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There’s no shortage of great eateries in the New Zealand capital—reputedly Wellington has more cafés and restaurants per person than New York City—and Field & Green is a popular option for the city’s discerning diners. With a versatile menu bylined European Soul Food, it promises ever-changing weekly dishes that could include house-made pasta with wild mushrooms and blue cheese, or baked eggs with spicy lentils and mint yogurt. These hearty but sophisticated flavors are the ideal sustenance for daytime explorations of the city’s harbor attractions, and the good-value, Wednesdays-to-Saturdays three-course supper menu can be partnered with local Wellington craft beers or New Zealand wines.

A short drive north of the South Island town of Oamaru, Riverstone Kitchen is often lauded as one of New Zealand’s best regional restaurants. The stylish dining room is anchored by a robust fireplace crafted from local river stones, and much of the seasonal menu is crafted from the restaurant’s own organic orchards and gardens. A more relaxed café ambience for daily breakfast and lunches segues to a more formal mood at dinner from Thursdays to Saturdays, and the savvy drink list includes wines from the nearby Waitaki Valley as well as small-batch beers from around New Zealand. Ask if any of the excellent Belgian-style farmhouse ales from Oamaru’s Craftwork Brewery are available.

The sea has always played a big part in the lives of the people of Gothenburg. When you want to relax from city life this is where you go. A tram ticket will take you all the way out into the southern archipelago to enjoy the harsh beauty of the gray granite cliffs. Pack your swim gear and a book and head to an island such as Vrångö, Brännö, Styrsö, or Vargö. Take a walk to find your own private cliff or bay and then dive into the sea. It might be cold, but the cliffs are perfect for warming up against with their smooth, round shapes and ability to keep the heat from the sun. For a Swede, the combination of sea, cliffs, and solitude is bliss. Hungry? Bring a picnic or visit a restaurant like Brännö Värdshus or Vrångö Värdshus.

The all-suite historic Carillon Miami Beach sits along private white sands forming its own luxury haven. An anchor for the North Beach neighborhood, the hotel is the perfect base for exploring the endless attractions and events that surround it. Boasting South Florida’s largest spa combined with one of the most comprehensive wellness programs on the East Coast of the U.S, the resort also offers an extensive array of recreational activities allowing you to create the ideal vacation stay.

Personal Concierges can arrange it all for you, whether it’s a night out on the town, a spa treatment, or dinner in the hotel’s new THYME restaurant. You don’t have to be a VIP, as every guest is given the same superior service from the moment you check into one of the 150 one- or two-bedroom suites. On-site active offerings include more than 40 complimentary indoor and outdoor fitness and movement classes each day, a two-story indoor rock wall, and four swimming pools—including an adults-only rooftop pool.

Health and wellness options feature nutritional counseling, acupuncture, diagnostic testing, and functional medicine. Pampering time in the magnificent 70,000-square-foot integrated spa and wellness space can get you indulging in European-inspired Thermal experiences, as well as such treatments as massages, facials, sound therapy, and even the chance to enjoy your therapies side-by-side with your traveling companion.

Executive Chef Fritz Zwahlen delights with four dining venues featuring fresh, local produce. The latest restaurant, THYME, pairs American fare with views of the water. Carillon Bar & Lounge, The Cabana, and the Juice Bar are more choices for meals and drinks.

Opened in 1997, Nanta is the longest-running show in Korean history. Similar to Stomp, it’s a nonverbal musical that people of all ages and nationalities can understand. The comedic story follows a frantic kitchen staff as they prepare for an impending wedding banquet. In addition to impressive percussive performances with cooking equipment, the 90-minute show incorporates many opportunities for audience participation. It’s become so popular that it now plays at two theaters, one in Myeongdong and another in Hongdae. Each venue offers an afternoon and evening show, with a third added on weekends. It’s recommended that you buy tickets in advance as seats sell out quickly.

Witness the destruction wrought by Mt. Vesuvius nearly 2,000 year ago at the archaeological site of Pompeii. The ancient village was frozen in time beneath a blanket of hot ash during an eruption in 79 C.E. Among the ruins that have been uncovered are buildings that shed light on aspects of ancient life both grand and mundane, from the temples, the coliseum and homes with fine frescoes, to public baths, chariot-rutted streets and grain stores which now hold plaster casts of the people who perished that fateful day.

I spent five weeks exploring the West Coast at the beginning of the summer. As a female traveling solo around California, staying somewhere that was safe and comfortable was paramount to me. As I did my research and planning, I noticed a pattern: Kimpton had hotels in most of the destinations I would be visiting. I’ve been frequenting their properties for over eight years and have been a member of their Karma Rewards program for just as long so I knew what to expect. I knew that the boutique brand offered unique perks and daily social activities for its guests. This would make it easy for me to meet like-minded travelers. The Shorebreak was no exception. I was warmly greeted at check-in and upgraded to a room with a giant, wrap-around balcony that overlooked the ocean for all the Karma points I had accumulated. The staff at the front desk gave me some local, veg-friendly restaurant recommendations and checked up on me as I came and went. The lobby and adjoining courtyard were almost always lively with guests – and their pets – which made it easy to strike up a conversation, especially during daily wine hours or s’mores sessions by fireside. The newly renovated property is designed for beach-goers. It has storage lockers for surfboards and the front desk lends courtesy beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, and toys to guests. I rarely needed to drive my car during my stay since the hotel was in the middle of pedestrian-friendly downtown. The laid-back vibe and location of the Shorebreak make it ideal not only for solo travelers like myself, but also for surfers, families (especially with teens), and couples looking for a getaway in Surf City, USA.

