Move over, Miami. One of Florida’s quieter coastal communities is suddenly getting all the international attention, outranking even destinations like Italy, Vietnam and the Bahamas.
According to Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2027 report, Vero Beach is the number-one trending destination among U.S. travelers for 2027, with flight searches jumping a whopping 201% year over year.
So what’s the big deal?
Tucked along Florida’s Treasure Coast, Vero Beach offers a decidedly different vacation from the high-rise hotels and bustling beachfronts found elsewhere in South Florida. Here, low-rise development, uncrowded Atlantic beaches, and an understated sense of luxury are the draw.
Spend your days lounging on the sand, browsing the boutiques along Ocean Drive, or exploring attractions like the Vero Beach Museum of Art or the tropical McKee Botanical Garden, one of my favorite stops in town.
The historic garden is celebrating two major milestones in 2026: the centennial of its living collections and the 25th anniversary of its reopening, plus the release of a new commemorative book, The Jungle Garden: Preserving a Tropical Landscape, with a foreword by none other than Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
For something different, Vero Beach also has a polo scene, including the prestigious Windsor Charity Polo Cup, where I’ve enjoyed a suitably swanky afternoon on the sidelines.
For longtime Floridians, Vero Beach’s appeal is hardly news — but as travelers increasingly seek out quieter alternatives to big-name destinations, this understated beach town is finding itself in an unfamiliar (but totally deserving) position: the spotlight.