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At this luxury property perched over Matauri Bay near the top of the North Island, the colonial-style buildings are dwarfed by the endless wavy greens of a championship, par-72 golf course that ends at the Pacific. The ocean views and holes positioned adjacent to plunging precipices make Kauri Cliffs one of the most famous golf resorts in the world. The hilltop infinity pool is another crowd-pleaser, especially when it reflects the pinks and purples of the sunset. Featuring a beach-meets-country vibe, lodge interiors are outfitted with New Zealand artwork and furnishings imported from Europe and Australia. Outdoors, patches of totara trees dot the 6,000-acre property—one section houses the tranquil spa. Walking paths lead to a waterfall, three secret beaches, and picnic sites that offer sweeping views of Cape Brett and the Cavalli Islands.

Kimana Sanctuary is special for a number of reasons. Not only was it the first community-owned conservancy in Kenya when it was established back in 1996, it’s also located in a crucial wildlife corridor that links Amboseli National Park with the with the Chyulu Hills and Tsavo protected areas, providing animals with a route though the narrowest part of the space between two settled areas. When elephants pass between the areas, they are able to use this corridor; sometimes they will just pass through the Sanctuary and other times they will stay for months.

Accommodation for guests is available either by camping in a tranquil spot by the river or staying at the dreamy Kimana House, a four-bedroom self-catering property that comes with an on-site manager to do the washing up. Two notable organizations are involved: Big Life Foundation manages the Sanctuary in partnership with the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Set against a backdrop of lush jungle, this secluded luxury resort offers a mix of accommodations, from gorgeous villas with their own private plunge pools located right on the resort’s powdery white sands to overwater bungalows with traditional thatched roofs, large lagoon-facing decks, and deep soaking tubs. The resort sits on the mountainous, verdant island of Taha’a, off the coast of Raiatea, and is accessible only by speedboat or helicopter. Taha’a is also known as the vanilla island, renowned for producing some of the finest Tahitian vanilla in the world, and the hotel offers excursions out to local vanilla plantations as well as to pearl farms, where guests can learn how famous black Tahitian pearls are harvested. Marine conservation tours are also available, and the hotel can even arrange yacht rentals for guests on request. Cultural activities include weekly Polynesian-themed evenings, complete with a Tahitian buffet and local performers, such as traditional fire dancers.

The Florida Everglades is certainly one of the most unusual places to find a winery and brewery, but Schnebly Redland’s Winery excels in both arenas in what some would call “the middle of nowhere.” Guests are greeted by a stunning wine bar ahead, a beer bar to the right and a counter on the left that sells cheeses and snacks. You can also buy any of the selections you’ve imbibed, either bottles of wine or growlers of beer. The wines are unique, made from local fresh fruits like mango, guava and lychee and made on premises. Schnebly’s beers, brewed for Miami Brewing Company, are equally exotic, with brews like the Big Rod Coconut Ale or the Shark Attack Mango Wheat Ale. Tastings start at $7 and go up if you want to keep the glass. Tours of the facilities are available on weekends.

It always feels like a different world anywhere in the beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore area, and an evening at the hidden Nick’s Cove in Marshall, will have you in love with Tomales Bay. The property was recently overhauled by a group of silent investors that purchased the cottages and the restaurant and they’ve made some phenomenal improvements. Austin Perkins is the new head chef and the genius behind the BBQ oysters. After you’ve been checked in and escorted to your cottage, a delivery of complimentary oysters arrive at your doorstep. I kept hoping the staff at reception would change so that I could check in again. The rooms are cozy and spacious and the fireplace will always be a hit on the foggy and cool evenings. Be sure to either have dinner in the restaurant/bar, or ask for take out and have the meal delivered at the end of the pier, in the famous Boathouse. I’d also recommend making arrangements to start the next morning off right, with a paddle in Tomales Bay in a kayak. Local outfitter Blue Waters Kayaking will literally meet you on the deck of your cottage (if you’re lucky enough to secure one of the rooms on the water) and show you the magic of the area, the true way it needs to be seen. You’ll need to save up (and reserve far in advance) for a room at Nick’s Cove, but the experience is worth the pretty penny.

About 500 yards north of the Grand Turk Cruise Ship Center, this beach bar and grill makes an ideal place to while away a sunny afternoon sipping drinks with your toes in impossibly blue water. The family-owned tiki hut has a large patio, lounge chairs, and its resident goldendoodle, Topher, serves as a friendly ambassador. The smell of grilling jerk chicken will lure you up from the beach (Jack’s also rents beach chairs, in case you want to stay local after your meal). The menu offers a simple yet filling mix of conch, burgers, and local seafood to go with the selection of fruity cocktails.

Built of mud and adobe, Chan Chan—the nine-square-mile former capital of the Chimú empire (850–1470)—was the most expansive city of its time. Wander along pathways with a guide to see wall reliefs that depict creatures from the nearby Pacific. You’ll learn where various community activities, including human sacrifices, took place.

