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The elegant, grown-up Compound Restaurant on Santa Fe’s Canyon Road caters to devoted locals and tourists alike with a Southwestern-meets-Mediterranean focus. James Beard Award–winning chef Mark Kiffin scores with entrées like roasted rack of lamb, salmon with crispy pancetta, and wild mushrooms with organic stone-ground polenta. At lunch, the bar menu is less pricey and offers a chance to sample the famed Compound Burger, made with local Lone Mountain Ranch Wagyu beef, and wash it down with a cold beer. Even with the fantastic cuisine, the best parts of this white tablecloth and custom furniture institution remain the clean adobe arches and folk-art decor created by artist Alexander Girard.

Though few tourists venture to Kingston, the capital and hub on the eastern coast of Jamaica, music fans should make the day trip to visit Bob Marley’s former home, now a museum dedicated to Marley’s life and impact on the world. A guided tour of this museum takes about an hour and a half and includes a 20-minute video presentation. Even devoted reggae fans will likely learn more about Bob than they ever knew. Exhibits include multiple awards, guitars, and his bed with an engraved headboard depicting a lion.

Shoppers, restaurant connoisseurs, travelers, and cultural enthusiasts will find the impressively designed Madinat Jumeirah a treat for all their passions. This area, once the residence of pearl divers, fishermen, and traders, is now home to many expats and a place for tourists to wander, shop, eat, and find a coffee. This neighborhood embraces the historical architectural styles of the region with wind towers that capture breezes and reroute them down to ground level to cool the pedestrian paths. The resort’s shopping mall is fashioned after a traditional souk, with archways and lanterns and live music. You will also find impressive views and photo ops of the iconic Burj al Arab hotel from this spot.

When in Bora Bora, Tahitian pearls are a girl’s best friend. Often known as “black pearls,” they actually come in all sorts of colors, including black, blue, green, and pink. Even though the pearls aren’t produced in this island’s lagoon—most come from the Tuamotu or Gambier archipelago—many of the highest quality ones are sent to Bora Bora to be sold on the tourist market. The best deals are found on the main island at small boutiques, which often mount them into their own unique designs. Spend a day touring the island in search of your dream pendant or earrings; and if you really want to splurge, go for a full strand.

Nazare, a colorful fishing village, is about 1 hour north of Fatima in Portugal. It is famous for its fishing boats and traditional clothing of its men and women. The boats are gaily painted with upturned prows as they have been since the days of the Phoenicians. The men wear plaid shirts and long stocking caps in which they keep their cigarettes. The women wear the many colored skirts, shirts, vest, and 7 petticoats. The ladies sit outside their homes and entice you to rent their rooms, or they sit under umbrellas on the beach and chat as their salted fish stretched on wooden racks, dry in the sun. Some fishermen sit on the beach and mend their nets, others are out on the sea fishing. Before 1986, the fishing boats were hauled up on the beach by oxen. Today there is a large marina around the corner so you won’t get to see this ancient ritual. But Nazare is still old Portugal. It is charming . The beach and water are very clean and the waves can be a challenge. Surfers love this area with its huge waves. In January, 2013, a Hawaiian surfer rode a 100' wave off the coast of Nazare and broke a record. There are many shops and cafes in the town. Pick up a straw hat or a souvenir doll with her seven petticoats. Enjoy lunch at one of the great seafood restaurants. The choices are consistently fresh and well-prepared. Nazare is a must see for anyone traveling in Portugal. You can take a tour or drive if you have a car. However you get there, you will have a great time.

More than four decades after Walt Disney World welcomed its first guests, the Four Seasons opened on 26 acres a few miles south of the Magic Kingdom, finally giving parents a true luxury resort option within the park. Well-sized and well-appointed rooms are typical of the brand’s understated elegance, but expect to pay a premium for a room with a balcony overlooking Disney’s nightly fireworks (or just reserve a table at the top-floor Capa steakhouse). Kids get the luxury treatment, too. The resort makes it easy for guests to organize park visits right on site: The Disney Planning Center helps with tickets, handles extended Magic Hours and Fast Pass requests, and books restaurant reservations and transportation to the monorail station and the rest of Disney World. Serious fans can also have a photo op with Goofy and friends at the resort’s character breakfast. A giant pool with a lazy river and two waterslides beckon on days when you’d rather not brave the park crowds, and children get dedicated welcome amenities, toys, and costumes during their stay. The extensive menu of spa services even includes a princess-themed mommy-and-me makeover treatment, including a tiara and wand.

This lake set amid lofty mountains is a mystical, peaceful spot with a fascinating history of indigenous princesses, gold-covered chieftains, and treasure-gouging conquistadors—purportedly the site where the El Dorado legend began (indeed, gold artifacts have turned up on the shores). Colombian guides can explain the local history, recount famous tales, and identify the highland vegetation you pass as you wind up a trail to the stunning lagoon. Its perfectly circular shape once fueled speculation that it is a volcanic crater or the result of a meteorite impact, but it’s been found to have been formed from a sinkhole. The lake’s located about two hours outside Bogotá; the drive to get there crosses some beautiful country.

