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Yes, it’s a canteen, so self-service, but it’s delicious and affordable. The secret appeal about this place, though, is not the price, nor the décor (which doesn’t exist), it’s the wonderful view of the city. Arrive before 1 p.m. to snag a seat before the local workers arrive for their midday meals.

An easy day trip from Amman, Shaumari Wildlife Reserve sits at the gateway to Jordan’s eastern deserts, where a pioneering conservation project is under way. The Arabian oryx, with its extraordinary, unicorn-like horns, was hunted to near extinction in the 20th century, but a captive breeding program overseen by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature is attempting to bring them back, reintroducing the dazzling white antelopes on Shaumari’s grounds. Visitors to the park can see several oryx, as well as other desert animals like ostriches, gazelles, and wild donkeys, during safari rides through the park. Tours take place in actual safari vehicles and are led by expert guides, who provide commentary on the park, its animals, and its ongoing conservation work.

With a nickname like the “Cave State,” Missouri certainly isn’t short on impressive caverns. Of the more than 6,000 across the state, however, Meramac Caverns is the largest—and stays open year-round for tours. Said to have been a hideout for the outlaw Jesse James in the 1870s, the seven-level, 4.6-mile-long natural wonder was purchased by Lester Dill in 1933 and opened as a tourist attraction in 1935. Today, visitors can take guided tram tours past the cave’s complex mineral formations, stopping at a “wine room” (named for its grape-like botryoids and accessed by a long stairwell). While exploring, keep your eyes peeled for the resident tricolored bats that call Meramac home.

In Carnac, row upon row of some 3,000 upright stones cover three fields (Ménex, Kermario, and Kerlescan), creating a magical atmosphere. Though the exact meaning and purpose of the prehistoric stones—some dating as far back as 4000 B.C.E.—remains largely a mystery, a number of them were revealed to be tomb markers, concealing remains and funerary objects.

Start your visit at the Maison des Mégaliths, where you can watch a film about the site in English. The stones are now fenced off to the public, so it’s best to book a guided tour if you want to fully experience the site. When you’re done exploring, take the 10-minute walk to the Museum of Prehistory, which houses one of Europe’s finest collections of prehistoric objects.

Art lovers and garden enthusiasts visiting the Cape Winelands should set aside an hour or two to tour the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden in Stellenbosch. Here, more than 60 of Lewis’s renowned works—from his human forms and shamanic figures to his monumental abstracted fragments and iconic great cats—dot 2.5 miles of walking paths, blending seamlessly with the landscape. If you can, tour the gardens in July and August, when the fynbos trees are in full bloom. Then stop by Lewis’s old studio, which now functions as an art gallery, before having coffee or tea in the small café. Visits to the sculpture garden are by appointment only and can be arranged via email. Guided tours are also available.

One of Maui’s best hikes, this trail climbs 800 feet through the lush Kipahulu area of Haleakala National Park. Half a mile from the visitor center, an overlook provides sweeping views of the gorge and the almost-200-foot-long “horsetail” of Makahiku Falls. Continue on past a sprawling banyan, stopping to marvel at the sunlight trickling through the dense bamboo forest. Here, you’ll also find the even more dramatic cascade of Waimoku Falls, which plunges 400 feet down a sheer-walled lava amphitheater. If you’re wary of tackling the four-mile round-trip hike by yourself, know that park rangers offer guided tours every Sunday at 10 a.m. Reservations are available at 9 a.m. a week ahead of time.

One of Tasmania’s top tourist attractions is the crumbling ruins of a penal colony, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the penitentiary, where 60 stone buildings remain, for a sobering glimpse into the brutal lives of the 12,500 convicts incarcerated here between 1830 and 1877. Visitors can also tour the Dockyard and Port Arthur gardens. There’s so much to see that a guided tour is recommended—especially the one that covers paranormal activity. (There’s also a lantern-lit ghost tour, for brave families only.)

Opened in 2012, the West Street Hotel wholeheartedly embraces its waterfront location. All 85 rooms have views of Frenchman Bay and are decorated in nautical Americana (think navy, red, and cream color schemes and lots of sailboat patterns on the upholstery). The hotel can arrange a lobstering trip on a real-deal commercial boat or an excursion to nearby Acadia National Park. There are more than 120 hiking trails that range from low-key to strenuous: Advanced climbers can summit Cadillac Mountain, the tallest peak on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. For a guided tour of the park with less effort, board Oli’s Trolley, which picks up riders across the street from the hotel.

