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At the entrance of Lake Izabal stands a stone citadel. Built in the mid-1600s by the Spanish, the imposing structure thwarted thieving pirates from attacking the lake, which was used as a storage facility for transport goods. El Castillo de San Felipe later served as a prison. There are cannons and weapons along with sweeping natural vistas. The site is also home to myriad wildlife, including a variety of monkeys.

Two plane flights, plus a drive and you arrive to this tiny island off the coast of Mozambique in the Bazaruto Archipelago. The former Indigo Bay Hotel was the nicest accommodation on the island when it opened in 2001. In May 2014, the property was touched up and relaunched by Anantara, giving travelers a comfortable base to experience Bazaruto’s natural beauty and local culture. The hotel has its own in-house naturalist and a whip-smart, PADI-certified dive instructor who can take guests snorkeling and diving. The Bazaruto Archipelago has been a national park since 1971 and is home to more than 100 species of coral, four types of whales, sea turtles, mantarays, dolphins, and it boasts the largest population of the rare dugong on the African east coast. In addition to water activities, Anantara can arrange cooking classes, horse riding, dune boarding, and bird watching (Bazaruto is home to 180 species of birds).

But this resort isn’t only for active types. It equally caters to sybarites who are seeking R&R in a remote place. The 44 villas are all spacious and many come with large outdoor patios with dining areas and plunge pools. A highlight is the spa, perched high above the property. Make sure to arrive early and save time after to truly enjoy the views. The resort works closely with the local community, many of whom are employed by the hotel. Guests can visit one of the local villages and observe some of the community projects Anantara helps fund. But the best way to get to know the locals is simply by interacting with the friendly staff.

Guests at Anantara Bazaruto Resort can opt to explore this very different side of the island by sandboard (think snowboarding down sand dunes), safari Jeep, or on horseback. I went on a horseback ride up at sunset. The uphill was lovely, but going down a towering sand dune atop a horse is about as scary as dropping down a double black diamond run on skis. But my horse mastered the vertical drop expertly. More terrifying than the drop was the ride around the freshwater lake, which my guide said is inhabited by 12-foot long Nile crocodiles. Luckily the few we saw were snoozing far away.

The Thompson Hotel, Toronto, opened in 2010 as a modern, translucent glass building soaring above its low-rise, red-brick neighbors and staking a claim as a symbol of glitz and glam in the King West neighborhood. Thanks to its fashionable in-house bars and restaurants, the hotel is a popular fixture both with locals and with the Hollywood set who visit each September for the TIFF film festival. The acclaimed Studio Gaia team designed the rooms, which have bold, dark-wood flooring and hot accents of orange playing off cool white walls. Heated marble floors in the bathrooms, spacious tubs, and sheets with high thread counts all contribute to the sense of luxury, and floor-to-ceiling windows ensure that rooms are flooded with natural light. After check-in, guests can use their room key to access the private elevator up to the rooftop bar, with its 360-degree views of the city. The rotating menu of seasonal cocktails is especially delicious.

The ire of Mount Kilauea reforges the world before visitors’ eyes. Nicknamed “the World’s Only Drive-In Volcano,” it’s produced serious lava every day since 1983 with no signs of stopping. Pele—the fire goddess who lives here, according to Hawaiian lore—is on a roll. Occasionally the lava flows spill into the sea, releasing stunning plumes of steam. Don’t miss the petroglyphs, lava tube, lush rain forest, and more than 150 miles of trail, including the four-mile Kilauea Iki loop. The drive here from Kona or Kohala can take two and a half hours, a bit of a long day, so consider reserving accommodations in the town of Volcano. You’ll have plenty of time to explore this otherworldly landscape, and even see the lava glowing in the dark!

Tahiti is home to some of the most beautiful hiking trails in Polynesia. Stops can include spectacular waterfalls and natural pools, panoramic views, grottos, archeological sites and lava tubes. A favorite hike is to the three Faarumai waterfalls. From the car park it is a quick scramble through a forest of chestnut trees to the first waterfall, Vaimahutu. Continue on for another 20 minutes or so to reach the other to falls Haamarere Iti and Haamarere Rahi, which are almost side-by-side. With hundreds of varieties of tropical trees, plants and flowers, Tahiti also has some of the world’s most beautiful gardens. Visit the water gardens of Vaipahi to experience the abundant flora and waterfalls that flow directly into Lake Vaihiria.

