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09.07.2024 - NPS Kayak DRONE 05 · Alchematics · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Destinations · Vol. 2 · No. 10 · October 2026

The places worth a whole trip

Where to base, the stays that suit each place, when to go, and how to arrive. One honest guide at a time.

The atlas

Every destination, on the map

A world of places worth the trip. Tap a marker to open the guide.

Dotted world map marking every Amorielli destination St. CroixU.S. Virgin Islands Rio de JaneiroBrazil MauiHawaii · USA Lake ComoLombardy · Italy BaliIndonesia ComportaAlentejo · Portugal SedonaArizona · USA QueenstownOtago · New Zealand Cape TownWestern Cape · South Africa AspenColorado · USA St. BarthsFrench West Indies The MaldivesIndian Ocean Big SurCalifornia · USA TuscanyItaly MykonosCyclades · Greece SantoriniCyclades · Greece The Amalfi CoastCampania · Italy ProvenceSouthern France KyotoKansai · Japan UdaipurRajasthan · India MarrakechMorocco St. MoritzEngadin · Switzerland ViennaAustria KeralaSouth India BhutanEastern Himalaya IstanbulTürkiye The DolomitesSouth Tyrol · Italy NantucketMassachusetts · USA IcelandNorth Atlantic The Scottish HighlandsScotland · UK SevilleAndalusia · Spain Petra & Wadi RumJordan CartagenaBolívar · Colombia Finnish LaplandLapland · Finland Joshua TreeCalifornia · USA Myrtle BeachSouth Carolina · USA
Where the Collection is

A place to stay, and the guide to go with it

Each of these guides comes with a house from our Collection, booked with the people who run it.

