Japan's kitchen goes all out in summer, and Osaka is where you'll want to be for it. This is the country's food capital, and the neon-soaked canals of Dotonbori are the place to graze your way through takoyaki, okonomiyaki and skewers of kushikatsu until you can't manage another bite. Warm evenings spill out onto the streets, and if you time it right you'll catch one of the city's summer festivals, when lantern-lit boats and fireworks light up the Okawa River. Beyond the food, Osaka makes an easy base for exploring the wider Kansai region. The moated grandeur of Osaka Castle is a short hop from the centre, while the temples of Kyoto and the free-roaming deer of Nara are each under an hour away by train. It's a city that rewards wandering — bright, busy and refreshingly unpretentious.

For winter sun that's only a short hop from Australia's east coast, it's hard to beat Nadi. Most travellers pass through this laid-back town on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu, and it's the natural launchpad for everything the archipelago does best — swaying palms, bathwater-warm lagoons and some of the friendliest welcomes in the South Pacific. Base yourself here and you're minutes from the jetties that ferry you out to the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands, where powder-soft sand and coral gardens await. Nadi itself is worth lingering over before you set sail. Wander the colourful Sri Siva Subramaniya temple, one of the largest Hindu temples in the southern hemisphere, browse the bustling produce market or soak in the mineral-rich mud pools just out of town. Add sunset sailings, snorkelling straight off the beach and a kava ceremony or two, and you've got the makings of a proper winter escape without the long-haul jet lag.

If it's guaranteed winter sun you're chasing, Honolulu delivers. Oahu's easy-going capital wraps around the golden crescent of Waikiki Beach, where gentle surf makes for perfect first-timer waves and the swaying palms are exactly as advertised. Hike the crater rim of Diamond Head at sunrise, then reward yourself with shave ice and an afternoon of doing very little at all. There's real depth here beyond the beach, too. Pay your respects at the Pearl Harbor memorials, chase waterfalls along the lush windward coast, or make the pilgrimage to the North Shore, where winter swells draw the world's best surfers. Add fresh poke, laid-back island time and that warm Pacific breeze, and it's easy to see why Honolulu tops so many winter wishlists.