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Stillwater is a longtime favorite in Launceston for its location on the Tamar River in a lovingly restored 1830s flour mill. Original beams, polished timber floors, and water views set the scene for seasonal dishes such as whiskey-cured Huon salmon; slow-roasted Flinders Island rack of lamb (flavored like ocean salt from the sea-swept grasses the lamb eat); and Cape Grim steak (which hails from the capital of clean air). The same owners run Black Cow Bistro a few blocks up the road, which is doing more incredible things with Cape Grim cuts. Save room for the sweet basil panna cotta with strawberries and breadcrumbs. You can hike it off at Cradle Mountain tomorrow.

Penguins, igloos, and snowfall in Hyderabad? Welcome to Snow World, the only facility in India and the largest in the world that combines an amusement park and subzero temperatures. After paying a small entrance fee, visitors are given warm clothing, waterproof shoes, and a cup of hot soup to acclimate to the temperatures. Snow World features slides, basketball courts, play areas, igloos, bumper cars, an ice skating rink, and even an ice hotel. During construction, over 200 tons of artificial snow was layered on the floor using a patented technology from Australia. The top layer of snow is cleaned daily and then topped with an additional three tons of snow. The water is also filtered four times before being generated to snow, so it is safe if consumed - accidentally or otherwise. Perhaps the most charming feature of Snow World is the actual snowfall for ten minutes every hour. The smiles here are contagious.

If you are looking for a place to escape from it all, pack your overnight bag and follow the Capuchin monks to the Bay of Silence in Sestri Levante. With their long brown robes, you can easily spot the monks from this 17th century monastery preforming their daily rituals along the rocky seashore of this beautiful beach town. With one of the most lovely beaches along this coastline, Sestri Levante is quite popular in the summer months, but walk along the shoreline under the abandoned abbey, and you can find a semi-private rock outcropping to place your towel. Just know that there may already be someone there, and they just might be topless!

The west coast of Jamaica doesn’t sleep. If it isn’t some daytime live tunes on the beach, or a street party in the wee hours, it’s the evening live Reggae available in multiple seafront venues. At night, the island takes on a different energy and everyone comes out to enjoy the fresh air and the tunes. Almost every other Jamaican seems to have a natural talent for music. It’s no wonder, then, that there are plenty of local acts to go around, often performing covers of Bob Marley, from MoBay to Negril. Recording artists also show up regularly--from Beenie Man to Beres Hammond. Along the highways and neighborhoods streets are the latest posters, flyers or billboards announcing upcoming live Reggae shows. When in doubt, head to Pier One in Montego Bay, or Alfred’s, Bourbon Beach and Jungle Nightclub in Negril. Better yet, ask the locals, who love their music. The sound of Reggae is never too far off.

Every November the pork arrives. Slab after slab after slab of pork comes to St Pete to be smoked, grilled, and slathered with one secret sauce or another. As the heat of summer wanes, the community gathers on the shore of Tampa Bay in St Pete’s Vinoy Park for three days of fun, music, and, you got it. RIBS! Besides all the good food, fine beer, great music and a fun children’s play area, people are also doing good! Sponsored by the Northeast Exchange Club of St Petersburg, all proceeds go to All Childrens Hospital in St Pete. .

Opened in 1962, Curtain Bluff is Antigua’s oldest luxury resort, and one of the island’s finest. It is the kind of place guests return to through the generations, with the same expectation of timelessness they’ve experienced for as long as they can remember. Located at the southern end of the island on a promontory that divides an often roiling Atlantic from a much calmer bay, the resort offers sea views from every room, two beaches, a top-notch tennis center, a pair of restaurants that can boast one of the Caribbean’s most outstanding wine cellars, and a staff whose commitment has often been passed from parent to child. And except for spa treatments, a premium bottle of wine, and the occasional Cuban cigar, there is little that’s not included in the rate, making a stay a better value than the price might at first indicate.

The Grounds café—run out of a former pie factory in the warehouse district of Alexandria—makes coffee, juices, smoothies, baked goods, and rustic breakfast and lunch dishes with equal care. Order a flat white (a cross between a cappuccino and a latte) or a piccolo (a mini latte)—there’s also a coffee tasting board and a deconstructed iced coffee—to pair with your seasonal porridge or Big Brekkie (spicy chorizo and serrano ham with braised white beans, smoked peppers, halloumi, avocado, poached eggs, and thick slabs of house-baked toast). After brekkie, peek into the roastery and Potting Shed restaurant next door, and admire the enchanting garden and event space, complete with a coffee cart, barbecue joint, plant stall, and petting zoo.

