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Fans of Georgia O’Keeffe should definitely book a stay at this quaint adobe hotel in her old painting grounds. Not only is there a well-stocked gift shop where you can buy O’Keeffe prints and books, the property arranges tours of her home and studio, and is located near the Ghost Ranch retreat center and the White Place rock formations, both of which the artist loved to paint. Wood-beam ceilings and New Mexico antiques adorn rooms. Request one of the cottages with wood-burning Kiva fireplaces, or if you come in winter and book economy like I did, you’ll likely get upgraded to a nice room with a gas fireplace. My best meal in New Mexico was also enjoyed here. I ordered trout stuffed with corn pancakes and a chardonnay from nearby Black Mesa winery. My partner’s chili rellenos with green chili and Monk’s Ale—brewed at the Christ of the Desert Monastery about an hour away—were also tasty. It was a lovely introduction to the beautiful state.

A huge dolomite rock rising up from Hotel Gellért at its base marks one of the earliest inhabited parts of Budapest. The citadel atop the hill was built by the Austrians in the mid-1800s to better control the unruly Hungarians after squashing the revolution (it was later used by German SS troops in World War II). Other monuments dot the verdant landscape atop the hill, which is now surrounded by posh residences. The walk up from the hotel is steep but worth it for the view once on high.

Why we love it: An exclusive oasis, sheltered from the crowds that have descended on Iceland

The Highlights:
- Access to a new, private area of the Blue Lagoon reserved just for hotel and spa guests
- Rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and lagoon views
- Custom toiletries made with geothermal seawater

The Review:
As Iceland’s popularity exploded over the last decade, the Blue Lagoon gained a bad rap for being a crowded tourist trap. However, the spring 2018 opening of The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon transformed a corner of the UNESCO-recognized Reykjanes Peninsula from a tourist attraction into an intimate hideaway, perfect for those who want to experience the mineral-rich waters in a cell phone–free private lagoon away from the selfie stick–wielding crowds next door.

It’s easy to spend the entire day here floating in the three newly created geothermal pools located within 800-year-old lava rock (don’t miss the unusual—yet deeply relaxing—underwater massage), but when you eventually have to go indoors, floor-to-ceiling windows allow the bright blue waters and the surrounding volcanic landscape to take center stage. Minimalistic-yet-cozy communal spaces, designed by Basalt Architects and Milan-based Design Group Italia (DGI), are equally pleasing to the eye, especially the living room–like lobby, which is decorated with oversized leather chairs and a 1,600-piece collection of ceramics from the Icelandic Museum of Design & Applied Art. Sixty-two guest rooms—all with deep stand-alone tubs and rain showers—look onto the lagoon or the surrounding lava fields (though don’t try swimming in this part, as it’s been intentionally left unheated so that you can enjoy the view with complete privacy). Before you check out, follow our lead and swipe the toiletries made with geothermal seawater sourced from the on-site volcanic aquifers.

When hunger strikes, guests can enjoy casual, healthy meals at the spa restaurant, or head upstairs to Moss for a seven-course meal at the chef’s table, hewn from lava rock quarried on site. It’ll likely still be light outside when dinner is over, so change into your swimsuit for a dip in the lagoon, which stays open until midnight for hotel guests (in winter, you might even catch the northern lights). After a breakfast of Icelandic skyr and house-made gravlax, venture farther afield to the nearby town of Grindavik to ride an ATV through the volcanic landscape. Retreat hosts can also take guests on guided hikes up the dormant volcano behind the property.

While in Cape Town, be sure to take the red bus route and head to Camps Bay Beach. Camps Bay is a beautiful spot to enjoy dinner and watch the sunset for a perfect way to end the day. Many restaurants have outdoor seating facing the beach so you can enjoy a bottle of delicious South African wine while admiring the last rays of sun in the afternoon. Camps Bay has really cool rock formations and the views of the Twelve Apostles mountain chain.

