All seasons have their own specific ups and downs when it comes to traveling, but when Spring is starting to show its signs, we are once again motivated to start planning our vacation. Not to mention all the travel promos and discounts luring travelers to the most interesting places on earth.

So if you’re thinking of possible locations to spend this year’s vacation or trying to settle your hard to finish list, here’s hoping it will bring an inspiration: our recommended top 5 Spring travel destinations:

1. PARIS – French joie de vivre is never more evident, or more captivating, than when spring comes to this romantic city on the Seine. Locals idle at sidewalk cafés to people watch and fashion spot while gossiping over café-au-lait. Or, they linger in one of the numerous city parks – revered urban oases where carefully manicured French floral arrangements make colorful tributes to the onset of the season. Mild evenings also lend themselves spectacularly well to admiring the city’s floodlit monuments from the decks of a river cruise boat. Of course, you could also just stretch out along the banks of the Seine with a bottle of wine, a baguette, and some cheese. Best of all, you can enjoy it all without having to deal with higher summer prices – or the throngs of people who typically descend on the City of Lights then. No city on the planet is more synonymous with spring destinations than Paris.

2. BORA BORA - If there’s one destination to blow your savings on in the name of love, this tiny, pricey South Pacific island is it. James A. Michener famously described Bora Bora as, “the most beautiful island in the world” and visitors to its far-flung shores rarely disagree. So small that the island road is a mere 19 miles long, this Polynesian idyll sits 143 miles northwest of Tahiti. It boasts the best that nature can offer: a high-mountain center cloaked in jungle, a superb cobalt lagoon, a splendid coral reef, and pristine stretches of bone-white sand dotted with fallen coconut husks. When you’re not discovering the many bounties of this island paradise, hang out at the local watering hole, Bloody Mary’s, where Pierce Brosnan has been known to woo his leading lady, or send off the sun with a sunset catamaran cruise. Come nightfall, few can resist bedding down at a lavishly appointed over-the-water bungalow.

3. CAPE TOWN – Often touted as “the most beautiful city in the world,” Cape Town is at its best experienced as a spring destination – when fall is underway in South Africa. Flanked by spectacular natural scenery, this cosmopolitan city is still warm come autumn (around 70 degrees) so the beaches are still welcoming – while the frosty Atlantic Ocean along their shores is not (but then, it rarely ever is). Aside from delighting in near-perfect temperatures, refreshing sea breezes, and vistas of the famous Table Mountain blanketed in a layer of auburn leaves, this time of year is also harvest season in the Cape region which means plenty of opportunities to sample award-winning wines. One of the best times to do just that is early May, at the annual Waterfront Wine Affair, the largest wine event in town. Outside the city, several wine routes lead you through thriving vineyards and charming Dutch villages. Imagine sitting with a glass of wine in hand, gazing onto the sprawling vineyards that stretch towards the distant ocean . . . for some of us, nothing is more divine.

4. CARIBBEAN CRUISES – Another non-beach option for Spring Break is to take a week-long Caribbean cruise. Sure, you’ll stop in beach towns for your various ports of call, but you’ll get to visit several places without having to pack and repack or move around at all. Your hotel – the ship – moves with you. Cruises can be excellent bargains, especially if you forgo the room with a view, and almost everything is paid for up front so you’re better able to budget for extras like shore excursions and alcohol on board. Depending on each cruise and ship conditions and fare, you can relax at the full service spas, work out in the fitness centers, go shopping, ice skating, climb the rock walls and many more. Some ships have Wi-Fi service and satellite phone lines. Check with your travel agent for details.

5. TOKYO - Tokyo’s dizzying array of attractions, from ancient temples and landscaped gardens to towering skyscrapers and bustling markets, are reason enough to visit this exotic city, but the pleasant temperatures and bloom of the city’s famed cherry blossoms, a short-lived affair that unfolds for about a week each April, are what makes Tokyo especially captivating as a spring destination. Ueno Park is among the most popular spots to see the fabled blossoms; masses of locals and tourists congregate here to socialize, knock back sake, and belt out songs (with the help of portable karaoke machines) on blankets strewn below 1,200 cherry trees. Stick around for a nighttime stroll through the park, when paper lanterns illuminate the blossoms to especially breathtaking effect.

Travel warning: on 11 March 2011, a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that caused widespread destruction.

Live news blogging is being provided by CNN and the Guardian. On Twitter, you can follow the hashtags #prayforjapan and #tsunami. Travellers to Japan and the Pacific should check warnings on the following websites:

• travel.state.gov (USA)
• Foreign Office (UK)
• Smart Traveller (Australia)
• Safe Travel (New Zealand)
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada)

Virtually all nations with Pacific coastlines are on tsunami alert. For people trying to locate friends, Google has jumped in quickly and created Person Finder: Japan Earthquake 2011, a tool where anyone can post if they are looking for someone or know of someone’s whereabouts. Several international organisations, including the Red Cross, have appealed for donations to aid relief efforts.

6. YOUR CHOICE – that’s right, this is where we ask you to nominate the 6th best travel destination for this Spring. Just add a comment below with the name of the city/country/spa, description of attractions there and we’ll select the best proposal to be listed as ‘public’s choice’.