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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.

Few experiences provide cultural intoxication like exploring a city’s past. And, good news, Quito’s oozes fascination. The best place to travel through the pre-Columbian era, Spanish conquest and eventual independence is a visit to the marvellous Museo de la Ciudad. Lurking a few blocks from Plaza San Francisco, this over 400-year-old hospital, the city’s oldest building, was converted into a museum in the 1970s and today enthrals visitors with reconstructed indigenous houses, graphic art work, clear and concise videos and English-speaking guides. For just $3, visitors stroll around the typical Spanish colonial building which has a permanent exhibit on the first floor and temporary one on the ground. Note that like many museums in Quito, it closes on Mondays.

It’s a sign of just how revered Carl Linnaeus is in Sweden that for many years many people had a picture of him, and his garden, in their pocket. That’s because the botanist, who is famed for creating the two-name system for classifying plants and animals, adorned the 100-krona banknote for many years. It’s easy to visit the garden where he did his research, as the town of Uppsala can be reached in less than 40 minutes by train. The garden was originally laid out in 1655, then redesigned by Linnaeus in 1745. You can also visit his former home, now the Linnaeus Museum. As for the banknotes: In 2017 Linnaeus was replaced by Greta Garbo.

Located 3,200 feet above Half Dome Village, Glacier Point offers some of the best views in the park to the high country beyond. The View Terrace looks out to Half Dome, Vernal Fall, and Nevada Fall as well as Liberty Cap to the east, while the Upper Terrace features views to the west, including Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Village. Glacier Point is only open to vehicles from late May to October or November and parking is very limited, so the best way to get there is either via park shuttle bus from Badger Pass or the private guided bus tour that departs from Yosemite Valley. For some of the best, relatively uncrowded hikes in the park, consider taking the bus one way to Glacier Point and then hiking nearly straight down to the valley floor via the Four Mile Trail or 8.5-mile Panorama Trail, both of which offer stunning views.

Open for dinner under the stars from Thursday through Sunday nights, flavors, live music, and dance harmoniously come together for an incredible evening out at Blue Dragon Restaurant and Musiquarium. The menu focuses on the freshness factor and celebrates items made with ingredients from their own organic farm and more than forty Hawaii ranchers, farmers, and fisherman who provide the freshest foods to the table. The ambiance at Blue Dragon can be electric with live music every night that spans genres and encourages guests to get up and dance in the open air restaurant underneath the stars.

Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park, which hugs the perimeter of the city, is so popular that the line for the cable car to the top can be longer than a queue for a Disneyland ride. But why stand in line when you can put your feet to use? There are several routes that lead to the top of the 3,562-foot, flat-topped mountain, including the two-mile Platteklip Gorge trail. Yes, it’s steep, but startling views of the city and the Atlantic await. Trek, get hungry, then picnic on local provisions—crackers, Dutch-style Gouda, and biltong, the thick-sliced South African jerky—before riding the cable car back down.

Situated about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Sapporo, this open-air museum—actually a replica village—is one of the best places to learn about the Ainu, northern Japan’s indigenous people. The five houses that make up the site are set right on Lake Poroto, and each highlights different aspects of Ainu culture and lifestyle. Visitors can watch performances of folk dances and songs, explore re-created typical Ainu households and try traditional activities ranging from wood carving to embroidery.

If you want a more back-to-nature romantic sleep, head off the main island of Providenciales and onto the less resort oriented Grand Turk and stay at the historic Grand Turk Inn. A charming bed-and-breakfast in a 150-plus year old Caribbean clapboard inn, it doesn’t allow children under the age of 16, and has an old fashioned allure, where time still feels like it moves slowly. In a prime Front Street location, it was originally build as the Methodist Manse, but today has been converted into a stately B&B with just five elegant, sunny suites and overlooks the beach and turquoise waters of the Columbus Landfall National Park. Despite the historic style of the inn, rooms are modern and have satellite TV and air-con, as well as full kitchens and West Indies colonial era furnishings made from rattan and bamboo. Don’t skip the huge rooftop sundeck facing the ocean and historic waterfront. The included breakfast is delivered to your room each morning based on your menu selection from the night before. There is also an on-site restaurant serving an Asian influenced menu. Also take a stroll down Front Street to explore more restaurants and listen to local artists playing nightly on the street.

As far as bars go, Minus 5 is without question the coolest place in Las Vegas. The place sits in a giant freezer, and everything inside is made of ice—the walls, the chandeliers, the seats, the bar itself, even the very glasses in which you receive your drink. When you pay the $39 cover (it’s spendy, but it includes two specialty cocktails), you are issued a warm parka or faux-fur coat for the duration of your stay. Inside, music and lights create a surreal setting that pairs perfectly with the rest of the frozen goodies. It’s a night out you won’t forget soon. There are two locations—one at Mandalay Bay and a newer, smaller one inside Monte Carlo—with the same pricing and chilly experience.

