For this month’s Authors on the Bench post, we’re asking our authors about their favorite vacations. Keep reading to find out what they’d done and what makes their favorites so special.

• Terry Ambrose:

  My favorite vacation trip was the trip we took to New Zealand for our 40th wedding anniversary. I told my wife I was willing to go, but I would only fly one direction. Consequently, we flew to New Zealand, did a two week land tour, then took a cruise ship back to Honolulu. Despite getting the Australian flu, that trip remains my favorite.

• Nancy J. Cohen:

  I love cruising to the Caribbean and have been on over 30 cruises. It’s the ultimately relaxing vacation where you don’t have to make any decisions except what to eat. London, Boston, San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C. and New Orleans are my favorite cities. I’ve been to England, Ireland and Scotland. I like visiting my cousin in Arizona, where I did research for Peril by Ponytail. I did a Eurail pass through Europe for six weeks after graduating college. But my most exotic trips were to the South Pacific on my honeymoon then Asia and Hawaii two years later.

• Debra H. Goldstein:

  In many ways, visiting China was my most interesting vacation because of seeing the artifacts (loved the terra-cotta soldiers) and learning about a different culture, but I think the contrast of two trips are my favorite. When my daughter was twelve we spent a week in Paris, followed by a week in Israel. For the week in Paris, we walked everywhere and it was a delight to show her the sights – famous ones like touring the Louvre versus teaching her the joy of simply sitting in a cafe observing people. During her senior year in college, she did a term abroad in Australia. About four months into the six that she was there, I flew over to spend a week with her in Sydney. This time, she was the one guiding me and showing me the sights and the hidden joys of the city. As we sat at a special meal the day after taking a behind the scenes tour of the Opera House, she leaned back in her chair and I suddenly realized my child was a woman. That was my favorite vacation.

• Cheryl Hollon:

  Our most unforgettable trip was a big financial splurge. It was a journey on the Rocky Mountaineer, a luxury train rolling through the breathtaking Canadian Rockies. It was pure magic: mountain peaks dusted with snow, sparkling rivers, and plenty of hot coffee in real china cups.

• Maggie Toussaint:

  I’ve always been a child of the sea. I grew up with the Atlantic Ocean in plain view from my yard. For many years, when I wasn’t living in my home-stomping grounds and was instead living in foothills, I traveled around the country, seeing new sites. I learned that altitude is a problem for me and that there’s no place like home. What I like best about travel is seeing the expressions of wonder and delight on my kids (and now grandkids’) faces.

• Lois Winston:

  It’s a toss-up between my three weeks of backpacking through Europe the summer going into my senior year of college and the Mediterranean cruise my husband and I took in 2013.