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.

The "joie de vivre" is palpable and contagious in this vibrant, culturally diverse and cosmopolitan city of two million inhabitants.

South Beach, or SoBe, is Miami Beach's buzziest bit. The vibrant area, with its pastel-hued buildings, hip nightclubs, trendy shops and see-and-be-seen restaurants, attracts socialites and their satellites year-round.

A cluster of idyllic atolls in the Indian Ocean, about 200 of the Maldives' 1200 islets are inhabited. Another 100 are private resort islands.