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For an introduction to the Rastafarian culture and lifestyle, head to OJ’s Ital Cart in Basseterre. The brightly painted food truck takes a pure approach to its menu, offering vegetarian fare that’s fresh, natural, and from the earth. Ingredients are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and even the salt used to flavor dishes is iodine-free. While lines often wrap around the block at lunchtime, the vibe is always fast and fun. When you’re seeking something healthy, join the crowds for pastas, sautéed soya, fresh local juices, and more.

Why we love it: A boutique resort that perfectly merges relaxation with exploration

Highlights:
- Amenities like an infinity pool, spa, and outdoor fire pits to help you unwind
- Unique offerings like daily yoga classes and nightly social hours with wine
- Weekly stargazing sessions with local astronomy experts

The Review:
This eclectic 100-room property attracts adventurous extroverts ready to explore the surrounding red rocks, then swap tales over morning coffee or happy hour wine. Inside, decor honors the area’s Native American heritage, incorporating elements like grass-woven baskets, headboards crafted from local fallen trees, and desert flower hues against soothing neutrals. Pet-friendly rooms also feature luxurious touches like Italian linens, modern art, and Atelier Bloem toiletries, while suites up the ante with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the desert.

Outdoors, guests can gather around the heated pool and hot tub or several crackling fire pits and admire views of Sedona’s iconic Snoopy Rock. There’s also an award-winning spa for when you need respite from all the hiking, plus a signature restaurant, SaltRock, which serves Southwest favorites alongside creative mezcal cocktails. On Monday nights, local astronomy experts lead stargazing sessions to take in Sedona’s dark skies, and daily yoga classes are included in the resort fee. Other amenities include access to top-rated golf courses, a full-service fitness center, complimentary bikes, and a shuttle that ferries guests within a one-mile radius of the property.

At Mosquito Bay Beach—also known as Starfish Beach—on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico, you’ll find tons of colorful starfish. While the beach itself is small, it’s still beautiful and perfect for a scenic walk. You won’t get bored searching for sea creatures in the water.

The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa has a lovely pool overlooking the sea. Perfect for relaxing and taking it easy and doing absolutely nothing. But if you do feel like going out and about, the main town, Kuah, and its jetty is pretty close by.

The terraced organic garden that steps down the hillside in front of the Stanford Inn (above Mendocino Bay) provides some of the vegetables and herbs for the innovative cuisine in the hotel’s Ravens’ Restaurant. A stroll through the farm, with a visit to the donkeys and horses and llamas, helps work up an appetite for the vegetable-based whole-food meals that raise the bar on all-vegan fine dining. Innkeeper Jeff Stanford puts his ethics on the plate: Vegan for both health and philosophical reasons, Stanford collaborates with certified nutrition consultant Sid Hillman and the Ravens’ chefs to create dazzling meals, including one of the most innovative and tempting brunch menus I’ve ever encountered. The Inn, a large boutique hotel with panoramic ocean views, an organic farm, luxury amenities, and a bookstore and wine shop, gains additional points for being dog-friendly--even in a special dining area.

Move over, canvas safari tent; Tanzania has a new lodging option, this one in the form of a space-alien-looking dome. Set back from the famous Ngorongoro Crater and its plethora of lodges, the Highlands domes’ wild, remote, forest-edge location is one of the key selling points. The accommodations were custom-built to make it easy to take in incredible views. Asilia, the safari outfitter that owns these dwellings, prides itself on the authenticity of the experience, so trips to visit local Maasai communities are low-key and varied, with a different village visited each day. At more than 7,500 feet above sea level, evenings are chilly, but each dome tent is fitted with a high-output woodstove to keep guests cozy all night long.

This two-level Cantonese palace—connected by an escalator—is lined with tanks of live fish, crustaceans, and bivalves, which the staff will stir-fry, steam, salt-and-pepper, and douse in XO sauce to your heart’s delight. There are many reasons the Chinatown establishment is beloved among in-the-know locals and hospitality veterans, and they extend from the warm, welcoming service all the way through the exquisite live abalone sashimi, mud crab hot pot, and private reserve range of wines. For a Chinese food adventure, arrive late (this place is open until 4 a.m.) and order straight from the live tanks. At least, that’s what the rock stars, politicians, and CBD chefs just getting off work do.

