Step aboard the luxurious Sea Cloud sailing yacht, where 55 passengers travel in style from Malta to Sicily, Tunisia, and the island of Pantellería. Reine and Guy Sammut, owners of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Provence, host the trip, offering food and wine courses, cooking lessons and personalized introductions to winemakers.

Go with: X.O. Travel Consultants (www.xotravelconsultants.com)Where to sip: Pantellería, Salvatore Murana; Marsala, Cantine Florio (www.cantineflorio.it)

The region of Priorat, Spain, two hours south of Barcelona by car, was practically abandoned two decades ago due to the rugged mountain terrain and poor slate soil. But Carles Pastrana and a few other winemakers have created a new and highly regarded sensation in the wine world by restoring the old Garnacha and Cariena vines, installing an irrigation system and introducing several new varietals. Today, Pastrana’s Clos de l’Obac regularly ranks in the top 150 wines in the world.

Sample it by taking a private helicopter tour of the Costers del Siurana winery with Pastrana himself. Leave from Barcelona and enjoy a gourmet six-course meal with wine pairings at the vineyard.

Go with: Cellar Tours (www.cellartours.com)Where to sip: Costers del Siurana (www.costersdelsiurana.com)Where to stay: Hotel Casa Fuster, Barcelona (www.casafuster.com)

Start your journey in Johannesburg at the deluxe Hotel Michelangelo. Then catch a flight to the Mala Mala Game Reserve, bordering Kruger National Park, and stay at Londolozi. And travel from Pretoria to Cape Town on the luxurious Rovos Rail.

Use Cape Town as your home base to explore the surrounding wine regions. Drive to the enchanting Franschoek Valley and enjoy a tasting with winemaker Achim von Arnim at his Haute Cabrière winery, which produces the country’s most highly regarded sparkling wine, Pierre Jourdan.

Go with: X.O. Travel Consultants (www.xotravelconsultants.com)Where to sip: Klein Constancia (www.kleinconstantia.com); Haute Cabrière (www.hautecabriere.com)Where to stay: Londolozi (www.londolozi.co.za); Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town (www.mountnelson.co.za) What to ride: Rovos Rail (www.rovos.co.za)

New Zealand may be the world’s best-kept wine secret, but word is getting out as kiwi wines rapidly improve. Start in Auckland and enjoy the wineries of Goldwater Estate and Stonyridge on the island of Waiheke. Then fly to the Hawke’s Bay region to explore Maori culture; taste your way through the day and stay at the charming Mangapapa Lodge. Drive to Martinborough, a vineyard village oasis set among the rolling Wairarapa farmland, and taste the elegant Pinot Noirs of the Palliser and Ata Rangi wineries.

Next head to Blenheim, the center of the Marlborough wine-growing area, for intensely flavored Sauvignon Blancs and dynamite Rieslings. Enjoy a tasting at New Zealand’s most famous winery, Cloudy Bay, and end your tour in Queenstown, exploring Fiordland National Park.

Go with: X.O. Travel Consultants (www.xotravelconsultants.com)Where to sip: Craggy Range (www.craggyrange.com); Cloudy Bay (www.cloudybay.co.nz)Where to stay: Mangapapa Lodge, Hawke’s Bay (www.mangapapa.co.nz); Chateau Marlborough, Blenheim (www.marlboroughnz.co.nz)

When it comes to wine, Argentina is frequently eclipsed by its more renowned neighbor, Chile. Yet the country is the world’s fifth-largest wine producer and is famous for its trademark Malbec grape. And, since less than six percent of its production is exported, chances are you’ve never tried many of the wines in Mendoza province.

Stay at the beautifully restored Park Hyatt, with its 19th-century Spanish colonial façade. One hour south lies the magnificent Uco Valley, home to Argentina’s highest-altitude vineyards. Visit O Fournier, famous for gravity-only winemaking and stop in Luján de Cuyo, considered the birthplace of Argentina’s modern wine movement. Taste at Bodega Achaval Ferrer, whose 2002 Finca Altamira Malbec scored 94 points in the 2004 Wine Spectator.

