Relaxing and pristine Kauai (the Garden Island)is the least commercially developed of the Hawaiian islands. Waterfalls, scenic drives and more than 60 beaches dot the landscape.

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.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans." That classic advice leads to a wealth of options: Should you follow Augustus and Caesar, whose Rome is filled with spectacular ancient structures? Or Michelangelo and Da Vinci, whose city invites artistic pilgrimage? Maybe you'll discover the Rome that enchants lovers and sightseers alike? Rome encompasses all this and more.

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.