Kudos to Iceland, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada. Great marks for Singapore, Honolulu and San Francisco.
Travel insurance provider Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) has released its 11th annual State of Travel Insurance Safest Destinations report, “the longest running and most trusted research project evaluating the attitudes of U.S. travelers toward travel safety and travel insurance.”
The Netherlands, Australia, and Austria have been named the safest countries to visit in 2026, while Reykjavik, Copenhagen, and Zurich top the list of safest cities.
Canada was named fifth safest country, which is down slightly from its third place finish last year. Montreal was rated the world’s sixth safest city for 2025, but didn’t make the top 15 this year.
Australia was ranked second safest country in the world, and Sydney was rated the sixth safest city.
The U.S. didn’t make the top 15 for world’s safest countries, but Honolulu was rated the world’s fifth safest city and San Francisco was ranked 15th; making it the only mainland U.S. city in the top 15.
The Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from the San Francisco Bay Trail at Crissy Field. Jim Byers Photo
Since 2016, BHTP has been surveying travelers on their attitudes toward travel safety and began compiling annual rankings of the world’s safest destinations in 2018. To determine these rankings, BHTP surveys a large group of American travelers about their travels over the past five years, allowing only those who have visited specific countries to rate them on safety. BHTP then augments those ratings with other indices and information to evaluate safety concerns such as terrorism, weather emergencies, health concerns, and the safety of underrepresented groups to calculate a weighted score that reflects each country’s overall safety.
Top 15 Safest Countries
1. Netherlands
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. Canada
6. New Zealand
7. United Arab Emirates
8. Switzerland
9. Japan
10. Ireland
11. Belgium
12. Portugal
13. France
14. United Kingdom
15. Denmark
Zurich is a lovely and surprisingly cosmopolitan city with tons of charm. Jim Byers Photo
Top 15 Safest Cities
1. Reykjavik
2. Copenhagen
3. Zurich
4. Amsterdam
5. Honolulu (one of my fave cities in the world)
6. Sydney
7. Barcelona
8. Lisbon
9. Tokyo
10. Dublin
11. Venice
12. Seoul
13. London
14. Singapore
15. San Francisco (that should quiet a few critics of my almost home town)
The Netherlands saw a remarkable jump in the safest country rankings, climbing from fourteenth to first in one year. Australia holds the runner-up spot for the second year in a row and continues to be a regular in the top 10, while Austria makes its debut on the list. For the second consecutive year, Reykjavik ranks as the safest city, with Copenhagen again taking second place. Zurich, however, made a notable leap to claim the third spot.
A canal in Amsterdam. Adrien Olichon/Unsplash Photo
“With global uncertainty and safety concerns top of mind this year, travelers are more thoughtful than ever with where they choose to explore,” said Carol Mueller, Head of Marketing. “Our annual report not only highlights the destinations that travelers perceive as safest, but also serves as a valuable resource for planning trips with confidence.”
BHTP’s State of Travel Insurance research has been conducted each fall since 2016 by Polymath Research + Marketing, using independent national panels surveying thousands of consumers on future expectations in travel insurance and travel habits. The lists of the world’s safest countries and cities were created using an index that synthesizes results from multiple sources, including the U.S. State Department, the British financial magazine The Economist, safety-app creator GeoSure Global, Vision of Humanity, Numbeo, and Global Finance magazine. Past rankings also are factored in.
