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Kitty Fisher’s is the antithesis to the New York exposed brick brand of cool. Named after a Georgian courtesan, this tiny restaurant in Mayfair is rather a wood-clad room flickering with candles and exuding a intimate, “make yourself at home” vibe. The food is some of the best in London: the original chef, Tomos Parry, won the Young British Foodie award during his tenure, and his successor George Barson, formerly of the River Cottage, continues to surprise with innovative dishes cooked on the wood grill. If you can’t get a booking, fear not: a second restaurant, Cora Pearl, named for a 19th-century courtesan this time, recently opened on Covent Garden’s Henrietta Street.

Architects clearly had fun designing Saruni Samburu, an eco-lodge tucked away in the private Kalama Conservancy in central Kenya. Set on a giant outcropping of volcanic rock, stone serves as furniture and structure in the six spacious villas—jutting out of walls, punctuating the outdoor decking, and transformed into shower stalls with some clever pipework. Creative decor aside, the family-friendly resort enjoys spectacular views over billowing golden rangelands, a scene best appreciated from one of the two infinity pools on site, or with a gin and tonic in hand from the decked patio area. Just be sure to call it an early night: Guests are assigned their own jeeps and guides for daily safari excursions to spot elephants, giraffes, and endangered Grevy’s zebras.

A local institution, the Lobster Pot serves up its crustacean namesakes, among other Caribbean delicacies, on a vista-blessed seaside deck. If you can, arrive at sunset for the nightly tarpon feeding (much more engrossing in person than you’d imagine). And even if you don’t get there exactly at the appointed hour, you can still spot these giants as they continue to patrol the dramatically floodlit waters off the restaurant’s deck for leftovers. As you take in the view, you’ll be eating the likes of lobster-and-mango salad, lobster bisque, or lobster sautéed in a tomatoey, peppery blend and served with fried plantains, rice, and beans.

Tucked into a former cobbler’s workshop, Boot Café is making a determined bid to be the city’s tiniest (and most Instagrammable) specialty coffee bar. In a robin’s-egg-blue storefront, the café pours lattes made with beans from the highly regarded Parisian roaster Belleville Brûlerie and foreign roasters such as Five Elephant in Berlin. It’s a tight squeeze but worth a visit for bagels, cakes, and expertly pulled shots.

Nestled in the rain forest leading up to the famous Boiling Lake, Titou Gorge features cool, deep waters and smooth cliff walls formed by molten lava. If you’re wearing water shoes and a flotation device, you can actually get down in the canyon and make your way upstream through a series of pools that ends at a waterfall. If you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, then you’ve seen Titou Gorge before—portions of the movie with Orlando Bloom were filmed in this very spot.

People see beautiful rice paddy photos before they visit Bali, and often they arrive not knowing how to seek out those gorgeous landscapes. A guided cycling tour is a lovely way to take it in. This company takes you into the hills by car, then you wind your way back down, village-to-village, on your bike.

As soon as they see it along the Great Rift Valley, hiking enthusiasts want to climb Mount Longonot, a dormant volcano that last erupted sometime in the 1860s. The name Longonot is derived from a Masai word that means “steep ridges"—fitting because the journey to the top is nearly vertical, along deep crevices and crumbly rocks. Summiting usually takes about 1.5 hours; from the top, peer into the forest-filled crater and sit under a shaded gazebo to enjoy a picnic. If you have the energy, it’s also possible to hike the rim of the crater, but be warned: Skirting around takes roughly three hours, not including the journey back to the bottom.

Chowpaty, Nairobi’s best vegetarian restaurant, serves outrageously tasty dishes from across the Indian subcontinent. On arrival, customers are presented first with a small bowl of warm water to wash their hands in and then with the epic menu. The best item on the menu is the dahi puri: Crispy puffed puri shells are filled with Bombay mix (a crunchy snack mix) and then drizzled with a sweet and sour sauce. Many items on the menu can also be made vegan—just ask. Chowpaty has several locations around town, but the most popular sits in the courtyard at Diamond Plaza, a bustling shopping mall where the Indian community comes for fabrics, clothing, electrical goods, and supermarkets.

