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A pilgrimage to this enchanting park is a must for any Antoni Gaudí fan. Located atop Carmel Hill to the north of the city, the park was inspired by English landscape gardens, but its fantastical elements make sure you know it was created by Catalonia’s most eccentric architect. Though there are multiple entrances, the most impressive is via a grand staircase guarded by an enormous, mosaic-tiled dragon. It leads to a sprawling plaza with a mosaic-covered cement bench stretching some 328 feet around the perimeter. Park Güell was originally designed as a gated residential development, but it failed; a show home built to lure buyers is now the Gaudí House Museum (not included with park admission). Visitors should reserve an online ticket to avoid lines.

A three-day safari in Kruger National Park is a must for anyone visiting South Africa. Entering the gates is like Jurassic Park and you feel transported back in time to the creation of Earth where the wild animals, especially the elephants, are dinosaurs filled with ancient knowledge of the land’s beginning. Although you may not see anything like the infamous “Battle at Kruger” YouTube video, you will certainly witness some interesting animal behavior like hippos bathing, monkeys mating, giraffes snacking or even two elephants flirting in the brush.

Landmark Shopping Mall is not just a place for shopping. Children have their own Circus Land Park to enjoy themselves. This fun-filled, circus-themed park offers six major attractions, including a traditional horse carousel, a playful airplane flyover, an inflatable slide, a variety of simulators and video games, trampoline beds, bumper cars and an impressive four-story soft play area. And for the hungry kids, just outside Circus Land is a spacious food court offering some of the world’s best known franchises in the fast food industry. For the kiddos in need of a trim, Little Jungle Kid’s Salon offers lots of toys and games while their little clients get a haircut.

Before America had the Outback Steakhouse, Australia had The Overlanders in Alice Springs, a Northern Territory institution housed in the building that served as Alice Springs’ first town hall. Opened by Daphne Campbell (now Calder) and named after the Australian drama The Overlanders in which she co-starred, the place is part restaurant, part museum where antique leather saddles and framed playbills showcase the ranching and film history of the town. Celebrity fans should look for familiar autographs on the “windmill of fame.” Besides the decor and heritage, locals and tourists flock here for the quintessential cuisine, exemplified in The Drovers Blowout menu: a four-course meal that includes a platter of crocodile vol-au-vent, kangaroo fillets, buffalo medallions and wild camel served with plum sauce.

Crazy Uga’s main draw is an espresso machine—the only one on the island—which is essential for visiting Kiwis craving their morning flat white. The café also serves satisfying food, including freshly baked muffins and tuna panini. The lush views from the balcony are another reason to make this your breakfast or lunch spot. Crazy Uga’s is closed on Sundays.

In the shadow of El Yunque, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort is situated on 486 acres of former coconut plantation and native maritime forest. There are still plenty of palms here, but now the flora also includes all manner of tropical flowers and trees, positioned around numerous trails for walking, running, and biking. Families love the resort for its many amenities, from four tennis courts and a Robert Trent Jones Jr.-branded golf course to a luxurious spa and state-of-the-art fitness center. A new partnership with Aquavento Water Sports provides equipment for everything from kayaking and paddle-boarding to fishing and sailing on nearby lakes, while the Soul of Bahia program gives guests the opportunity to volunteer with a rescue organization for local cats and dogs or help maintain a turtle sanctuary during hatching season. Still, the most popular activity might just be lounging at the pool or on the two-mile-long golden beach.

Part of a $60 million renovation following Hurricane Maria, the hotel now features a design by celebrated Puerto Rican designer Nono Maldonado and San Francisco-based firm Hirsch Bedner Associates. The plantation-style dark woods and warm browns have been swapped out for more modern, sea-inspired colors, and the 139 rooms have a chic, residential feel, with sprawling bathrooms, private terraces, and glass bar cabinets that can be stocked to your personal tastes by a 24-hour butler. Occupying a two-story building overlooking the ocean, the Casa Grande lobby is the place to go to experience the hotel’s daily Champagne sabering ritual, enjoy live music from a Steinway piano, admire the mural over the St. Regis Bar, or enjoy Greek-inspired fare at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Paros. The poolside restaurant and beach shack have also been redone to ensure uninterrupted views over the water.

