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Salar de Uyuni, located in the Daniel Campos province of Bolivia, looks like it belongs on another planet. Stretching for more than 4,050 square miles—a little smaller than the state of Connecticut—it is the world’s largest salt flat, formed when several prehistoric lakes dried up 25,000 to 10,000 years ago, leaving behind hexagonal patterns of salt on the otherwise featureless surface. When nearby lakes overflow, or the area gets rain, a thin layer of water covers the expanse, transforming it into a massive reflective mirror that makes for jaw-dropping, dreamlike photos.


The natural wonder has served as a valuable source of salt and lithium for Bolivia, and it has long been a hot spot for tourism in South America. There’s even a hotel built out of salt bricks: the Palacio de Sal. If you’re planning a trip to witness the surreal beauty of the Salar de Uyuni salt flat, here’s what you need to know.



To see Salar de Uyuni’s breathtaking mirror effort, visit during wet season, from December to April—but be aware that when it gets too rainy, it can be hard to get around and you might not be able to access certain areas. May to November is the dry season, which means temperatures are colder, but the ground is harder and you can drive across the land more easily.



The ideal month to visit is May, when the seasons transition from wet to dry and you’ll have a good chance of seeing the salt flats both dusty and reflective.



Salar de Uyuni sits near the point where Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile meet, so tourists tend to come from three different starting places.



The town of Uyuni in Bolivia is the most popular place to embark on tours of the salt flats. The small town is so close to the flats, you can easily take day trips. If you’re traveling from La Paz to Uyuni, you can take a one-hour flight or an eight-hour overnight bus.



San Pedro de Atacama in Chile is another well-known starting point for tours of the salt flats, but because it’s about 200 miles away, most tours are three days long.



If you’re coming from Argentina, look into multi-day tours operating out of Tupiza, Bolivia, a good base less than 60 miles over the Argentinian border.



Tour operators in the region offer shared or private tours. Shared tours are more affordable, but they don’t offer much flexibility when it comes to your schedule. Also, most shared tours are led by Spanish-speaking guides, while private tours can offer English-speaking ones.



Many tours of the salt flats also go to other attractions in the area, such as the Polques hot springs, the Atacama Desert, and high-altitude lakes like Laguna Colorada. Look into tours originating in San Pedro de Atacama and Tupiza for itineraries that include these destinations.



Salar de Uyuni is located nearly 12,000 feet above sea level, so you might experience altitude sickness symptoms such as nausea and headaches and should plan accordingly.



To enter Bolivia, travelers must have a tourist visa, which costs $160 for U.S. citizens, and a yellow fever vaccination certificate if they are traveling from a country with risk of yellow fever.

The most prominent presence at corner of 800 South & State Street is the Sears store that has been there for decades, but the main draw to this corner are the two competing taco stands, Tacos don Rafa and Tacos del Toro. These two stands draw locals from the neighborhood, but if you ask around, you’ll also find some have driven miles out of their way to get some of these cheap yet incredibly tasty and authentic tacos. They also serve up burritos and quesadillas. In early November of 2017, Sears announced it will be closing a number of locations including the one near the taco carts but it’s not looking like that’s going to force them to find a new home just yet.

Within the rapidly trendifying area of Dashilar is Ubi Gallery, founded by Dutch former diplomat and art enthusiast Machtelt Schelling. Ubi showcases and sells ceramics and “wearable art,” aka contemporary jewelry. The featured artists are a slew of nationalities, with a handful from China and Holland. Everything is unique and handmade, with prices to match, although there are enough moderately priced pieces to please most visitors. Look out for black-and-white-polka-dot cuff links by Malin Jansson, Japanese-style striped tea bowls by Arita, and a set of angular celadon cups by Park Mun Hee.

Before Luis Barragán designed Mexico’s first master-planned community in the suburbs of Mexico City, he dreamed up an urban park neighborhood in his native Guadalajara. He commissioned German artist Matias Goeritz to create an entrance sculpture called El Pájaro Amarillo (The Yellow Bird) and drew plans for an onsite chapel named Templo el Calvario (Temple of Calgary). Unfortunately, the neighborhood today doesn’t look much like Barragán intended—he’d planned for a different kind of tree to be planted on each street so that the area would bloom in a rainbow pattern, and for wider streets lined with shopping malls. However, you can still visit Jardines del Bosque to see the majestic Goeritz sculpture and chapel and, if you squint your eyes, imagine Barragán’s vision come to life.

