A water sports and recreation gateway surrounded by palm-lined beaches and rocky bays, Playas del Coco is under an hour from Liberia, Costa Rica’s Daniel Oduber Quiros International Aiport (LIR). Relax on white sand beaches or stroll the black sand beach beneath the cliffs at Playa Ocotal. Dive, snorkel, swim, surf, fish, bird-watch, kayak, sail, jet ski, hike, bike, golf, and horseback ride.

Situated squarely between Memphis and Nashville on Tennessee's "Heart of the Music Highway," Jackson has been the birthplace of numerous notable musicians in the traditional Southern styles of rockabilly, blues and gospel. The famous names of Jackson include Carl Perkins, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Maybell and Big Joe Turner. Time your visit right and you might catch the annual Shannon Street Blues Festival or the Rockabilly Festival, hosted by The International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame.

Incan majesty and Andean baroque exist side-by-side in Cusco's stone streets, epitomized by the Qoriacancha palace and the church of Santo Domingo flanking the Plaza de Armas. In this high-altitude melting pot of Amerindian and mestizo culture, you'll find extraordinary textiles, lively summer festivals and archaeological wonders.

The first time you go to New York, go ahead and be a sight-seer—everyone should visit the Statue of Liberty, the Met, Times Square, etc. But on a return trip, pick a neighbourhood and go deep. You’ll find hole-in-the-wall bars, great delis, quirky shops… exploring the non-touristy side of New York is an incredibly rewarding experience for a traveller.

Goleta, home to University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Santa Barbara Airport, hugs the coast 12 miles west of Santa Barbara. First called "The Good Land" by the Spanish, Goleta was once known for its rich agriculture, and smaller scale farms still pepper the landscape. The California Lemon Festival at Girsh Park is a must-see every October. Visitors seeking outdoor adventure can fish off Goleta Pier, surf at Campus Point and hike along bluffs overlooking untrammeled coastline.

Trust us, you’ll want to get an early start when you’re exploring this massive national park on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. The sunrise lights up each of its peaks—several of them towering over 10,000 feet—one by one. Just getting there is a blast, as Icefields Parkway takes you through forests of lodgepole pines. Once you arrive, lace up your hiking boots (or strap on your snowshoes) for an above-the-tree-line trek through the Bald Hills. A wintertime ice walk to Maligne Canyon takes you past frozen waterfalls. There’s zero light pollution here, so stay up late to see billions of stars and sometimes even the aurora borealis.