The Bacara Resort and Spa is located on the coast just a little north of Santa Barbara. Relaxed appeal of a true classic California resort. Much of what makes Bacara such a magical place is its unique location between the Pacfic Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. Activities include golf, tennis, hiking, and a full-service spa.

The resort offers 360 guest rooms and suites with Spanish tile floors, balconies, some with fireplaces. They included all the amenities that one would expect from a high-end luxury resort.

The spa offers a variety of treatments to help you relax and feel refreshed. Thai massage, Reiki, and reflexology, guests to Bacara will find it easy to reunite their bodies, minds and spirits. There  fitness center which offers personal trainers and fitness instructors, as well as classes in yoga, Pilates, group meditation and Tai Chi.

Bacara has 3 pools one is dedicated to the Spa, the other larger public pools are situated at the base of the resort near the ocean.

The Bistro Restaurant has ocean view patio dining serving everything from breakfast to a late night snack.

If you’ve been to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) there is no need to see any other mountain. Situated in eastern China’s Anhui Province and popular with its breathtaking sweeping landscapes and misty peaks, the Yellow Mountain offers extraordinary scenes and views from what can look like the edge of the world.

Whether you look there are oddly-shaped pine trees and rock formations. Huangshan is actually an entire range of mountains and valleys, jutting rocks, shimmering pools, gurgling water falls and the ephemeral clouds. As an international ecotourism point of interest, UNESCO listed the mountain as an official World Cultural Heritage Site in 1990.

The trees of Mount Huangshan occupy an especially important place in China’s botanical research. Here you will find century-old pines, firs, ginkgoes, actinidia, Chinese torreyas and camphor woods– remnants of the glacial era. The Huangshan Mountain Range also provides a natural habitat for a wide variety of creatures. Among the mountain-dwellers are monkeys, goats, deer, pangolin and squirrels, in addition to an active bird population. The climate there is mild and humid, and the temperature is agreeable during all four seasons.

Getting there: Huangshan is accessible from Shanghai by overnight train, a five-hour bus ride or one hour by air. Expect expensive accommodation and food in the mountains everything is transported up the mountain by man-power: witness tough workers carrying live chickens or flats of coke cans in buckets hanging from wooden beams over their shoulders, and still making it up the mountain faster than you.

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La Lancha is sets in one of the wilder spots in the world – secluded in rainforest on the shores of Lake Peten Itza, Guatemala. Owned by movie director Francis Ford Coppola, the lodge is located a 30 minute drive away from the famous Mayan ruins at Tikal. Weather Nov to Jun is the best time to visit.

There are ten naturally built brightly decorated “casitas” that are inspired by antique Balinese and Guatemalan furniture but well equipped with modern amenities. The lodge featuring two rooms with queen-size beds, decks with hammocks and private large marble bathrooms. 

Activities: Canoeing, hiking, bird-watching, fishing, kayaking at the lake, horse riding, walking trails. The hotel offers spectacular views of the glassy lake’s waters and the greenery of Guatemala. There is also a restaurant specializing in regional dishes, open-air bar, swimming pool and gift shop.

Situated at 1355 m above sea level, Strbske Pleso with its large mountain lake is a favorite ski, tourist, and health resort in Slovakia. It is a good starting point for a host of hiking excursions and day-trips in the mountains including to Krivan and Rysy. Activities: Cross-country skiing, Ski-jumping.

Tongatapu is Tonga’s main island, and the location of the former British protectorate’s capital, Nuku’alofa. The second city of Mu’a is also there, along with most of the commercial activity and grandiose official residence of the king. Nuku’alofa is full of Victorian buildings, churches, old graveyards, bustling markets and a classic Pacific waterfronts. Most of the island’s hotels are there, though this is very mush a shabby working town. Photo by: msdstefan

Indeed, most visitors make Tongatapu a stepping stone to the offshore coral islands of Fafa, Atata and Pangaimotu, which offer excellent beach holidays. Along with a number of other islands in the main lagoon off Nuku’alofa, they are very like the ever popular Manamuca Islands in Fiji, but without the same tourist pressure. Photo by: fabvirge

But Tongatapu itself is not resort island. It is a combination of history and natural beauty. Much of this largely island is covered in plantations, the eastern end is relatively undeveloped, with deserted sandy beaches, coves and caves. The south coast is wild with dramatic scenery and high cliffs, punctuated with sandy coves. Photo by: fangie2000