This group of more than 30 cafés across Denmark are open early, so they’re great for breakfast. The tea, coffee, and sandwiches are all very nice, but what really sets Lagkagehuset apart is the quality of the cakes. It would take an iron will to resist one of their strawberry tarts or a slice of Christianshavnerkage, a hazelnut torte topped with strawberry-vanilla cream and berries. The café in Copenhagen overlooks the lakes, and when the water glitters on a sunny day, there are few places more pleasant for an impromptu afternoon tea.

Just 90 minutes south of Guadalajara, the colonial town of Tapalpa is an alpine refuge nestled in the Sierra Madre Mountains. A designated pueblo mágico (magic town), it’s home to a picturesque plaza, where artists often congregate to sell handmade wool and pine needle crafts. Spend the day discovering the restaurants, churches, and historic buildings around the plaza, or explore the lakes, streams, and forests in the surrounding countryside.

The most prominent presence at corner of 800 South & State Street is the Sears store that has been there for decades, but the main draw to this corner are the two competing taco stands, Tacos don Rafa and Tacos del Toro. These two stands draw locals from the neighborhood, but if you ask around, you’ll also find some have driven miles out of their way to get some of these cheap yet incredibly tasty and authentic tacos. They also serve up burritos and quesadillas. In early November of 2017, Sears announced it will be closing a number of locations including the one near the taco carts but it’s not looking like that’s going to force them to find a new home just yet.

Before reaching this incredible castle, you will be astounded by the beautiful pastures and lakes along the roadside. Lambs occasionally trot across allowing a great opportunity for photos. Upon reaching Kylemore, you will enter through a quaint cafe for lattes, tea and delicious pastries. The tour begins walking through this enormous castle turned legendary private school that was originally owned by Mitchell Henry who built it for his wife. After taking in the luxuriousness of the manicured walls and decorations, you can then walk to the little cathedral. The cathedral is just as impressive as the castle. The pillars inside are made up of five different types of marble. Following the cathedral, you can choose to walk to the walled Victoria gardens or take the shuttle that runs to and fro the castle. The gardens have several green houses and a vast amount of exotic plants that dazzle the eyes and invigorate the nose! Here you can sit down for a coffee or tea and simply enjoy the man-made beauty that has lasted over a century. There are also several nature walks to allow more time for one to take in Ireland’s beauty. This is a fascinating place to admire historic architecture and learn about the love story that started it all!

In the shadow of El Yunque, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort is situated on 486 acres of former coconut plantation and native maritime forest. There are still plenty of palms here, but now the flora also includes all manner of tropical flowers and trees, positioned around numerous trails for walking, running, and biking. Families love the resort for its many amenities, from four tennis courts and a Robert Trent Jones Jr.-branded golf course to a luxurious spa and state-of-the-art fitness center. A new partnership with Aquavento Water Sports provides equipment for everything from kayaking and paddle-boarding to fishing and sailing on nearby lakes, while the Soul of Bahia program gives guests the opportunity to volunteer with a rescue organization for local cats and dogs or help maintain a turtle sanctuary during hatching season. Still, the most popular activity might just be lounging at the pool or on the two-mile-long golden beach.

Part of a $60 million renovation following Hurricane Maria, the hotel now features a design by celebrated Puerto Rican designer Nono Maldonado and San Francisco-based firm Hirsch Bedner Associates. The plantation-style dark woods and warm browns have been swapped out for more modern, sea-inspired colors, and the 139 rooms have a chic, residential feel, with sprawling bathrooms, private terraces, and glass bar cabinets that can be stocked to your personal tastes by a 24-hour butler. Occupying a two-story building overlooking the ocean, the Casa Grande lobby is the place to go to experience the hotel’s daily Champagne sabering ritual, enjoy live music from a Steinway piano, admire the mural over the St. Regis Bar, or enjoy Greek-inspired fare at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Paros. The poolside restaurant and beach shack have also been redone to ensure uninterrupted views over the water.

