The Marshall Islands, a remote chain of atolls and islands in the central Pacific, invites travelers into a world where tradition, ocean life, and recent history all leave a lasting impression. Spread across nearly a million square miles of ocean, this independent nation offers rare access to some of the world’s most pristine marine environments.

Flores is the capital of Guatemala's Petén department and occupies a small island in Lake Petén Itzá, connected to the mainland by a causeway. The compact island is known for its colorful buildings, narrow streets, waterfront promenade, and views across the lake. Flores also serves as a base for exploring the archaeological and natural attractions of northern Guatemala.

Enniskerry is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland, set in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin. Its compact center is arranged around a triangular village green, with stone buildings, traditional shopfronts, cafés, and pubs surrounding the open space. The village is closely associated with the Powerscourt estate, whose entrance lies just beyond the center.

Qingdao, also Tsingtao or Ch'ing-tao, Shandong Province, eastern China. It is a major naval base, an industrial center, and a port on the Yellow Sea at the entrance to sheltered Jiaozhou Bay. The port, which rarely freezes over, serves the industrialized northern China Plain and was expanded in 1976 to include an oil terminal for large tankers on Huang Island. The leading manufactures of the city include textiles, railroad equipment, rubber goods, fertilizer, and chemicals.

Columbus, city and seat of Muscogee County, western Georgia, a port at the head of the Chattahoochee River, opposite Phenix City, Alabama. Columbus is a regional transportation, trade, cultural, and manufacturing hub. Its many textile, food-processing, and metalworking industries are powered by hydroelectric plants on the Chattahoochee River.