When to go: Any time – the tropical climate is even all year round and Tongatapu is milder than Fiji or Samoa, with less rainfall. Population: 71,000. Getting there: Various international flights serve the airport at Fu’amotu. Photo by: richkaro

Photo by: forcefeed:swede

If you approach Porto Santo by air, the whole island seems a glorious-golden yellow against the glistening cobalt blue sea. The island is known as ‘painting made by god’ and is 46 km to the northeast of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. The island tending to remind of North Africa, rather than Europe – a starkly beautiful desert landscape of palm trees and cacti, dotted with pine groves and small wheatfields. Photo by: Tiagoto

The island is only 14 km long and 5 km wide with an incredible golden san beach, stretching 9 km along the south coast. Photo by: fernangar

The islander survive largely by fishing, subsistence farming and goat-herding, using donkeys for transport and oxen to tresh the grain. The main town Vila Baleira on the sout coast is a beautiful cluster of white-washed houses with medieval monuments, and small cafes, where you can hide in the shade of palm trees watching the fishing boats. This is one of the least developed beach resort in Europe – an unspoilt island paradise. Photo by: ctcsherry

When to go: February to October but if you taking children avoid July and August when the island is invaded by families. Population: 4,474. Getting there: Daily car ferry or fly from Madeira. You should know: The golden sand of Porto Santo is said to have therapeutic treatments. Photo by: f_araujo_abreu

Photo by: PLSeabra

Rugen is the largest of Germany’s islands, nearly 1,000 sq km with 570 km long wiggling coastline of steep cliffs and broad, shallow inlets. It is a picture-book paradise of white cliffs, wide sandy beaches, wood and moorland with romantic castles, old churches and old-fashioned towns of fin de siecle villas. Photo by: mario_65

The main town is called Sassnitz, the ‘Gateway to Scandinavia‘. It is a colourful port with the longest seawall in Europe, a 1,450 m long mole where you can spend hours watching the boats come in – from passenger liners to fishing skiffs. Nearby is Jasmund National Park where the sheer chalk cliffs with their extraordinary charm, plunge dramatically into the sea. Behind the dense beech forest, there is unusually diverse woodland including wild apples and pears. There are several idyllic resorts dotted around the coast in the south east – old spa town with incredible clean beaches. Photo by: rhewson630@rogers.com

In contrast to the woods and hills of the eastern site, is a low-lying area of saltmarsh wetlands, tidal flats and peat bog with an incredible variety of flora and fauna. The lagoons there are heaven of thousands of migrating cranes. Photo by: nahaase

When to go: Rugen is beautiful at any time of year. The tourist season is April to October. Population: 73,000. Getting there: By boat – either across the Strelasund on the car ferry from Stahlbrode to Glewitz, or across the Baltic from Scandinavia. Photo by: eagle-ffm

Photo by: elpolam

Hallstatt is a small picturesque village around 80 km away from Salzburg and is one of the most visited towns in Austria (beside Salzburg and Vienna). Surrounded by steep mountains, situated on the shores of Lake Hallstatt, it is described as one of the most picturesque towns in all of Europe. Since more than 7000 years people are living here. It’s a major archeological landmark and since 1996 is recognized by the UNESCO as world heritage.

 
Visitors to Hallstatt and vicinity will find ancient salt mines, ice caves, culture museums and more. Hallstatt can be walked end-to-end in about 15 minutes, so choices of restaurants are limited, but for a traditional meal of schnitzel, knudel, and local bier try the Hetthaler. There are many Things to do: visit the Salt mine and Ice caves, see the bone chamber, go for hikes, enjoy a quiet night in a pension beside the lake.

In the Pacific Ocean, in British Columbia, the Queen Charlotte Islands are peaks of a submerged mountain chain. The seven largest islands of the 1,884 islands and islets in the archipelago are Langara, Graham, Moresby, Louise, Lyell, Burnaby and Kunghit. Just 2 km into the sea, the continental shelf falls away dramatically to the immense depths of the ocean, and this is Canada’s most active earthquake area. Photo by: marc_guitard

Naikoon Provincial Park, in the north-east of Graham Island, covers a range of diverse environments including sandy beaches and dunes, sphagnum bogs, ancient forests and rivers. The landscape was formed during the last Ice Age out of the deposits left by retreating glaciers. The main attraction here are the endless stretches of broad sandy beaches. On the north beach is Tow Hill, a 100 m outcrop of basalt columns which make a dramatic landmark. Also worth seeing is Rose Spit, an ecological reserve, where you can spot migrating birds travelling over the Pacific. Photo by: g d gustafsson