Go with: Vines of Mendoza (www.vinesofmendoza.com); The Grapevine (www.thegrapevine-winetours.com)Where to sip: O Fournier, Valle de Ocu (www.ofournier.com); Bodega Achaval Ferrer, Luján de Cuyo (www.achaval-ferrer.com)Where to stay: Park Hyatt, Mendoza (mendoza.park.hyatt.com)

In southern Portugal, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish border, lies the magical and relatively undiscovered wine region of Alentejo. Here, pioneers in winemaking work mostly with indigenous grapes. Visit cork forests and abandoned Moorish castles in between winery tours and stay in Évora, a whitewashed town and UNESCO World Heritage site, at the Convento do Espinheiro, a luxurious five-star converted convent with a fabulous spa.

Add two days in Lisbon at the start or end of your trip and take a cruise down the Douro River (famed for its port wine) in a private traditional “rabelos” boat.

Go with: Cellar Tours (www.cellartours.com)Where to sip: Esporão (www.esporao.com); Herdade dos Coelheiros (www.sahc.pt)Where to stay: Convento do Espinheiro, Évora (www.conventodoespinheiro.com); Lapa Palace, Lisbon (www.lapapalace.com)

Napa and Sonoma, of course, have some of the world’s best luxury accommodations, landscapes, restaurants and artisanal foods, as well as famous large-scale wineries and hand-crafted, boutique vineyards.

Begin your journey in Napa, where you can choose from more than 230 nearby wineries to suit your precise taste and style. Stay at the spectacular Auberge du Soleil, overlooking the valley’s rolling vineyards. Dine at the famed French Laundry, one five Michelin three-starred restaurants in America. Next, head to Sonoma, where you can check out Davis Bynum, a Pinot Noir pioneer in the Russian River valley. The tour includes a walk through the permaculture garden and explanations of the winery’s organic farming practices.

Go with: Food and Wine Trails (www.foodandwinetrails.com)Where to sip: Opus One, Napa (www.opusonewinery.com); Davis Bynum, Sonoma (www.davisbynum.com)Where to stay:Auberge du Soleil, Napa (www.aubergedusoleil.com); Hotel Healdsburg, Sonoma (www.hotelhealdsburg.com)

When they hear the phrase “Italian wine vacation,” most people think Tuscany. Genevieve McCarthy of Cellar Tours thinks Piedmont, which produces Barolo and Barbaresco wines made from the Nebbiolo grape. “They’re inky, unctuous wines that need to age forever,” she said.

Aside from being the least touristy region in Italy, Piedmont’s food and wine are both spectacular. Time your visit to coincide with the famous fall truffle harvest. Visit Roagna, a charming, upscale family-owned winery, and stop at the Mossio winery, which produces a top Dolcetto—it offers a light, zippy contrast to the typically heavy wines of the region. Stay at the Relais San Maurizio, home to the luxurious Caudalie wine spa, where you can indulge in grape seed scrubs and wine baths. Or go cozy and comfortable at La Villa, a four-star hotel in Mombaruzzo.

Go with: Cellar Tours(www.cellartours.com)Where to sip: Roagna (www.roagna.com); Mossio (www.mossio.com)Where to stay: Relais San Maurizio (www.relaissanmaurizio.it); La Villa (www.lavillahotel.net)

Although Hungary has been famous for its Tokaji dessert wines since the 17th century, wine production suffered under the Iron Curtain. Not until 1991 was the wine industry privatized, spurring a flood of foreign investment. Today, Hungary is producing world-class wines.

Start with few days in Budapest, one of Europe’s grandest cities. Then venture to the Tokaj region, where you can explore the famous Chateau Megyer winery. Stay at the picturesque Lillafüred castle hotel, surrounded by hanging gardens and a waterfall. On your way back, stop in the town of Eger, characterized by its Turkish-influenced architecture.

Where to sip: Chateau Megyer, Sarospatak; Tibor Gál, Eger (www.kobrandwine.com)Where to stay: Four Seasons Gresham Palace (www.fourseasons.com/budapest); Hunguest Hotel Palota, Lillafüred (www.hunguesthotels.hu)

Serious wine aficionados can spend an unforgettable week in Burgundy, France, finely tuning their palates to appreciate the subtle differences between the grapes from this hill and the next one over. Clive Coates, a world-renowned wine critic, leads the master course, limited to no more than 10 participants. Every day the itinerary includes visits to prestigious regional domaines, tutored tastings with Coates and intimate dinners with winemakers.

At $8,700 for the week, the trip is highly personalized and exclusive. Tastings of some 200 Grand Cru and Première Cru wines and hard-to-find vintages alone are valued at more than $8,500.

