VIRGINIA BEACH — This year kicked off with a bang for Virginia Beach with the city landing on a prestigious worldwide travel list.
Virginia Beach made The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2026.”
The 2026 catalog of destinations includes a description of why each place is worth visiting. Freelance travel writer Will Fleeson wrote about Virginia Beach, leading with the city’s plans to host the Super Girl Festival, an all-female action sports event, on Labor Day weekend. Fleeson also mentions the ViBe Creative District, the surf lagoon at Atlantic Park as well as the recent reopening of the Francis Land House, a plantation home of the 1800s.
The listing also features a photograph of Virginia Beach surfer Saydee Stiles, 13, carving up a wave near First Street, taken by local surf photographer Ed Obermeyer last October. He provided dozens of photographs of girls surfing to a New York Times editor, who requested them, he said. Stiles is wearing a red and blue wetsuit in the picture.
She’s been a competitive surfer since age 4 and was thrilled to see her image published with the list.
“It makes me feel proud of myself,” Stiles said. “My positioning on the wave, it just captures the moment of me at the jetty.”
Fleeson had visited Virginia Beach several times as a child when he played in soccer tournaments, he said. He wrote about the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean for the 2025 list. Fleeson initially reached out to the ViBe Creative District in September for information about upcoming events and was connected with the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“To have our Virginia Beach creative, cultural and surf community on a top list of global destinations is monumental,” says Kate Pittman, the ViBe’s executive director. “But to have a local artist’s work and a young local surfer girl chosen to visually represent our city to the world truly celebrates our unique cultural identity here.”
The list, published online Jan. 5, includes 13 other U.S. destinations: Dallas; Route 66; Los Angeles; Memphis; Hyde Park in Chicago; Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Florida; Portland, Oregon; the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska; Medora, North Dakota; Deer Valley, Utah; Bentonville, Arkansas; Big Sur, California; and revolutionary America, which included a shout out to Virginia for its plethora of planned events celebrating the country’s 250th birthday.
“We’re ecstatic,” said Kevin Hampton, director of interpretation and public engagement for VA250, Virginia’s official commission commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. “It goes without saying there would be no America without Virginia. We’re very glad that others are recognizing that.”
Last year’s list included seven U.S. travel spots: New York City museums; Sun Valley, Idaho; Asheville, North Carolina; Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts; New Orleans; Detroit and Washington D.C. This year’s list included the option for readers to create lists of their own — by “saving” the places they’ve been to and the places they want to visit.
Capturing a spot on this year’s list “is a massive moment for us,” said Erin Goldmeier, spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This recognition comes at such an incredible time as Virginia Beach continues to evolve with new events and experiences.”
Amanda Jarratt, a deputy city manager who oversees Virginia Beach’s Department of Economic Development, shared the news of the list with the Development Authority at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.
“It’s a pretty incredible opportunity for us to leverage that exposure,” she said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/01/17/virginia-beach-nyt-best-places-2026/
