MAIN Travel World Destination Guides

Fodor's Editors Pick Best Travel Experiences

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park. M Pearson/Australian Heritage Photo Library

When asked to name the world's best hotels, restaurants and experiences, travelers almost reflexively name the world's most expensive lodgings, restaurants owned and operated by famous chefs, and traditionally popular tourist destinations. One can hardly begrudge the status and grandeur of the world's Four Seasons, the 21 Club or the Eiffel Tower -- But does being luxurious and popular necessarily make an experience the best? Or the best choice for you?

The Fodor's Choice winter 2006 list is the annual round up of the Fodor's editors' and writers' top picks for hotels, restaurants,sites and experiences that receive the Fodor's Choice designation in their Gold Guides. This designation is reserved for hotels, restaurants, sights and experiences so wonderful and so special that words don't do them justice -- you just have to experience them to know.

The editors culled through the thousands of picks to come up with this list of their top choices for winter travel. The selections are unique, unusual, and not-to-be-missed; and you're sure to have a one-of-a-kind experience.

Unlike the many "best-of" lists top-heavy with the ostentatious, the expensive and the familiar, the list offers travelers a variety of options in a variety of price ranges. If dining on a cliff at sunset overlooking the waves of the Pacific, kayaking in a bio-luminescent lake in the moonlight or staying in a private bungalow nestled between a beautiful beach and a tropical jungle sounds appealing, then this list is for you.

Of course, check the latest prices and reviews to make sure that the information is still accurate...

Fodor's Choice 2006 List:

Hotels:
* Blue Jay Lodge, Malpais, Costa Rica
* Chakrabongse Villas, Bangkok, Thailand
* Coral Reef Club, St. James, Barbados
* Esperanza, Los Cabos, Mexico
* Faena Hotel + Universe, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Ho'oilo House, Maui, Hawai'i
* Mala Mala, Mpumalanga, South Africa
* Morgan's Rock Hacienda and Ecolodge, Playa Ocotal, Nicaragua
* Parador de Malaga Gibralfaro, Malaga, Spain
* Red Setter Inn, Greer, AZ

Sights/Experiences:
* Carnaval de Quebec, Quebec City, Canada
* Diving in St. Eustatius, St. Eustatius, Caribbean
* Kayaking in Bahia Mosquito, Vieques, Puerto Rico
* Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana
* Poas Volcano National Park, Costa Rica
* Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Skiing at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
* Stargazing atop Mauna Kea, Big Island, Hawai'i
* Uluru & Kata Tjuta, Red Centre, Australia
* Valley of the Temples, Sicily, Italy

Restaurants:
* Bukhara, Delhi, India
* Casa da Feijoada, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* Casa Picasso, Ambergris Caye, Belize
* Chef Mavro, O'ahu, Hawai'i
* Chez Pascal, Antigua, Caribbean
* Findlerhof, Zermatt, Switzerland
* George's at the Cove, La Jolla, California
* Hunter's Vineyard Restaurant, Blenheim, New Zealand
* Per Se, New York, New York
* Wahso, Park City, Utah