Umm Tays Beach, located at the northernmost point of Qatar near Fuwairit Beach, has been named the most beautiful beach in the country by members of the Qatar Natural History Group. Umm Tays Beach is surrounded by forts, mangroves, an old abandoned fishing village, and a few run-down vacation homes that look like they’ve been empty for years. When the tide is low, you can walk or wade to a little peninsula that is popular with picnickers. You don’t need a tour operator to access the beach. Rent a car and drive north on the main highway until you reach the end of the road, approximately 90 minutes from Doha. You should arrive at Al-Jumail, an abandoned fishing village surrounded by mangroves and a few old forts. Follow the signs from the village to Umm Tays Beach.

Travel back 1,500 years to see how Vikings carried out their everyday lives. The Iron Age Farm is a re-creation of a 350-550 C.E. farmstead—with longhouses and burial mounds—based on excavations conducted by the Museum of Archaeology in the 1960s. Storytellers in traditional attire teach kids how to spin wool and make fires with rudimentary tools, in addition to sharing Viking history.

In many ways, the Fairmont Orchid is the quintessential Hawaiian luxury resort. Its big, elegant lobby is blooming with purple orchids and birds of paradise, its enormous, 24-hour swimming pool wends its way around black rock islands, and its 32 lush acres include tropical gardens and a white-sand beach that frames an aquamarine cove. The 540 guest rooms and suites, located in two six-story towers, all have lanais; half have ocean (or partial water) views, the others overlook the spotless grounds. It’s the dream Vacationland, and as such, the mood is jolly round-the-clock. Cheerful staff oversee the long list of activities—canoe excursions, petroglyph hikes, stand-up paddle-boarding, and about a zillion other options are available both on property and off (some activities are complimentary, others cost extra)—and the crowd tends to be a fun-in-the-sun bunch. On any given day, there might be a Canadian family in a heated volleyball game on the beach, or a group of Silicon Valley execs soaking in the hot tub.

Carve out a day to spend at the award-winning Spa Without Walls, where the Hawaian-influenced treatments are performed in 17 treatments rooms, some with ocean views and private outdoor spaces. Them, fuel up on Japanese meats and sushi, fresh seafood, robatayaki (grilled) items, beachside classics, and more at the numerous dining outlets. Along with repeat guests, the hotel’s most frequent visitors are the giant sea turtles that regularly hang out at the Orchid’s beachfront. They’ve become such an integral part of the property that even guests at other hotels drop by for a peek.

Chef Peter Merriman’s flagship restaurant in Waimea is known for some of Hawaii’s best farm-to-table foods. At the forefront of the local menu movement, his award-winning dishes include Bulogogi Spiced Kauai Prawns, Hirabara Farm Earth Grown Lettuce, and an Original Wok Charred Ahi that can be paired with a carefully selected wine from a global list of vineyards. But, for the most authentic flavors, check out seasonal Hawaiian choices that could include a Waipio Taro Enchilada or mahi mahi served with mushrooms from the Hamakua region on the Big Island. No matter what you choose to indulge in, it feels good to eat at Merriman’s when you know the restaurant sources ingredients locally, gives back to the Island community, and even offers a culinary scholarship. After you’ve enjoyed the beautiful meal, be sure to pick up the Merriman’s Hawaii Cookbook so you can indulge your palate at home as well.

Planned as a gathering spot for guests at the McKinley Chalet Resort, the design of Denali Square manages to take all the great things about a hotel lobby (a community center, a delivery system for pride of place, a communications hub, and a comfortable place to relax and people-watch) and move them outside. And when the light lingers past 11 p.m. and the air is fragrant with evergreen and mountain cool, you definitely want to be outside. A generous deck area allows you to listen to live music while dining or enjoying a cocktail. Inviting fire pits circled by chairs are scattered in the clearing (s’mores, please!). A covered two-sided stage offers live music in the evenings on one of its faces and ranger-talks during the day on the other. Shops, a theater, and an artist’s workshop surround the outdoor space. Inside the main building, the 7,800-square-foot Karstens Public House could take its status as the only game in town as a bland way out, but instead offers seriously good food with a well-considered sense of the surrounding: local craft brews, reindeer sausage, bison burgers, and a thick, roasted vegetable soup so delicious that I’m trying to replicate it at home. I doubt I’ll ever capture the lovely sense of enjoying it outdoors, under high mountains and northern summer light.
Ann Shields traveled to Alaska and the Yukon with Holland America Line as part of AFAR’s partnership with the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), whose members provide travelers with unparalleled access, insider knowledge, and peace-of-mind to destinations across the globe. For more on Ann’s journey, visit the USTOA blog.

