Top Foreign Destinations for Germans

Key Takeaways

• Spain is the most popular foreign holiday destination for German travelers. It captured 15.0% of all German vacation trips in 2025.
• The Mediterranean dominated the top four destinations. Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Greece together accounted for 36.1% of all German vacation trips. The broader Mediterranean region captured 44.2%.
• Greece recorded the largest single-year shift among the top five. Its market share rose from 3.6% in 2024 to 5.6% in 2025.
• Egypt is the only non-European country in the ranking.
• Long-haul destinations reached 8.6% of all German vacation trips in 2025. That is up from 6.9% in 2024.
• Sun and warmth are the top holiday motives for 67% of German travelers. That preference explains why four of the top five destinations border the Mediterranean.

Leading Foreign Holiday Destinations for Germans

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Ask a German where they are going on holiday, and the answer is probably somewhere with a coastline, a warm breeze, and something cold to drink. In 2025, Germans took 67.7 million long holidays. About 78% of those trips crossed a border. Sun and warmth is the top holiday motive for 67% of German travelers. Four of the five most popular foreign destinations sit on the Mediterranean coast.

Spain ranked first with 15.0% of all German vacation trips in 2025. Turkey ranked second with 7.8%. The gap between Spain and Turkey is nearly as large as Turkey’s entire share. No other country held more than 8% of the market.

The Balearic island of Mallorca is central to Spain’s enduring appeal. It has been a magnet for German holidaymakers for decades.

Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Greece together accounted for 36.1% of all German vacation trips. The broader Mediterranean region, stretching from Croatia down to coastal North Africa, captured 44.2%. Nearly half of all German long holidays land somewhere on or near the same sea.

Austria is the exception in the top five. It shares a border with Germany to the south. It draws German families and hiking enthusiasts looking for mountains rather than beaches. It ranked fifth at 4.4%.

Egypt is the only non-European country in the ranking. It claimed 2.0% of German vacation trips in 2025. That was enough to push the Netherlands out of the top 10. Long-haul destinations as a group reached 8.6% of all German vacation trips in 2025. That is up from 6.9% in 2024. Germans are still overwhelmingly choosing Europe for their holidays. The appetite for going a bit further is growing.

The rest of the top 10 has barely moved in years. What shifts is the bottom of the list, where price, warmth, and accessibility create an opening for newer contenders. Egypt got through that door in 2025. The Netherlands did not.