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.

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.

Bangkok is a city to overload the senses. Streets are crowded by tuk-tuks (motorized tri-shaws) and the occasional elephant weaving through congested traffic.

This Red Sea resort town on the tip of the Sinai peninsula offers world-class diving with spectacular reefs, magnificent drop-offs and shipwrecks waiting to be explored.