Your Sports Travel Bucket List: The Biggest Events of 2026–2028
Some sporting events are worth building an entire vacation around. The best sports travel bucket lists combine the event itself with a destination you would be excited to visit even without a ticket in your hand.
The 2026 calendar delivered a record-setting World Cup across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, along with another unforgettable year of championship games, international finals, golf majors, tennis tournaments, and motorsport weekends. The next wave is already taking shape, with major events in Los Angeles, Brazil, Ireland, Louisville, London, New York, Monaco, and beyond.
Rather than waiting until schedules, tickets, and hotels are nearly sold out, use this guide to decide which experiences belong on your own sports travel bucket list for 2026 through 2028.
Looking beyond 2028? Our 2030 World Cup Travel Planning Guide covers the early outlook for Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and the centenary matches in South America.
The World Cup proved how much the destination matters
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the largest edition in tournament history, spreading matches across 16 host cities in three countries. Fans could build trips around one city, follow a team between regions, or combine matches with destinations such as Mexico City, Toronto, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York.
That scale also showed why sports travel is not simply about securing a ticket. Hotel location, airport access, stadium transportation, rest days, and realistic travel time between cities can shape the entire experience. Our original World Cup fan travel guide remains a useful reference for planning future tournaments.
Super Bowl 2027 – Los Angeles, California
The Super Bowl returns to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for a weekend that blends championship football with the entertainment, dining, beaches, and neighborhoods of greater Los Angeles.
For many travelers, the appeal is the full weekend: premium game tickets, hotel location, official events, hospitality, transportation, and time to enjoy Los Angeles before or after kickoff. The following year, the game moves to Atlanta, giving repeat travelers another major U.S. sports weekend to consider.
Women’s World Cup 2027 – Brazil
Brazil will host the first Women’s World Cup ever staged in South America, with 32 teams competing across eight host cities. Travelers can build a trip around Team USA, target the semifinals and final, or combine matches with time in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Brasília, and other host destinations.
This is one of the strongest sports-and-destination combinations on the calendar. Brazil adds beaches, food, music, landmarks, and major travel distances that make package design and transportation planning especially important.
Some events belong on every sports travel bucket list
Not every bucket-list event needs to happen only once every four years. Several annual traditions remain among the best reasons to travel, especially when the destination is part of the appeal.
Kentucky Derby
Louisville turns race weekend into a celebration of horse racing, fashion, food, bourbon, and Southern hospitality. The experience can range from classic grandstand seating to premium hospitality and multi-day Derby weekend packages.
Explore Kentucky Derby travel →
Tennis Majors
Wimbledon offers tradition and London, the US Open brings electric night sessions to New York, Roland-Garros pairs clay-court tennis with Paris, and the Australian Open can anchor a much larger trip to Melbourne.
Compare tennis major travel →
Formula 1 Grand Prix Weekends
Monaco remains the classic bucket-list race, but Las Vegas, Montreal, Silverstone, Abu Dhabi, and other circuits offer very different combinations of racing, hospitality, hotels, and destination experiences.
Explore Formula 1 travel →Ryder Cup 2027 – Adare Manor, Ireland
The Ryder Cup is golf at its most emotional, combining elite competition with national pride, team energy, and one of the loudest atmospheres in the sport. The 2027 edition will mark the event’s centenary and bring Europe and the United States to Adare Manor in County Limerick.
Ireland makes this more than a golf trip. Travelers can add nearby courses, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, castles, pubs, private touring, or additional nights in Dublin, Galway, or Cork.
Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games
The Summer Games return to Los Angeles for the third time, bringing the world’s largest multi-sport event to Southern California. The schedule spans more than two weeks, so the best trip starts with choosing the sports and sessions that matter most before selecting a hotel area.
Los Angeles also gives travelers room to build a broader vacation around the Games, from beaches and Hollywood to theme parks, dining, museums, and coastal extensions.
Build your bucket list around the experience you actually want
A good sports travel bucket list should not simply collect famous event names. Start with the atmosphere, destination, and travel style that appeal to you most.
- Choose the Super Bowl for a polished championship weekend with premium entertainment and hospitality.
- Choose the Women’s World Cup for international soccer, multiple cities, and a deeper destination experience.
- Choose the Kentucky Derby for tradition, fashion, food, and a compact long-weekend trip.
- Choose Wimbledon or another tennis major for a city vacation built around several event sessions.
- Choose Formula 1 for racing paired with nightlife, hospitality, and destination style.
- Choose the Ryder Cup for team golf, crowd energy, and an Ireland vacation.
- Choose the Summer Games for variety, scale, and the chance to attend several sports in one trip.
Turn your sports travel bucket list into an actual trip
Beyond the Castle Travel helps individuals, couples, families, groups, and corporate travelers compare event packages, hotels, ticket categories, transportation, hospitality, and destination add-ons.
Article updated July 2026. Event details, package components, pricing, tickets, and availability are subject to change.