This is a great option for a day hike in the Grand Canyon. South Kaibab Trail is a well-maintained (but steep!) stretch of dirt with very little shade and a trailhead that’s accessible only by shuttle bus. No private vehicles are allowed in this portion of the park. It’s a scenic adventure through and through, but South Kaibab’s main destinations include Ooh-Aah Point (at the highest elevation of 6,660 feet), Cedar Ridge (good for novice hikers and late starters), and Skeleton Point (an unobstructed view of the Colorado River with steep switchbacks).

Cacao beans’ scientific name is theobrama cacao, which translates into “drink of the gods.” Casa Cortés in Old San Juan will truly please any god with its Cortés chocolate concoctions. This welcoming café fuses modern style of its seats and dishes with the antique charm of walls covered in Cortés chocolate molds and a short history of chocolate on a collage of artwork that exudes nostalgia. The menu features mouth-watering items such as a baguette filled with Brie, chocolate, and a hazelnut spread; a blood orange and passion fruit cheesecake topped with a chocolate mousse; and an Argentinian ice wine. I opted for the mallorca (a sweet bread dusted with powdered sugar) stuffed with Ibérico ham, Manchego, chocolate, and a guava spread, accompanied by a European hot chocolate that was to die for. My meal was perfect, but I’m sure everything I didn’t get to taste was just as amazing. That’s what you get when your chocolate comes straight from a nearby farm. While I waited for my food, I watched a video on chocolate production. There’s also a museum (unfortunately, I was unable to see it, but you can bet I’ll be back there next time I come home to my beautiful island) and some products for sale. Make sure to take a little piece of Casa Cortés with you for future indulgences—they advertise one chocolate tablet as being enough for two beverages.

The most quintessential Cambodian souvenir must be the checked cotton krama that you will see around the necks, heads or waists of every Cambodian you meet. Cambodians like to boast that the krama has a dozen different uses -- some clever, some cute, some cringe-worthy. The most popular way to wear the krama is as a handsome scarf and a symbol of national and cultural pride, hung loosely around the neck over a pressed dress shirt. However, head out to the villages and you’ll see local farmers wearing them wrapped around their forehead to soak up the sweat, while village women will wear them as a head-dress. I’ve used mine as a belt. They’re handy for wiping the perspiration from your brow while scrambling temples in the sticky humidity. You’ll see kramas sold everywhere and in the Old Market they start from as little as US$1, however, these are generally made from a polyester-cotton mix and don’t do the trick. I love the authentic, quality cotton kramas sold at boutiques like Wa Gallery, which is where the ones above are from.

Nestled within a landscape of moss and lava less than an hour from Reykjavik, the Ion Adventure Hotel is one of the few true luxury hotels outside of Iceland’s capital. Under the careful eye of owner Sigurlaug Sverrisdóttir, a no-frills barracks for geothermal power plant workers was transformed into a concrete-and-glass Nordic-modern showpiece that wears its reverence for the natural setting on its sleeve. Sverrisdóttir is committed to using local products—everything from the artwork to the bath products to the food are sourced from the area—and the hotel’s sustainable materials and practices, like using geothermal cooling for power, have earned it a number of awards. Plus, all 45 of the sleek but comfortable rooms feature fair-trade organic linens and floor-to-ceiling views of Lake Thingvellir or Mount Hengill, an active volcano. The glass Northern Lights Bar juts out toward the horizon, providing a perfect viewing spot when the aurora borealis appears; beneath it sits a large rectangular hot tub adjacent to the spa. As for adventure, the hotel is happy to arrange any number of excursions, including fly-fishing, horseback riding, kayaking and, for the truly bold, snorkeling in the Silfra fissure.

