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While White House Bay is becoming more widely known since SALT Plage restaurant opened on its shores, it’s always had a reputation for offering the best snorkeling on St. Kitts. Off the rocky beach, you’ll find calm waters and two notable wrecks—a sunken tugboat and an 18th-century British troop ship—to explore. A popular anchorage, the beach also features a chic bar, making it a favorite of the yacht set.

It was 1852 and Argentine society was so polarized, the country’s very existence was threatened. Thus, Club del Progreso was born as a gentlemen’s retreat whose noble goal was to unite the nation’s political factions through thoughtful discussion and cooperation, thereby ensuring Argentina’s progress. The club still hosts academic debates on issues of national interest, and its stately, wood-paneled dining room, hung with dazzling chandeliers, frames an elegant, historical setting for trying classic Argentine fare like roast suckling pig or revuelto gramajo (scrambled eggs with potato and vegetables).

While in the Lagos and western Algarve, I searched for lesser known beaches. With so many miles of coastline, I knew there had to be more beaches and less crowded ones at that. So my husband and I set out for several days to find these gems. We stopped at so many great beaches (we were usually the only Americans there) that the British and Germans have long known about. Each beach had a good restaurant with very fresh seafood. There were different activities available such as the usual sunbathing under the warm sun, surfing, parasailing, fishing,and horseback riding.

This beach at Burgau was a clean, beautiful, little town beach. There were several restaurants. This was a rewarding search for a different, lively beach. A natural and undeveloped area. We will return. Possibly we will rent for a week-end and stay in a small condo. If you go to the Algarve, bring a good current Michelin map of Portugal and get a map of the Algarve at your hotel desk. These will be easy to follow to the many western Algarve beaches. If renting a car, set this up with your travel agent in the states when planning your trip. It is cheaper, and the car will be delivered to you wherever you need it. Have a great time with this adventure!

Golf and sunshine are the main magnets that draw visitors to Palm Springs, but a 10-minute ride will take you up into a snowy evergreen forest. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway climbs up to a mountain wilderness at 8,500 feet (2,590 meters). The Swiss-built tram floats over Chino Canyon and is the only rotating tram car in the Western hemisphere. From the top, look out over the irrigrated grids of Palm Springs and the other Desert Cities of the Coachella Valley, which descends to below sea level. Across to the northeast, beyond the San Andreas Fault, are the low mountains of Joshua Tree National Park. A network of hiking trails branches out from the tram chalet into the San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, which includes the highest peaks in Southern California. (Winter weekend crowds can be crazy; you’ve been warned.)

It might be a part of the Colorado River—a man-made reservoir carved out of the river in 1960—but everyone calls the body of water bisecting Austin Lady Bird Lake. On hot summer days, scores of walkers and joggers move along the lakeside paths through nearby Zilker Park, but you can also take to the water by canoe, kayak, water bike, or stand-up paddleboard. You can’t swim here, but the left fork (heading west) in the river will take you to Barton Springs Pool, a popular Austin hangout, where you can splash in the water to your heart’s—and body temperature’s—delight.

“Ready!” I grip the bar tightly and lean forward. “Set!” I bend my knees and my heart starts racing. “HUP!” Before I have time for doubts, I take a deep breath, and jump off the platform. The next 40 seconds are a pure adrenaline rush as I soar through the air on a flying trapeze—a thrilling introduction to my first class at the satellite Trapeze School N.Y. in the Navy Yard district of Washington, D.C. I try to stay calm and oriented as my teacher yells instructions to swing my legs and lift my knees up to hang from the bar. This simple move is the foundation for many tricks that we six beginners in the class get to practice many times. By the end of the two-hour class, I’m already doing flips into the net and performing basic catches with one of the instructors. I start to wonder if my childhood dreams of joining the circus are possible after all. Class is over, I’m tired and my legs already ache from the climbs up the ridiculously long trapeze ladder (for me, the scariest part of the class). The school’s motto was right: “Forget about fear. Worry about addiction.” The school offers a variety of trapeze, aerial, trampoline, and acrobatics classes for adults and children.

This national park is an ecological preserve with upland watersheds, mangrove forests, and estuarine and marine environments that support threatened and endangered species. The park also includes the Columbus Landing Site, a National Historic Landmark that is the only known place where members of a 1493 expedition led by Christopher Columbus (his second voyage) set foot on what is now United States territory. Columbus and his men met a tribe of Caribs here, so it was the first documented encounter between American Indians and Europeans.

The Statue of Liberty may be the most iconic sight that comes to mind when one thinks of the history of immigrants in New York, but not far from it in the harbor is another important landmark—Ellis Island. Until the Supreme Court ruled in 1875 that authority to regulate immigration belonged to the federal government alone, various states had implemented their own policies. After the federal government took over the processing of immigrants from New York State in 1890, some 12 million immigrants would pass through Ellis Island until it closed in 1954 (for 30 years, however, beginning in 1924, it was used only as a temporary detention center for immigrants who had issues with their paperwork). By one estimate, some 40 percent of Americans have at least one ancestor who entered the United States through Ellis Island. The historic site is today operated by the National Park Service, and ferries depart to the island from Battery Park (as well as from Liberty State Park in New Jersey). Visits include the Main Arrivals Hall with its displays recounting the immigration experience; temporary exhibitions are located on the second and third floors of the building. Statue Cruises is the only operator authorized to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island—their cruises include stops at both, though entry to the statue and the immigration museum require separate tickets purchased on each island.

