All Answers To Questions

I recommend the Tamron 18-270mm f/5.6-6.3 It's a killer deal at around $600, and will do a whole lot of different kinds of photography. The 18 covers landscapes pretty well, the 270 is good for shooting stuff that's far away, and it does everything in between as well. It also does pretty good macros. The glass is sharp, the autofocus is accurate and fast, and the image stabilization is excellent. The only things it won't do well are portraits (you usually want something faster) and low-light shots. Other than that, you're covered without having to change your lens very often. Good luck!

It depends on exactly what you want to shoot. But I agree with the guy above me, you need a nice versatile lens. You do not want to be standing in the middle of a crowded street in a foreign country, trying to change lenses. Your subject will be gone, or you are going to drop or damage a lens. Something like an 18-200mm lens would be great, but pack a few spare one, perhaps a nice 10-24mm and a standard 50-74mm as well. As for what brand, either the offical lens brand for your camera (Nikon, pentax, canon etc) or tamron, tokina or sigma. Any of the major brands. The last thing is you need a tough lens. When you are on holiday, you are most likely going to busy watching the scenery rather than looking after your camera. These days you can buy nice tough, and even weather resistant lenses. Spend a bit of extra money and get a dust and splash resistant lens made of nice tough metal/plastic. Oh, and a lens hood and UV filter are a must, especially if you are going somewhere dusty or sandy. hope that helps

Tobasco has made a good suggestion but keep in mind that it is made for APS-C cameras. For FF cameras I have found that the 24-70mm f/2.8 makes for a handy travel lens.