January is a time when thoughts turn to exotic locales: whether it’s your next fork in the road, tour on a cruise ship, or ride on a camel.

National Geographic Traveler is for travelers, not tourists. The difference is that travelers move at their own pace, while tourists just pass through a place. This issue suggests that more people abandon the guidebooks and structured itineraries in order to savor the experience. That sounds like good advice to us, especially if you’re heading to a place as foreign and exciting as China. With the aid of stunning photography, the magazine gives readers an inside look at the rising nation ahead of the much-anticipated Beijing Olympics, witheye-catching pictures ranging from the rice terraces to the “Water Cube” at the Olympic site.

Budget Travel is perfect for our limited bank accounts and it doesn’t waste time with down-and-out vacations like winters in Alaska and resorts in Arkansas. This month’s issue highlights the 40 best deals around the globe from particular cities in the US. The mag also features trips to Paris, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and an interesting jaunt down the east coast of Florida starting in Jacksonville. The only problem we have with the mag is its lack of detail for some of the vacations it describes.

Travel + Leisure offers up its picks for the to 500 best hotels around the world. La Casa Que Canta in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, grabs the cover shot for the data-heavy package. The St. Regis lands the nod as the top pick in New York, which ranks as the most expensive city on the list with the average cost of a stay at one of the selected hotels at over $800 per night. And for those running out of new places to visit, luxury hotels in the Jura mountain range in France, Australia’s Kakadu National Park and Abu Dhabi are all tapped as “where to go next” destinations.

Condé Nast Traveler looks at 20 destinations for eco-friendly travelers, and offers tips for going green while on the road. The suggestions run from the obvious (reuse hotel linens), to the instructive (leave disposable plastic and cardboard packaging at home when visiting developing countries that lack recycling programs), to the absurd (avoid using the bathroom on airplanes to cut down on fuel use). Miami hotel Setai gets the cover treatment as part of the mag’s “Gold List” guide to the best hotels, resorts and cruise lines in the world, a package that trumps Travel + Leisure’s list thanks to a more eye-friendly layout and engaging sidebars.

The editors at Time faced a daunting challenge this week. The current issue hit newsstands just one day after the Iowa caucuses, rendering any stories on the presidential race virtually meaningless. Time got around the problem by exploring the death of Benazir Bhutto and the future of Pakistan. The prescient issue takes a much-needed look at how the nuclear country’s current turmoil could ruin all hope of democracy there. For those into the politics of the death penalty, there’s an interesting preview of an upcoming Supreme Court trial challenging the controversial three-drug cocktail that has been used in most executions for nearly 30 years.

Newsweek, which comes out today, had more time to deal with the Iowa results and puts a smiling close-up of Barack Obama on its cover. Editor Jon Meachem explains that, even though putting Obama on the cover ran the risk of making the issue look stale if he loses New Hampshire tomorrow, the fact that a person of color won in a predominantly white state marked a turning point in history. Fans of HBO’s “The Wire” will certainly enjoy the piece on the upcoming final episodes of the series, which Newsweek calls TV’s “best drama ever.”

Crime, or lack thereof, in New York City graces the cover of this week’s New York. The resulting features inside are great examples of why the mag continues to win editorial awards. The lead piece explores various ways to reduce the murder rate, which dipped below 500 last year, to zero. We won’t give them all away, but the analysis on decriminalizing drugs was interesting, to say the least. Kudos as well to the graphics team, which put together an accessible and engaging three-page spread on the crime stats in all five boroughs broken down by neighborhood.

The New Yorker goes corporate this week with an investigative report on Google’s ever-growing power. And scrap metal may sound like a boring subject, but the piece on a giant operation in New Jersey launches into a surprisingly engaging discussion on the global trade in the stuff. There is also a delightful look inside the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, where the faith’s ambitious leaders are using stars to restore its tarnished image.