Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

The resort's 147 villas are built into a tiered hillside with lush foliage and clear bay views. Stroll down to some of the prettiest beaches in southern Bali, or spend some time in the infinity pool (one of our favorite spots). This is truly a place to get into the spirit of the season.

For more information, visit www.fourseasons.com.

Deia, Mallorca, Spain

La Residencia offers luxurious seclusion in a tiny mountain village setting above the Mediterranean. It's a magnificent hotel in a stunning place. The property was created from a 16th century manor house. Guestrooms feature antique furnishings. Make sure to take time to explore the hotel's amazing art collecting featuring the works of island artists.

For more information, visit www.laresidencia.com.

Paris, France

In the 1800s, King Louis XV commissioned the palace that became a luxurious home-away-from-home to the rich and famous in 1909. The rooms and suites offer all the comfort and cushiness you'd expect. The elegant Les Ambassadeurs restaurant is one of the city's finest--Chef Jean-Francois Piege's cuisine simply sublime. Christmas in Paris can't get any better than this.

For more information, visit www.crillon.com.

London, England

Located in a quiet corner of St. James Place in Mayfair, Dukes has only 90 rooms and is purposely low key. Guestrooms have traditional furnishings and marble bathrooms, and there's a small spa. But our favorite place is the cozy first-floor bar--sit here and you feel like you're in someone's living room, with the bonus of enjoying an expertly prepared martini.

For more information, visit www.dukeshotel.com.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

One of the best ski resorts in North America. The 550-room Fairmont Chateau Whistler is located right at the base of Blackcomb, and has a classic alpine ambience. You'll find plenty of cozy fireplaces scattered throughout the premises. For a splurge, book a suite with a slope-view tub.

For more information, visit www.fairmont.com.

Uruguay Cruise from Buenos Aires

Small is a good thing on SeaDream. Passengers enjoy an ultraluxury yacht experience, far from the mega-ship crowds. Make sure to spend time in the comfy Balinese Sun Beds on Deck 6. Look out to sea and you won't miss your Christmas tree one bit.

For more information, visit www.seadream.com.

Coastal Norway

This is the original Santa country. It's highly likely you'll see reindeer, and you'll certainly see amazing scenery, from one of the 11 comfortable passenger/deliver ships in this fleet. The route is Bergen to Kirkenes and back, with the opportunity to take advantage of organized excursions.

For more information, visit www.norwegiancoastalvoyage.us.

Henderson, Nevada

The 493-room hotel is on the north shore, and guestrooms have sweeping views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses will inspire golfers, there's a full-service spa, Camp Hyatt program for kids and a 10,000 square foot, European-style casino (hey, it's near Vegas). Are you gonna be naught or nice?

For more information, visit www.hyatt.com.

Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

Accommodations at both resorts are in condo-like suites set in tropical gardens, but the beach is the real attraction. Guests can enjoy the services and amenities of both properties with a complimentary shuttle.

For more information, visit www.oceanclubresorts.com.

Lausanne, Switzerland

Winter wonderland here is a historic palace on Lake Geneva, with views of the snow-covered French Alps. This 1800s property offers the height of European elegance. New additions include a wonderful full-service spa. The gourmet restaurant La Rotonde boasts a Michelin star, and is a perfect venue for Christmas Eve.

For more information, visit www.brp.ch.

Teeming with wildlife and blessed with an inordinate amount of postcard-worthy scenery, coastal British Columbia is home to killer whales, grizzly bears, and plenty of steelhead trout. The trick is getting to them. At Nimmo Bay, a small resort on the headwaters of the McKenzie Sound (across from the north shore of Vancouver Island), helicopters are an integral part of the agenda. Lodgers jet off to fly-fishing trips in the Great Bear Rainforest, rafting jaunts down the Klina Klini river, whale-watching expeditions and sea kayaking sojourns on tranquil fjords. Bring an iPod to fly to your favorite tunes.

