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AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent Sloane Crosley on a spontaneous journey to Ecuador.

French-colonial influences meet Vietnamese cultural touchstones in the design hotels and family-friendly resorts of Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City. From opulent luxury or low-key authenticity, you’ll find the hotel that fits your style here.

An aspiring bluegrass fiddler from London discovers much more than music on a trip to North Carolina.

The Faroe Islands are decidedly low-key and so are its accommodations. Rather than five-star resorts, you’ll find small hotels and family-run guesthouses, most of which are located in the capital city of Tórshavn. Though basic, accommodations here are not without their charms, offering everything from traditional restaurants to jazz nights with Faroese musicians.

If eating huge plates of pork, deciphering local slang, and snowshoeing through the woods of Québec can’t bring two siblings together, what can?

The give and take of a 20-year friendship.

A journey through one of the world’s last, best travel secrets.

An amateur baker apprentices with a Paris boulanger and learns the secret of artisan bread.

Berlin: Off the Wall

With luxury resorts, quaint motels, condo rentals, and campgrounds, the Big Island offers a wide variety of accommodations. If you’re looking for high-end resorts, the Kona area on the west side of the island is your best bet, while travelers who prefer a low-key condo or B&B will be better off on the eastern Hilo side. Be sure to book in advance, especially during events such as the Ironman Race in September and the Merrie Monarch Festival in April.

Born free, today’s post-apartheid generation asks, what’s next?

If you’re staying in Grenada, there are countless options for accommodations, from large resorts and boutique hotels to intimate cottages and luxurious villas. Spots like Mount Cinnamon and Spice Island Beach Resort feature suites with private pools, while Silversands Grenada—the first luxury hotel to open on the island in 25 years—brings true lavishness, with its thermal spa and 330-foot infinity pool. For something more low-key, there are places like Maca Bana, which offers secluded villas and a beachfront restaurant. Whether you’re looking for sea views, white sands, a great beach bar, or a centrally located stay, you’ll find something to suit your needs on the Spice Isle.

Hoi An’s iconic noodle dish was tangled in mystery for decades. Then writer David Farley came to town.

Not surprisingly, this chain of more than 7,000 islands holds a million wonders—wildlife, mountains, jungles, and the white sand beaches of your dreams. With so many places to go, you’ll have to make some tough choices. What can wait for the next trip? Will you go island hopping or stay put on one of the larger islands? Will you head for the Chocolate Hills and the chance to see tiny primates with giant eyes? Or will you swim with whale sharks and go scuba diving off the low-key island of Palawan? There are no wrong answers.

(Note: Google insists this is Kamuela, it is Kohala) The lava coast of Kohala on the Big Island is dramatic. Waves dash against the black rocks relentlessly until eons from now they will be sand. True, there are fewer white-sand beaches per square foot of land on the Big Island than others in the Hawaiian chain, but the island is huge. Beaches here often hold secrets, are the sources of legends, and are part of the circle of life for creatures indigenous to Hawaii. There have been lava flows since the ahapua’a land divisions were formed, but from the very tops of the mountains running to the sea, most beaches remain intact. One of my favorites is in a little inlets fronting the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on Makaiwa Bay called Keiki Beach. Not for much swimming, it is a sandy-bottomed dipper’s delight or, as the name states, a place for children (keiki) to play in. A tree for shade, sand, tide pools to explore, a canoe house (hale) covering a koa canoe nearby, and a friendly turtle (honu) who feeds here are all part of what could be a perfect day. There is surf off the point in winter and snorkeling in other seasons. You might even want to rinse off and have lunch at the Mauna Lani pool restaurant. Parking is a good 15 minute walk via a trail. Follow signs to public parking off Mauna Lani Drive, bring water and beach gear, and get there early. Of course you could stay at the Mauna Lani Hotel and Bungalows too. http://www.maunalani.com/