Go with: X.O. Travel Consultants (www.xotravelconsultants.com)Where to sip: Domaine de la Vougeraie, Côte de Beaune (www.domainedelavougeraie.com); Clos des Lambrays, Côtes de Nuits (www.closdeslambrays.com)Where to stay: Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin, Bouilland (www.le-moulin-de-bouilland.com)

Ensemble Travel Group has crafted an over-the-top vacation trip for you and 99 companions. A privately chartered all-business-class Silverjet 767 whisks everyone in high style from Newark to Luton Airport, outside of London. Transfer via Rolls-Royce or Bentley to central London, where you will spend four nights at the five-star Milestone Hotel, a luxury boutique property that overlooks Kensington Palace, home of the late Princess Diana. Activities include a reception and private dinner at the palace; a private early opening and breakfast at Harrods; visits to antiques and home furnishings shops, including David Linley & Co., a modern furniture manufacturer owned by Queen Elizabeth's nephew; pre-theater dinner and a West End show, accompanied by a leading theater critic; and a gala, final dinner at Eltham Palace, an Art Deco home built in 1936 in the outskirts of London near the remains of a medieval royal palace.

The cost for 100 travelers: a cool $1.155 million.For more information: Ensemble Travel

On September 18, 2008, 60 lucky food lovers will gather at the Palace of Versailles, once the official residence of French kings, to partake of a special, 15-course banquet created by 15 of the world's top chefs (names as yet unannounced). Served on Baccarat crystal and Christofle silver, the meal will include a Chopin piano recital, fireworks display and chauffeured transportation to and from Paris. Participants will receive deluxe souvenirs. For women: a replica of a Sèvres porcelain cup and saucer originally made for Marie-Antoinette, as well a special fragrance from Guerlain. Men receive monogrammed luggage containing three rare bottles of wine, one flask of vintage Hennessy Cognac and one magnum of Dom Ruinart selected by Oliver Poussier.

The price per person: $31,117.For more information: Virtuoso

Admiral Travel Gallery, a Sarasota, Fla.-based luxury tour operator, has created a seven-night trip to Italy that will let you visit some top sights in ways you're not likely to forget. The first four nights are at the Villa San Michele in Florence, a former 15th-century monastery with picturesque views of the city. From here you can visit the Mugello, the test drive center of the Ferrari F1, where you can drive this legendary automobile. Then it's another outing: a drive, by Ferrari, to the Ferragamo estate in Tuscany, for lunch and a wine-tasting with the Ferragamo family. The last three nights are in Milan, with accommodations at the Bulgari Hotel Milan, the exclusive property run by the famous jewelers; activities include a private fashion show and shopping at Ferragamo.

Price: $13,081 per person double occupancy (one person gets the Mugello test drive). Airfare not included.For more information: Admiral Travel Gallery

Orient-Express, which operates the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express trains as well as many posh hotels, has put together a seven-night vacation package that it claims is the world's most romantic. This includes three nights in a deluxe suite at the Cipriani Hotel in Venice; a guided tour of the city of the Doges; an overnight trip, in a cabin suite, on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, from Venice, through Austria and Switzerland, to Paris; three nights in a one-bedroom suite at the elegant Le Meurice in Paris; and an excursion, via private car and driver, to Reims, capital of the Champagne region, with a private tasting and lunch at Chateau Les Crayeres, a two-Michelin-star restaurant.

Price: $24,750 per person, based on double occupancy, not including airfare.For more information: Orient-Express

Ensemble Travel Group has a special seven-night program in southern Morocco. The first four nights are spent at La Sultana, a luxury boutique hotel in Marrakech. Activities include a guided tour of the medina, a visit to Yves St. Laurent's gardens, dinner in Pierre Balmain's former residence, and a seminar on Moroccan design and antiques. You will then fly, by private plane, to Dar Ahlam, a five-star Relais and Chateau resort in the oasis of Skoura, a desert gateway. Next is a four-wheel drive trip to the Sahara dunes, where you will overnight in a luxury tent. The trip concludes with a visit to the ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, a medieval Moroccan mountain village and UNESCO World Heritage site, and the nearby movie studios, where Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator were filmed.