This local institution and late opener is a popular haunt of Siem Reap‘s expats and locals, from archaeologists to artists, poets to tour guides. Laundry Bar’s friendly staff, decent pool tables, and cheap drinks are all big appeals, but it’s the excellent music that continues to draw most local residents to this dimly-lit, bohemian haunt a block from Pub Street. Whether it’s a live band, such as the superb Cambodian Space Project, above, who channel the sounds of Khmer rock ‘n’ roll from the Sixties and Seventies, a visiting Euro-DJ, or the eclectic soundtrack that shifts from jazz and blues to eighties French pop, the music is always interesting and engaging and gets punters tapping their feet or at the very least talking. While the staff will be booting drinkers out in the wee hours of the morning during high season, the bar can often close early (before midnight) during low season, so if you don’t want to miss getting a taste of Laundry, get here by 10pm. A warning: the drinks are cheap but they’re pretty awful. If you want good cocktails, go to Miss Wong. Laundry is all about the cool sounds and casual vibe. Check the bar’s Facebook page to see what bands or DJs are on while you’re in town and plan around it.

Every January, Tempe, Arizona, serves as the finish line for the thousands upon thousands of runners participating in the Arizona Rock’n’Roll marathon and half-marathon. And so, the question: “Where to eat after the race?” Mill Avenue is the main drag in this college-student-oriented downtown. (ASU’s campus is just a few blocks away.) Drinking-centric chain restaurants dominate, but if you want to find locally-sourced ingredients in a posh interior, check out La Bocca Urban Pizzeria and Wine Bar. Known throughout the Phoenix area for their sangria, they serve a mean plank of bruschetta—a great way to nosh while waiting for wood-fired pizzas to arrive. Perhaps not the clinically “perfect” runners’ recovery meal, but it worked for us! (The particular bruschetta in this photo: roasted baby beets with goat cheese and honey; smoked prosciutto with mascarpone, fig, and truffle oil...) And thank you thank you to fellow AFAR-posters who answered my query that led my friends and me to crash and refuel at this place yesterday afternoon! We DID shower beforehand; the interior is comfy-chic, with a lovely reproduction of a Renaissance portrait gazing out from behind the bar.

See our full list of Where to Go in 2015. According to legend, the ancient gods battled it out to become Athens’ patron deity. The showdown came after the Phoenicians founded a city at a giant rock near the Aegean some two and a half million years ago. The gods of Olympus issued a challenge: the deity who could provide the most valuable legacy for mortals would become the city’s namesake. Athena, goddess of wisdom, produced an olive tree, symbol of peace and prosperity. Poseidon, god of the sea, pounded his trident into the ground and out came a saltwater spring (or a horse, depending on the legend you read). The gods decided Athena’s gift would serve the city better with food, oil, and wood. To this day, her legacy is revered throughout Greece. Named after Erechtheus, a mythical king of Athens, the Erechtheion is Ionic architecture at its finest, easily recognizable by the Caryatids, six larger-than-life maidens modeled on women from ancient Karyai who seem to be casually supporting its southern portico. Those holding up the porch now are plaster casts; the originals are preserved in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

The natives that guide you through Canyon De Chelly are very passionate about their historical heritage: the battles that their people have survived, the ceremonies they live by, and the dwellings that they carved out of the massive cliff sides. The Navajo people had to hide in the mountains, and for extended times they weren’t even able to come down for food or water. The Human Chain is the story of how they created a chain by climbing down each other in the night to bring up baskets of water while their enemy slept. Many survived because of that daring task.

The winding road to Gorges du Verdon (Europe’s Grand Canyon) is a bit of a white-knuckle ride. If you want to take in the views, it’s best to pull over at Point Sublime (the right bank after La Palud on the D952), where a gigantic cliff of calcareous rock plunges 2,834 feet to the bottom of the gorge. Once you reach Gorges du Verdon, there are hikes for every athletic ability, but the 8.6-mile Blanc Martel circuit, which takes you to the heart of the canyon, is legendary. Just note that it can take between five and nine hours depending on your skill level, so be prepared with water, sunscreen, hiking shoes, a hat, and an extra pair of socks for the puddles in the two tunnels near the end. If you prefer the water, head to the emerald-green Lake of St. Croix, where you can rent a stand-up paddleboard, canoe, or kayak, or simply spend the day swimming and sunning. No matter how you spend your time at Gorges du Verdon, remember to bring a bag for garbage and leave nothing but footprints.

