LUIGI Tran

Seattle offers many positive ways to end the year. After the Noon Year's Eve parties for young families, celebrated evening shindigs for adults take over the streets. And a spectacular fireworks display erupts from the Space Needle at the stroke of midnight.

Seattle is blessed with many beautiful beaches. These sandy attractions often garner crowds throughout the summer months. In winter, they provide welcome solitude. Swimming and sunbathing aren't as popular this time of year. Instead, activities like long walks and wildlife sightings make for a fun winter day at the beach.

One of the most unique sights on Barbados, this easy to access cave has natural windows that look out to the sea. Pooled water in the cave offers beautiful reflections.

This walkway along the waterfront is a scenic area of the city, where you can see boats and colorful buildings. The wooden boardwalk runs right along the water's edge and provides good opportunities for photography.

Even avid travelers may not know about Paricutin, mainly because this natural wonder resides in Michoacán, Mexico. This cinder cone volcano was named one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, even over famous volcanoes, such as Yellowstone.

The Gili Islands, a cluster of three tiny islands to the northwest of Lombok, have long been a favorite destination for island-hopping backpackers in Indonesia. They maintain a unique charm and a laid-back atmosphere that hits all the right notes for a fun weekend.

Most tourists visit Komodo Island in search of the destination's eponymous dragons — the largest lizards in the world. The species has been protected since 1980 at the island's Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that welcomes tens of thousands of tourists every year.

On the Amber Coast, Playa Dorada is Puerto Plata's primary resort beach. This stretch of golden sand extends along the coast, east of the city. The stunning mountain scenery; palm-lined beach; and clean, clear turquoise waters are exactly what draw tourists to this destination.

If your vacation goal is to relax on a beautiful beach on a private island, then look no further than Cayo Levantado.

Undeveloped and remote, Playa Rincón is the quintessential, postcard perfect, tropical white-sand beach. Glimmering aquamarine waves lap the shore. Huge palm trees line the sand and provide shade. At one end, a protected cove offers a consistently calm bay for swimming, and in the distance, lush green mountains rise up from the opposite shore of the bay.

Punta Cana is the Dominican Republic's number one beach resort destination, with sun seekers and families coming here in droves to relax at the all-inclusive resorts that line the soft white-sand beaches.