Every afternoon about 5:30 PM, islanders and connoisseurs of sunsets arrange themselves at their favorite beach side vantage point on the west and south shores of Oahu for a chance to see the legendary “green flash”. In all of my years of living in Hawaii, I have only seen it twice, but sometimes I think it was a result of a very strong Mai Tai and staring at the sun too long. If you’d like to try for a glimpse of this phenomenon, you might as well be sitting in a comfortable spot with a great drink in hand. SWIM is a poolside bar with views over the statue of Duke Kahanamoku out to Waikiki beach. On an upper deck of The Hyatt Regency Waikiki, you are above street level so nice treetop and beach views are yours. I recommend the Lychee Martini ( pictured). The pupus are really good here too and if you plan it right, might serve as dinner. If not, hop over to SHOR American Seafood Grill. Visible across the pool with indoor or outdoor seating, start with amazing Baby Kona Abalone with garlic herbed butter, the tremendous seafood tower or the catch of the day you pair with a sauce you select from the list like Pineapple Shiso Relish, Hamakua Mushroom, Soy Radish etc. Insider Tip : Valet your car gratis with purchase – so get your ticket stamped and tip your valet.

The torrent of Anglo eateries that have popped up across Paris in recent years can largely be attributed to the searing success of Rose Bakery. I had my doubts years ago when I first heard about the internationally-staffed organic canteen - how good could English food be, really? Expensive though it may be, it’s one of my favorite places to go for warm cheese scones, fresh vegetable and a variety of cakes suitable for breakfast or afternoon tea. Rose began in London, hopped over to Paris on rue des Martyrs, expanded to the Marais, settled into a 3rd location within La Maison Rouge foundation in the 12th and most recently took over a 2nd floor corner of the chic department store Le Bon Marché. And that’s saying nothing of their international locations. Its appeal was virtually immediate and RB quickly established itself as the spot among hipsters, artists, celebrities (the likes of Natalie Portman and Julie Delpy, who I spotted last year) and tourists for organic, English fare. They open early, excel at pancakes and healthy veggie options and sell a number of British products to-go. Other establishments may have come onto the scene but Rose is a breakfast mainstay.

I had one goal for the trip to Australia: hugging a koala. This was a little more difficult than you might think; it’s only legal in Queensland province, and there are strict rules about how long the koalas can work per day and how much rest they’re permitted away from the affectionate public. My dream came true in Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which has 130+ koalas as well as kangaroos, wallabys, wombats, platypus, Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, and many other exotic (to us) animals. Presentations and demonstrations happen all day long, but don’t forget to set aside a few minutes for the extremely popular koala-hug photos. My koala was a smallish, woolly female who rested comfortably against my chest and calmly looked at the camera like a true pro. Lone Pine is absolutely a must-do day trip if you’re in Brisbane — as the Aussies say, you can’t go past it!

Nothing is a more powerful symbol of the City of Light than the Eiffel Tower. Designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Paris Exposition, it’s one of the world’s most-visited monuments, with nearly 7 million people ascending the 1,062-foot wrought-iron structure each year. Glass elevators spirit you to the top—hardy souls can take the stairs part of way—where in addition to unparalleled panoramic views of Paris, you can toast your arrival with a glass of bubbly at the Champagne bar. Evenings there’s a grand light show: every hour on the hour, the tower sparkles for five minutes with 20,000 bulbs.

Yes, the natural wonders in this vicinity are worthy of all their superlatives, but so are the accompanying manmade offerings. One is the Southern Fuegian Railway—also known as the End of the World Train—which has been steaming through the area for more than a century. The world’s southernmost train line, it was once used to transport the region’s timber; today the cars carry visitors through the epic Tierra del Fuego National Park, past shimmering lakes and verdant peat bogs.

Among California’s 21 Spanish missions, the late-18th-century national landmark Mission Santa Barbara is considered the “queen of the missions.” Those interested in early California history will also want to stop by the whitewashed, red tile–roofed El Presidio de Santa Bárbara, a late-18th-century Spanish military outpost that was built by local Chumash Indian laborers. The park’s nearby adobe homes have exhibits of historic objects found in the area. The legacy of this period lives on at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, a masterpiece of Spanish colonial revival architecture built in 1929 and just five minutes on foot from the Presidio.

You’ll have to pick your jaw up off the ground before you start your alfresco breakfast or dinner on Elk Island, in the middle of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Just one mile from Elk Island (the largest island in Wyoming—not a hotly contested title), the hulking Mount Moran explodes up 7,000 feet from the lakeshore. It’s so close you might be able to spot crevasses on one of its glaciers. In this setting, standard fare—trout, steak, and chicken at dinner, and eggs, pancakes, and hash browns at breakfast—tastes almost sublime. The cruise to and from the island is a bonus.