Why this guide: about 14,800 people a month search Google for “most beautiful places in the world” (US, DataForSEO Labs, September 2026). This is the answer we would give a client, written to be booked from.
The short answer
- Mountains and lakesThe Dolomites, Banff and Lake Louise, Torres del Paine, Milford Sound, the Lofoten Islands, Plitvice, Zhangjiajie, Yosemite
- Water and islandsSantorini, the Amalfi Coast, Ha Long Bay, Bora Bora, the Maldives, the Cliffs of Moher, Iceland's south coast, Lake Bled
- Ancient and otherworldlyMachu Picchu, Petra, Angkor, Bagan, Cappadocia, Kyoto in autumn, the Serengeti, Sossusvlei, the Grand Canyon, Salar de Uyuni
Mountains and lakes
The Dolomites — Tre Cime, Seceda, Alpe di Siusi, the Lago di Braies — in late June for the flowers or late September for the larches. Banff and Lake Louise, with Moraine Lake and the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, mid-June to mid-September (larches in the last two weeks of September). Torres del Paine's granite towers, November–March. Milford Sound's fjord in rain or sun, year-round (rain makes the waterfalls). Lofoten's peaks rising from the Arctic sea, June for the midnight sun or February for the lights. Plitvice's sixteen terraced lakes and travertine falls, May–June or September. Zhangjiajie's sandstone pillars (the Avatar mountains), April–May or October. Yosemite Valley's waterfalls at peak snowmelt in May.
Water and islands
Santorini's caldera at sunset from Oia or Imerovigli, June or September. The Amalfi Coast from the Path of the Gods above Positano, May or late September. Ha Long Bay's limestone karsts from a junk at dawn, October–April. Bora Bora's lagoon from the air, May–October. The Maldives' atolls from a seaplane, November–April. The Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands, May–September. Iceland's south coast — Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara's black sand, the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon — June–August or the winter lights. Lake Bled's island church under the Julian Alps, May–June or October. Add the Bay of Kotor, the Li River at Guilin and the Na Pali Coast of Kauai for the next tier.
Ancient and otherworldly
Machu Picchu at first light from the Sun Gate, May–September. Petra's Treasury through the Siq, March–May or October–November. Angkor Wat at sunrise and Ta Prohm's roots, November–February. Bagan's 2,000 temples from a balloon, November–February. Cappadocia's fairy chimneys under the balloons at dawn, April–June or September–October. Kyoto's maples at Tofuku-ji and Eikan-do in the second half of November. The Serengeti's plains with the migration, June–October. Sossusvlei's red dunes and Deadvlei's dead trees at sunrise, May–October. The Grand Canyon from the South Rim at sunset or the North Rim in autumn. Salar de Uyuni's mirror in the wet season (January–March) or its white hexagons in the dry.
How to see them well
Go in the month listed; go at dawn or dusk (almost all of these are transformed by low light); stay the night nearby rather than day-tripping (Aguas Calientes, Wadi Musa, Siem Reap, Oia, Göreme, Lake Louise); book the timed tickets that now govern Machu Picchu, Plitvice, the Dolomites' Lago di Braies road, Moraine Lake's shuttle and Angkor; and hire a driver or guide for the ones where the approach is the experience (the Amalfi road, the Icefields Parkway, Sossusvlei's dunes, Cappadocia's valleys). See our best time to visit guides for Japan, Peru, Iceland, Greece, Italy, Egypt and Vietnam.
Booking it
Every one of these places has a base on the engine — Cortina and Bolzano, Banff, Puerto Natales, Queenstown, Lofoten, Plitvice, Zhangjiajie, Yosemite, Santorini, Amalfi, Ha Long, Bora Bora, the Maldives, Galway, Reykjavik, Bled, Cusco, Petra, Siem Reap, Bagan, Cappadocia, Kyoto, the Serengeti, Windhoek, the Grand Canyon and Uyuni; Vacation Packages bundle the flight; the chauffeur booker covers the airport at the departure end and the driver-days at the destination. See our most-beautiful-islands and best beaches guides.
Three things to get right
- The month matters as much as the place — a fogged-in Milford or a grey Santorini is not the photo.
- Stay the night nearby; the dawn is the point.
- Timed tickets now govern Machu Picchu, Plitvice, Moraine Lake, Braies and Angkor — book them with the flight.
