The Top Vacation Spots for Cocktail Lovers

Picture this: you’re lounging under a cabana on the beach, the breeze keeping you cool while the sun tans your skin. There’s a tropical cocktail in your hand and it tastes so refreshing as you listen to the waves crashing on the shore.

Sounds pretty perfect, right? Chances are you’ve been daydreaming of this all winter long.

As the weather starts to warm up, families and friend groups across the country begin planning their summer vacations. One of the greatest parts of being on vacation is relaxing while enjoying a few extra drinks than normal.

Scrolling through your social media feeds, it’s likely that you’ve seen several friends posting pictures of their vacation cocktail with a stunning oasis in the background. It’s almost become a tradition to take as many beautiful photos of your trip as possible and share them for weeks after your trip, creating major feelings of FOMO in all of your followers.

Knowing these Instagram posts of vacation cocktails have become so popular, we grew curious to see exactly where travelers are more likely to imbibe these tasty treats. What better place to do some research than right at the source of all of these #margarita photos? We dove into the data from geo-tagged posts on Instagram throughout 2017 and uncovered the most popular places to vacation if you’re hoping to down a few of your favorite drinks. Check out the results below:

Mai Tai lovers should be planning a trip to Hawaii in 2018. With more than 6,000 posts in Maui and Honolulu alone, it’s clear that many locals and tourists alike have been sharing their fruity drinks with their followers while relaxing in the Hawaiian Islands.

The strawberry daiquiri doesn’t seem to be quite as popular in the Caribbean or Central and South America as it is here in the US. If that’s your favorite drink, you won’t need to travel far!

Rum punch, caipirinhas and piña coladas, on the other hand, are thriving in Mexico, the Caribbean and Venezuela. If you’re a piña colada lover and looking for the real deal, you might need to travel outside of the USA, since none of the top five cities are found here.

A little closer to home for Americans, Los Angeles is a popular destination for many of these cocktails. It comes in first place for sangria lovers and second for mojito drinkers.

Margaritas are also popular for Instagrammers in Los Angeles, but Caracas comes in first place by a long shot as the top destination for lovers of this tequila and lime drink.

If you’re not particular about what you’re drinking, but just know you’re ready for a getaway and a tropical cocktail, any of the top 5 cities above will do for you! Caracas, Venezuela came in first place with more than 91,000 posts of the featured cocktails above in 2017.

On the other hand, margarita-lovers might have the best luck traveling to any destination, as this was the most-Instagrammed tropical cocktail in our study. Mojitos and sangria came in second and third place, each with millions of Instagram posts last year.

If a boozy vacation in paradise is on your radar for this summer, maybe it’s time to think about which destinations are most insta-famous for pouring up the best drinks and head their way. To save some coin on your vacation cocktails, book an all-inclusive resort, since drinks are included in the price.

This time next month, you could be sitting on the beach in Cancun with a margarita in your hand.