The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site is in the south of the archipelago. The wilderness area of 138 islands stretching 90 km from north to south is only accessible by boat or charted aircraft. Mountains rise steeply to the west, and the coastline is dotted with stunning inlets, coves, bays and islands. This is great place to observe whales, bald eagles, nesting seabirds, black bears, river otters and sea lions. Photo by: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust

Rainforest and upland bog, salmon steams, estuaries and kelp beds sustain a rich diversity of life there.
When to go: April to November. Population: 4,935. Getting there: Fly to Vancouver or Prince Rupert to Sandspit, or take a ferry from Prince Rupert. You should know: This is a tranquil area with little development, so do not expect busy resort hotels with all the tourist comforts. Photo by: Yonn Yeth-Lachance

Photo by: Stef Olcen

Set just off the Ontario coast in Lake Huron, Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world (2,800 sq km). A wonderful place of petit villages, rolling pasture, forests and lakes, its edges are fringed with long beaches and white cliffs.

The first nations Oijbwa people, the island’s original inhabitants believed that when the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, created the Earth he kept the best bits and made Manitoulin his home. In 1648 a group of French Jesuits became the first Europeans to settle on Manitoulin Island, which they named Isle de Ste. Marie.

Unfortunately they brought with them new disease that rapidly devastated the Ojibwa population. Marauding Iroquois bands, then drove out those who remained, leaving the island uninhabited for over a hundred years. During the 19th century, the island’s beauty attract the attention of white settlers who, after first giving Manitoulin to other native bands, then revoked all treaties and claimed for themselves.

Nowadays Manitoulin and the waters around it serve as Ontario’s summer playground with boats and all kinds of weaving in and out of its many bays and filing its large inland lakes. Hiking is popular and the island has a well signposted system of trails. Every August the Ojibwa Band holds one of Canada’s biggest powwows, a celebration of life through dance, storytelling and displays of arts and crafts.

Islands, islands everywhere – hundred of them in the Mindanao Island group, of which is the largest by far is ‘big daddy’ Mindanao at 97,500 sq km. Mindanao is the centre of Islam in the Philippines, though it is now the island’s minority religion. Even so the struggle to secure an independent Muslim state on the island has been taking place for centuries and continues to these days. Photo by: frankeys creation

Mindanao is located at the mos southerly and easterly point in the Philippines. The island has a unique character that makes it seem very different from the rest of the Philippines. It is also a land between modern and traditional. Photo by: sweetcaroline?

The thriving industrial centre that is Davao City certainly belongs to the 21st century, as do the many intensive agri-businesses producing commodities like pineapples and meat. But once away from centres of population in the largely unspoiled back country, adventurous visitors will find themselves in a nature – lovers paradise and will be fascinated by the timeless way of life. Rich flora and fauna, astonishing attractions, stunning coastlines and islands, white sand beaches, crystal water, different ethnic communities with colourful festivals – all combine to make Mindanao a popular tourist destination. Photo by: anggebarcelona

There is more than enough of Mindanao to go round, but despite awareness of the importance of eco -tourism, some of the new facilities will seem intrusive to those who prefer things just the way they were. Photo by: rempleo (in a cocoon)

When to go: Any time – there is no significant wet or dry season and the climate is pleasant all year round. Population: 18,134,000. Getting there: Fly in to the recently upgraded Davao City international airport. You should know: Davao City is the world’s largest by area, at the last count sprawling out over 2,450 sq km and still growing. Photo by: Storm Crypt

Pangkor is situated off the west coast of Malaysia, between Kuala Lumpur and Penang and only seven km across from Lumut. It is a small island being only 8 sq km but it has interesting history, having been a major tin producer in the 19th century. The island has some of the best beaches on this side of the Malay Peninsula and these are situated on the west coast. The east coast mainly consists of fishing villages. Photo by: mike’sworld

Fishing, boatbuilding and allied industries employ the majority of the population, with cuttlefish and anchovy being the most common type of catch – their early morning landing at Pangkor town is a bustling, colourful sight. The island is one of the Malaysia’s largest dry fish suppliers and in addition it is credited with the invention of ‘Fish Satay’. Photo by: keshiki