This appeared in the June/July 2015 issue.

The metal-and-glass ribbon structure of this Frank Gehry−designed hotel—not too far from Bilbao—creates an ethereal silhouette that contrasts dramatically with Elciego’s medieval landscape. Opt for a guided tour to learn more about the history of winemaking in the Basque countryside.

History buffs and expert divers score big at this site just 10 minutes off the coast of Aruba. A German freighter during World War II, the 400-foot-long ship is one of the largest wrecks in the Caribbean. Today, its starboard side is blanketed in coral, serving as a home for sponges, anemones, lobsters, and a kaleidoscope of fish. Visibility at the ghost ship is generally 30 to 50 feet, and thanks to virtually zero currents, viewing is easy for both snorkelers and scuba divers. Still, it’s best to explore with a guide, who can lead you through the labyrinth to the most worthy points of interest.

When the crush of 14 million people (and what seems like an infinite number of rude taxi drivers) gets to you, Istanbul has a cure for what ails you: a peaceful ferry ride across the Bosphorus and a seat in the leafy garden at Viktor Levi wine house. The son of a fisherman, Viktor Levi started bringing back his favorite wines from the Aegean Islands more than a century ago, and his namesake restaurant, tucked into a side street in Moda in Kadiköy, now has more than a dozen house varietals, most under 100 lira. A meal by the fountain or inside the restored town house might inspire your own trip to Bozcaada, or just a return trip on the ferry.

A visit to the incredible 365-island archipelago (also called the San Blas Islands) within the communal lands of the Guna Yala indigenous nation provides some extraordinary seaside experiences. The islands making up the outer archipelago are unspoiled and feature gorgeous white-sand beaches, turquoise seas, and a one-of-a-kind encounter with Guna culture. Visitors lodge in natural-material huts (cane walls and interwoven palm-frond roofs) or—if you’re in the mood—sleep under the stars in palm-strung hammocks. Local women sport colorful dress made in the style known as mola, a traditional Gula artisanal weaving technique. A highway was built several years back that lets you travel from Panama City to Puerto de Cartí in as few as two hours.

No visit to Antigua is complete without taking in the sunset atop Shirley Heights Lookout at its weekly Sunday sundowner party. The view from Shirley Heights is without a doubt the most famous, most photographed, most celebrated vista gracing Antigua. Immediately below, English and Falmouth Harbours clutch their bays. On clear days you can see Guadeloupe to the south and Montserrat with it’s still active volcano to the south west. It does get busy, so expect a crowd and while there might be a couple locals sprinkled in here and there, it’s mostly visitors. Around 7ish, the tunes crank up with either some reggae classics, some pumping soca, or even live a steelpan band. Smoke from a collection of barbecues compete with the music to fill the air and stimulate your senses. Expect chicken and ribs slathered in local flavors, plus burgers for the less adventurous. I did have some trouble getting grilled fish on my last visit, but once I found some, it was charred to perfection.

A short walk from Daikanyama Station is one of the metropolis’s iconic bookstores, Tsutaya at T-Site. Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, the Tsutaya bookstore is celebrated not only for the beauty of its three buildings but also for the extensive selection of books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs. Tsutaya opens at 7 a.m., perfect for travelers who land before hotel check-in. You can have a coffee or a cocktail in the Anjin Lounge while perusing books. The concierges are specialists in a variety of topics to help guide consumers through the books, music, and movies.

Spend the night nestled under the Golden Gate Bridge in the most dignified of accommodations: the former living quarters of high-ranking officers in the U.S. Army. Cavallo Point is the result of the luxurious reimagining of a cluster of military lodges located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just over the bridge in Marin County. Today, the 142-room hotel serves as a retreat for in-the-know travelers and locals looking for an easy, elevated escape from everyday city life. Original brick fireplaces and beamed ceilings mingle with modern finishes and furnishings, such as butter-soft leather sofas and whitewashed Adirondack chairs. The expansive grounds are meant to be explored on foot or bicycle. The Wellness Weekend package includes all meals, prepared with an emphasis on health at Murray Circle restaurant, morning yoga classes, guided hikes, a spa treatment, nightly wine receptions, and plenty of free moments to soak in the serene meditation pool—the very best kind of boot camp.