Philippines

The Philippines has more perfect beaches than the rest of Asia combined, and most of them are still waiting for a crowd that never quite arrives. Palawan is the crown: limestone cliffs rising sheer from lagoons so green they look lit from below, best explored by private boat from El Nido or, better, on a multi-day island-hopping expedition where you sleep on deserted sand. Then there are the extras other countries would build a whole tourism industry on: swimming with whale sharks, chocolate-drop hills on Bohol, rice terraces two thousand years old carved into the Cordillera. Filipinos may be the warmest hosts in Asia, and English is everywhere, which makes travel effortless. Come for two weeks. Island time will try very hard to keep you longer.