For more information: www.nimmobay.com

Rotorua, a city of more than 50,000 in the North Island’s Bay of Plenty region (New Zealand’s own Lake District), is ringed by several varieties of exotic geothermal activity, including thermal springs, mud pools and sulphur vents. The appropriately dubbed Volcanic Air Safaris offers trips to nearby Mt. Tarawera, a vast lunar crater which famously blew its top in 1886, resulting in the loss of over 150 lives. Patrons can also pay a visit to Whakaari or White Island, an active volcano island 20 miles off the coast, where they can experience its rumbling vents firsthand (from a prudent distance, of course) or wander through the ruins of an abandoned sulphur-mining town.

For more information: www.volcanicair.co.nz

A massive curtain of water that makes Niagara Falls look like a faulty spigot, Iguazu Falls spills over the border between Brazil and Argentina. The statistics (1.67 miles long, 6.5 million liters of water per second) pale in comparison to the experience itself, which can surround visitors with some 260 degrees of falling water. Helisul offers 35-minute tours that suspend patrons vertiginously over the Garganta del Diablo, or Devil’s Throat. While the undeniable environmental impact of helicopter traffic in this UNESCO World Heritage Site has led to some controversy, Helisul (which also offers flightseeing trips over Rio) has invested in relatively new, quiet helicopters.

For more information: www.helisul.com

, Cairns, Australia

Northern Queensland is the Costa Rica of Australia, a verdant tropical swathe that encompasses dense rainforests, blinding white beaches and the world’s single largest organism, the Great Barrier Reef. From the gateway city of Cairns, the GBR Helicopter Company swoops its patrons over the Coral Sea to an anchored pontoon in the middle of the reef, where they can go snorkeling, enjoy a catamaran ride or take a spin in a semi-submersible vessel. For the upscale and amorous, GBR offers special sunrise flights to a private Coral Cay (i.e., your own private island) for a light, mid-morning brunch.

For more information: www.gbrhelicopters.com.au

While they won’t be gone any time soon, the Juneau glaciers are definitely in retreat, and Era Helicopters offers two-hour trips to the still-spectacular series of ice fields just north of the Alaskan state capital. Patrons hover over four distinct floes, receive some pointers on glacier taxonomy, then touch down for a brief amble on the ice (special glacier walking boots are provided). The dogsled trip, a popular “soft adventure,” allows customers to spend some quality time with dozens of seasoned four-legged Itidarod veterans.

For more information: www.flightseeingtours.com

, Zambia

Colloquially known as “the smoke that thunders,” the massive cataracts of Victoria Falls spume a towering cloud that’s visible up to 30 miles away. While the spectacle of the Zambezi River emptying into the Batoka Gorge is undeniably jaw-dropping, a trip to the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe can also involve plenty of wildlife watching. The Zambezi Helicopter Company offers a 30-minute “game flight” that sweeps over Zambezi National Park after a tour of the falls—elephants, hippos, rhinos and giraffes abound.

For more information: www.shearwateradventures.com/helicopters/default.asp

There are dozens of helicopter tour companies to choose from throughout the islands, but the big kahuna is Blue Hawaiian (of “Jurassic Park” fame). The winner of a prestigious International Star Diamond Award (an accolade usually reserved for high-end hotels and cruises), BH offers tours of Maui, Kauai and the Big Island that zip clients over active volcanoes, lava fields and rainforest waterfalls. In addition, golfers can get a lay of the land of their favorite courses and beachgoers can scout out other resorts. On the island of Kauai, Island Helicopters boasts a perfect safety record.

Fore more information: www.bluehawaiian.com; www.islandhelicopters

, Arizona

This is the big one. More than 600,000 people take air tours of the Grand Canyon every year. There are six companies at the park airport in Tusayan, and several more based out of Las Vegas. Papillon, which has been flying for more than 40 years, offers 30-minute sweeps through the “Dragon Corridor” as well as day-length tours that land at the bottom of the canyon near an ancient Indian village. Sundance, which flies from Vegas, offers a champagne picnic below the crater rim that includes a flight over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the Las Vegas Strip.

For more information: www.papillon.com; www.helicoptour.com

The Malaysian state of Sabah occupies the northern tip of the storied isle of Borneo and features a series of spectacular mountain ranges, as well as some of the world’s oldest extant rainforests. The area is also home to Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. A minor ecotourism boom has brought flight-seeing trips to the region, and Sabah Air (which led tsunami relief efforts to Banda Aceh) leads expeditions that fly over rice fields spotted with water buffalos, orangutan preserves, mangrove swamps and the great mountain itself.

