and by morning the landscape has shifted entirely. Arrival into Venice slows things further, with private access to the Doge’s Palace, terrace lunches overlooking the canals and time to move through the city at a gentler pace.
Spring is when cities reveal their detail. In Venice, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco offers space and stillness away from the main routes, while near Rialto, All’Arco serves some of the city’s best cicchetti, taken standing. In Florence, Giardino Bardini opens quietly above the city, while in the Oltrarno, workshops such as leather ateliers and perfumeries continue traditions that define it.
It’s these smaller details, learned over time, that mark the difference between visiting a city and truly understanding it.
Summer brings long days and the freedom to travel further, but where you go makes all the difference.
The cooler summer collection focuses on holiday destinations where the season feels calm rather than intense. In Norway’s Lofoten Islands, light stretches late into the evening, with time for kayaking, cycling and quiet coastal drives. In the Alps, Megève and the Dolomites offer high-altitude walking, lake swimming, mountain biking and cooler nights.
Holidays to Madeira offer a different balance again. Rising from the Atlantic in layers of volcanic stone and evergreen forest, it combines ocean air, botanical gardens and levada walks that wind through misted valleys and waterfalls. Days move easily between sea views, coastal villages and time on the water, creating a rhythm that feels both active and restorative.
For those seeking slower, sunny days, the beach resort holiday collection focuses on places where everything is set up to work well. In Crete, generous suites, private pools and flexible dining make early family travel straightforward. On Greece’s peninsulas, calm waters and well-run sailing centres introduce something more active, while resorts in the Algarve balance mornings on the fairways with afternoons by the sea.
For a different pace, coastal journeys shift the focus from staying in one place to moving well between them. The Basque coast, the French Riviera and the Balearics reward this approach, where each stop adds contrast and the route itself shapes the experience. Where you base yourself, when you move and how long you stay defines whether the journey feels rushed or well-paced.
Summer offers most possibility, but it rewards early planning and a clear sense of pace.
Autumn is when travel settles into itself. Temperatures ease, crowds thin and the focus shifts naturally towards food and culture.
The taste for travel collection brings this into focus. In the Basque region, days move between pintxos bars, markets and cider houses. In Tuscany, time is shaped around vineyards, kitchens and long lunches. In Morocco, the rhythm moves from the intensity of Marrakesh to the stillness of the Atlas, ending with candlelit dinners under desert skies.
Further afield, Japan enters one of its most rewarding seasons. Ryokan stays, kaiseki dining and autumn colours bring a different pace, where each meal reflects the landscape and the moment. In Sweden, seasonal cooking offers something more elemental again, shaped by what can be gathered, preserved and prepared as the landscape shifts.
It is a season where timing works in your favour, with better access, more space and the freedom to experience places without pressure.
The months ahead offer a clear window to plan well. Spring rail journeys, cooler summer escapes and autumn trips shaped around food and culture are already in demand, with the best hotels, guides and routes being secured early.
The difference lies in how a journey is put together. When to move, where to pause and how each part connects are decisions that shape the experience long after you return. Each Oroko journey is designed individually, guided by season, pace and first-hand knowledge.
To begin planning, visit orokotravel.ie or call 01 2600 240 to speak with an Oroko travel designer.
