Where to go
Where to go visa-free
Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Georgia, Armenia, Vietnam, Serbia, Montenegro, Maldives, Malaysia, China
- ThailandBangkok and Phuket. The Grand Palace and Wat Pho are the first pair, and Yaowarat is the night market after. Floating markets use more than one pier, so this plan does not pin them to a single stop.
- TurkeyIstanbul and Antalya. Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque share Sultanahmet. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market sit toward Eminönü, and the Bosphorus is the crossing to the Asian shore.
- UAEDubai. Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall are one stop. Al Fahidi and the Creek are the older city, and JBR is the beach walk. A desert camp is not pinned here.
- GeorgiaTbilisi. The old town, Narikala, and the sulfur baths are in Tbilisi. Kakheti is the wine day, Mtskheta is the old-capital trip, and Rustaveli Avenue is the last supper.
- ArmeniaYerevan. Republic Square and the Cascade are in Yerevan, with Ararat behind them. Garni and Geghard are the monastery day, the brandy factory and Vernissage sit in the city, and Sevan is a lake trip.
- VietnamHanoi. The Old Quarter and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum are the Hanoi pair. Ha Long Bay is an overnight cruise, not a neighborhood, and Ninh Binh is the rice-paddy day.
- SerbiaBelgrade. Kalemegdan and Knez Mihailova are the center of Belgrade. Skadarlija is the bohemian quarter, the splavovi are floating clubs on the river, and Zemun is the quarter across the water.
- MontenegroKotor. The walled old town and the fortress climb are Kotor. Perast is a boat stop on the bay, Budva is the beach day, and Durmitor is a mountain trip, not a walk in the old town.
- MaldivesMalé. Malé is the arrival city. The days themselves are an overwater villa, a snorkel, diving, and a dolphin cruise on resort islands, not a walk around the capital.
- MalaysiaKuala Lumpur. The Petronas Towers and Batu Caves are the Kuala Lumpur pair. Chinatown is the food crawl. Langkawi and the Cameron Highlands are trips out of the city, not districts of it.
- ChinaBeijing. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen are the first Beijing pair. Mutianyu is the Great Wall day. The Temple of Heaven and the hutongs are in the city, and 798 is the art district.