Price: $19,500 per person, double occupancy, not including airfare.For more information: Ensemble Travel Group

Conservation Corporation Africa, a high-end safari company, has created a 29-day trip that takes in many of the continent's most famous attractions and includes stays at luxury villas, lodges and camps. It features two nights at the Ngala Tented Safari Camp in South Africa's Kruger National Park; the "Flight of the Fish Eagle," a 60-minute flight above the Maputaland wilderness; two nights in Cape Town and the nearby Constantia wine region; two nights in the NamibRand Nature Reserve; four nights in the Okavango Delta, with its legendary lagoons and floating islands that teem with birds and wildlife; two nights at Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River; and stays in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Lake Manyara and Serengeti national parks; Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, and Mnemba Island, a private island off the coast of Zanzibar.

Rates range from $77,730 to $83,895 per person, double occupancy, not including airfare.For more information: Conservation Corporation Africa

Greaves Tours, which specializes in travel in India, is offering an eight-night package that features accommodations at Oberoi Hotels, among the country's finest, and flights on Oberoi's private aircraft. The first two days, at the Oberoi Hotel in Delhi, include sightseeing in the old and new cities. In Agra, accommodations are at the Oberoi Amarvilas, only 600 meters from the Taj Mahal. There's an evening visit to this fabled monument, plus a full-day tour of the Red Fort and Itmad-ud-Daulah, a tomb with beautiful inlay work. The last four nights are at Wildflower Hall in Shimla, the glamorous summer capital of the British Raj in the Himalayas. Formerly the home of Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, at one time Great Britain's commander-in-chief in India, it is now a luxury resort set in 23 wooded acres. Activities include a nature walk, picnic at an old colonial bungalow and other sightseeing. Departures are recommended between mid-April and September.

Price: $9,520 per person, double occupancy, not including airfare.For more information: Greaves Tours

From Signature Travel Network comes this one-week program at the COMO Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri, a residential wellness retreat near Ubud, Bali. Guests stay in one-bedroom villas surrounded by bamboo trees, above the Ayung River; each has a garden with an infinity-edge swimming pool and jacuzzi. The program features spa cuisine, six massage treatments, two yoga lessons and two wellness consultations per person. Among the resident teachers are a fitness instructor, yoga master and martial arts teacher, while resort facilities include a vitality pool, treatment area beside the river, climbing wall, outdoor jungle gym and yoga pavilion.

Price: $8,750 per person, based on double occupancy, plus 21% taxes and service charges. Airfare not included.For more information: Signature Travel Network

Signature Travel Network has put together a 12-night package, with four nights each at three lodges run by Explora, a Chilean hotel company whose accommodations have won numerous plaudits. The first three nights are at the Explora en Patagonia, on Lake Pehoe in the heart of Torres del Paine National Park; from this base you can explore mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and emerald lakes on foot, or by boat or horseback. The next three nights are at the Explora en Atacama, a lodge in a shady oasis in the Atacama Desert; this is the driest and highest desert in the world, where you will find volcanoes, salt flats and high-altitude wetlands. The final four nights are at the brand-new Explora en Rapa Nui, built in the southwestern zone of the mythical Easter Island, in the South Pacific. From here you can tour the island.

Price: $15,475 per person, double occupancy, airfare not included.For more information: Signature Travel Network

JQ Porter Exquisite Travel, a Dallas-based tour operator, has created a 13-day exclusive tour for ten, with transport on a Gulfstream 550 private jet. Departing May 27, 2008, the tour will include the Paris National Opera's May gala, where Anna Netrebko will sing in "Les Capulets and les Montaigus"; a performance of "Samson and Delila" at the National Theater in Prague and of "The Magic Flute," at the 18th century Theater of the Estates, also in Prague; and a performance of "Capriccio," with Renee Fleming, at the Vienna State Opera. Other activities include private entry to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg; rehearsal visits to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Kirov Ballet; a master class with a Czech opera star; and royal box seating for the Lipizzaner Stallions in Vienna. Accommodations are chosen according to the traveler's preferences.

The package starts at $85,000 per person, double occupancy.For more information: JQ Porter Exquisite Travel

Close to Miami but with all the allure of a far flung atoll, the Turks and Caicos is legendary for its looks—and notorious for its prices. Luxury hotels abound, with average room rates hovering around $700 per night, which makes this little-advertised find in the private, quiet and residential-oriented Somerset on Grace Bay all the more appealing: The Providenciales resort has 14 luxury garden view rooms, complete with kitchenettes, starting at just $275 per night.

