🌿Adventure & outdoors

Best Countries for Natural Beauty & Adventure in 2026

By WanderTourScore EditorialPublished 21 March 2026Last updated 21 March 2026

We ranked 25 countries by natural beauty and adventure potential using World Bank data on terrestrial protected area coverage and forest extent. Countries that protect more of their land and maintain healthy forest cover score highest, which works as a rough proxy for strong natural environments and outdoor exploration potential.

#	Country	Nature	🦁 Wildlife	🛡️ Safety
1	🇸🇨SeychellesEastern Africa	100	45	22
2	🇸🇮SloveniaCentral Europe	100	48	81
3	🇿🇲ZambiaEastern Africa	100	42	61
4	🇭🇰Hong KongEastern Asia	100	42	81
5	🇧🇹BhutanSouthern Asia	100	73	65
6	🇧🇳BruneiSouth-Eastern Asia	100	79	64
7	🇨🇬Republic of the CongoMiddle Africa	95	53	56
8	🇧🇿BelizeCentral America	92	52	15
9	🇰🇭CambodiaSouth-Eastern Asia	88	77	60
10	🇱🇮LiechtensteinWestern Europe	88	0	38
11	🇵🇼PalauMicronesia	87	39	65
12	🇧🇸BahamasCaribbean	86	39	16
13	🇧🇷BrazilSouth America	85	63	26
14	🇵🇦PanamaCentral America	84	64	33
15	🇧🇬BulgariaSoutheast Europe	84	51	71
16	🇯🇵JapanEastern Asia	84	62	87
17	🇸🇰SlovakiaCentral Europe	83	39	73
18	🇭🇷CroatiaSoutheast Europe	81	52	78
19	🇱🇺LuxembourgWestern Europe	81	0	64
20	🇨🇷Costa RicaCentral America	80	56	38
21	🇩🇪GermanyWestern Europe	80	36	74
22	🇵🇱PolandCentral Europe	80	27	75
23	🇧🇴BoliviaSouth America	77	50	46
24	🇳🇿New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand	76	42	74
25	🇦🇹AustriaCentral Europe	76	39	78

Methodology

Rankings are computed from real-world open data sources including the Global Peace Index, World Bank (intentional homicides as a civilian-safety signal, WGI political stability, PPP-based price level affordability, protected areas, forest cover, international tourism receipts, and IUCN threatened species counts), US State Department travel advisory levels, UNDP (Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, and Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI), ILGA-style legal protections plus TGEU/Transrespect anti-violence reporting for LGBTQ+ traveler scoring, Open-Meteo (climate normals), UNESCO (heritage sites and gastronomy-city recognitions), Wikidata (distinguished restaurant counts and winter-sports results), and OpenStreetMap (restaurant density, cuisine diversity, and luxury hotel counts). Countries with a Level 3+ US State Department travel advisory are excluded. Learn more about our methodology on the About page.

Data current as of May 2026 and may change. Rankings are generated algorithmically from publicly available datasets and are not a substitute for independent research. Do not rely solely on this information when making travel decisions. Always verify conditions with official government sources. Terms of Use · About our data