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Willis Creek Slot Canyon was my first introduction to any slot canyon and was such an amazing experience. This particular one is off the beaten path so there was hardly anyone on it except for a few hikers here and there. You can walk for hours all along the river taking amazing photos of the slotted canyon walls created by wind and water, the rock formations and textures are truly fascinating. You will capture heady whiffs of the Cliff Rose since the scent is trapped in the rocks - I can still conjure the sweetness! The best time to go is early in the morning or late afternoon when the light on the canyon walls is a beautiful golden shade perfect for photos!

Just a short walk from Auckland‘s Eden Park, home of big rugby games in the city, the funky and bohemian Kingsland neighborhood is also developing a reputation as an eating and drinking destination. Some of the city’s best coffee is served at Atomic—try the Vietnamese iced coffee with coconut milk—and the savory pies at the Fridge are world-famous across Auckland. Packed with vintage furniture, the Portland Public House is a raffish live-music venue, and Citizen Park’s combination of Mexican food and robust cocktails has a strong following. Travelers seeking unique gifts should head to the Royal Jewellery Studio, with work by local artists including Maori designs crafted from pounamu (greenstone).

Why we love it: A soulful getaway with access to the best of Todos Santos

The Highlights:
- Guest rooms stocked with luxury linens, alpaca throws, and locally made bath products
- The farm-fresh breakfast served on the palapa-shaded patio
- On-site hosts who will arrange everything from paddle-boarding trips to art walks

The Review:
With their otomi print–clad headboards, colorful talavera tiles, and eclectic hanging lanterns, the eight adobe-and-thatch guest rooms at La Bohemia may inspire you to quit your day job and make Todos Santos your permanent home. The boutique hotel’s husband-and-wife owners fell in love with the place five years ago when they stumbled upon it during a South American road trip and are happy to ensure you enjoy the property as much as they do, whether you use it as an adventure base lodge (they can arrange surfing lessons, fishing trips, and swimming with sea lions) or an escape from the bustle of downtown Todos Santos.

A palapa-shaded patio hosts regular yoga classes, mezcal tastings, and fish taco nights, while a lush tropical garden dotted with loungers and hammocks encourages late-afternoon siestas. There’s also a lovely outdoor pool, plus a beach just a short walk from the hotel (guests also have access to nearby El Faro Beach Club, with a spa and saltwater pool). While there’s no on-site restaurant, there is daily farm-fresh breakfast and on-site bar La Panga Rosa for house mojitos and margaritas. And there are plenty more dining options within strolling distance, nestled among the shops and galleries of hip Todos Santos.

In October 2014, Chef Enrique Olvera opened his much-anticipated New York restaurant Cosme, which offers an inventive dining experience in the Flatiron District. The spacious restaurant is a short walk from Langham Place, Fifth Avenue, and features modern Mexican dishes with locally sourced ingredients and housemade tortillas. But guests should not come expecting standard chips and guacamole, Chef Olvera is known for utilizing creative and sometimes surprising ingredients in his dishes. Menu items include burrata, salsa verde and weeds, and occidental purple corn pozole, pork jowl, lettuce, radish, Mexican oregano. The eclectic menu items are meant to be shared, and certain Mexican specialties, like dried chiles, beans and heirloom corn are imported from Mexico. Chef Olvera’s Mexico City restaurant Pujol has gained world fame for his fresh take Mexican food, and Cosme offers more stellar options. The bar also pours a wide variety of mezcals and tequilas. Photo by T.Tseng/Flickr.

Local Costa Ricans taking some time out from the perfect surf on Playa Guiones. This beach near Nosara is the most relaxing, perfect surf break we have visited. The town is small enough to be peaceful with just the right amount of great restaurants and hotels to make it easy. Fly into Liberia, CR and you are a four hour drive to Nosara. If you are in the area, Casa Romanitica is the perfect hideaway hotel walking distance to the surf and small town. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be romantic to stay there. Just wanting an authentic, chilled experience in this part of CR.

Two broad snouts snuffle up from the water at the edge of the walking path along Coffee Pot Bayou. A manatee and her baby drift over to the storm drain to drink fresh water coming down from nearby Lake Crescent. The baby cuddles close. A small group of locals lean over the edge of the concrete bulkhead to watch “their” manatees. They speak in happy whispers and take photos with their cell phones to send to friends in colder climes. Common to the bayou for most of the year, manatees are almost an everyday sight during the cooler winter months when colder waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay drive them to the shallow warmer waters of Coffee Pot Bayou. As spring approaches groups of courting manatees can be seen rolling around each other in the shallow waters. Keeping them company are statuesque Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, shy Green Herons, and gregarious Laughing Gulls. Red-ear slider turtles can often be seen popping their heads up in the water or sunning themselves on boat ramps. Even a dolphin or two join in on the fun. The broad sidewalk along Coffee Pot Bayou is part of a 2-mile walking/biking path that extends from downtown St. Petersburg and follows the edge of Tampa Bay before entering Coffee Pot Bayou. It is a safe, well-lit path with fantastic views, comfortable benches for resting, access to a small beach off of North Shores Park, and opportunities for fishing. Our manatee spot is at Coffee Pot Blvd and 23rd Ave NE.

At Pier 39, more than 20,000 sea creatures from the San Francisco Bay and California coastline await your visit. Walking through the aquarium’s transparent tunnels immerses you in the bay’s diverse aquatic life, as you come eye-to-eye with the native sevengill sharks, watch the hypnotic motion of the jellyfish, and even touch a grand bat ray’s wing, if you dare. Four adorable otters live here, too. The aquarium hosts daily naturalist-led animal feedings, and curators give talks about tide pools, octopi, and climate change, interactive experiments. New virtual-reality experiences allow you up-close “access” to whales and polar bears. Otters, considered watershed ambassadors, are indicators of healthy waterways. Splurge on a behind-the-scenes tour and shark-feeding tour in addition to the regular admission ticket, and you’ll have an unforgettable day at this amazing waterside habitat.