Aerial view of The Cerulean, a pale yellow two-storey villa with a lit pool deck, on a headland above the Caribbean Sea at twilight U.S. Virgin Islands St. Croix 13 places to stay · The Cerulean, Shoy's Beach House, The Buck Island Overlook, Dragonfly Villa, Ho… Aerial view of the Copacabana Penthouse's rooftop pool above the beach, with the Rio de Janeiro coastline beyond Brazil Rio de Janeiro 4 places to stay · Copacabana Penthouse, São Conrado Beach View Villa, Ipanema Beach Linear Pentho… The open living and dining room at Sea Sun Maui, glass doors leading to a lanai with views of the ocean and the West Maui Mountains Hawaii · USA Maui 1 place to stay · Sea Sun Maui Sedona Pickler, a single-storey stucco home in West Sedona at dusk, with a tiled roof under a pink and blue evening sky Arizona · USA Sedona 1 place to stay · Sedona Pickler
  1. 01 St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands  ·  18 min read Where to base on St. Croix — Christiansted, the East End, the North Shore or Frederiksted — plus when to come and what … 13 places to stay in the Collection Photo 09.07.2024 - NPS Kayak DRONE 05 · Alchematics · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Salt River Bay on the north shore of St. Croix seen from the air, with mangrove-lined water, an inner lagoon, the reef line offshore and green hills behind.
  2. 02 Rio de Janeiro Brazil  ·  16 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base in Rio — Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, the hillside of Santa Teresa, … 4 places to stay in the Collection The Zona Sul of Rio de Janeiro seen from Sugarloaf at dusk, with the twin peaks of Dois Irmãos and the rock of Pedra da Gávea rising beyond the beaches and hillside neighbourhoods.
  3. 03 Maui Hawaii · USA  ·  17 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base on Maui — Kīhei and Wailea on the sunny south coast, Kāʻanapali and … 1 place to stay in the Collection Photo Ka'anapali Beach, Maui, Hawai'i · Rick Obst · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Kāʻanapali Beach on Maui's west coast — a broad run of golden sand backed by resort gardens and shaded cabanas, with blue beach umbrellas, snorkelers offshore, and the neighboring islands low on the horizon.
  4. 04 Lake Como Lombardy · Italy  ·  17 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base on Lake Como — Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio, the western villa towns,… Photo Bellagio - Albergo Genazzini & Metropole from Lake Como · Xavier Caré · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped View over Bellagio and the central basin of Lake Como, with steep green mountains rising behind the water where the lake's three arms meet.
  5. 05 Bali Indonesia  ·  16 min read A practical guide to choosing where to base in Bali — Seminyak, Canggu, Ubud, the Bukit, Sanur, or the resort south — p… Photo Luhur Uluwatu Temple, Bali, 20220826 0953 1016 · Jakub Hałun · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The clifftop temple of Uluwatu above the Indian Ocean on Bali's Bukit Peninsula in the late afternoon light.
  6. 06 Comporta Alentejo · Portugal  ·  15 min read A practical guide to Comporta on Portugal's Alentejo coast: which village to base in, whether to take a cabana or a vil… Photo Comporta Beach in May - panoramio · augustoptm · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped A wide Atlantic beach at Comporta backed by low sand dunes and pine under an open sky
  7. 07 Sedona Arizona · USA  ·  15 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base in Sedona — Uptown, West Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek, or up in … 1 place to stay in the Collection Photo Cathedral rock sedona arizona 2 · Tomas Castelazo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona, its red sandstone spires rising above green trees along Oak Creek under a clear sky.
  8. 08 Queenstown Otago · New Zealand  ·  15 min read The choice in Queenstown is three: the busy town, a quiet lodge on the lake outside, or gold-era Arrowtown — this guide… Photo The Remarkables from Queenstown, New Zealand 08 · Σ64 · CC BY 4.0 · cropped Queenstown on a bay of Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkables range rising across the water under autumn light.
  9. 09 Cape Town Western Cape · South Africa  ·  17 min read A grounded guide to Cape Town: how to choose between the Atlantic beaches, the City Bowl, the Waterfront and the winela… Photo Cape Town City Bowl and Table Mountain at dawn · Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped Table Mountain rising behind central Cape Town and Table Bay harbor, South Africa
  10. 10 Aspen Colorado · USA  ·  15 min read A practical guide to Aspen: whether to base in the walkable town, ski-in Snowmass Village, or cheaper down-valley, how … Photo Maroon Bells (148358679) · Juan Esclusa · CC BY 3.0 · cropped The Maroon Bells and their reflection in Maroon Lake under early-autumn snow near Aspen
  11. 11 St. Barths French West Indies  ·  15 min read A plainspoken guide to choosing where to stay on St. Barthelemy: a private villa or one of the island's few small hotel… Photo Navigation markers approaching Gustavia harbour, St. Barthele… · David Broad · CC BY 3.0 · cropped Yachts moored along the quay of Gustavia harbour on St. Barthelemy, with red-roofed town buildings and green hills behind
  12. 12 The Maldives Indian Ocean  ·  15 min read A practical guide to the Maldives: whether to choose a private resort island or a local-island guesthouse, which atoll … Photo Aerial shot, Maldives · Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Aerial view of a Maldives resort island ringed by overwater villas and a turquoise lagoon
  13. 13 Big Sur California · USA  ·  15 min read Whether to sleep on the coast in one of Big Sur's few inns or base in Carmel and drive in, when to come, and how to rea… Photo Distance view of Bixby Creek Bridge (204357335) · Robin Férand · CC BY 3.0 · cropped Bixby Creek Bridge, an open-spandrel concrete arch, spanning a steep canyon on the Big Sur coast with Highway 1 along the cliffs above the Pacific
  14. 14 Tuscany Italy  ·  17 min read A practical guide to the Tuscan countryside: which zone to base in, Val d'Orcia, Chianti, or the Siena hills, where to … Photo Cipressi di S.Quirico d'Orcia al tramonto · Gianluca Pirro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped A cypress-lined gravel road climbing through the hills of the Val d'Orcia in southern Tuscany
  15. 15 Mykonos Cyclades · Greece  ·  15 min read Mykonos is really three islands — the noise of Chora, a bed by the south-coast sand, or the wind-blown quiet of the nor… A row of whitewashed windmills, the Kato Mili, on the rise above Mykonos Town at dusk
  16. 16 Santorini Cyclades · Greece  ·  15 min read A practical guide to choosing where to base in Santorini — Oia, Fira, Imerovigli, or the quieter wine-and-beach side — … Photo Oia - Santorini 2019 · User:Anna.Tsolidou · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped White cliffside houses and blue-domed churches in Oia above the Santorini caldera at dusk
  17. 17 The Amalfi Coast Campania · Italy  ·  15 min read A practical guide to the Amalfi Coast: which town to base in, the stays that suit it, when to go, how to arrive from Na… Photo Positano, Italia, 2023-03-26, DD 14 · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Positano's pastel houses rising in tiers up the cliffs above the beach on the Amalfi Coast
  18. 18 Provence Southern France  ·  17 min read A practical guide to Provence: which Luberon village or city to base in, when to catch the lavender, why you want a car… Photo 1 gordes pano 2016 · Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The hilltop village of Gordes in the Luberon, its pale stone houses rising above the valley
  19. 19 Kyoto Kansai · Japan  ·  16 min read How to choose where to base yourself in Kyoto, pick between a ryokan, machiya, or hotel, time the cherry blossoms and f… Photo Yasaka-dori early morning with street lanterns and the Tower… · Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The Yasaka Pagoda rising above a sloping street of wooden machiya houses in Kyoto's Higashiyama district at dusk.
  20. 20 Udaipur Rajasthan · India  ·  15 min read A staff guide to choosing where to base in Udaipur: a lake or island palace, an old-city haveli, or a quieter hills ret… Photo City Palace Udaipur Rajasthan India · Hirumon · CC BY 3.0 · cropped The City Palace of Udaipur rising above Lake Pichola at dusk, seen from the water
  21. 21 Marrakech Morocco  ·  16 min read A staff guide to choosing where to base in Marrakech: medina riads, modern Gueliz and Hivernage, or a Palmeraie villa, … Photo 2026 (365 Challenge) - Day 187 - Jemaa el-fnaa square with ev… · Forbes Johnston from Winchester, UK · CC BY 4.0 · cropped The square Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech at dusk, with the Koutoubia minaret rising behind the crowds and food stalls
  22. 22 St. Moritz Engadin · Switzerland  ·  17 min read St. Moritz is really two towns and a valley of villages. Here is how to choose between the Dorf on the hill and the Bad… St. Moritz and its frozen lake ringed by snow-covered Engadin mountains in winter.
  23. 23 Vienna Austria  ·  12 min read Where to base yourself for a December of Christmas markets, warm coffee houses, and the imperial city between the Ring … Photo Wien, Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz 2018 (1) · Palickap · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped Wooden stalls strung with lights fill the square in front of Vienna's floodlit City Hall on a winter evening.
  24. 24 Kerala South India  ·  11 min read The backwaters, the old spice port and the tea hills, and how to thread them into one unhurried week in the green weeks… Photo Alleppey Natural Backwaters · Vaibhavraj241 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped A kettuvallam houseboat with an arched cane roof gliding on still green backwater between palm-lined banks.
  25. 25 Bhutan Eastern Himalaya  ·  14 min read A week in the western valleys after the monsoon, when the skies clear, the dzongs fill for festival season, and the cra… Photo Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan 01 · Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The Tiger's Nest monastery clinging to a cliff face high above the forested Paro valley.
  26. 26 Istanbul Türkiye  ·  13 min read A city divided by water, read as a question of which shore to sleep on and which month to arrive. Photo Istanbul City skyline at Sunset · Husain007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped A passenger ferry crossing the Bosphorus strait with the domes and minarets of Istanbul's old city on the far shore.
  27. 27 The Dolomites South Tyrol · Italy  ·  13 min read A high-summer plan for the pale peaks of South Tyrol and the Veneto: which valley earns its price, and how to walk befo… Photo Drei Zinnen Tre Cime di Lavaredo Dolomites · Wolfgang Moroder · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped Three sheer parallel rock peaks rising from grey scree slopes under a clear morning sky.
  28. 28 Nantucket Massachusetts · USA  ·  11 min read Thirty miles out in the Atlantic, a grey-shingle island fills to the brim in July — here is how to pick a base, book a … Cobblestoned Main Street in Nantucket town lined with brick and grey-shingle buildings under bright summer light.
  29. 29 Iceland North Atlantic  ·  14 min read At the June solstice the island runs on daylight that barely pauses, which changes where you should sleep and how far y… Photo Skógafoss July 2014 · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped A tall waterfall dropping over a green cliff onto a wide flat plain on Iceland's south coast.
  30. 30 The Scottish Highlands Scotland · UK  ·  12 min read The case for late May in the Highlands, and how to choose one base rather than driving yourself ragged between four. Photo Old Man Of Storr · Clem_nat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The rock pinnacle of the Old Man of Storr rising above the Trotternish ridge on the Isle of Skye under a clear sky.
  31. 31 Seville Andalusia · Spain  ·  12 min read The one month when the city hands you orange blossom, its two great fiestas and walkable warmth — before summer shuts t… Photo Plaza de España (Sevilla) - 01 · Carlos Delgado · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The semicircular brick-and-tile façade of the Plaza de España in Seville, with its bridges over a curved canal.
  32. 32 Petra & Wadi Rum Jordan  ·  12 min read A stone city cut into a canyon and a red desert ninety minutes south — two places that ask for different beds and the s… Photo Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) 2, Petra, Jordan · Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · cropped A tall carved sandstone façade with columns and an urn, framed by the walls of a narrow rock gorge in warm morning light.
  33. 33 Cartagena Bolívar · Colombia  ·  13 min read Caribbean Colombia in the dry season, and the case for sleeping inside the old walls rather than out on the beach. Photo Old Canyon in Intramuros · User:rr · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped The stone ramparts of Cartagena's walled old town at golden hour, with low colonial rooftops and the Caribbean sea beyond.
  34. 34 Finnish Lapland Lapland · Finland  ·  12 min read Deep-winter Arctic Finland, where the polar dark is the reason to come and the aurora is the reward for staying up. Photo Northern lights band swirls above Vuopajanniemi, Inari, Lapla… · Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped The green and violet arc of the aurora borealis over a snow-covered spruce forest at night.
  35. 35 Joshua Tree California · USA  ·  16 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base around Joshua Tree — Yucca Valley, the town of Joshua Tree, Twentyni… Photo Joshua Tree National Park (California, USA) -- 2012 -- 5689 · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped A stand of Joshua trees and piled granite boulders in the high Mojave desert of Joshua Tree National Park, California, under a wide sky at golden hour.
  36. 36 Myrtle Beach South Carolina · USA  ·  16 min read A straight-talking guide to choosing where to base along the Grand Strand — the busy centre of Myrtle Beach, family-fri… Photo Atlantic Ocean shoreline in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina · Loadmaster (David R. Tribble) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped The oceanfront of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, seen from above, with high-rise resorts lining the wide sandy beach and the Atlantic running the length of the Grand Strand.

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