Skiers and visitors who think fondue and raclette are the best expressions of Switzerland’s melted-cheese cuisine will be surprised when they taste their first Käseschnitte (called croûte au fromage in French-speaking Switzerland). This soul-satisfying, open-faced, broiled-cheese sandwich is usually laden with bacon or ham and topped with perfectly bronzed cheese or a cheesy cream sauce before being garnished with cool pickled cukes and cocktail onions. Cabane du Mont-Fort, a self-serve kiosk located in a 1920s stone Alpine hut on the slopes of Verbier at Les 4 Vallées (Switzerland’s largest ski resort), has the best in the country, not to mention stunning views of Mont Blanc from its outdoor picnic tables. Don’t expect fawning or fast service, but you can count on a thick slice of bread anchored by a slab of melted cheese, marbled sweet and smoky bacon, and a few tomato wedges to offset the fatty richness.

After arriving on the tiny island of Iona near Mull in 563, Irish pilgrim Saint Columba proceeded to establish a Christian church and monastery, creating a vibrant religious community that lives on to this day. The monastery survived until the 12th century despite repeated Viking raids, and around 1200, the sons of Somerled founded a Benedictine abbey on the site. Though monastic life ended on Iona with the Protestant Reformation of 1560, pilgrimages to St Columba’s Shrine continued for many years. Today, it’s believed that the Book of Kells, along with several other great works of art, was created here.

Visit this most sacred of Scottish sights to see the four iconic high crosses, then tour the abbey church, with its 13th- to 16th-century architecture. You can also stop by St Columba’s Shrine, the longest-standing structure in the abbey, dating to the 9th or 10th century; climb Tòrr an Aba, a hill above the abbey where Saint Columba is said to have had a writing hut; or walk through Reilig Odhráin, the graveyard where ancient Scottish kings were laid to rest. While you’re exploring, keep an eye out for the vallum—a boundary ditch and bank of earth that serves as the only evidence of Columba’s original monastery.

A visit to Sulphur Springs, which is dubbed the world’s only drive-in volcano, is one of the most unusual excursions you can make in the Caribbean. You’ll smell the rotten-egg stench of sulfur and see steam rising around the dormant volcano’s crater upon arrival. (Don’t worry: The last time the volcano erupted was two centuries ago.) Locals claim that soaking in the mud baths then rinsing off with a dip in the hot springs will rejuvenate your skin and relieve mosquito bites and minor skin problems. Be sure to take a before-and-after selfie to determine whether you look younger after the experience.

Calistoga’s most storied mineral baths are the centerpiece of what has become Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resort, fittingly named after a chiropractor from San Francisco. Most visitors still come for the day spa, which is split into two sides, one for men and the other for women. Options for both include mud baths (in a mix of volcanic ash, hot spring water, and peat moss), mineral-water whirlpool tubs, mineral steam rooms, blanket wraps, and massages. Then, of course, there’s “the Works,” a signature treatment that combines all of these into one. This treatment used to cost less than $5 back in 1952, when Dr. John Wilkinson opened the place. Rumor has it that since then, all that’s changed is the price.

Since its opening along a dazzling stretch of sand known as Cabbage Beach in 1962, The Ocean Club on Paradise Island has been the preferred stay of old-money patriarchs and traditionalists. Though much at the serenely posh resort has remained unchanged, the 105-room property has been modernized to meet today’s standards with spa-sized marble bathrooms, sweeping WiFi, and a restaurant run by star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. But it’s the feeling of a privileged, unhurried yesterday that continues to draw an appreciative upper-crust crowd. An on-site tennis pro provides tips for improving your backhand, Versailles-inspired gardens complete with a 12th-century Augustinian cloister offer moments of quiet contemplation, and rounds of golf end with martinis at the resort’s bar. These details, plus knowing that a personal butler and afternoon champagne and strawberries are included in the price, keep guests returning year after year.

Officially Kilometer 1 of the Kiel Canal, the 13th-century town of Brunsbüttel has many fine half-timbered houses, but it is most famous for the massive locks constructed from 1907 to 1914. In addition to several lighthouses, the town’s 38-meter-tall (125-foot-tall) red-brick water tower, built in 1911, is a local landmark. In recent years, the town has also become famous for its popular Mud Olympics in July, when athletes compete in volleyball, football and other events in the estuary of the Elbe River.

Bangkok’s culinary scene has recently been enlivened by an influx of talented U.S. chefs who are upping creativity levels at venues around the city. One such addition is Texan Riley Sanders, the head man at Canvas. Sanders cut his teeth at restaurants in Austin and Chicago, as well as on a luxury yacht, and his globe-trotting approach to cooking is evident here. The emphasis is on local ingredients in the six- and nine-course tasting menus, which showcase modern Bangkok cuisine in a freewheeling approach. Recent menu highlights have included shrimp noodles dressed in an intense seafood sauce, and mud crab prepared with lotus root, lotus stem, swamp algae, and rice paddy herbs.

Located about an hour northeast from Reykjavík and part of the famed Golden Circle tour (along with Gullfoss), the Geysir hot springs area consists of around a dozen hot water blowholes, including the eponymous Geysir. The Strokkur blowhole is the most popular, principally because it regularly (every few minutes, usually) spouts its boiling water up to 100 feet into the air. It’s still worth looking around at the other pools, even if they haven’t erupted for years or even decades, since they usually offer interesting colors and bubbling geothermal activity. The site also has a hotel, souvenir shop, café, and a related exhibition.