The first five-star gay hotel to open in Latin America, The Axel in Buenos Aires (which also bills itself as "hetero-friendly") is as flamboyant and fairly priced as luxe South American lodging gets. Situated near San Telmo in the Argentine capital city, the hotel features a glass-bottom pool that doubles as a ceiling in the lobby. Rooms are predictably stylish—white or minimally colored with angular glassy bathrooms. It's the second brain child of Spanish entrepreneur Juan Juliá, whose flagship hotel is in Barcelona. Double rooms start at $198 per night.

For more information: The Axel

© Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises

Ubud Hanging Gardens, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Pass on an overpriced over-water bungalow in French Polynesia. Instead, suspend yourself over a lush jungle in the rice paddy dotted surrounds of Ubud at a luxury escape on Bali. All 38 villas at this five-star Orient-Express property feature private plunge pools overlooking the Ayung River, with rates from a refreshing $270 per night.

For more information: Ubud Hanging Gardens

© Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises

Librisa Spa, Cape Town, South Africa

You could opt for euro-priced wine therapy in the vineyards of France and Italy. Or, you can head to the land of the rand for indulgent spa treatments that cost a fraction of their European equivalents. The newly opened Librisa Spa at the Mount Nelson Hotel (part of the Orient-Express group) offers three-hour treatments that include aromatouch massage, facials, full body wraps with green clay and wild mint and lunch in the hotel's Oasis Restaurant for around $235.

For more information: Mount Nelson Hotel

© Spa Vilnius

Spa Vilnius, Druskininkai, Lithuania

Once the stomping grounds of winter weary Russians looking to pamper their bodies with the area's legendary mud baths inside austere medical-oriented sanatoriums, the spa scene in Druskininkai, Lithuania, is growing ever more international and indulgent. Check into Spa Vilnius, a four-star spa hotel, where decadent three-night wellness getaways include lodging, meals and 14 spa treatments that run the gamut from wine baths and honey massages to Chinese foot massages and chocolate peels. Baltic Holidays can arrange trips for around $486 per person.

For more information: Baltic Holidays

© Hotel Telegraaf

Hotel Telegraaf, Tallinn, Estonia

Top-notch luxury at a fair price is a thing of the past in former Eastern European bargain cities such as Prague. But not Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Surrounded by buildings that date to the 13th century, this new five-star hotel is thoroughly modern. The luxurious rooms overlook a quiet courtyard and the hotel's indoor pool (housed in a solarium), steam bath and Finnish sauna facilities are complimentary for guests. Rooms from $294 per night.

For more information: Hotel Telegraaf

© Jochen Tack / Alamy

Baltic Beach Hotel, Jurmala, Latvia

Boris Yeltsin and other Russian bigwigs frequented this oceanfront luxury hotel that's less than 20 miles from Riga in Jurmala, Latvia. But the recently refurbished five-star Baltic Beach Hotel bears none of its former Soviet austerity. This stretch of the Gulf of Riga nearly freezes over in winter, but come summer Jurmala's long sandy beaches are packed with lovely Latvians and intrepid jetsetters in full bronzing mode. The hotel's world-class spa offers hundreds of treatments that use local sulfur spring products, but rooms start at just $210 per night.

For more information: Baltic Beach Hotel

© The Bristol

The Bristol, Panama City, Panama

Costa Rica is out. Panama is in. And for serious luxury at fair rates in the capital city, no spot compares to this luxury boutique hotel (and member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World). Located in the financial district, the Bristol is a good base for doing what so many other savvy Americans are coming to Panama for these days—seeking out smart real estate investments in the beaches and mountain villages of one of Central America's most buzzworthy nations. Rooms start at $335 per night.

For more information: The Bristol

© SeaDream Yacht Club Luxury Cruises

Sea Dream Yacht Club, Mediterranean Cruises

Seven-day Mediterranean itineraries on this luxury yacht with ports of call in Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands start at $3,699 per person, based on double occupancy. All meals, alcohol and gratuities are included, and dollar-pricing leaves the bullish euro out of the equation. And with a passenger list of just 55 couples and 95 crewmembers, the five-star service on board is always personal.

For more information: Sea Dream Yacht Club

© Canals of France

Luxury Barge Cruise, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

The best way to soak up the vineyards and castles in "the next Provence" is aboard a luxury barge on the Canal du Midi. Six nights on the Tango costs approximately $5,000 per person, but that price includes drinks and multi-course gourmet meals prepared by the boat's owner, Captain Daniel Sak, who graduated from cooking school in France. Day trips to nearby wineries, olive oil makers and historical sights are also included. The three-person crew is big enough to meet the needs of the six passengers.

For more information: Canals of France