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Located about an hour northeast from Reykjavík and part of the famed Golden Circle tour (along with Gullfoss), the Geysir hot springs area consists of around a dozen hot water blowholes, including the eponymous Geysir. The Strokkur blowhole is the most popular, principally because it regularly (every few minutes, usually) spouts its boiling water up to 100 feet into the air. It’s still worth looking around at the other pools, even if they haven’t erupted for years or even decades, since they usually offer interesting colors and bubbling geothermal activity. The site also has a hotel, souvenir shop, café, and a related exhibition.

Located atop The McKittrick Hotel—site of the immersive theater experience “Sleep No More"—Gallow Green is a beguiling outdoor space overgrown with flowers and vines that offers up views of the Hudson River and the High Line. It’s as popular for late-night drinks as it is for weekend brunch; art lovers can fuel up here and then hop around the Chelsea neighborhood afterward. During warmer months, the rooftop hosts “Potions and Plantings,” a monthly tea party for kids (ages 5-10) and their adults. The event outshines all other kids’ tea times in the city (and there are many) and will make the grown-ups want to return for their own happy hour.

The Four Seasons earns its five stars for everything from its location—smack in the middle of Seoul’s most-visited palaces and landmarks—to its detailed amenities, such as customizable mattresses. Rooms overlook Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest and arguably most beautiful of the royal residences, or Cheonggyecheon stream, each a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. Its seven restaurants and lounges include a two-level sushi and sake bar, a Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant, and an exotic cocktail bar hidden speakeasy-style in the basement. The massive wellness center combines traditional Korean spa rituals with personalized beauty treatments and a 24-hour gym with panoramic views. An indoor pool and saunas, a virtual golf simulator, and a Lego kids’ lounge provide something for every guest.

Popular with honeymooners and families alike, this large coastal property is located on Moorea, a quiet, lush island known for its beautiful mountain scenery and ample hiking opportunities. The hotel sits right on the lagoon and offers garden rooms and bungalows, many with their own private plunge pools, as well as fabulous overwater bungalows with glass floor panels in the living rooms and private decks with direct stair access to the warm waters below. Free kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and snorkeling gear are available for those who want to explore their aquatic surroundings, though there’s plenty to do back on shore—from lazing on the white-sand beach (or in a hammock) to getting a massage with traditional Tahitian monoi (gardenia) oil. One of the highlights of a stay here is the chance to visit the hotel’s overwater bar, allegedly the only one in the country, where tiny sharks congregate every evening at sundown for feedings.

After five days of cooking classes--learning from Estela Salas Silva and Jon Jarvis how to make typical Poblano dishes including sopa de tortilla, crema de chile Poblano soup, tamales, tinga, sopes, pipian verde and pipian roja, mole Poblano, chipotles en conserva, ensalada de nopalitos, and more--the payoff includes a diploma, a loose-leaf folder of recipes, and a deeper knowledge of central Mexican cuisine, culture, and history.

The Bo-Kaap was one of the few Cape Town neighborhoods to escape apartheid’s bulldozers—the cluster of bright buildings, once known as the Malay Quarter, housed many of the slaves who worked for the 17th-century Dutch colonialists. In this colorful area, you can also see some of the oldest, most beautiful mosques in the country, including the Auwal Mosque on Dorp Street. Upscale shops have been moving in lately, but don’t miss one of the originals, the spice merchant Atlas Trading Company. To go back in time, explore the Bo-Kaap Museum, furnished like the house of a typical 19th-century Muslim family.

Visitors take their best Chicago photographs in front of the iconic Millennium Park sculpture called Cloud Gate (known colloquially as the Bean, for its shape). Conceived by British artist Anish Kapoor and constructed from 168 stainless steel plates with no visible seams, the polished surfaces of this 33-foot-tall sculpture reflect infinite variations of the Chicago skyline. The work’s design was chosen from among more than 30 others commissioned by the city, and it was inspired by liquid mercury.

Known for being a bit boisterous and rowdy, Little India has a distinct personality from the rest of Singapore. It can start to feel a few degrees hotter than the rest of the city as you dodge shoppers, temple goers, and trinket sellers on Serangoon Road. The crowds and pungent smell of flowers, curries, and frying prata excite and assault the senses. The sidewalks are taken up by racks of DVDs, cases filled with phone cards, carts selling garlands of fresh flowers, and men working at sewing machines. It’s a uniquely South Asian crush of color and hum of activity. If you head there on a Sunday—the day most Indian and Bangladeshi construction workers have off—the streets might be even more crowded than usual.

Trey Foshee, executive chef of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, is one of the most talented and respected chefs in San Diego. At his casual Mexican restaurant near La Jolla Shores, he cooks with equal skill, using only the best ingredients to create pure, intense flavors. Head to Galaxy Taco for heirloom Masienda corn tortillas, made-to-order guacamole, and epic margaritas with top-shelf liquor and charred fruit. A balance of sweet, sour, and smoke, the Oaxacan Guava (Los Javis mezcal, guava, lime, orange-vanilla shrub, and grapefruit) is a must.

