9 Fairy-Tale Forests Around the World You Won’t Want To Miss

Few places are as fairy-tale-ready as Germany’s Black Forest—the setting for Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Little Red Riding Hood. Bounded by the famous Rhine River in two directions, this massive naturescape is easily explorable from pretty towns like Freiburg, Offenburg, and Baden-Baden, a famous spa town. If you’re open to a fairy-tale adventure on a train, consider exploring via The Black Forest Railway, too.

Insider tip: Full-day Black Forest tours are also available from larger cities like Frankfurt, Zurich, and Strasbourg.

Every April, magic happens in Belgium’s Hallerbos Forest: A sea of bluebells lights up the forest floor. Sometimes known as the “Blue Forest,” Hallerbos is entirely public, with great walking paths for those cerulean sojourns. And if you’re in the area outside April, no worries: The forest is also littered with giant Sequoias, and those massive trees are always worth a look.

Hallerbos is less than an hour’s drive from Brussels, so it’s an easy day trip. Try to visit on a weekday to get a quieter, more mystical experience.

“Cloud forests” aren’t just great marketing—they’re real, and they’re one of the rarest ecosystems in the world. At Monteverde, you’ll wander among the trees navigating a dense fog, giving your trek a truly mystical (or mist-ical) feel. With platforms and bridges, you’ll even get into the treetops, seeing this verdant wonder from above.

This Costa Rica spot is popular, though, and you’ll need reserved tickets to wander the trails. Go with a guide to get the most out of your experience—there are thousands of species of flora and fauna, and you’ll want someone to make sense of this majestic place.

Go far enough south in Australia, and you’ll wind up driving away from the rugged, dusty Outback and into a wild, temperate rainforest. Great Otway National Park claims some of the continent’s most verdant landscapes, including the nation’s tallest waterfall. From epic surfing off Johanna Beach to spying koalas in the eucalyptus forests, there’s so much to do at Great Otway.

Get here via the famed Great Ocean Road—an epic drive along Australia’s southern coast—or hop on a tour from Melbourne for a day spent wandering ancient forests and hanging with kangaroos.

While Madagascar’s Avenue of the Baobabs is well-known for those fairy-tale vibes, it’s more like a magical stretch of road. For magical forest vacations in Madagascar that last longer than a photo op, check out Kirindy Forest. Not only will you spot the same fairy-tale-like baobab trees, but if you stay overnight, you’ll have a better chance of spotting lemurs, chameleons, and the elusive fossa. Day trips from nearby Morondava won’t disappoint, either.

Above ground, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is a rainforest. Below ground, it’s a fairy-tale playground full of the world’s largest caves. This two-for-one spot—both a national park and a UNESCO site—is about 8 hours south of Hanoi, or 4 hours north of Hue. Getting here can be a trek, but once you are, it’s all about hiking, spelunking, and kayaking adventures. The forested trek to Son Doong Cave, the world’s largest, takes 4 days (and a big budget), but you can reach smaller caves like Phong Nha on an easy day trip.

Insider tip: Avoid the rainy season, which typically lasts from October to December.

At Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, trees sit high on pillars like rocky skyscrapers. A UNESCO global geopark, Zhangjiajie often comes blanketed in clouds, giving its already mystical landscapes an even more fairy-tale feel. For scenes out of Avatar, head to the Yuanjiajie section, either via a 90-minute hike or a 2-minute ride up the Bailong Elevator. Either way, the park’s best with a guide leading the way, as most signs are only in Chinese.

Insider tip: Don’t miss the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. Hanging over the forest, it’s one of the longest glass bridges in the world.

America’s largest national forest, Tongass National Forest in Alaska also happens to be the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Picture granite cliffs, narrow fjords, majestic old-growth trees, shimmering streams, and even glaciers flowing into the sea. Since the forest is so massive, visitors can base out of Juneau, Sitka, or Ketchikan for adventures into the fairy-tale wilds. From hiking to wildlife-spotting to glacier-trekking, the options for outdoor adventure here are endless.

While most tourists are sunbathing in nearby Playa del Carmen, one of the top fairy-tale travel destinations rests quietly next door. The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is full of verdant coastal wetlands and shimmering lagoons, tropical forests and wild mangroves, and it’s just 75 minutes south of Mexico’s famous beaches.

To get there, book a tour—with pickup and drop-off—from a nearby spot like Tulum. Bird-watching and kayaking are two of the best ways to explore this fairy-tale spot.