The name says it all: Belo Horizonte, or “beautiful horizon,” has stunning views of surrounding mountains. Built as a planned city about a century ago, its tree-lined streets are laid out in a tidy grid. Explore the modern Brazilian architecture of the Pampulha neighborhood, relax in Mangabeiras Park or indulge in some epic retail therapy. Refresh with a cachaça rum cocktail, or tuck into a sumptuous pile of meat at a traditional Brazilian barbecue restaurant.

Giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots, endangered jaguars and clouds of butterflies are among the attractions at this World Heritage-designated park that marks the border between Brazil and Argentina. By foot or by raft, explorers can view one of the world's most stunning waterfalls, Iguazu Falls. Among the park's 270 waterfalls, spectacular Devil's Throat combines 14 falls and generates a "perpetual rainbow" in good weather.

Want to make your co-workers insanely jealous? Just casually drop "I’m holiday making in the Maldives this year" into conversation, preferably in the dead of winter. Or better yet, go there without mentioning it to anyone—then send them a "Wish you were here!" postcard.

If your kids are sick of the same old beach holiday you take every year, consider taking them to Lanzarote. There are great beaches, to be sure, but this UNESCO World Biosphere reserve has unique attractions and activities. We're talking camel rides on volcanoes (at Timanfaya National Park), or eating at a restaurant in a volcanic cave (at Jameos del Agua). Even the most jaded teens will be impressed.

Playa de las Americas, near Tenerife's southwestern tip, is a lively, upbeat resort built in the 1960s. Today it's crammed with British restaurants, bars and hotels and North European tourists. Its white sands attract hordes of sun worshippers, while nearby El Medano is famed for its windsurfing. Top attractions include sailing, golf and dinner theatre shows, but it's the nightlife on Veronica's Strip that is the top draw for the crowds of young tourists who flock here to party around the clock.

Konakli is an attractive alternative to nearby Alanya, with miles of golden beaches, seafront villas, and palm-fringed promenades. Framed by the distant peaks of the Taurus Mountains, the beach town is a firm favourite among both locals and expats.

Perched on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast, Galle wears its history on its sleeve. Windswept beaches and nodding palms surround its colonial-era showpiece, a 16th-century Portuguese-built fort, while the rest of the city is trimmed with Dutch-style houses, quirky shops, whitewashed mansions, and heritage museums.