Every year YPT work very hard on setting up new destinations, be they through research trips or otherwise, with 2026 being no different.
This year we have added a whole heap of new YPT tours that are just waiting for you to book! Now I know that travel shopping can be hard, so to make it that bit easier I have curated 11 of our best new YPT tours to help you narrow it down.
11 New YPT Tours to Try in 2026
Unlike our regular lists, our new YPT tours are in no particular order. Therefore we will count down from 11 to 1, rather than saving the best until last.
All of these are new this year or for next year and have places available on them. If you do not see the tour you were looking for, there is a decent chance we are still working on it behind the scenes.
Table of Contents
11) Mongolia Ice Festival
One for the hardy, the bold, and those who like their beer frozen. This tour takes you to Ulaanbaatar and the surrounding steppes in the dead of winter to experience the Mongolia Ice Festival. Expect ice sculptures, horse races across frozen rivers, and local nomads offering yak butter tea in huts that are literally carved out of snow. It’s cold, it’s insane, and it’s utterly brilliant.
10) West Africa Combo
Ghana, Togo, Benin. Markets, music, history, chaos. Some of the weirdest, most colourful places we’ve visited, all packed into one slightly mad YPT adventure. Already selling like crazy and one we plan to expand upon.
9) Ethiopia
From Addis Ababa to the Simien Mountains, this tour covers ancient churches, tribal villages, and some of the most spectacular highland scenery on the planet. Coffee, injera, and a lot of stunning vistas await. This is classic Ethiopia exploration, with a YPT twist that keeps it fun, gritty, and off the usual tourist radar.
8) Equatorial Guinea
Not entirely new, but very much back with a vengeance. We ran research trips here previously, but after a brief hiatus it’s now fully back on the YPT schedule. Expect Malabo, Bioko Island, and Bata. This tour mixes colonial architecture, volcanic landscapes, and real off-the-beaten-track adventure. A small, lesser-known country, but packed with experiences you won’t forget.
7) Java By Train
A brilliant overland adventure across Java, stopping in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and finishing with a ferry to Bali to link up with our East Timor tour. Trains, local markets, street food, volcanoes, temples, and villages—you see it all without having to pack and unpack every night.
6) All Papuas Tour
A variation of our PNG Essentials tour, this one has us doing everything important in Papua New Guinea before flying to Vanimo, possibly the most beautiful place in PNG. From there, we overland to Jayapura in West Papua. Beaches, tribes, rainforest, rivers, and some seriously remote adventures.
5) Sikkim
YPT’s first research trip here was summer 2025, and it’s now firmly on the calendar. One of the most beautiful, cleanest parts of India, Sikkim is a stark contrast to Bhutan. Think monasteries, mountains, trekking, and a friendly local population with traditions as old as the hills themselves.
4) Pitcairn Island Tour
This tiny, volcanic speck of the Pacific isn’t easy to reach, which is why it’s brilliant. The first group visited in early 2026 and it was such a hit that we’re running it again in January 2027. Isolated, quirky, and steeped in history thanks to the Bounty mutineers, Pitcairn is the ultimate adventure for the committed YPT traveler.
3) Papua Essentials Tour
Launched January 2026, this tour now has several set departures throughout the year. It’s the quickest, most affordable way to see Papua New Guinea properly, without sacrificing the YPT sense of adventure. Villages, markets, wildlife, and a lot of places other operators would never dare take you.
2) Banda Aceh
Known for war, tragedy, and beauty, Banda Aceh has the strictest interpretation of Islam on the planet. This is an intense, highly structured trip for those who want history, culture, and something very different from the usual tourist spots. Priced excellently and packed with deep experiences.
1) Baliem Festival
The Baliem Festival is the most famous traditional festival of West Papua, similar in style to Mount Hagen or Goroka, but on a slightly more relaxed scale. This trip offers the option to overland into PNG afterwards. Expect dancing, music, ritual, costumes, and an atmosphere that is both festive and utterly unique.
And……
We are till working on a whole heap of other tours, research trips and much more. Hopefully this will mean and expanding oof this list.
In the meantime though, please just watch this space, or better still join one of the new tours..
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