🌍Sustainability

Most Sustainable Travel Destinations in 2026

By WanderTourScore EditorialPublished 21 March 2026Last updated 21 March 2026

The Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI (PHDI) discounts a country's Human Development Index by the CO₂ emissions and material footprint its economy imposes on the planet. We ranked 25 countries to find destinations where high standards of living come with a lower environmental cost.

#	Country	Planet	🛡️ Safety	📈 Development
1	🇬🇧United KingdomNorthern Europe	83	71	95
2	🇪🇸SpainSouthern Europe	82	76	92
3	🇸🇪SwedenNorthern Europe	81	71	96
4	🇬🇷GreeceSouthern Europe	80	73	91
5	🇫🇷FranceWestern Europe	80	64	92
6	🇵🇹PortugalSouthern Europe	80	79	89
7	🇲🇹MaltaSouthern Europe	80	78	92
8	🇺🇾UruguaySouth America	80	38	86
9	🇮🇹ItalySouthern Europe	80	77	92
10	🇭🇷CroatiaSoutheast Europe	79	78	89
11	🇸🇮SloveniaCentral Europe	79	81	93
12	🇩🇰DenmarkNorthern Europe	79	78	96
13	🇯🇵JapanEastern Asia	79	87	93
14	🇩🇪GermanyWestern Europe	79	74	96
15	🇵🇱PolandCentral Europe	79	75	91
16	🇨🇱ChileSouth America	78	42	88
17	🇨🇷Costa RicaCentral America	77	38	83
18	🇬🇪GeorgiaWestern Asia	77	56	84
19	🇸🇰SlovakiaCentral Europe	77	73	88
20	🇭🇺HungaryCentral Europe	76	77	87
21	🇦🇹AustriaCentral Europe	76	78	93
22	🇦🇱AlbaniaSoutheast Europe	76	66	81
23	🇦🇷ArgentinaSouth America	76	49	87
24	🇵🇪PeruSouth America	76	33	79
25	🇦🇲ArmeniaWestern Asia	76	57	81

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