For more information: www.sabahair.com.my/public/default.asp

Shortly after the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in July of 1995, two thirds of the residents of the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” were forced to flee, and the capital city of Plymouth lay under 40 feet of ash. This wasn’t expected—the volcano had never erupted in recorded history. While Caribbean Helicopters leads a number of island tours from its base in nearby Antigua, the Montserrat tour is (not surprisingly) the most popular. Passengers get an up-close look at the “exclusion zone” of abandoned towns, ash flows, dried lava fields and the old airport, which was hit by a pyroclastic flow (i.e. avalanche of rock, ash and dust) in 1997.

For more information: www.caribbeanhelicopters.net/tour-index.html

Cost: $5,000 per person

The Elton John affair is a hot ticket party where mega stars mingle with starry-eyed fans and fat cat donors. Arrive via limo at this five-star glam event that includes a sit-down dinner and a chance to rub shoulders and perhaps shake hands with Hollywood's hippest.

For more information: VIP First Class

Cost: $1,195 per person

After an hour-long preflight briefing that includes all the basics—safety, simple aerodynamics, fighter maneuvers and rules of engagement—you'll suit up for a high-flying aerial adventure. Once airborne you'll fly to a practice area to engage in six aerial dogfights. You are doing the flying 90 percent of the time.

Your entire flight is captured on mini digital video cassette. The tapes are used for debriefing purposes and then are yours to keep.

For more information: Signature Days

Cost: $5,250 and up

Your three-day, four-wheel adventure ignites at the Ferrari factory in Maranello where you pick up your sleek, fire-engine-red F 430. After a briefing at the local bar, take the wheel of the "red myth" and head for the mountain road first used in the '50s to test Ferraris. Pit stops include a visit to the Ducati or Lamborghini motor collection, the Ferrari Museum and Modena, the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari and home to the Maserati and De Tomaso factories.

For more information: VIP First Class

Venue: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, La.Date: February 17, 2008Cost: from $1,235 to $10,890 per person

To sit in lower midcourt, you'll have to cough up the top price of $10,890 per ticket. That's it—no accommodations, no meals and no limo. For $4,415 per person, you can sit in the lower corner of the arena while $2,000 will get you a spot somewhere up in the 300 section.

For more information: Bluefish Concierge

Cost: $8,999 per person

Offered three times a year, this five-day camp is designed to tune up your musical talents. Campers are grouped into bands each lead by a musical mentor such as Max Weinberg, Alan White (Yes), Simon Kirke (Bad Company) and others. After five days of rock 'n roll rehearsal, your band will take part in the "Battle of the Bands" at B.B. King's in Times Square, New York. Camp visitors include Ted Nugent, Paul Stanley (KISS) and other rock legends that will swing by throughout the week to meet each camper and play with each band.

For more information: Signature Days

Cost: $30,000 and up

Give your regards to Broadway from the stage. Spend the afternoon with actors, singers, and dancers from your favorite show, attending costume fittings and rehearsals in preparation for your unforgettable debut—with a walk-on role.

For more information: Discover New York with Kitt Garrett

Cost: $3,900 per person including two nights at The Beverly Hills Hotel Date: October 31, 2007

Be like Hef minus the pajamas. This experience is all about ego—yours—and includes VIP dinner reservations at one of L.A.'s A-list dining spots, drinks at the rooftop Skybar at The Mondrian Hotel, and a ticket to the coveted Playboy Mansion Halloween extravaganza. Don't forget your costume.

For more information: VIP First Class

Price: $1,157 per person

Join Football Club Barcelona on their private charter en route to an away game. Onboard you can take pictures, get autographs and cheer them on during the match. Accommodations included. Games are played on Saturday or Sunday and are not confirmed until a few days before the broadcast contracts are signed.

For more information: Lifestyle Barcelona

Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZDate: February 3, 2008Cost: from $10,000 per person including accommodations

Stadium private viewing seats plus entrée to pre- and post-game parties including a meet and greet with the athletes.

For more information: VIP Getaways

Cost: $1,750 per person

Watch the show from the first-class seats. Access to the Green Room, where the celebrity guests gather before going on stage, is a possibility but not guaranteed.

For more information: Millionaires Concierge