3 Costco Travel Changes You Need To Know For 2026

The joys and delights of Costco are many and varied. The big-box chain store is a retail marvel, known for its exceptional value, amazing customer experience, and great quality – not to mention its iconic hot dogs — and is a fixture of the commercial and cultural scene in the U.S. Alongside its fantastic deals on domestic appliances, electronics, household supplies, and groceries, Costco has some great hacks for budget sightseeing and travel. Not only does it stock a huge variety of travel gear, from suitcases to camping tents, but it also has a brilliant vacation services department, with members able to book hotels, cruises, flights, and even amusement park visits.

Not all Costco shoppers know all there is to know about Costco Travel (or even know that it exists), and even those who do aren't always aware of the latest developments. In 2026, Costco is launching a bunch of new travel services, which will improve the offer and make booking a vacation or getaway via Costco even easier, and possibly even more affordable!

We compiled a list of the most important changes in Costco Travel that shoppers should be on the lookout for. We took a look at the updates and announcements that Costco has made so far for the year to come, and picked the ones we thought would be the most interesting and have the most impact. From new cruise routes to new hotels, and even the first independent Costco gas station, here are three Costco Travel changes you need to know for 2026.

Costco has unveiled a raft of new cruise routes and destinations for 2026, all of which are available for booking now. Their cruise offering for 2026 is a mix of returning favorites and brand-new adventures, and to make things even more exciting, every customer who books a Costco Travel cruise gets a Digital Costco Shop Card gift certificate with every sailing.

Costco offers travel deals with cruises sailing from ports across North America. Florida is one of the most popular departure spots, with major ports in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Port Canaveral, and Texas has plenty of sailings to the Caribbean out of Galveston. Cruises depart California heading north to the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Canada, and south to Mexico and destinations in Central and South America. For 2026, cruise packages include the Kirkland Signature Denali Explorer Cruisetour, a 13-day package that starts with six days on land to visit Fairbanks, Denali State Park and Mt. McKinley, and Whittier in Alaska, and then cruising back to Vancouver. Costco also carries the 7-night Disney Dream cruise to the Mediterranean, which includes Barcelona and ports in France and Italy, as well as a 7-night cruise along Europe's Rhine River.

Over in the Caribbean, Kirkland Signature offers itineraries with Royal Caribbean in the Eastern and Western Caribbean, while further south, you can enjoy an extravagant 18-night sailing around the coastline of Chile and Argentina, via the Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, as well as an incredible seven nights in the Galapagos with Celebrity Cruises.

Last year, Costco announced that they were suspending the ability to book travel packages for Disneyland in California, which had its members bummed out. However, this turns out to have been just a pause, as Costco is now offering various Disneyland packages, including the Anaheim: Disneyland Hotel Package, located just steps from Downtown Disney and including tickets to Disneyland Resort. Costco also has an early summer promotion for Walt Disney World in Orlando, which includes early entry and extended evening hours, complimentary admission to a Disney water park, transfers, and parking, alongside park entry and accommodation.

If you are looking for a resort experience with a twist, then Xcaret Mexico on the Riviera Maya might be a superb option. This unique, all-inclusive resort is part hotel, part theme park, part jungle adventure, with rivers, cenotes, and suspension bridges, and features pools, beaches, adventure parks, and stunning jungle vistas, not to mention traditional shows and spectaculars.

Other fantastic hotel packages for 2026 include an all-inclusive stay at the Hilton Cancun, five nights for the price of four at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui, and five nights for the price of four at 'Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach in Oahu. There are great deals to be had for short stays and city breaks across the U.S., including spots like Denver, Nashville, and Seattle, and all of their hotel packages offer significant savings when booked through Costco Travel.

Costco is well known for its road trip accessories, from tires and batteries to camping gear, and it even has a Costco rental car program, but this year sees the launch of a first for the company – a stand-alone gas station. The city of Mission Viejo in California will be the site of the first Costco fuel-only location, with plans to follow this up with a second location in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2027. The gas station in Mission Viejo is set to have 40 gas pumps, making it Costco's largest fuel facility.

The gas stations will only be available to Costco members, and are designed to make road trips and cross-country journeys by car easier, smoother, and more affordable for anyone with a Costco card. The Mission Viejo gas station is due to open at the end of June 2026.

The Hawaii location is part of a larger transformation project called ʻŌlauniu at Kapālama Kai, run by Kamehameha Schools. Its intent is to redevelop the former Dillingham Plaza area into a new location designed to encourage collaboration and culture to improve the local community. The new area will include retail shops, restaurants, gathering areas, and office space, and the hope is the Costco gas station will bring new opportunities to the area while improving traffic circulation.  

In compiling this list, we looked at the announcements from Costco Travel on their updates and new services on offer for 2026. We then chose the three most interesting announcements based on usefulness for travelers, as well as taking into account the impact they might have on people making travel plans for the coming year.