With 2026 around the corner, travellers are looking to their plans for the new year – and with new flight routes, free internal flight offers and new attraction openings, these tours from responsible tour operator Rickshaw Travel could be just the ticket for 2026.
Best of all, travellers booking their 2026 holidays and tours by the end of December can lock it in with no deposit at all, and won’t pay anything until 60 days before departure, giving them plenty of breathing room to plan, get excited and focus on the fun bits.
Rickshaw Travel’s tailor-made, small-scale adventures are designed for curious travellers who want to see the world differently. Each trip pairs meaningful local experiences with responsible travel choices, ensuring every journey supports communities and protects the environments that make these destinations so special.
Check out these trending tours for 2026:
Japan: City Nights to Island Life
Destinations: Tokyo – Hakone/Mount Fuji – Kyoto – Okinawa – Tokyo
Duration: 11 days / 10 nights (flexible)
Price: From £3,195 per person (excluding flights)
This itinerary shows off Japan’s classic contrasts, pairing neon-lit Tokyo (with time to explore neighbourhoods with a local guide) with a scenic interlude in Hakone for Mount Fuji views and hot springs, before slowing down in cultural Kyoto (including a guided morning bike tour through backstreets, shrines and old districts). The final stretch swaps mainland crowds for subtropical Okinawa, where you’ll spend three nights by the beach with included snorkelling to see coral reefs and marine life, before flying back to Tokyo for a last night. It’s also especially good value to book soon if you’re travelling this winter, as All Nippon Airways is currently running a promotion for UK and European travellers that allows up to two free domestic flights when booked as part of an international ANA ticket, and the booking window runs until 31 January 2026 – handy for hopping to an island region such as Okinawa without adding much extra cost (taxes/fees may still apply).
Island hopping off Thailand’s west coast
Destinations: Bangkok – Phuket – Koh Yao Yai – Ko Lanta – Ko Hai – Ao Nang (Krabi) – Krabi
Duration: 12 days / 11 nights (flexible)
Price: From £1,695 per person (excluding flights)
If you’ve always wanted to tick Thailand off your bucket list, 2026 is a great year to do it – namely because Virgin Atlantic is launching a new direct London Heathrow-Phuket route from 18th October 2026, making it the perfect starting point for this two-week Thailand itinerary from Rickshaw Travel. The tour mixes city energy at Bangkok and Phuket with laid-back Andaman Coast beach time. Travellers will ferry to quiet Koh Yao Yai for snorkelling lagoons and deserted beaches, continue to Ko Lanta for a Thai cooking class (supporting Lanta Animal Welfare), then switch to the Trang archipelago for three nights on peaceful Ko Hai – classic white-sand, clear-water, snorkel-from-the-shore territory. The trip finishes in Ao Nang, Krabi, a handy base for day trips to nearby islands and Railay Bay, before heading to Krabi airport for the journey home.
Tanzania: Ultimate Serengeti Adventure – The Great Migration
Destinations: Arusha – Tarangire – Ngorongoro – Serengeti – Arusha – Zanzibar
Duration: 13 days / 12 nights (flexible) Price: From £5,414 per person (excluding flights)
This Tanzania itinerary combines a private guided safari through Arusha, Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, all timed to catch either the Great Migration’s calving season (Nov–Apr) in the south or the river crossings (May–Oct) in the north – with a classic beach-and-culture finale on Zanzibar’s east coast and a final night in Stone Town. It’s especially timely for 2026 because travellers can add a stop in Arusha at Dr Jane’s Dream: The Goodall Centre for Hope, opening in late October 2026 next to the Arusha Cultural Heritage Centre, with six interactive conservation-education exhibit areas.
Iceland: Bubbling springs at Lake Mývatn
Destinations: Mývatn – Dettifoss – Krafla Caldera (Víti crater lake) – Earth Lagoon Mývatn
Duration: 3 days / 2 nights (flexible)
Price: From £399 per person (excluding flights)
North Iceland’s best-known geothermal soak is getting a glow-up: the Mývatn Nature Baths stay open until 31st December 2025, then close for around three months for an expansion, refresh and rebrand to Earth Lagoon Mývatn, due to reopen in late March or April 2026 – making spring 2026 an ideal moment to go. Rickshaw’s bite-sized three-day trip is built around the region’s volcanic highlights, with time to stop at thunderous Dettifoss, hike among steaming geothermal landscapes, and walk the rim of Víti at Krafla Caldera, before finishing the day with pre-arranged entry to the newly rebranded lagoon. As a bite-size trip, this experience is designed to be added onto Rickshaw’s other Iceland trips for a minimum of a seven-night stay.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
