10 amazing foreign national parks to visit in 2026
Not everyone can be national-parks completists – people who have visited all 63 of the major U.S. ones (and yes, many such individuals exist.) But for those who have indeed crossed ’em off, where to venture next?
Well, it might be time to grab that passport. The next logical step is to start visiting national parks in other countries – the ecological wonderland of the Galapagos Islands, Croatia’s electric-blue Plitvice Lakes, perhaps Kaz Dağları in Turkey (a setting in Homer’s “The Iliad”), as scenic as it is difficult to pronounce.
Travel + Leisure has put together a handy shortlist of foreign parks worth visiting for their bounty of sight seeing, adventure and wildlife. The 10 picks are based on the recommendations of travel advisors. “If you’ve checked a few of America’s favorite national parks off your list,” the magazine’s Elizabeth Cantrell writes, “and are looking for an adventure further afield (and some great photos for Instagram), set your sights on the stunning protected lands outside the U.S.”
Travel + Leisure’s stunning national parks beyond the United States
1 Galapagos National Park, Galapagos Islands
2 Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
3 Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
4 Killarney National Park, Ireland
5 Kaz Dağları National Park, Turkey
6 Rishiri Rebun Sarobetsu National Park, Japan
7 Altyn-Emel National Park, Kazakhstan
8 Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, India
9 The Azores, Portugal
10 Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia
Source: travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas-national-parks-incredible-national-parks-around-the-world-11878651