Luxury resorts rub elbows with backpacker accommodations on the Thai island of Ko Samui, a 15-mile-long palm-covered tropical oasis located off the country's east coast.

Culture-seekers will be charmed be La Isla's heritage and history, from Old San Juan's charms to folk art and festivals in the outlying towns.

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.

It's the East Coast's answer to Las Vegas. Atlantic City's casinos draw tourists by the car- and bus-load, but even if your main objective is to play some blackjack, you'll want to save time for sightseeing.