WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 21, 2025--
Searching for your next great escape or inspiration for an upcoming adventure? National Geographic today revealed its top picks for BEST OF THE WORLD, the brand’s annual list of the most awe-inspiring, meaningful and immersive travel experiences for the upcoming year.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251021909487/en/
Drawing on the expertise of its editors, travel contributors and international partners, National Geographic’s BEST OF THE WORLD 2026 is the definitive guide to the top destinations to visit in 2026. From Rwandan safaris to Pittsburgh museums, this year’s edition encourages readers to rethink how they travel, embracing deeper connections with nature, culture and communities. The selections span the globe — from the Philippines to Finland — and include four U.S. locations.
Designed as a curated selection of options to inspire travelers, BEST OF THE WORLD 2026 includes something for everyone: families, foodies, animal lovers, adventurers and more. This year’s list stands apart by featuring destinations that celebrate distinctive cultural moments, one-of-a-kind events and experiences, awe-inspiring natural wonders and sustainable travel. Whether exploring the Badlands or touring the “snow monsters” of the Zao mountains in Japan, this year’s selections offer a diverse range of options that cater to both seasoned explorers and first-time adventurers.
“At Nat Geo, we know that travel has the power to inspire and transform us,” said Nathan Lump, editor-in-chief of National Geographic. “In this year’s BEST OF THE WORLD, we especially wanted to highlight unexpected destinations that the algorithms are probably not serving you — for instance, Uzbekistan’s Khiva or Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. Of course, we know that not every trip can be an off-the-beaten-path adventure, so we were mindful to include some surprisingly compelling places that are also more easily accessible. Whatever kind of traveler you are, our goal is to ensure we’re sharing fresh ideas that help you connect with that feeling of discovery and joy that comes from a great travel experience.”
National Geographic also celebrated the launch on social media with a “Readers’ Choice” campaign in the weeks leading up to this year’s BEST OF THE WORLD announcement. @NatGeoTravel invited audiences to share their favorite travel destination recommendations in the lead-up to the full list reveal. Over the last few weeks, @NatGeoTravel followers have nominated hundreds of destinations and ultimately voted for Cinque Terre, Banff, Taipei and the Atacama Desert in Chile as the four finalists. Audiences officially named Banff, Canada, as the Readers’ Choice winner, which is highlighted on this year’s list at NatGeo.com/BestOfTheWorld.
BEST OF THE WORLD 2026 can be found online now at NatGeo.com/BestOfTheWorld, where readers can be transported to each destination through striking photography and immersive reporting.
Visuals are available here. To follow the conversation on social, use #BestoftheWorld.
About National Geographic Content
Representing the largest brand on social media with over 780 million followers and 1.1 billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content's award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches over 532 million people worldwide in 172 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Its diverse content includes Oscar®- and BAFTA award-winning film Free Solo, Oscar-nominated films Sugarcane, Fire of Love and Bobi Wine: The People's President, Emmy® Award-winning franchise 9/11: One Day in America and JFK: One Day in America, Emmy® Award-winning series Animals Up Close, series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, Life Below Zero and Secrets of the Whales, in addition to multiple National Magazine Awards, Pulitzer Prize Finalists and Webby wins. Visit nationalgeographic.com and natgeotv.com or explore Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and Reddit.
Sports fans heading to the 2026 Winter Olympics, hosted primarily in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains, should consider exploring beyond the venues to take in picturesque scenery such as Lago di Braies (Lake Braies) in the Tyrol. (Photo by Chris Burkard, Verb Photo)
CHICAGO (AP) — Diesel prices in the U.S. hit yet another record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average as Washington’s war with Iran disrupts the world’s flow of fuel.
The national average of $6.05 is up from $5.85 last week and $3.70 this time last year, according to motor club AAA.
Higher diesel prices mean more expensive transportation for a long list of everyday goods. That’s because diesel is used for many freight and delivery networks. And some businesses have already passed along steeper costs to consumers in the form of added fees on online orders and packages in the mail.
Shoppers may feel more and more sticker shock, particularly in the grocery aisle. Perishable foods, like meat and produce, face one of the most immediate strains of expensive diesel because they need to be hauled in and restocked frequently — or may be harvested using farm equipment powered by the fuel.
It can take time for those costs to trickle down. But the surge in diesel prices doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
Prices at the pump for diesel and regular gasoline — which hit $4.29 on average in the U.S. Friday — closely follow that of crude oil. And oil has renewed its rise recently. This week, both Brent, the international standard, and U.S. crude surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time in months as fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalated again.
