Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is one of Asia's best-kept secrets. As the capital of the only predominantly Catholic country in the Orient, it presents a unique blend that feels slightly out of place, yet vibrantly infused with Latin American and Caribbean influences. Music and dancing are ubiquitous, and the city's warmth and enthusiasm can easily rival that of Bangkok. Manila's rich history, shaped by centuries under Spanish religious influence and decades of American consumerism, has led to the saying that the city spent "400 years in a convent and 50 in Hollywood".

Kerala’s first city, with its knotty official name of Thiruvananthapuram (often substituted by the shorter, more manageable Trivandrum), is a rich introduction to southern India's urban and cultural life. Trivandrum tends to be unjustly overlooked en route to the state's beachside settlements but easily warrants a few days of its own.

La Rochelle is more than just a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. The city is an inevitable place to visit on the coast as one of the largest French harbour cities in terms of business and tourism. With its 1,000 years of history, it is also one of the best-kept secrets in the region. You will be surprised by its architectural heritage, its unique atmosphere, the diversity of its museums, and its eclectic nightlife. The area is quite warm thanks to the Gulf Stream, on a par with the French Riviera!

The narrow and often steep granite-paved streets of Cagliari’s Castello District are a reminder of a bygone age when the town was dominated at first by Pisans, and later by the Aragonese. Built from white limestone, the walls and towers of the Old Town shimmer in the sun and are a magnificent sight, especially if you are lucky and approach the city from the sea, as the English novelist D.H. Lawrence did in 1921 when he described the Old Town as looking like a "Jerusalem without trees".

With a culture and natural landscape as vibrant as its history (it was once declared a “pirate republic” by infamous pirates Charles Vane, Calico Jack Rackham, "Blackbeard" Edward Teach, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read), Nassau is The Bahamas’ crown jewel. The booming downtown makes for some wonderful on-land entertainment. The beaches are its signature attraction, however, with the likes of Cable Beach at its helm. The turquoise waters are some of the clearest on the planet with visibility of over 200 feet!