Orlando’s first resort Wave Pool opened Memorial Day weekend 2017 at The Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate just south of Disney World. Along with the exciting new wave pool, there is also a new zero-entry family pool with slides designed for younger kids. The two new pools join the existing family of pools and water fun which includes a zero-entry family pool with a 125-ft corkscrew waterslide, a peaceful formal pool perfect for quiet sunbathing, and the fun and relaxing 850-foot Lazy River that circles under tall shade trees, fountains, and waterfalls. All pool facilities provide ample lounge chairs as well as cabanas available for rent. When the munchies hit, Croc’s Pool Bar and Grill is centrally located near the two family pools and wave pool. The poolside restaurant offers sit-in dining and the menu includes salads with regional ingredients, grilled sandwiches, tasty appetizers, and beverages and cocktails. On our visit, we spent much of the afternoon floating on the Lazy River. It was so relaxing, I didn’t want to get out. I’m pretty sure we covered close to a mile floating under the shade trees. When we weren’t on the Lazy River, we relaxed in a cabana on the formal pool having a delicious lunch and played a round of put-put golf on a mini-course adjacent to the pool area. All the pool facilities were clean and well-maintained. And as always, Omni hotel staff was friendly and helpful. The Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate is located just a short distance down the I-4 from Disney World. Spending half a day at the pool makes for a refreshing recharge in between park hopping.

A quieter version of Uluru’s Sounds of Silence or Tali Waru desert dinner, this Kings Canyon spinoff offers a four-course meal in a rugged wilderness setting blanketed by the same southern night sky. The moon and flickering fire provide the only light, while soft music and rustling oak trees create a romantic background for intimate conversation. Sparkling wine and canapés are followed by a menu focusing on the fresh local produce of the Australian outback.

The system of canals and chinampas (cultivated artificial islands fashioned from the area’s swampy soils) that has survived in the far-south neighborhood known as Xochilmilco once stretched all the way to the Centro. To this day, the community is known for its plant nurseries and vegetable gardens. These ancient landscapes now contribute to what has become one of the most singular pleasure gardens in the world, where visitors hire “gondoliers” to propel boats known as trajineras as they sail these channels in the company of floating mariachis and food vendors, partying teens, and extended families out for a picnic lunch. Since a tour is usually a four-hour-plus investment (it flies by), ask your oarsman to take you to Xochimilco’s more-rural precincts, where you’ll enjoy marvelous quiet, far from the madding crowd, in the company of cranes, curs, and picturesque cornfields.

Inspired by Hawaii itself, the Big Island Brew Haus blends Island-grown ingredients into their own creative concoctions like Mele Mai Bock, Pau Hana Pale Ale, and Overboard Ipa. Like any pub, the Big Island Brew Haus brings people together over porters, stouts, and lagers. Live music creates a livelier atmosphere and the food selection keeps people around for dinner. Tacos are the main event on the menu, but there are plenty of other choices from vegetarian dishes to grilled Big Island steak. For the extra thirsty folks, the Brewhaus provides beer to-go in refillable jars. The jars are great for the environment and encourage people to keep coming back.

I like hotels in general, but there’s a special place in my heart for national park lodges. The range of accommodations usually encompasses several levels of vacation budgets (Yay for patriotic inclusiveness!) and there’s nothing better than waking up surrounded by the very sights and sounds you’ve traveled to see. Denali National Park doesn’t have any NPS-owned lodges, but you can get pretty danged close in terms of atmosphere and location (the park is right on the other side of the roaring Nenana River) by staying at this sprawling Holland America-run resort. Recently renovated accommodations include deluxe rooms and suites in buildings strategically placed along the river and deluxe rooms in the Canyon Lodge building. All buildings are served by a shuttle service and linked by paths. Decorated with historic photographs and rustic-chic touches, my suite room was a dreamy blend of civilization and wild surroundings. Falling asleep to the soundtrack of a rushing river just feet from my window was perfect way to end a day spent in the park. [This photo is a view from my window just before midnight in late June. Midnight!]
Ann Shields traveled to Alaska and the Yukon with Holland America Line as part of AFAR’s partnership with the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), whose members provide travelers with unparalleled access, insider knowledge, and peace-of-mind to destinations across the globe. For more on Ann’s journey, visit the USTOA blog.

Fans of Survivor may recognize Colette Bay (also known as Haaotupa Bay) from the show’s fourth season, when it served as the base camp for Survivor: Marquesas. Located about two kilometers (or just over a mile) from Taiohae, it’s accessible via a trail from the Keikahanui Nuku Hiva Pearl Lodge, which runs along the western side of a cove and then down to the bay. From the beach, look up to spot the enormous diamond-shaped rock on a hill between the bay and Taiohae: Legend has it that the rock provided a home for Tupa, a sort of Marquesan version of Hercules.