Murray’s cheese shop, which has been open since 1940, is a Village institution and is now in every guide book and food tour. So when they opened their cheese-focused restaurant a few doors down in 2012, locals were excited. It quickly became a neighborhood favorite for its cheese-focused food and carefully curated craft beer and wine list. They change their menu often, but some favorites—like buffalo cheese curds and a killer macaroni and cheese—persist. They also have themed cheese flights (like Farm to Slate and Spanish Summer) for the table to share, and knowledgeable cheesemongers on hand to help make your selections.

This huge property comprising two towers—the River Wing and the Grand Tower—showcases Huangpu River views from its position by the riverside promenade. The Grand Tower, designed by New York–based Kohn Pedersen Fox, features 375 rooms and suites, while the more classic River Wing has 577 rooms. High-style restaurants and bars sit between the two. Rooms have crystal chandeliers and a mural of Chinese flowers above the bed. The Gallery, in the Grand Tower, exhibits paintings and sculptures from up-and-coming artists, which rotate each quarter.

This family-run hotel, originally opened in 1886, is steeped in history from its classic furnishings to its esteemed guests. Literary legends William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway have stayed here; Tennessee Williams wrote about the hotel in his play The Rose Tattoo, and Truman Capote was known to prop up the Carousel Bar & Lounge on many a night. The merry-go-round–like bar (which makes a complete revolution every 15 minutes) is probably the hotel’s most famous feature, and a Vieux Carre cocktail there is de rigueur. Guests will also want to visit on-site restaurant Criollo, which offers an updated take on traditional N’awlins fare.

Located in Shibuya City, aka the Silicon Valley of Tokyo, Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel is a laid-back lodging close to Meiji Jingu Shrine and Tokyo Tower. Western and Japanese aesthetics mix in simple, unfussy guest rooms with calming colors and marble bathrooms; some have unobstructed views of Mount Fuji in the distance. You can find your moment of Zen in the stone garden in front of the lobby, the handiwork of celebrated landscape architect Shunmyo Masuno, or at the indoor pool. Quirky amenities include a traditional Noh theater and perhaps the only in-hotel dental salon, in case you need a touch-up teeth whitening.

One of Pudong’s marquee buildings, the Cesar Pelli–designed Shanghai IFC, is the setting for this 285-room property. Occupying the top 18 floors of the South Tower, the Ritz-Carlton opened in June 2010 during the World Expo and was meant to usher in Shanghai’s status as a global powerhouse. Its design skews modern with hints of 1930s Shanghai, while views take in panoramas of the Bund. Guest accommodations start at a roomy 540 square feet, have Art Deco themes, and include Asprey amenities.

Opened in January 2012 in the historic Audubon Building on Canal Street, this cheeky newcomer is a departure from the New Orleans hotel scene (which tends toward the traditional). Its motto, “Play Naughty, Sleep Saintly,” appropriately captures the property’s saucy, sultry vibe, especially in the bordello-like Burgundy Bar and in the five suites, added in 2014 and named after the archangels Christopher, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Lucifer. By comparison, the restaurant, with its white walls and banquettes paired with antique chandeliers and local artwork, is more demure. Standard rooms are similarly minimalist—though without sacrificing comfort or any of the usual modern conveniences, including 46-inch flat-screen televisions and free Wi-Fi.

Located close to Santa Fe, the Winsor Trail is a 10-mile (point-to-point) stretch, which appeals to hikers, runners, and mountain bikers. Should you start from the top, there’s several dramatic elevation shifts as the trail weaves through aspen and pine forests and meadows, and then you enter dry, rocky terrain. Downhill riders will relish the easy cruise, and those who want to practice endurance should consider the rigorous upward climb.