USA TODAY travel writers' favorite places for 2011

— -- "What's your favorite place?" That's a question USA TODAY's leisure travel writers get a lot. Answers vary by year, but here are spots Laura Bly, Jayne Clark and Kitty Bean Yancey enjoyed most in 2011, along with best places stayed and lessons learned.

Enjoy, and happy travels.

Laura Bly

Favorite destination: Iceland

Most tourists come to this barren, delightfully bizarre outpost during the summer, when its raw landscapes are softened by wildflowers and long days give way to convivial nights fueled by such delicacies as fermented shark meat and an aptly named brandy, "Black Death."

But after two brief midwinter encounters here — including a magical rendition of the northern lights — I can't imagine a better time to visit. Prices drop with the temperatures, and hotels fully booked in summer have plenty of rooms. And when you're hurtling through the mid-afternoon darkness in a snow-laced gale, Icelanders' tales of trolls and elves seem even more believable.

Favorite hotel

Though I was too busy hoisting microbrews along the Colorado Beer Trail to wander its historic grounds, take in a concert or sample the world-class hiking a few steps away, I was thoroughly smitten by the Colorado Chautauqua.

Located at the base of the Flatiron range in the Brigadoon-like college town of Boulder, this year-round cultural and educational retreat is one of only three remaining Chautauquas — a movement Theodore Roosevelt called "the most American thing in America." My cozy, recently updated cottage (nightly rates are $125-$268) came with a screened porch, full kitchen and two hours of free Wi-Fi. No in-room phones or TVs, unless you bring your own — hard to imagine, given the tantalizing scenery and lineup of lectures and entertainment.

Lesson learned

Don't expect travel to cure all ills, particularly an iPhone addiction. Despite my best intentions (and a detox at one of the planet's most spectacularly unplugged destinations, the bottom of the Grand Canyon) I failed to meet last year's resolution to spend less time in front of a screen. Next year, I'm focusing on the positive: using that technology to chart better trips.

Jayne Clark

Favorite destination: New Zealand

I have only two quibbles with this genial nation perched on the far side of the map: They drive on the "wrong" side of the road — and it's really far away.

But its many attributes make it worth the journey. The topography is remarkable (it starred as Middle-earth in the Lord of the Rings movies, after all). And the verdant vistas are so color-saturated, you'd swear they were Photoshopped.

I swam with dolphins in the Marlborough Sounds, kayaked along the rugged Kaiteriteri coast, hiked in lush Abel Tasman National Park and jet-boated on the wild Dart River. I feasted on giant green-lipped mussels plucked fresh from the sea and sampled home-pressed olive oils at the edge of the grove they came from.

Not least, I met interesting characters, from the artist who hauled an old barn 180 miles and re-purposed it into a fabulous dwelling, to a sheep farmer whose land harbors a Hobbit village.

Best hotel

I have three favorites from 2011: An Artist's Garden on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada; The Beachcomber on Casey Key in Nokomis, Fla.; Lochmara Lodge on New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds.