Phuket

Visitors to Thailand's southern island of Phuket will find pure white dunes, azure lakes, and limestone cliffs. This island, surrounded by the Andaman Sea and roughly an hour by air from Bangkok, is a small bit of heaven with comparatively affordable prices for everything from hotels to spa treatments and boat cruises. Along with its tropical attractiveness, Phuket entices visitors who wish to sample its tasty food (think: lemongrass, lime leaves, and chilies) and its rich culture, which is highly inspired by its reigning religion: Buddhism.

And, while the island's beaches and tourist operators have recovered from the 2004 tsunami, which devastated its western coast and cruelly cost hundreds of lives, it recalls the past with memorials and a stronger warning system in case the area is threatened again.