The main beaches are at Teluk Nipah, Pasir Bogak and Teluk Belanga, whilst at Teluk Ketapang (Turtle Bay) if you are lucky, you might spot an increasingly rare giant leatherback turtles, with lay their eggs there from May to July. Jungle trekking in the interiors offers the opportunity to explore many rare orchids and butterflies – there is a four hour trail that crosses the island. For the less energetic, it is possible to follow the road around the island in a day. Photo by: Frank Mertens

There is a two-day Hindu festival of Thaipusam, which take place between February and early March. It starts on the west coast beach of Pasir Bogak and culminates at the Pathirakaliaman Temple on the east coast and is well worth, if you can come. Photo by: mike’sworld

When to go: Year-round. Population: 25,000. Getting there: Fly from Kuala Lumpur or ferries from the mainland and Lumut. Photo by:

Nemrut is a 2,150 meters high mountain in Turkey, located near the province of Adiyaman. At the top of the mountain, King Antiochus I Theos (69-36 B.C.) built his tomb-sanctuary along with huge statues (8-9 m high) – two lions and two eagles, and various Greek and Persian gods. Mt. Nemrut was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987. The nearby town of Ad?yaman is a popular place for car and bus trips to the site, and one can also travel by helicopter. Tourists typically visit Nemrut during June through August.

Lying in the Gulf of Guinea, Bioko is a mountainous volcanic island still populated by Bubi people, who speak a Bantu language brought over from mainland Africa. Set in tropical rainforest, this boot-shaped island is 70 km long and 32 km off the coast of Cameroon. Bioko has more species of rare monkeys than any other place in Africa; of seven species living on the island, four are among the continent most en dangerous island. Photo by: John & Mel Kots

The Bubi clans still account for most of the human population, but given Bioko’s colourful past this is now mixed with Spaniards, Fernandinos and immigrants from Rio Muni, Nigeria and Cameroon. In colonial times it was known as Fernando Po, and under the Africanization policy of dictator Masie Nguema Biyogo, it was renamed Masie Ngueme Biyogo Island. Photo by: ianmichaelthomas

The capital city of Bioko is Malabo, which sits at the northern end of the island on the rim of a sunken volcano. Despite being a capital of Equatorial Guinea, this is a pretty poorly developed place with limited paved roads. There are few tourist attractions, but on the densly forest slopes a new world awaits. Photo by: John & Mel Kots

When to go: Average temperatures of 25 degrees and annual rainfall of 2,900 mm make this an onerous climate. To avoid the rainy season go between November and April. Population: 130,000. How to get there: Fly to Malabo. Ferries to Malabo from Douala and Bata. Photo by: Podknox

There are so many perfect islands in the Aegean – more than 3,000 of them – that i can be hard to distinguish between them. But Bozcaada really is different – it is one of the only two islands in the region that is Turkish. In Greek mythology it was called  Tenedos and because of its strategic position, just south of the Dardanelles Strait, it has been occupied since time immemorial. Over the centuries the population was ethnically Greek, these days, although it is almost entirely Turkish, the island’s culture bears many traces of its Greek inheritance. Photo by: m.f.t.

Bozcaada is roughly triangular shape and has relatively flat terrain. From the highest point Goztepe at 192 m, there is a panoramic view across the whole island and on clear day you can see as far as Levkos. About third of the land is covered in vineyards, scattered trees and scrubland containing an usually diverse range of plants – 437 species in all. Photo by: esin’s gaze

The sea is remarkably clear and seaweed-free, so Bozcaada’s waters are superb for diving. There are plenty of pure sand beaches; Ayazama Bay is the longest, the most accessible stretch. There are as well as innumerable coves and inlets for anyone seeking solitude. Photo by: Zeynep ©

There is an intensive Venetian Fortress that attests to Bozcaada. The stone and wood town architecture is a charming mixture of Turkish and Greek houses – stylistically quite different from each other. The food, too, is a fusion between both cultures, giving it a district edge over the usual fare of the Aegean Islands. Red poppy syrup, a local specialty, is an interesting alternative to the island wine. Photo by: Egemen VII

When to go: May to September. Population: 2,427. Getting there: Bus from Istanbul, an 8-hour journey to Geyikii. You should know: The sea is substantially colder there, due to the cold water springs around Bozcaada. During the hottest months it is a refreshing contrast to the beach. Photo by: Zeynep ©