If you’re in need of a delightful rom-com and some travel inspiration, look no further than Netflix’s 2026 movie People We Meet On Vacation.
Adapted from Emily Henry’s 2021 novel, the story follows travel writer Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) and her former best friend Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth) who embark on a week-long vacation every summer – that is, until a trip to Europe resulted in them not being on speaking terms for two years.
First things first: What is People We Meet On Vacation about?
Image source:Netflix
Becoming increasingly unhappy with her job in New York, Poppy’s reminded of the wedding of her friend (and Alex’s brother) David in Barcelona. She calls Alex, slipping a little white lie and telling him she’ll be in Barcelona for work and attending the wedding as a way of trying to reconnect with him.
Poppy and Alex’s friendship and history is revealed in a series of flashbacks: from becoming friends at college during a road trip back to their hometown of Linfield, Ohio, to their various worldwide travels together.
As you have probably already guessed, their friendship nearly blurred the boundaries a few times which leads to the two losing contact.
We won’t spoil everything, so go read or watch it!
But in the meantime, if you want to know all about the glamorous travel locations the two characters visited, read on… because when it comes to the movie’s actual filming locations, there’s a little twist!
Where was People We Meet On Vacation filmed?
Even though Poppy and Alex tick off a lot of different countries in their escapades, it may be shocking to learn that the film was shot in just two major locations.
Yep, despite the New York, Canada and Tuscany vibes in the movie, the actors never quite made it to those locations IRL.
Director Brett Haley told People magazine that the book’s locations were altered the suit filming schedules, so sadly there were no cheeky Croatia or Iceland holidays for Poppy and Alex in the movie adaption.
“We shot 65 per cent of the film in and around Barcelona, in Spain. And then we shot 40 to 50 per cent in New Orleans, in Louisiana,” Haley said. “You can’t pull off New Orleans in Spain. The biggest challenge of the film, by far, was how to pull off Canada, Tuscany, New Orleans, Ohio, and New York City in the Barcelona area.”
Image source: Michael Cadieux on Unsplash
Costa Brava Region, Catalonia Spain
Canada, Tuscany and Barcelona were all shot around Spain’s Costa Brava, a stunning stretch of forested coastline that features wide sandy beaches, quant villages, and resorts.
With the endless turquoise glimmers of the Mediterranean, it may not be the first place you think of that substitutes Canada, with Brett Haley saying it wasn’t the easiest task.
“It proved difficult, simply for the correct forest feel,” he said.
However the crew ended up filming in the Masjoan Arboretum, located around 45-minutes inland from Lloret de Mar, a popular budget holiday destination on the Costa Brava cost.
Masjoan Arboretum boasts an extraordinary collection of trees and looks home to a more alpine landscape vs. a Mediterranean, so it doubled perfectly for Canadian scenery when shooting the film.
“These redwoods were planted over a hundred years ago. The topography and under canopy was so close to a Squamish setting, it was an amazing find,” Haley said.
Located 45-minutes east of Masjoan is the town of Panedes, which was a dupe for Tuscany – aka the place in the movie where Alex and Poppy nearly ruined their friendship for good. Located near the coastal town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Panedes is known for its world-class wines and beautiful vineyards. There could be worse places to nurse a broken heart!
New Orleans, Louisiana USA
While Poppy and Alex grew up in the fictional town of Linfield Ohio, many of their hometown shots and scenes were filmed in New Orleans.
Alex and Poppy’s hometown night out was shot in the heart of the French Quarter, with Haley saying the movie didn’t have the budget to shut down Bourbon Street.
“That was all real,” says Haley. “We had a group of extras that walked with us. Other than that, we were just going down the street, no lights, just a camera and the actors. We just let it be as real as possible.”
Image source:Netflix
And Audubon Park and Lake Pontchartrain in Covington, New Orleans gave off the leafy Midwest/Ohio vibes that the crew was looking for when it came to shooting for Alex and Poppy’s return back home.
“I want people to feel like, ‘Wow, they went all around the world to shoot this film,’ because that’s the way it should feel,” Haley said.
What’s the fan reaction to People We Meet On Vacation been?
The reviews for the film adaption have been mostly positive, with fans praising the on-screen chemistry between Emily Bader and Tom Blyth.
With a favourable 75 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, many thought the character of Poppy was a lot easier to enjoy in the movie compared to the book.
“As someone who hated the book, I love the movie. Hated Poppy’s character in the book and I found her to be more likable in the movie,” one person pointed out on a Reddit discussion.
One critique fans had of the movie was the fact it was a feature-length film and not broken into a TV series, something they think would have translated better.
“I think this adaption would’ve worked better as a limited series instead of a movie. Especially considering how the book is structured. The movie didn’t show enough time for all the nuances in the book,” one fan said.
“It should’ve been a series of like 6-8 episodes with each episode titled the location of the vacation like, ‘Barcelona..Tuscany..etc’ going more in depth of the vacations they took and how they fell in love,” another fan agreed. “It was rushed and we didn’t really see them fall in love or how truly incompatible their lifestyles were.”
Well, at least we’ll always have the book.
Feeling inspired by Poppy and Alex to book a Euro summer? Browse our best-selling trips here.
