If watching the sunrise from atop a 10,000-foot volcano, swimming under waterfalls, hiking through craters and luxuriating on white-, red- and even black-sand beaches sounds like paradise, then Maui awaits.

With its ultramodern skyline, it's easy to forget that Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, was once a small town of Bedouin traders.

Glamorous Santorini, in the southern Aegean's Cyclades islands, curves round a giant lagoon, a caldera left by a volcanic eruption.

The second-largest island in Mediterranean after Sicily, Sardinia serves up a lovely blend of sea, sand and history. Thousands of nuraghe (stone buildings) dot the landscape, proof that people have been enjoying the lovely climate here for millennia.