Just south of Bimini, tiny Gun Cay is the site of Honeymoon Harbour Beach, a remote and beautiful stretch of shore that’s accessible only by boat. Bimini Undersea offers trips to the beach, where you can lounge on the sand and snorkel in the calm, clear water. However, the highlight is the opportunity for face-to-face encounters with the local stingrays. These bottom-dwelling creatures have grown accustomed to people feeding and touching them, so there’s very little risk of a sting, as long as you’re gentle and take small steps to avoid trodding on them.

Café Du Monde is always open; it’s the clientele that changes—from visiting families and local pensioners early in the morning, to couples in the evening, to Bourbon Street refugees looking for coffee and ballast in the night’s thinnest hours. This huge coffee stop is a rarity—a tourist trap that locals actually love (although they will rarely wait when lines are long). It’s been around for more than a century, and basically serves two items: beignets and café au lait. The beignets are similar to Spanish buñuelos, fried fritters of dough, and are one of those French traditions that’s survived here more durably than in France. While probably not on anyone’s diet list—they come piled with powdered sugar—they’re surprisingly light, and an order (which equals three beignets) disappears with unusual haste.

After a day spent exploring Montjuïc’s gardens and museums, this cozy corner restaurant in nearby El Poble-Sec makes for an ideal dinner stop. Simply decorated, with bright green walls, a long wood bar, and a handful of tables, La Platilleria doesn’t have a fixed menu; rather, the kitchen offers a daily selection of seasonal, locally sourced small plates. There are Spanish stalwarts like patatas bravas, pan con tomate, and Ibérico ham, but it’s worth trying the specials, which might include a rich dish of braised oxtail atop polenta, or osso buco with sweet potatoes. A small but well-curated selection of Spanish wine, cava, and craft beer is available—if you’re feeling daring (or thrifty), order a 3 euro ($3.35) pinguino, a penguin-shaped carafe of rustic local wine.

Named after an artistic city in central Mexico, Sedona’s Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village is one of the best outdoor shopping spots in Arizona. Sycamore-shaded fountain-filled courtyards and vine-covered colonnades are home to over forty galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. (The architecture may only be a few decades old, but this is one of the most well-done ‘pseudo-Mexico villages’ in the U.S.) The emphasis is on Southwest sculpture, blown-glass, painting, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry. If you want to take a break from your red-rock ramblings, this is the place.

In a city packed with new construction, this Art Deco landmark remains a fixture of the Huangpu River—just as it has for more than eight decades. A favorite of visiting celebs and dignitaries, the Fairmont Peace Hotel is divided into North and South buildings. Complete with a copper-sheathed roof, Italian marble floors, and Lalique glass artwork, the 1920s North building—known as Sassoon House for its British businessman owner Sir Victor Sassoon—was once home to the Cathay Hotel; guests included Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw, and Noël Coward, who completed Private Lives here. The 1850s Renaissance South Building, formerly the Palace Hotel and once the tallest structure on Nanjing Road, was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. The two buildings combined to become the Peace Hotel in 1965, operating continuously until closing in 2007 for an overhaul of the exterior, interiors, lobby, and guest rooms by Hirsch Bedner Associates.

Today, Art Deco influences and romantic flourishes are evident throughout the 270 rooms and suites, many of which boast Bund views. Fairmont Gold rooms come with private check-in and lounge access, while the each of the opulent Nine Nations Suites is named for a different country and features corresponding décor. The Dragon Phoenix and Cathay Room serve Shanghainese–Cantonese and European cuisine, respectively, and the legendary Jazz Bar takes you back to a 1920s-era private club. After a day spent exploring the city or shopping along nearby Nanjing Road, take refuge in the Willow Stream Spa, which has 11 treatment rooms and a skylight-lit pool.

The vibe in Waikiki is the most frenetic of all the spots in the islands, but there is an escape. The scene at the current iteration of the classic Hawaiian hangout, Duke’s, is a step back even by Oahu standards. Best approached via the beach to enhance the original feel and avoid the mall-like carnival from the street entrance, this is the kind of bar that welcomes sand on your flips. Slip in for happy hour and be prepared to jockey for a spot. Even with the crowd, the music, the food, the drinks are all designed draw you back to a simpler time when Duke was still riding the longboard. I’m partial to the beers and french fries, but will never refuse a fish taco. With a long relationship with the Kona Brewing brand, I opt for the Longboard larger or Fire Rock Pale ale. The umbrella drinks don’t disappoint, but neither do the gin and tonics. The local musical talent that ply the stage at Duke’s are traditional Hawaiian in style and like to keep the island theme front and center. There is a family vibe to the musical community, much like the rest of Hawaiian culture, and it’s not unusual to get a sibling or cousin to come up on stage and do some traditional Hawaiian dance or help out on a song or two. There was an 8 year old girl that got asked to come up on one of our visits and she blew the crowd away! The strip a Waikiki can be a bit daunting in terms of relaxation, but Duke’s remains my refuge from the madness. Aloha.