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.

Corfu refers to both the island and to its main town. Villages of whitewashed houses confetti the sunny isle, two to 15 miles off the Albanian coast.

Puerto Morelos, a peaceful village on the Mayan Riviera, offers visitors a glimpse of the real Yucatan. Closer to Cancun airport than Cancun is, Puerto Morelos makes an excellent base for those seeking someplace quieter than glitzy nearby hotspots, Cancun and Playa del Carmen.

A beach-lover's paradise, this Caribbean island's interior boasts desert, but the coasts are filled with picture-perfect, powdery white sand and tranquil sapphire waters.