I've written 66 guidebooks for Lonely Planet. Here are the top 10 places I've ever visited.

I've visited Havana over 30 times and studied and researched the city for 10 different guidebooks.

It's endlessly entertaining, unique, and complicated. I love the Cuban city for its irrepressible street energy and animated, resilient people.

When first arriving in town, I gravitate to the historic squares and thoroughfares of the Old Town and then head for a lengthy stroll along the Malecón sea drive.

Here, at one of the city's most famous meetup spots, I can get a handle on the city's mood, reacquaint myself with my Cuban friends, and see what's changed since my last visit.

I've researched 18 of Italy's 20 regions for Lonely Planet, but Abruzzo still sits at the top of my list.

The fiercely traditional region of tall, rugged mountains and authentic hilltop villages is in central Italy. It's conveniently close to Rome but less visited by the hordes of tourists making beelines to Florence and Venice.

I particularly like Abruzzo for its impressive network of well-marked hiking trails (one of Italy's understated joys) and intricate jigsaw of wild national parks, home to the rare but majestic Marsican bear.

All the best elements of the region can be found in the southern Spanish city of Granada, from gritty live flamenco shows to atmospheric bathhouses with romantically lit pools encircled by horseshoe arches.

I recommend finding time to stroll the narrow, winding streets of the Albayzín quarter with its dark Moorish teahouses and walled mansions overflowing with jasmine and bougainvillea.

But the highlight of Granada and, arguably, all of Spain is the Alhambra, the elaborate Moorish fortress and palace complex in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

It's worth braving the many queues and crowds for.

I live in Canada, and Jasper stands out as my favorite national park in the country.

The Alberta park is centered on a compact, down-to-earth town and has 4,200 square miles of spectacular backcountry that makes it surprisingly easy to access vast, unsullied wilderness.

One minute, you'll be snacking on muffins and coffee in the Other Paw Cafe, and the next, you'll be hiking with bear spray on a trail above Maligne Lake.

I especially recommend taking a scenic mountain-bike ride through the rootsy, rocky Valley of the Five Lakes.

Ibo Island is located way off the beaten track north of Mozambique.

When I last visited the Quirimbas island in 2016, getting there was part of the thrill. I had to take a traditional wooden dhow, a type of Indian Ocean sailing boat.

Once on dry land, I found myself in a lost world of gnarly trees and crumbling semi-abandoned houses and mansions, some of them reborn as tasteful lodges.

The island is a fascinating mix of Swahili, African, Arabic, and Portuguese influences.

Treasure Beach — the string of beach-shack-style villages on Jamaica's south coast — is so laidback it's practically prostrate.

It's a perfect place to roam carefree along quiet country lanes, help homecoming fishers haul in their daily catch on the sand, and crack open a beer while watching a game of cricket.

I especially love Treasure Beach for its slow-cooked food, including jerk chicken, goat curry, and the quintessential "breakfast of champions" — ackee and saltfish (my all-time favorite).

In my opinion, Jamaican cuisine is second only to Italian in the global pecking order.

Ilha do Mel — "Honey Island" — is a small vehicle-free island off the coast of Southeast Brazil.

It's ideal for surfing, swinging lazily on a hammock with a caipirinha, and casually communing with nature. Most of the island is protected in a state park, and daily visitor numbers are strictly controlled.

My favorite thing to do there is a beach hike to the Fortaleza Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, a marvelously mildewed historic fort lapped by Atlantic waves.

I've long been obsessed with the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, where 100,000 miners headed toward Alaska hoping to find gold.

In Skagway, the event's legacy has been painstakingly preserved.

The town of about 1,000 residents is a popular stop for cruise ships, but the summer crowds don't take away from the wonderfully preserved Gold Rush-era buildings expertly managed by the US National Park Service.

Costumed guides even help bring the town's history to life.

Capurganá is a small, isolated settlement surrounded by jungle in the Darien Gap on the border of Colombia and Panama.

It's physically detached from the rest of the nation, and the only way to get there is via boat across the choppy Gulf of Urabá.

Once docked, you'll be treated to unpaved, traffic-free streets — no cars allowed on the island.

When I last visited Capurganá in 2018, the diving was superb. I also highly recommend hiking amid toucans and howler monkeys along the 3-mile jungle trail to Sapzurro.

Kuélap is a walled settlement located in the mountains of Peru. It was constructed by the Chachapoya people, a sophisticated pre-Inca civilization.

These spectacular hilltop ruins are sometimes referred to as Northern Peru's answer to Machu Picchu. It's higher and older than its southern cousins and set among a dramatic backdrop of clouds.

Since it's located in the country's little-visited Northern Highlands region, I've found it considerably less crowded than other Peruvian ruins.

Even so, cable cars have been installed in recent years to make accessing the ruins much easier.