Replete with windmills and old-world charm, the village of Kinderdijk lies east of Rotterdam on the Lek River and is a popular stop for European river cruises. Home to the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands, Kinderdijk was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Gili Air is the easternmost of the three Gili Islands, located just off the northwest coast of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara. The small island is surrounded by coral reefs and shallow tropical waters, with sandy beaches and coconut palms lining much of its coast. Gili Air has a resident community and a more relaxed settlement pattern than Gili Trawangan, while still offering guesthouses, restaurants, cafés, and dive centers.

Set within a basin of pink granite mountains, Tafraoute offers a landscape that feels both open and sheltered. The town lies in the Anti-Atlas range, where rounded rock formations rise above palm groves and small farms. As the sun moves across the sky, the rocks shift from soft rose to deep orange, creating a changing backdrop that defines the area. The setting gives Tafraoute a sense of quiet distance, even though it serves as a central hub for nearby villages.

Upolu is the more populated of Samoa’s two main islands and is home to Apia, the country’s capital and principal urban center. The island stretches from volcanic mountains in the interior to a deeply indented coastline of bays, beaches, and coral reefs. Lush vegetation covers much of the landscape, with villages, plantations, and gardens occupying the lower slopes and coastal areas.

The southernmost island in the crescent-shaped Comoros archipelago. Encircled by a barrier reef, Mayotte is blessed with one of the world's perfect lagoons. In its lush forests, the fragrant yellow flowers of the ylang-ylang tree are picked to extract their perfumed oil. Against a backdrop of waterfalls and volcanic peaks on Mayotte, there is a feeling of rural tranquility.