This Just In: Time Magazine Has Revealed Its 'World's Greatest Places' List for 2026 — with One Aussie Surf Stay Making the Cut
One Australian stay has landed on this landmark annual list, bringing acclaim to a tiny NSW surf community.
With more than a century in the journalism game, Time Magazine has seen and done more than most. With this in mind, it's fair to say the editorial team is well-qualified to create a list that's loftily named The World's Greatest Places, an annual record published since 2018.
Divided into distinct sections — 'Places to Stay' and 'Places to Visit' — two spots in Oceania scored a place on the former, with four more landing on the latter. On Australian shores, Sea Sea Hotel is the country's sole accommodation representative, set on Dunghutti Country near the NSW surf town of Crescent Head.
Opened by Ksubi label co-founder George Gorrow and ceramicist and model Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, this retro motel revival features 25 rooms that celebrate 1970s Australian surf culture, complete with throwback wood-panelling, bedside speakers and vintage objects. Plus, you can always grab a board and head for the waves.
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Meticulously considered from top to bottom, the hotel's kitchen is also a standout amenity. Pairing modern-casual dining with an ocean-slanted, ingredient-focused menu, former Iceberg's chef Daniel Medcalf has shaped an epic experience designed to showcase the very best of the surrounding Macleay Valley region's native pantry.
Also making Time's cut in our backyard is Flockhill — a historic 36,000-acre sheep station located in New Zealand's Cragieburn Valley. From a sprawling base amid the Southern Alps, this luxury accommodation is one of the most lavish ways imaginable to explore the country's wild side.
Besides stays, Time had nice things to say about four places to visit across Australia and New Zealand. That includes the newly relaunched Sydney Fish Market and Pilbara's Murujuga Cultural Landscape — the world's densest collection of petroglyphs and megaliths.
To see the full list, head to the website for more information.
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