I saw this place in so many photos before but when I got there and saw it in person it was such an overwhelming experience. Getting there is easy. You take the Interstate 89 South from Page and after 7 minutes you get to the parking lot. The road is suffering some constructions down the road from here and it will appear as closed but go passed the detour sign anyway. Once in the parking lot you must walk about a quarter of a mile to the actual spot where Horseshoe Bend is located. Beware there are no protection rails so one must pay attention when approaching the edge. At 7am there are very few people around and it’s also a good time for photography. After the sun is high in the sky everything is too bright for decent photos.

Why we love it: An all-American dude ranch where guests can play cowboy in luxury

Highlights:
- A superb riding program that brings over 150 horses to the mesquite corral each morning
- Luxury amenities like an outdoor pool and spa to balance out the adventure
- Regular dining events like private-chef dinners and barbecues

The Review:
Founded in 1868, this Tucson guest ranch sits below the Rincon Mountains, overlooking the rolling foothills of Saguaro National Park. It’s often ranked among America’s top resorts and wedding destinations—and for good reason. Not only does it deliver Southwestern charm in the form of pink adobe architecture, but it runs one of the nation’s top horseback-riding programs, with everything from team penning and mountain adventure rides to the signature “Harmony with Horses,” which teaches interspecies communication. The ranch also offers a host of other activities, including yoga, hikes, mountain biking, photography courses, and naturalist-led walks to explore the desert’s edible and medicinal plants. There’s even a kids’ day camp for ages four to 12 with tennis, arts and crafts, swimming, and more.

Rooms here feature exposed beams and brick, punctuated with dark wood furniture and pops of Southwestern fabrics. Each has a desk, coffeemaker, and small refrigerator, while the biggest suite also includes a fireplace and sleeps up to six. When guests start feeling saddle sore, they can rejuvenate with a full-body massage in the spa, or grab a prickly pear margarita at the Dog House Saloon. For a full meal, head to the on-site restaurant, which serves Southwestern cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or attend one of the specialty dining events held each week, including private-chef dinners and cowboy cookouts.

The Great Wall of China runs more than 21,000 kilometers (over 13,000 miles), not as one continuous wall but rather as fortified wall sections. Some of the sections date back more than 2,500 years, though only 8.2 percent of the existing wall is original. The Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the more accessible portions. Hike (because that is what you’ll be doing, even on the wall itself) up the Great Wall, then slide down the side of the mountain on a toboggan. Alternatively, explore the Simatai Great Wall, which retains a more authentic feel—save, of course, for the fake water town at the bottom. Even more remote is the Jiankou section, which is largely unrestored, so book with an experienced group like Beijing Hikers or Wild Great Wall.

Deep in the wilderness about an hour’s drive north of Kingstown, Dark View Falls cascade off a cliff and into a pair of natural pools, where everyone gathers to swim in the crisp, clear water. The hike to the falls takes only about 10 to 15 minutes, but involves crossing a jungle-style bamboo bridge across the Richmond River. After passing through a clearing in a picturesque bamboo grove, you’ll arrive at the first fall, where you’ll find a gazebo, changing room, picnic area, and viewing platform for enjoying the beautiful scenery. Another short, more difficult walk will take you up to the second fall, directly above the first.

The most impressive ruins in the Old Town of Zadar can be found at the ancient forum, just steps from the seafront. Commissioned by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, and built between the 1st century B.C.E. and 3rd century C.E., the spectacular square offers a glimpse of life in early Zadar through its temples, porticoes, and colonnades. Walk around to find the remains of a temple dedicated to Minerva, Jupiter, and Juno; frescoes of mythological scenes; and an intact column that was repurposed as a pillory in medieval times.

You may think Boutique Nadine has a bit of an identity problem. Not only does the shop have two locations just a few blocks from each other in the heart of Florence, but they are both part vintage-clothing store, part indie-designer boutique, and part midcentury-furniture emporium. In the plus column: Everyone finds something to love here. Clothing is arranged by color and walls are hung with classroom world maps. A long table, overseen by a crimson statue of Buddha, displays bowls of beaded bracelets and rings and trays of sunglasses. You may walk out with a vintage designer piece or a classic striped T-shirt, or shoes, bags, a bottle of Aquaflor perfume, or some pretty paper goods.

Opened in 2013 in a 100-year-old former bank building, the Park Hyatt has utilized the space well, with a restaurant in the former cashier’s hall and a pool in the former vault. The suites are spacious, and all rooms have more than just the basic requirements for your average traveler, including safes large enough for laptops. While the marvelous Grand Salon is typically used for banquets and business meetings, guests should definitely try and take a peek at this beautifully designed room. The prime location in the historic Innere Stadt, or first district, means most major sights are within walking distance.

Owner Cesare Maranza managed to bring a little bit of Italy to the middle of the Atlantic more than 35 years ago, when he opened Portofino, named after his hometown. Just a short walk from Front Street in Hamilton, you’ll feel like you’ve arrived in a northern Italian taverna. “It’s a lively and rustic restaurant,” Rebecca says, “and a great place for groups for a fun night out.” While they serve a number of hot and cold appetizers—calamari, prosciutto and melon, grilled vegetables—as well as soups and salads, Rebecca recommends that you order a pie instead. “To get better Neapolitan pizza, you’d have to keep traveling east to Naples!”