The ambience alone is worth a splurge at the dining room of the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, the stopover of presidents, queens, celebrities, and moguls since it opened in 1927 (and, allegedly, one of Stanley Kubrick’s inspirations for the hotel in The Shining). The formal dining room—there’s a dress code at dinnertime—serves such Continental classics as French onion soup, duck leg confit, and rack of lamb Provençale under 34-foot, chandelier-studded ceilings. The Sunday brunch buffet is especially popular, as are the annual Renaissance-themed Christmas dinners in December. For a more casual option, the bar serves sandwiches, salads, and soups and, maybe best of all, offers outdoor tables so you can eat and enjoy a craft cocktail or glass of wine surrounded by glorious views. Note: This restaurant is open year-round.

With just nine suites in the middle of untouched and wildly gorgeous, pink-sand wonder of 11 Mile Beach, Lighthouse Bay Resort is Barbuda’s most exclusive lodging option and the ultimate spot to just unplug from digital reality for a few days. On a spit of land between the untamed Atlantic and a calm, shallow and picture-perfect lagoon, Lighthouse Bay is beyond secluded. There isn’t much to do beyond just being Zen, although boat tours to the famed Frigate Bird Sanctuary can be arranged, as can massage therapy or horseback riding along the sand. Also make sure to rise at least once for sunrise: it is an utterly stupendous experience. Because there is literally no other businesses anywhere near this property, prices are all-inclusive for meals and drinks. And the food served in the al fresco air restaurant is quite good – don’t skip the lobster salad. The beachfront bar is open until 11:30pm and makes all the classic island cocktail concoctions plus a mean fresh fruit smoothie.

The Monsignor Romero Center, located on the grounds of the Central American University, has a museum that honors the victims and heroes of the Salvadoran civil war. While much of the material—including albums full of disturbing photos—may not be appropriate for children, the center, when considered alongside other historical sites that remember this era, helps adult visitors understand part of the bigger picture of El Salvador’s recent past.

Looking directly onto the turquoise and emerald sparkle of the Atlantic Ocean beyond a ribbon of powdery white sand, The Melia Nassau Beach - All Inclusive is in a prime location on Nassau’s beautiful Cable Beach. The property features bright and modern rooms and suites on, all with private balconies, and either pool or ocean views. There are also three pools with waterfalls facing the sea, one of which is adults only, and two hot tubs. Seven restaurants and four bars round out the all-inclusive offerings. When booking, there is an option for THE LEVEL, which is the property’s elevated services and amenities package, and guests have access to an exclusive beach area, private lounge, premium top shelf liquors and preferential dining bookings. The property is also very family friendly and there is a children’s pool as well as a Kids’ Club offering daily activities for children 5 to 12 onsite, so parents can get some downtime. On a recent visit to see the newly renovated LEVEL rooms (these are on the 8th and 9th floor and have the most direct ocean views) this writer was seriously impressed by the quality of food at the Melia Nassau Beach - All Inclusive. It’s often the low-point of an all-inclusive experience, but this wasn’t the case here, where there is plenty of variety, and a lot of fresh and healthy choices. Another plus were the strong drinks, which were not watered down as often happens at all-inclusives. With six included restaurants, the variety of what you eat is also awesome. And while the seventh restaurant, Black Angus, isn’t included in any of the packages, it is worth shelling out the extra bucks for — in fact, it’s a popular choice with locals, who book for diner. The steaks here are massive and cooked to order, and the fresh line fish is an excellent pescatarian selection. The lobster mac and cheese is also delicious. Even if you don’t dine at Black Angus, the included restaurants still have you eating around the world: Nikkei serves Japanese and Peruvian fare, including show cooking on Teppanyaki tables and a fresh sushi bar; Cilantro is focused on fresh Mexican and tequila (note some of the speciality cocktails do have extra cost associated with them, but it’s clearly noted in the menu); and O’Grille, which is an American grill. There are also multiple bar options and different entertainment - try the karaoke - depending on the night of the week. Right on Cable Beach, the location is fabulous with water you won’t want to get out of -- it’s the most beautiful color of turquoise, warm, calm and crystal clear, and the hotel offers complimentary floats, SUP boards and kayaks to enjoy it. Should you tire of the vitamin sea, you can hop on the free shuttle to the Baha Mar development, whi-ch includes a casino, 18-hole, par-72 golf course, dining venues and shopping.