With its gold-hued, Egyptian pyramid-inspired exterior—topped by a glass peak that lights up like a beacon at night—it’s easy to recognize the 19-story Raffles hotel among Dubai’s glittering skyline. Inside, distinguishing features include the spacious rooms and suites—the 252 options are among the largest in town, and come with private terraces, Arabic design touches, tubs and walk-in showers, and service from a Raffles butler. The seven dining options draw a mix of in-house guests, expat locals, and business people. Choose from restaurants for Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and international buffet fare, a tea salon for refined sweet and savory creations, a cabana-ringed garden for shared plates and weekly barbecues, a bar and café adjacent to the well-sized pool, and a cocktail bar that pairs drinks with telecasts of the latest sports matches. Global influences can also be felt at the well-appointed spa, where the treatments are inspired by Asian, European, and Middle Eastern techniques.

While the Cycladic island of Serifos has stayed blissfully under the radar for most tourists, savvy Athenians have been quietly snapping up property while preserving its dusty charms. COCO-MAT Eco Residences, opened by the eponymously named Greek sleep-product company, is emblematic of this mindset: Its 13 rooms were reclaimed from stone miners’ houses built in 1910 at the foot of a hillside, just steps from the sand and calm waters of Vagia Bay. The one- or two-bedroom units feature bedrooms on the (cooler) bottom floor and living spaces and kitchenettes above (they’ll do the grocery shopping); you choose your mattress preference from the brand’s sustainably made line. Carved into the cliff face, the Lounge Bar serves buffet breakfast in the morning, lunch and light snacks during the day, and dinner in the evening—including right on the shore (for an additional charge). The hotel also supplies car or motorcycle rentals should you want to explore the island, and also will arrange diving trips and excursions to different beaches.

Resting amid verdant gardens overlooking eastern Crete’s Mirabello Bay, the five-star Elounda Mare Hotel is a family-run Relais & Chateau property that feels like a stylish cocoon—no wonder it has entertained everyone from Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio to Kathleen Turner and Lady Gaga. Designed in the manner of Cretan mansions, the 92-unit resort makes generous use of stone and timber, with warm shades of white and red splashed throughout; balconies or terraces and full-length windows look out on the sapphire Aegean, and bungalows and suites include private pools and fireplaces. While the hotel itself has three restaurants and a bar on site, guests have access to five other restaurants and three additional bars spread among two sister properties, which are separated by olive groves but reachable via golf-cart shuttles. Chances are good that you’ll spend your days sunbathing on the private sandy beach or near the salt-water pool, but guests can also arrange to use shared facilities, like the spa and nine-hole golf course.

On a tree-studded peninsula between Monaco and Nice, this whitewashed luxury boutique hotel features 28 rooms and suites with a serenely chic vibe (think crisp white linens and richly patterned textiles, contemporary art and modern streamlined furnishings). A third of the units reside in the hotel’s main building, a mansion that dates back to 1889 but was fully restored and updated in 2003, and three additional rooms designed to resemble ship cabins are built into a wall with direct views onto the sea; the rest of the accommodations are housed in a quiet Italianate structure and a separate edifice at the edge of the property. Cap Estel’s Michelin-starred restaurant highlights seasonal ingredients, many of which are sourced from the on-site gardens. Guests who come to disconnect from the jet-set scene can relax in the hammam or waterside sauna, or with a massage and dip in the saltwater pool, though many guests would just as soon head straight into the azure waves of the Mediterranean, accessed through the hotel’s private beach.

Short of visiting the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque itself, you won’t find a better view of the whitewashed masterpiece than at this Shangri-La hotel, which shimmers like a jewel opposite Abu Dhabi Island on the mainland of the Arabian Peninsula. The rest of the hotel’s palatial appeal sprouts from a deep appreciation for Middle Eastern tradition, seen in spectacular carved archways, mosaic-tile baths in the rooms, and winding waterways navigated by an abra (local ferry boat). Hop on board to journey to the hotel’s contemporary take on a souk, where you can purchase clothes, jewelry, and other souvenirs before choosing between French, Vietnamese, and Chinese specialties at four on-site restaurants. Four pools ensure you won’t wilt in the desert heat, while a CHI spa provides soothing comfort for those beat from a day spent skyscraper hopping.

Completed in 1614, Johannisburg Palace is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Germany. Located along the Main River, the immense, four-winged complex served as the second residence of the archbishop-electors of Mainz until 1803. Today, it’s home to innumerable cultural and historical treasures, including a unique collection of cork architectural models called Bringing Rome Across the Alps. The State Gallery displays early German and Dutch paintings, with a special emphasis on Lucas Cranach the Elder, while the Princely Apartments offer a fine array of neoclassical furnishings. In the Palace Church, modern technology brings the Renaissance altar to life in a new way, using light and sound installations to highlight the 31 alabaster sculptures and almost 150 relief figures. Also not to be missed is the Palace Museum, showcasing the history of Aschaffenburg, as well as the gardens, where the fruit trees and flower beds are particularly splendid in summer.

Dating back to 1843, this massive museum has grown and modernized over the years, especially with the addition of the Neue Staatsgalerie (New State Gallery) in 1984 and a modern hall specially built in 2002. Spanning some 96,875 square feet of exhibition space, the collection focuses on early Swabian panel painting and 19th-century Swabian Neoclassicism, but also includes modern pieces like Oskar Schlemmer’s Figurines for the Triadic Ballet, Matisse’s famous Back Series, and a Joseph Beuys room that was installed by the artist himself. Other highlights range from Dalí’s Raised Instant and George Grosz’s The Funeral to Miró’s Bird with a Calm Look. Opt for a guided tour to ensure you see everything, then visit the museum shop and the Fresko café-restaurant. Note that, on Wednesdays, you can visit the permanent collection for free.