Once again, the judges appointed by National Geographic accepted the task of observing and studying thousands of images to find the best of the best in this 2018 edition of the Travel Photographer Of The Year competition. The chosen photos show a wide use of drones, especially in the Cities category, but the grand winner was none other than a beautiful whale calf in Japanese waters.

NatGeo decided to divide the participants into three categories: Nature, Cities and People. In addition to the photos selected by the judges, we can also enjoy several outstanding examples under the People’s Choice mechanism. The National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 awarded $15,000 in prizes (10,000 for the grand winner and the rest divided between two first places), and if the quality stays like this, we can’t wait to see the participants of the next edition.

The 2018 Winners

The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Grand Winner: “Mermaid”
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Grand Winner: “Mermaid” (Reiko Takahashi)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Second Place, Nature: “Flamingos Take Off” (Hao J.)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Third Place, Nature: “Mars” (Marco Grassi)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
People’s Choice, Nature: “Formation” (Niklas Weber)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
First Place, Cities: “Another Rainy Day in Nagasaki, Japan” (Hiro Kurashina)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Second Place, Cities: “Geometry of the Sun” (Enrico Pescantini)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Third Place, Cities: “Reflection” (Gaanesh Prasad)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Honorable Mention, Cities: “Alone in the Crowds” (Gary Cummins)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
People’s Choice, Cities: “Traveling to Heaven” (Trikansh Sharma)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
First Place, People: “Tea Culture” (Alessandra Meniconzi)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Second Place, People: “Leida and Laelle - I Will Lift You Up” (Tati Itat)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
Third Place, People: “Challenging Journey” (MD Tanveer Hassan Rohan)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
People’s Choice, People: “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (Daniel Cheung)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Fog Taking Over a Town During Sunset” (Ricky Batista)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“The Ultimate Pool Party” (Raja Iliya)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Ipanema Beach” (M. Raccichini)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“The Invasion” (Paul Tsui)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“The Highly Tolerant Society” (Hidetoshi Ogata)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“The Doors of Mordor are Open” (Jeffry Arguedas)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Wild Iceland” (E. Arencibia)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Sunset in the Monument Valley” (Stas Bartnikas)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Future of 2022 Reveal in Fog” (Ray Toh)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Biker” (Mark Zhu)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Young Bagan Monk” (Dimitar Karanikolov)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“The Balloon Wrestler” (Rob Weisman)
The Winners of National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year 2018 (Gallery)
“Haircut” (Chelsea Nix)