There is perhaps no landmark of San Francisco, and perhaps even the entire state of California, more iconic than the Golden Gate Bridge. This much-photographed bridge spans the Golden Gate, the strait separating San Francisco (to the south) and Marin County (to the north). The 2.7-kilometer-long (1.7-mile-long) bridge was completed in 1937 in one of the most remarkable engineering feats of its time. Although the idea of traversing the Golden Gate by way of a bridge had been discussed for decades, the fear that fog and wind would make the project nearly impossible discouraged planners. In the end, the bridge was completed in four years at the cost of $35 million as well as the lives of 10 construction workers. A pedestrian path along the bridge offers stunning views of the bay and San Francisco as well as an up-close look at this Art Deco wonder.

Walk, cycle or people-watch along the shores of Elliott Bay, a downtown stretch known for its circusy flair and spectacular vistas. You can ride the Great Wheel or visit the beloved Seattle Aquarium, home to wolf eels, sea otters, and the world’s largest octopuses. Refuel with chowder from local favorite Ivar’s Acres of Clams, then hit the market’s 200 owner-operated shops, ranging from a radical book collection to the Northwest’s oldest magic store. Just don’t turn your back on the famous salmon-slinging fishmongers: They’ve been known to wallop selfie-photographers with a plastic decoy for yucks!

Over the past two centuries, the covered market at Borough, not far from London Bridge, has become one of the country’s most famous foodie spots. From Wednesday to Saturday each week hundreds of traders gather to sell homemade breads, hand-reared pork, artisan chocolate and all manner of ingredients—plus excellent coffee, fresh juices and organic wine. Plentiful samples add to the convivial vibe, and restaurants around the market’s edge provide additional sustenance for longer stops.

Before you even leave for Telluride, the staff at Madeline Hotel & Residences can help you arrange itineraries, transfers, and equipment rentals or book activities like snowmobile tours and alpine hikes. Once you arrive, however, you might be content to never leave the property. Guests can get acclimated with an altitude oxygen treatment at the spa, browse the 80 original paintings chosen by the in-house art curator, or find their Zen during a yoga class at the fitness center. There’s also an outdoor heated pool, a kids’ club with games and movies, and the Black Iron Kitchen and Bar, which serves local comfort food like Colorado bison chili and warm Camembert with honey and figs. Outdoor fire tables offer the perfect place for après-ski cocktails but the Madeline’s pièce de résistance is its Sky Terrace—a 9,500-square-foot outdoor lounge with fire pits and two hot tubs. Should you actually tear yourself away from the hotel, you can take the nearby gondola to Telluride’s nightlife and shopping, or use the slope-side valet to get on the mountain quicky and easily.

The Madeline is surrounded on three sides by the San Juan mountains, so many of the guest rooms offer stunning views. They also feature contemporary but comfortable furnishings, plus access to a “bath barista,” who will draw you a customized soak in your spacious tub. Suites have heated bathroom floors and a separate living area with a kitchenette and gas fireplace, while residences include full kitchens, laundry facilities, and balconies.

Abode’s clean, bright interior is filled with a wonderland of craft and design pieces—made by local designers across the country—that range from quirky to whimsical. Find lamps and mirrors made from up-cycled construction materials, housewares for your most aesthetically-inclined friend, and a rainbow of notebooks and framed prints. Just be sure to bring an extra bag to carry it all home!

You know you’re in Southern California when you have your own “beach bonfire concierge” who brings you warm drinks, blankets, and fresh marshmallows under the stars. Distinctive and without pretense, the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach creates seamless only-in-Surf City experiences for its guests. Its on-site outfitter, Toes on the Noes, rents surfboards, cruiser bikes, and even GoPros to guests. The hotel also offers private surf lessons and yoga classes. The sprawling Spanish-style property has several pools—for serenity, hit the lagoon-style Mankota’s; with kids, make your way to the water playground—as well as a spa where treatments incorporate ingredients from the sea. Of the five restaurants, Watertable is the one not to miss, especially in the fall and winter months when it hosts its California-fied version of Sunday supper, a family-style feast that includes sumac-crusted branzino and whipped goat cheese tartlets along with innovative cocktails. The 517 rooms and suites were recently reimagined in Andalusian style, with grass cloth–covered walls, coral sculptures, and hand-painted tiles; opt for one on the ground floor to have your own private fire pit. Pro tip: On Saturdays during the summer, the sandcastle concierge—yes, there’s one of those, too—gives tutorials on building architectural wonders by the surf.

Chef Edgar Nuñez staged at some of the world’s top restaurants, including Noma and the now-shuttered el Bulli, before returning to Mexico to hang his own culinary shingle. The lessons he absorbed during his training have been put to good use, earning him the #27 spot on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The menu at Sud 777 is divided into sections such as “River and Sea,” “Heaven and Earth,” and “Mexican Coasts.” The domestically sourced ingredients reflect the clean, fresh flavors of Mexican produce and seafood. Look, too, for a restaurant inside the restaurant: kokeshi is a Japanese-inspired spot with an extensive sushi menu and plenty of sake.

The Castelo de São Jorge, is one of the Alfama neighborhood’s most historically significant monuments. Plan a visit late in the afternoon so that you can explore every nook and cranny and learn about the castle’s abundant history. Stay for golden hour so that you can capture the light as it dances on the castle walls, and later to watch the sunset dip below the horizon.