Adjacent to Romney Manor and the Caribelle Batik factory, Wingfield Estate is a former sugar plantation dating back to the mid-1600s. Here, you’ll find ruins of the rare St. Kitts sugar mills, which were powered by water instead of wind. Also on-site are the remains of a stone chimney, a distillery, and an aqueduct system that brought water from the Wingfield River down the slopes of Mount Liamuiga.

Forty miles from Zurich in the heart of central Switzerland, the Axenstrasse is a historic motorway that’s so achingly scenic it might even cure your vertigo. It winds for seven miles around the base of the Uri Alps hugging the verdant ridge of turquoise Lake Uri (a branch of the four-fingered Vierwaldstätter See—Four Forested Cantons Lake—more familiar to most tourists as Lake Lucerne). It occasionally careens through century-old mountain tunnels and past painted bell towers and Roman-era viaducts scattered around the region’s Alpine villages, where the legendary folk hero William Tell is supposed to have come from. There are numerous picnic areas along the older sections of the Axenstrasse, and the entire stretch of lake is swimmable in the summer. Hikers can find a variety of trails along the road that can take them to higher altitudes, where they can spot ibex, chamois, alpine orchids, purple gentian, and acrobatic alpine choughs, riding the thermals of the warm foehn winds, said by locals to cause madness.

The woodblock prints from ukiyo-e artist Hokusai first introduced me to Japan’s most iconic volcano. Between 1826 and 1833, Hokusai traveled to many provinces in Japan to see Mount Fuji from different vantage points as represented in his works Great Wave off Kanagawa, Watermill at Onden, and Nihonbashi bridge in Edo in order to produce the famous “36 views of Mount Fuji” series. I have always loved these graphic prints and was determined to get at least one view of this magnetic mountain in my lifetime. During my stay at Hoshinoya Fuji, I was able to get the same view that Hokusai etched almost two centuries ago in print number #35 of the series: Mount Fuji reflected in Lake Kawaguchi.

Set northeast of Lake Kawaguchi, Hoshino Fuji is the destination for those interested in “glamping” and exploring Japan’s natural side. Barely a year old, the resort rises like concrete tree houses among the red pine forest. Upon check-in you’ll be given a backpack with headlight, water bottle, snacks and portable blanket to urge you on for nearby adventures. Around the resort, camping elements are incorporated with hammocks between the pines, open camp-fires at the Cloud Terrace, and portable in-room coffee kit. Each cabin has a plush bed, minimal furniture and a balcony for panoramic views of the lake and Mount Fuji.

You can “rough it” with nature outside, but I couldn’t resist pampering myself with the amenities provided by the resort. My perfect morning started with a bath scented with hinoki and flowers before a wholesome breakfast with fresh baked bread on my private balcony. During the day you can go out for a hike or kayak or learn how to smoke food from one of the members of staff. In the evening, learn how to cook over an open fire from the chefs before you enjoy the best dinner with local meat and vegetables. The staff at Hoshinoya Fuji thought of all the details that would create a great camping trip and combined it with the attentiveness of a luxury hotel to create a truly unforgettable experience. A work of art led me here and I can’t wait to return and experience this level of hospitality again.

The MacRitchie Reservoir is one of four reservoirs in the heart of Singapore at the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, where the surrounding forests are protected as national parks to ensure the quality of the water. Though unfortunately not accessible to the public, the ruins of a once-massive Shinto shrine built by the Japanese during their World War II occupation of Singapore are hidden in the overgrown, off-trail jungle near the northwestern corner of the reservoir. There is more to Singapore than meets the eye.

Mount Royal Park starts at the edge of the city just beyond the McGill campus and runs alongside neighborhoods like Plateau before rising to the top of 764-foot-tall Mount Royal (Mont Réal), the hill that gives the city its name. The twisting roads and paths of this crown jewel of Montréal’s park system were initially laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York’s Central Park. While Olmsted’s plan was not followed in all its details, the final result was true to his vision of a woody park that takes advantage of the site’s hilly topography. There are two belvederes with views of the city skyline and the St. Lawrence River, and one of Montréal’s iconic landmarks, a 103-foot-high cross, sits at its northern end. The park is most popular in summer, but residents flock here in every season, to enjoy the colorful foliage in the fall and the cross-country ski trails and toboggan runs in the winter.