Honolulu or Havana? The world is full of travel opportunities that are more than enjoyable -- they can be transformational. By getting out of your comfort zone, you realize that different people find different truths to be self-evident and God-given. You gain empathy for the other 96 percent of humanity -- and in many ways you can learn a lot about your own country by viewing it from afar.

While many extremely rewarding destinations are not on the typical bucket list, they...

Chances are you weren’t invited to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which took place at Windsor Castle (neither was I), but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit the place where it happened or other royal residences in Great Britain.

In addition to Windsor Castle, there are London’s Kensington, Buckingham and Hampton Court palaces and the more remote Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands — great places to put yourself in royal shoes for a...

When I was in Scotland recently updating my guidebook, I came to a sobering conclusion -- this is a land of booze geeks. Some of my favorite discoveries have been inviting whisky bars and historic distilleries, run by people evangelical about Scotland's favorite beverage. When it rains -- as it often does, the showers elicit a cheery "That's tomorrow's whisky!" from the locals.

Scotch whiskies come in two broad types: "single malt,"...