New York – September 28, 2026 -- Travel And Tour World (TTW) has released its Top 50 Halloween Travel Destinations in the World for 2026, ranking Transylvania as the number one spot for October travel.
Transylvania leads a list built on folklore and historic landmarks
The ranking places Bran Castle and the Dracula legend at the top, with Brașov and Sighișoara offering access via train, bus or car from Bucharest or Cluj-Napoca.
Derry, Salem and Dublin round out the top five
Derry's parades and city-wall festivities take second place, followed by Salem's Haunted Happenings, easily reached from Boston by commuter rail or ferry. Dublin and County Meath rank fourth, tied to Ireland's Samhain heritage near the Hill of Ward, while Edinburgh's Old Town ghost tours take fifth.
Theme parks and modern entertainment fill the middle ranks
Orlando ranks sixth for its haunted houses and scare zones across major theme parks, accessible via Orlando International Airport. Sleepy Hollow follows in seventh, tied to Washington Irving's Headless Horseman legend and reachable from New York City by train. Quebec City, Tokyo and New Orleans complete the top ten, spanning fortified Old Quebec streets, Tokyo's costume culture and New Orleans' French Quarter ghost tours.
The full 50 span five continents
Additional destinations include Anoka, Minnesota -- self-described as the 'Halloween Capital of the World' -- along with London, Athens, St Helens in Oregon, West Hollywood, Key West, Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Osaka, Hong Kong, York, Buena Park, Prague, Whitby, Montréal and Toronto. Each entry pairs seasonal events with airport access details, from Copenhagen Airport's direct metro link to Kansai International Airport's rail connections into Osaka.
Anup Kumar Keshan, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Travel And Tour World, said Halloween has become "a fascinating expression of experiential tourism because every destination interprets the season differently."
The list was compiled through TTW's editorial research and comparative destination assessment, examining how cities convert haunted heritage, festivals and seasonal entertainment into October travel reasons.