Political ramifications may pile up in the meantime. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly tried to downplay the effects of the Iran war, said that oil prices likely won’t come down until after November’s midterm elections.
American diesel prices are now significantly higher than they were before the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February, when the national average sat at about $3.76 per gallon per AAA. Prices quickly climbed as the cost of crude oil — the main ingredient in refined fuel like diesel, as well as gasoline — soared amid supply chain disruptions across the Middle East, notably with most tanker traffic bottlenecked in the key Strait of Hormuz.
Despite prices cooling some during hopes for peace earlier in the summer, oil has now renewed its climb as fighting once more escalates. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at more than $105 a barrel Friday, up from roughly $70 before the war.
When adjusted for inflation, however, prices have been higher in the past. Ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, for example, diesel hit about $4.74 a gallon, equivalent to $7.20 in 2026, according to the government’s latest data. And 2022’s then-record of nearly $5.82 — reached just months after Russia invaded Ukraine — would be about $6.56 this year when accounting for inflation.
That doesn’t take the pain away from today’s steep prices, which are already bringing ripple effects for the economy and wider costs of living. Drivers are feeling the pain with gasoline, too.
Friday’s average $4.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded is up from $2.98 before the Iran war, although still below the 2022 peak of nearly $5.02 a gallon nationwide.
Diesel has been more expensive than gasoline in the U.S. for decades, and its price has risen at a faster pace before. Some reasons include less flexibility in demand and diesel’s position in global commerce overall. Individual households may find ways to drive less when gas prices are high, for example, but there’s fewer immediate substitutes for networks that rely on diesel to haul goods worldwide.
Diesel is integral to every part of the food supply chain. It powers farm equipment and fishing boats, as well as the trains and trucks headed to grocery stores.
Fuel accounts for roughly 15% to 30% of the total cost of food, according to the Independent Grocers Alliance, a grouping of 7,500 global supermarkets. So higher diesel costs often result in more expensive groceries, although it can take a while for energy shocks to wind their way through the supply chain.
Items that need to stay refrigerated while they’re transported are often the first to see prices rise, according to David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University. In July, for example, overall U.S. grocery prices were up 2.7% compared to a year prior, but seafood prices were up 7% and fresh fruit prices were up 4.9%.
Ortega cautioned other factors can be at play, too. Lettuce also faced higher transportation costs in July, but a drop in demand due to the cyclospora outbreak caused prices to fall.
Still, consumers could feel more of a squeeze the longer diesel prices remain high.
“Early on, much of the cost increase gets absorbed along the supply chain through existing freight contracts and retailer margins,” Ortega explained last week. “But as contracts reprice and fuel surcharges take hold, more of that cost makes its way to the grocery store.”
Back in April, e-commerce giant Amazon rolled out a temporary 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on some third-party sellers. United Parcel Service, FedEx and the United States Postal Service also moved to add fees on some of the packages they ship earlier in the war, citing rising costs for fuel overall.
Experts warn that price hikes could mount the longer diesel remains expensive. A range of other products are also transported by diesel-powered networks, including clothing, cosmetics and furniture.
The ramifications extend beyond consumer goods. Some public transit buses and trains also run on diesel. And diesel generators are often used for backup or emergency power, if not central electricity sources in some remote parts of the world.
Experts warn the consequences could continue to deepen, particularly in African and Asian countries, which rely more on Middle East imports and have already been hit the hardest by energy shocks.
According to the latest data from Global Petrol Prices, diesel prices in Nigeria have surged over 90% since late February — followed by nearly 87% in Indonesia and 80% in Lebanon.
Price tags vary widely between countries, due to factors ranging from fuel taxes to local economic conditions. As of Monday, diesel prices in Nigeria were about $4.95 per gallon (1,730 naira per liter) on average. Meanwhile, the highest sticker price reported by Global Petrol Prices was in Hong Kong, where diesel costs have jumped almost 26% during the war and averaged at $17.78 a gallon (nearly 37 Hong Kong dollars per liter) Monday.
A long road of constrained supply — and perhaps higher and higher prices — could be ahead.
S&P Global Energy said Thursday it now doesn’t project crude oil production in the Middle East to return to prewar levels by the end of 2027.
“The market is not returning to calm, it is adjusting to the new normal,” said Jim Burkhard, VP and global head of crude oil research at S&P Global Energy, noting security and logistical challenges continue to limit oil flows.
Associated Press writers Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.
Diesel prices are displayed at a gas station Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Carlsbad, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
FILE - The price for diesel fuel is displayed on a pump at a gas station Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Dickson, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