Built into a mountainside with uninterrupted views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn, The Omnia is a contemporary take on a mountain lodge, envisioned by the late modernist architect Ali Tayar. From below, the glass, metal, and larchwood exterior—and, most strikingly, the slanted roofline—seem to echo the great mountain itself. Entering the hotel is similarly dramatic; from the street, guests walk through a softly lit tunnel to glass elevators, which lift them out of the rock toward the hotel lobby, with dizzying views of the village below. Inside the 30-room property (12 of which are suites), Tayar employed soft, neutral colors to harmonize with the surroundings and create a sense of understated luxury. No two rooms have the same layout, yet all but one have balconies with views. A freestanding fireplace separates the granite-and-leather-accented lobby from a small library stacked with oversize art and design books, while two outdoor terraces are perfect for sipping coffee with views of the Matterhorn. The spa features an outdoor whirlpool, Turkish bath, and steam room as well as an enclosed heated pool that opens to the outdoors through a glass wall on one end.

Mere steps from the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village, Bright Angel has history in spades. Conceived by architect Mary J. Colter (who designed several other structures in the park), the rustic lodge looks from the outside as it did when it opened in 1935, though the 37 rooms have been updated and—if not exactly luxurious—are cozy and clean, with shared bathrooms and standard hotel carpeting and comforters. The 50 one-bedroom log cabins have more modern amenities, such as Keurig coffeemakers and satellite TV, and a handful of them sit right on the rim. Don’t miss the fabulous floor-to-ceiling fireplace in the main lounge, where the canyon wall’s geological layers are re-created, more or less to scale, using the same rock, from the 2-billion-year-old Zoroaster granite at the bottom of the canyon to the 250-million-year-old Kaibab Limestone at the top. Just be sure to find a spot early: The building is usually packed with visitors gawking at the jaw-dropping views or gathering for popular mule rides and guided hiking tours down the Bright Angel Trail.

The two owners of Galapagos Safari Camp dreamed up the idea for this luxury tent camp while sitting in a tree and admiring the views on the 135-acre farm where the lodge now sits. Opened in 2007 in the highlands of Santa Cruz’s transition zone at 1,575 feet above sea level and bordering Galapagos National Park, the camp is modeled after African safari camps but sports an Ecuadoran theme. The main lodge, complete with a 15-foot Balinese teak dining table and a glass wall looking out to sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean, anchors the rural property. The luxury tents are connected to the lodge by a volcanic rock path and sheltered under three layers of covering to protect from sun and rain. They sit on elevated platforms and are outfitted with balconies and en-suite bathrooms with hot showers. Part of the owners’ vision for the property has been to rid the former cattle farm of invasive species, allowing the endemic plants that are better protected in the national park to once again flourish. These measures will increase the activity of the giant tortoises that occasionally make their way onto the property.

Escape the hubbub of Honolulu and stretch your legs on this 4.4-mile, moderate, out-and-back path. Somewhat steep, this serious glute workout attracts a lot of trail runners, especially on the weekends. The hike begins among rocks and small shrubs, then snakes among massive tree roots, before the dirt stairs near the top. The ridge unfurls gorgeous views of Waimanalo and the Nā Mokulua Islands, as well as Rabbit Island and Koko Crater. Note: drivers have to park in a residential neighborhood, then walk up an access road. Start early to avoid the heat and crowds, and make sure to bring plenty of water.

Petra flourished more than 2,000 years ago, trading with Rome as an equal before being abandoned after a series of earthquakes in the 4th and 6th centuries C.E. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when European explorers “rediscovered” it, that the ancient city returned to the public consciousness. Now, visitors can walk down the narrow canyon of the siq to the city entrance—as dramatic an approach as any to a tourist attraction on the planet. The canyon opens up onto the carved facade of the Treasury, Petra’s most iconic site. From there, you can explore the cliffside tombs with their colorful bands of sandstone, the Street of Facades, and the amphitheater hewn from living rock. The ancient center lies some distance off, along with the splendid old Monastery, which sits at the top of a steep but rewarding climb. Consider buying a three-day ticket and visiting at different times of day to enjoy the changing light—early in the morning is best for the Treasury, while late afternoon is better for the Royal Tombs.

There’s a reason this is one of the most iconic spots along the Grand Canyon. Located on the Havasupai Indian Reservation and hidden deep within a 20-mile round-trip hike, Havasu Falls’ sparkling turquoise waters are a popular destination for seasoned hikers who come for the amazing views, rock climbing, and swimming. The hike to the falls and back is best enjoyed with a preplanned route and plenty of stops for rest, food, and water. Because tribe members of the Havasupai, which means “people of the blue-green waters,” maintain the trails and work to keep their land as unspoiled and pristine as possible, reservations for campsites are limited and day hikes and drones are not allowed.