The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Tourism and Weed Vacations

Ready for a vacation? Aren’t we always? If you’re planning some upcoming travel or looking for a new experience, the new buzzword in the green-friendly community is cannabis tourism!

What is Cannabis Tourism?

Cannabis tourism, marijuana tourism and weed tourism all refer to travel experiences that either directly or indirectly incorporate cannabis consumption within them. These weed vacations could involve cannabis-focused activities, such as visiting dispensaries, participating in pot-based tours, or just staying in 420-friendly accommodations where they not only permit but actually encourage onsite cannabis usage.

While a weed vacation might not sound as exciting to someone from California, Colorado or one of the other 22 states where recreational marijuana is currently legal, for those who live in areas where bud is restricted, unavailable or just downright expensive, this rapidly expanding area of the leisure travel industry can be very appealing.

Driven by growing legalization and regulation, as well as a demand for unique experiences, the cannabis tourism market grew by 20% between 2022 and 2024. Whereas market size was estimated at around $10.23 billion in 2023, it is projected to jump to $23.73 billion by 2030.

Immersive Cannabis Experiences

A great weed vacation should include more than just buying some bud and then hiding out at your hotel and getting baked. Emerging trends in weed tourism include:

• Cannabis and Education Excursions: Consider historical cannabis locations, cultivation workshops, tours to cannabis farms or greenhouses, or visits to locations like dispensaries or consumption lounges.
• Cannabis and Wellness Retreats: Look for opportunities to incorporate meditation, yoga and holistic healing with cannabis
• Cannabis and Gastronomy Experiences: Growing quickly in popularity, cannabis cooking classes and infused dinner parties highlight all the diverse flavors of the cannabis plant and sometimes even prepared by Michelin-starred chefs.
• Cannabis and Luxury Offerings: Private tastings, high-end products, and 420-friendly resorts and other extravagances can be found throughout the world.

Top Cannabis Tourism Destinations in America

As the industry, availability and interest continues to expand, some top cannabis tourism cities within the United States in 2025 include:

• Portland: With its vibrant culture and longtime progressive stance when it comes to weed, this city offers experiences that include party buses, trendy boutiques, and numerous accommodations where you can stay and partake on site.
• Denver: Considered a pioneer in cannabis tourism since way back, with one of the highest concentrations of dispensaries anywhere in the country (10.4 for every 100,00 residents), Denver boasts not only some of the best cannabis tours around but also a thriving 420 festival scene.
• California: Home to multiple cities with cannabis tourism destinations like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, not to mention The Emerald Triangle, California can provide both laid-back and luxurious experiences where visitors can enjoy everything from celebrity-backed dispensaries, cannabis-infused wine tastings, farm tours and multiple prestige events, like The Farmers Cup, The California State Fair Cannabis Awards and KushStock.
• Las Vegas: Not just the Entertainment Capital of the World, Sin City also features a high number of head shops, consumption lounges and tasting rooms, as well as the world’s largest dispensary, Planet 13.
• Phoenix: Since the legalization of recreational use in 2020, Phoenix has served as a major hub of cannabis culture. It not only offers extremely affordable prices on their cannabis products, but also hosts events like the Errl Cup and The Arizona Cannabis Awards Music Festival.
• New Orleans: A bit of a surprising new addition when it comes to great places for your next weed vacation, as cannabis is not yet recreationally legal, NOLA has embraced their hemp-derived THC in a way that only they can — New Orleands bars and restaurants now serve THC-infused drinks. Strong drinks. And local laws permit you to carry these drinks in “go-cups” and legally take them with you as you stroll along the French Quarter.

Top Cannabis Tourism Destinations Outside the United States

For more than 40 years, cannabis tourism was dominated by Amsterdam, a city that had long been a bucket-list destination for many canna lovers. But new laws now ban public smoking within the city’s old center, and Mayor Femke Halsema is looking to ban non-residents from their cannabis coffee shops in an attempt to curb cannabis-related nuisance and over-tourism. Travel agency cannabis hot spots now include:

• Thailand: Formerly known for its renowned strict drug laws, cannabis is now legalized and the Asian nation boasts thousands of dispensaries. Popular destinations like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui now have a multitude of shops where tourists can buy pot freely.
• South Africa: Since having just legalized cannabis for personal use in 2024, the country now presents unique opportunities that include beachfront smoke circles, medicinal healer workshops and cannabis safari tours.
• Jamaica: Offering an immersive ganja experience stemming from its strong Rastafarian heritage and reggae roots, Jamaica offers visits to local farms, wellness retreats focused on the spiritual significance of the cannabis plant, and a growing number of festivals.
• Canada: With a goal to establish themselves as the premier destination for cannabis tourism around the world, one of the first countries to ever legalize recreational cannabis boasts everything from weed yoga retreats in BC to Toronto culinary tours to the unique opportunity for nature enthusiasts to consume cannabis within the Great White North’s national parks.
• Uruguay: With the auspicious distinction of being the first country to ever fully legalize cannabis both medicinally and recreationally, Uruguay offers a beautiful vacation where one can totally relax at a very affordable price.
• Spain: With some of the most relaxed cannabis laws in all of Europe, Spain operates on a cannabis Social Club model that offers private space where their members can consume; rather than buying cannabis, members co-own the production.

Plan Your Next Cannabis Vacation

Ready to experience canna-tourism for yourself? Sites such as Bud & Breakfast and Green Tripz make it easy to search and find accommodations that are 420-friendly! And travel agency cannabis sites such as Cannabis Tours, Front Row Travels and Higher Way Travels allow you to design the perfect getaway with tours, events, classes and services.

Connect with Weed Vacation Experts at CannaCon

Better yet, ask your friends and colleagues at CannaCon! CannaCon hosts cannabis expos around the U.S. CannaCon is the nation’s leading business-to-business cannabis conference with exhibitors from around the country and seminars delivered by leading industry experts. It’s a great way to mingle with those in the know. Get CannaCon tickets and start planning your weed vacation today!