Named after the Creole word for “almond tree,” this flower-filled, open-air restaurant enjoys pride of place at the pioneering eco-boutique Rosalie Bay Resort. The kitchen employs healthy ingredients fresh from its organic garden in dishes like vegan gumbo, hummus with plantain chips, and a beet-goat-cheese salad. Omnivores should try the grilled lobster tail or citrus-honey chicken.

A collection of rambling beach bars, The Strip on South Frigate Bay is the best “lime” on St. Kitts—a beach bash by day that transitions to an open-air dance party, moveable feast, and pub crawl by night. The area is within walking distance of the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, but it’s a popular nightlife destination for locals and visitors from all over the island. Don’t miss Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack, the most famous bar on St. Kitts, where you can enjoy grilled lobster alongside an ever-changing lineup of live entertainment, from karaoke to fire-eaters. Also worth visiting are Vibes (St. Kitts’ closest thing to a sports bar), ChinChillas (for Mexican food), and The Dock Bar, which offers a more relaxed scene and, as its name suggests, its very own dock. Wherever you land, expect live bands and DJs to keep the dance floor hopping well into the wee hours. If you get tired, cool off and then rev up with a “Ting with a Sting,” a popular drink of local CSR rum mixed with grapefruit soda.

If a hotel has a swank spa that administers treatments using ultra-expensive (and effective) Sisley products, it’s probably something special. And if those treatments come in a Victorian manse overlooking the placid waters of Kenmare Bay in Southwestern Ireland’s Ring of Kerry, it’s yet more likely to engage even the jaded traveler’s predilections for plush resorts. Kenmare Manor, a turn-of-the-19th-century stone building backed by patchwork hills and forests, looks like something out of a storybook. But it’s more than attractive: At SÁMAS spa, the treatments, which are indeed high-caliber, come with views of the misty woods (from the pool) and the bay and mountains (from the relaxation room). Staff are attentive to even tiny details, like buttery Irish shortbread at turndown. Breakfasts of smoked salmon and eggs and flaky scones are served by smartly dressed waiters rather than set out at a buffet. The hotel’s restaurant is known as one of the best in the country for wild-mushroom risotto and Kerry lamb loin with eucalyptus-flavored peas.

Opened in 2012, Hattie B’s is the new kid on the block for hot chicken, Nashville’s most iconic dish. Still, what the restaurant lacks in history it makes up in flavor, proven by the long queues that don’t seem to diminish until the kitchen closes at midnight. The hot chicken, made in the traditional style with a hot cayenne paste, comes in a variety of forms, from wings to dark meat; order the half bird if you want to try a little of everything. Then decide how much you want to crank up the heat, which ranges from mild to “Shut the Cluck Up: Burn Notice.” Half the fun is choosing the sides, which include pimento mac and cheese, Southern greens, baked beans, and extra pickles.

Its location on a relatively undeveloped stretch of Grace Bay Beach, and an atmosphere so subdued that guests sometimes feel they ought to be tiptoeing, make Point Grace a haven for people who want no sounds but the lapping of waves, and, occasionally, a recommendation from a waiter. The 28-room resort has a modernized British Colonial style; the roomy suites feature a full kitchen and washer/dryer; there’s an excellent, if small, spa; and the restaurant is romantic enough to encourage marriage proposals, or reinforce that they were the right thing to do. But guests looking for a party atmosphere, or whose pleasure is to see their kids happily splashing in the pool, might want to look elsewhere.

This is a peaceful spot to land when you want to soak up the tranquil breezes off the Chesapeake Bay. Head down south and enjoy a quaint stay in this hopeful little town still showing forth the glory of its historic roots. Grab a bicycle from the Hope & Glory Inn’s bike stand and head on over to their namesake vineyard. Taste a few of the delicious wines and dine at the Inn’s restaurant where the grub gives ‘country’ food a new meaning.

Café de La Concha is a perfectly satisfactory café for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. However, what it does really well is sit smack dab in the middle of La Concha Beach. This means there is no place more picturesque to take a morning coffee than its terrace, which has views of the bay and the surrounding mountains. If you are in town for Semana Grande, it’s the spot to be for fireworks watching, just make sure to reserve a spot for dinner.

Kennedy Park is located in Coconut Grove, right on the water with a view of the open bay, an outdoor gym including a green ladder you can climb up and down, a running path on an outdoor track, and a children’s play area. Looking to relax afterward? Grab a frozen lemonade or piña colada from the A.C.’s Icees truck or relax on a wooden dock by the water.