This enchanting corner of Costa Rica, blessed with a superb climate, provides visitors with a chance to experience an ideal rural setting. If you’d like some action with your relaxation, you’re well positioned to hit local sights like Poás Volcano, as well as try camping, horseback riding, and trout fishing. Fraijanes Lagoon, set amid grasslands, forests, and strawberry fields, is particularly idyllic. There’s another attraction you may not associate with a rural setting: Good restaurants abound. Get up early to enjoy the sunrise and a cup of delicious coffee alongside warm bread and natilla, the local sour cream.

Enjoy some of the best views of Oaxaca city while you dine on local specialties such as tlayudas and parrilladas. Come for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just for drinks. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., and the view is great any time of day. El Mirador is mostly popular among locals and you won’t find many tourists, probably because it can be a bit difficult to find. From the parking lot at the lookout point on the hill, there are steps leading down. You won’t see a sign until you’re near the bottom of the steps, where you’ll find the entrance to the restaurant. I’ve found the food and service to be variable, but the prices are good and the view is exceptional.

The hike up Cerro de la Gloria in General San Martin Park is a steep 45-minute trek but worth the panoramic city views. Make sure you bring lots of water and go early in the day before the weather is too hot and the views too hazy. At the top, you’ll also be rewarded with an impressive bronze monument honoring the Army of the Andes led by Argentina liberator General San Martin, a battalion he marched from Mendoza to Chile to free the country from Spanish rule. The memorial was built to commemorate the Argentina Centennial of 1910. If you’re too tired to climb back down, you can take the public bus, but will need exact change to ride (check current price at the tourist office).

For many Charlestonians and tourists, every Saturday is spent in Marion Square at the farmers’ market. Students nursing hangovers wait in line for a crepe at Charleston Crepe Company while farmers from John’s and Edisto islands sell their fresh vegetables. Artists sell their work while children play on inflatable slides and a guitar player keeps the crowd entertained. Between the French, Greek, Cajun, Spanish, Italian, Southern, German, and Indian foods on offer, you really can’t go wrong. Grab an assortment of foods to try and find a nice spot in the shade to eat and people watch.

This stunning white-sand stretch, just a five-minute drive east of Port Antonio, is the only beach in Jamaica with waves high enough to surf. Boston Bay is also one of the few remaining public strands on the island. It continues to attract more locals than tourists and as such is nearly vendor-free. You can watch kids splashing about on their boards, or you can rent your own for a Surfing 101 lesson. Be forewarned: As at many beaches, sometimes the waves are flat, but you can console yourself with a short stroll down the beach to the famous Boston Bay jerk chicken stands.

Munich’s Farmers’ Market, or “Viktualientmarkt,” is sure to please everybody. Located in Munich‘s old town, the open-air market is an overflowing abundance of fresh produce, cheese, appetizers, desserts, breads, honey, fresh-pressed juices, Bavarian specialties, spices, flowers, and more. It’s no wonder that the bustling, vibrant market attracts locals, tourists, and chefs shopping for the freshest ingredients. If you have been traveling through Germany eating bratwurst and potatoes daily, a farmers’ market picnic may be just what the doctor ordered. There are over 140 enticing stalls and shops, so the hardest part is deciding what to eat! Grab some crusty bread, stinky cheese, briny olives, and fresh strawberries and call it a day. If making decisions tires you out, you can relax with a Bavarian brew in the shaded beer garden next to the market. Open Monday-Saturday from 8am to 6pm.

If you haven’t before seen 1.5 million bats flying out for their nightly feeding at once, now’s your chance. The largest urban bat colony in North America, Austin‘s Congress Avenue Bridge is the home to hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tail bats from mid-March to mid-October. Every night around sunset, the colony emerges like a black cloud from the crevices underneath the bridge, heading out to feed on millions of bugs around Austin. A beloved tourist attraction since the bats made their home in the bridge during the 1980 renovations, crowds pack the east-facing sidewalk and the park to the south side of the river to watch the nightly exodus. Want more details? Call the Bat Hotline at 416-5700, extension 3636, for exact exodus times. Christian Bale may or may not answer.

I recently went to Durban to attend a wedding. While I personally don’t consider Durban at the top of list of places to go on holiday in SA, I will say that Durban is great for the sun and the surf. In terms of tourist attractions, Ushaka Marine World is a great place to take the family. You can spend the day having fun at the water park, catch the dolphin show or get in some knowledge and check out the aquarium. The aquarium is themed to resemble a sunken ship with certain rooms even displaying some of the decor and furniture upside down! Those who are brave enough can even venture into the shark tank where you’ll be able to swim with some of the scary predators of the deep blue sea!