Chumbe Island, Tanzania
Visitors must get to Chumbe Island via Zanzibar, but beware: The journey from New York is long and will probably require connections through London and Nairobi. The cost of tickets is about $1,700 on British Airways, connecting to Kenya Airways for the Nairobi-Zanzibar leg. To arrive to Chumbe Island from Zanzibar, take one of the four- or five-times daily ferries. One-day trips, including snorkeling, cost $70 per person.

The Chumbe Island Coral Park is a nature reserve off the coast of Zanzibar, the white-sand island two hours from Tanzania's mainland. The unparalleled snorkeling and scuba diving here: Divers may come face to face with potato grouper, sea anemones or rare species of coral. The beaches here are pristine and littered with fossilized coral, and the seven beach side "eco-bungalows" - the only place to stay on the island - collect their own freshwater from rainfall, which is filtered after use to avoid polluting the marine life. Tourist proceeds are used to support the park.

Copper Canyon, Mexico
Chihuahua City, Mexico, is about ten hours via plane from New York; tickets on Continental are about $600. The rail trip past Copper Canyon, 406 miles, connects Chihuahua with the Pacific Ocean and passes bridges, tunnels and the spectacular network of canyons on the way.

Nestled in Mexico's largest state, Chihuahua, the Copper Canyon actually consists of more than 20 canyons, running over 20,000 square miles and four times as large as the Grand Canyon.

Easter Island, Chile
The isolated island in the South Pacific is accessible via direct flight from Santiago, Chile, which is about 2,000 miles away.

Polynesian island is volcanic, with lush green fields and an endless panorama of blue sky. It is scattered with moai, stone monoliths 13 feet high, carved in the shape of human heads and which scientist believe were created for ceremonial reasons between A.D. 1400 and 1600. The island's inhabitants, Rapanui, number about 2,000.