Fear. Apprehension. Uncertainty. These were some of the feelings surging through me on my first post-vaccination trip. Not because I hadn’t taken a true vacation in nearly a year, but because it was my first time traveling since giving birth to my son.

Boarding a flight feels slightly more novel these days, and comes with a renewed sense of optimism. The sense of celebration was undeniable on JetBlue’s recent inaugural flight from New York-JFK to London Gatwick Airport, which was kicked off with a press conference, ribbon cutting, and British-themed snacks at JFK’s Terminal 5.

I was sitting in a tender in total darkness in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, clutching a ceramic cup of coffee in the hope that the heat and caffeine would wake me up. I had come to Indonesia's Raja Ampat National Park on a shore excursion to chase the elusive bird of paradise. The morning journey was perfectly safe, but as with all things in the predawn hours, it felt three times as long and 10 times as harrowing, especially now as we trudged through knee-deep waters from the boat toward Gam Island.

My favorite kinds of trips are absolutely packed. I like to take nine days worth of activities and pack them into a long weekend—like a barbecue lunch followed by three taco stops on a recent trip to Dallas—so I know I've experienced as much as possible. When I travel with a certain group of friends, we have it down to a science, consulting our spreadsheet that details what we’ll do down to the hour. But we had to approach a recent trip to Tucson completely differently.

The paella was a breaking point. I was in the middle of the most complicated group trip I’d ever planned—13 people, flying in from six different cities, all gathering in a seven-bedroom villa in Andalucia. We were there, ostensibly, on a joint 30th-birthday trip, a group vacation we’d been planning for years. As high school classmates, some of us had known each other for decades, and the group had grown to include significant others and even a not-yet-announced pregnancy.

How does one measure the greatness of a place—in miles covered, dollars spent, or visitors captivated? Such metrics can play a part, but also important is something that many travelers aspire to experience: the sense that one has stumbled upon the extraordinary. To compile our second annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, TIME solicited nominations across a variety of categories—including museums, parks, restaurants, and hotels—from our editors and correspondents around the world as well as industry experts. The result: 100 new and newly noteworthy destinations to experience right now, from America’s hottest hometown pizzeria to a Tokyo museum bringing digital art to life.

Our travel guides, which are curated by Travel + Leisure editors and a network of local correspondents, highlight the best hotels, restaurants, shops, bars, and things to do in the world's most exciting destinations. Browse our in-depth travel information for great ideas and insider finds, plus smart travel tips that will have you feeling like a local in no time.

Putting together our annual list of the best places to travel is a process that takes several months—we survey writers based around the world, talk to our A-List travel specialists, and look at the most exciting hotel and restaurant openings. While news and global events have a large impact on the places we choose, we also pay attention to cities that are worth revisiting: Philadelphia, in particular, may surprise you with the amount of growth and development it has seen in recent months. North America made a strong showing on this year’s list—more than a quarter of these places are within reach for a long-weekend trip from the United States.

With more than 230 miles of white-sand beaches and some of the world's most beautiful coral reefs, the Turks and Caicos islands are arguably the hidden gems of the Caribbean. They’re less than 90 minutes from Miami, and about a three-hour flight from New York City. Here, you'll find historic villages barely touched by tourism and crystal-clear waters full of marine life, plus pristine beaches perfect for spending long, relaxing days. The Turks and Caicos are also home to the world’s third-largest barrier reef, after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef. This translates to miles and miles of swimmable water until the breaker—when the depth suddenly drops to 7,000 feet.

Tulum, a breathtaking stretch of sand along Mexico’s eastern coast, has a reputation as the ultimate place for an unplugged beach vacation for a good reason. In contrast to the mega-resorts of neighboring Cancun and the Riviera Maya, the places to stay in Tulum are all eco-friendly and laid-back. You'll spend your days here eating fresh fish tacos, doing yoga overlooking the water, and reading in a palapa on the beach. The main draw is Tulum's gorgeous beach, one of the best in Mexico, plus the casual vibe of downtown—these two distinct areas, about a 20-minute drive apart, are where you'll spend all your time. And unlike other beach getaways in Mexico, Tulum has several things to see, from historic ruins and the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve to world-class shops and restaurants. Plan your weekend with Travel + Leisure’s guide to this stylish vacation spot.

There are two main ingredients in vodka: grain and water. So when California’s drought threatened one of those things, Hangar One head distiller Caley Shoemaker—who is based in the state—decided to get creative.

To compile our annual list of the best places to travel in the upcoming year, T+L editors thoroughly and meticulously consider a variety of factors. Which under-the-radar gems are most exciting to our network of contributing writers and global correspondents? Which destinations are our A-List travel specialists fielding requests for? Which classic vacation spots are starting to emerge—but for entirely new and compelling reasons? Which global events and changes in travel restrictions have made certain destinations easier to get to?

Earlier this week, Celebrity Cruises made a major announcement: For the first time in the cruise industry, an American female would be captaining a mega-ship. Before she takes on the mantle this summer, we chatted with Kate McCue about her first cruise, making history, and the surprising thing she misses when she’s out at sea.

Austria's monarchy officially ended in 1918, after World War I, but visiting Vienna today you'd hardly know it. The influence of the country's longest-ruling couple, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi, is still felt in every corner, especially as the city celebrates the 150th anniversary of one of Franz Joseph's most durable legacies: the Ringstrasse.

You don't have to be in the middle of a seemingly endless winter to dream of a warm escape. Jamaica ticks all the boxes for a quick trip—it's less than a 4 hour flight from the East Coast, it has beautiful sandy beaches, the hotels are some of the best in the Caribbean, and the locals are always friendly. Here, 14 reasons to further convince you to make Jamaica the destination of your next weekend getaway.

As the chef at Le Bernardin, Eric Ripert faces a serious occupational hazard: He eats a ton of caviar. "I've done it every day at work for the last 20 years," he says. His distributor (and close friend), Hossein Aimani of Paramount Caviar, has the same problem. "It's part of my job — I'm guilty of the crime of eating caviar every day. Someone has to do it." The two connoisseurs have come together to create Eric Ripert Imperial Select Caviar, which they believe is the best in the world.

Photographs by Ditte Isager; Illustrations by John Burgoyne

We stood under the blazing sun, patiently waiting in line for the water slide with our eyes glued to the big screen over the pool, which was showing Ratatouille. The lady in front of us turned. “I hope you don’t mind my asking,” she said to my boyfriend and me. “Is it just the two of you here alone?” She had a good reason to ask. The two of us, sans children, were on a Disney Cruise, typically the voyage of choice for families looking for nonstop children’s entertainment in the form of mouse ears and sing-alongs. The short answer? Disney came highly recommended (T+L readers once again named it the World’s Best Mega Ship).

I initially resisted the idea of Global Entry—I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d be paying $100 for, and I’d already resigned myself to long lines at my home airport, JFK, for the rest of my life. But as a travel editor, I was spurred to dig deeper. What exactly did the process entail? What were some not-so-evident benefits? Fast forward: I was approved for Global Entry last October, and I’ve never been happier with a purchase. Here’s what I learned.

My family grew up with Harry Potter — my brother and I were voracious readers who raced our way through each book the night it was released. When the fourth book came out while I was stuck at summer camp, my father brought it to me as a gift when he came to pick me up (I took this as a sign that it was okay to ignore him on the drive home). When planning a family trip this summer, I was challenged with a list of limitations.