There’s just one place in the world where the warmth of the sun is eclipsed only by the warmth of the aloha spirit. Where photos do no justice to the beauty that erupts through your senses and literally leaves you awestruck, squeezing your heart just tightly enough for you to feel ... alive.

The cool breezes that carry the echoes of ukuleles down shaded avenues and cliffside roads. Waves that tickle your toes on white, stunning red or black beaches, the same way schools of brilliantly hued fish nibble at them in the world beneath the water. The mighty bellows of smoke that send signals to the skies as gray grounds glow with slow rivulets of lava. The tangible slowing of time as hula dancers sway with the trees and shedding of cares as surfers of all ages crinkle their eyes with a smile and remind you to “hang loose.”

All of these are the lasting impressions you’ll take home after your visit to the Hawaiian Islands. An American paradise, the youngest of our 50 states incorporates the very best of domestic travel—comfort, familiarity, language, currency and ease—with the laid back way of life and natural beauty only the tropics can provide.

Will it be the wild jungles of Kauai that steals your heart, or the refined elegance of Maui? Will the bustling capital, Honolulu, be the reason you’ll return to Oahu, or the waves of its North Shore? Maybe the hot coffee and hotter volcanoes of the Island of Hawaii sing your siren song. If you’re fortunate, it’s all of the above.