Conde Nast Traveler

Riley Taylor, a 20-year-old photographer who often shoots Gen Z travel influencers at music festivals like Coachella and popular European destinations like Venice, confirmed that social media is one of the first things he thinks about when booking a trip. One of the things I love about social media is that you can kind of see the places that other people have been to and curate the way that you would want to visit these places and what you want to do,” he says. And many of them are just barely out of school, like Taylor’s friend Gutowski, who has 6.8 million followers on Instagram and recently posted photos from Tokyo , New York City, Death Valley, and Disneyland . He adds that social media influencers have been his primary motivation when it comes to planning trips for himself—and its clear that Instagram and YouTube have made travel feel more accessible than ever before to Taylor and his peers.

Whether it’s the medina’s smartest-looking babouche slippers or Beni Ourain rugs you’re after, a trek through the Atlas Mountains or a groovy beachside hideout in Essaouira, Alex Wix —whose mild manner masks razor-sharp taste—has unrivaled local contacts to achieve it. (She lives half the year in Marrakech, where her husband’s family runs a riad.) With an ever-playful approach, she recently started offering Mystery Travel Trips, arranging surprise holidays for clients who trust her enough to fly blind, guided by “a trail of clues and red herrings.

It may be a trek to reach Canouan (for the quickest option, hop on a Cessna from Barbados), but what awaits will be worth it: the magic of the pool bar at the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan . We're not sure what we like better: the sleek infinity pool itself or pristine Godahl Beach just steps away. Luckily, you won't have to choose. Take a dip in both and then enjoy a light lunch of feta and watermelon salad, conch ceviche, and a glass of ice-cold rosé at the Pool Bar.

Why we love it: Visit Vancouver, and it's easy to see why there are so many devoted loyalists to the western Canadian city . Downtown Stanley Park has more than 1,000 acres of waterfront and woodlands, and for those looking to spend some time inside, the Anthropology Museum at the University of British Columbia has one of the best collections of indigenous art in the world. As one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Canada, Vancouver also aims to be the greenest city in the world by 2020, and already gets 93 percent of its electricity from sustainable methods.