No surprises – pork is the focus at West Seattle’s Swinery deli. When you walk into the tiny shop, you’ll see a huge deli case full of steaks and chops, bacon, smoked meats, sausages, pates and confits, as well as all the pickled veggies, slaws, sauces, and sliced deli meats you need to assemble a truly kickass charcuterie platter. If you can’t wait, order a sandwich in the adjacent Courtyard Cafe. The focus is on BBQ pork and burgers, but the smoked turkey sandwich is smoky and flavorful, and the red onions and Carolina sauce add some tangy brightness. For big appetites, try the “Danger Fries,” hand-cut and fried in rendered pork fat, tossed with salt, fresh garlic and chives, and smothered in a bacon blue béchamel sauce.

Despite a name change from Mia’s Yunnan Kitchen to Julie’s, this inexpensive, cheerful restaurant in the French Concession continues to serve delicious cuisine from southern Yunnan province. Kunming, Yunnan’s capital, is 1,900 miles from Beijing, and the province’s cuisine has more in common with neighboring Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam than it does with other regional Chinese cuisines. The most unique dish on the menu is rubing—pan-fried goat’s-milk farmer cheese, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s very simple but unusual: When have you seen dairy in Chinese cooking? Eat it with pickled mashed potatoes, spicy mint salad, and plenty of mushrooms—they’re native to Yunnan.

The award-winning Grillmarkaðurinn (Grill Market), known for working with local farmers and suppliers to create meals that are fresh, organic, seasonal, and delicious, is a definite culinary highlight for foodies visiting Iceland. The welcoming and impressive interior blends contemporary style with natural textiles, as well as elements like moss and basalt. The menu is generally centered around fish and meat, ranging from salted cod with lobster salad to grilled pork ribs and dry-aged rib eye, but there are vegetarian dishes available, too. Everything is grilled to perfection and artfully presented on wooden cutting boards. The wine list is expertly curated, too. Staff are professional and friendly.

After hopping off a boat off the coast of San Cristobal Island, you enter the freezing water of the Kicker Rock channel (or Leon Dormido). Above you Blue-Footed Boobies perch on the rock, while Frigate birds fly in the clear blue sky. Underneath you an aquatic world awaits, filled with playful Sea Lions, Razor Surgeon Fish, Parrotfish, Sea Turtles, and if you’re lucky you might even spot some (or 40) White-Tipped Sharks...Don’t worry, the locals swear the sharks are vegetarians!

I love this beach. Squeeze past the Buccaneer, bypass the golf course, keep going and don’t look back. Park at the end of the line, pick through the sea grapes and there it is: Shoy’s. A sweet little crescent of a beach that’s sure to leave a smile on your face.

Covering nearly two thirds of Basse-Terre island, Guadeloupe National Park is an astounding 54,000 acres of lush rain forest, plus offshore mangrove and coral reefs. Some of the island’s best-known sights are inside the park, including active La Grande Soufrière volcano at its center, 4,800 feet above sea level. The park also contains famous waterfalls like Carbet Falls and the Cascade aux Ecrevisses, and Les Bains Jaunes thermal pool is a refreshing swim after conquering one the park’s many hiking trails. Nature lovers will swoon over the 800-plus species of flora and fauna here, ranging from orchids to bats to the endangered agouti (a type of small rodent). You can explore Guadeloupe National Park on your own or go with an outfitter like Vert Intense, an eco-friendly operation that knows every inch of this vast green escape, and also offers canyoning.

Rugged Monhegan, aka the Artists’ Island, lies about a dozen miles out to sea, and is reachable only by passenger ferries. About 60 hardy souls live here year-round, most making a living from the sea. If you get a sense of déjà vu when visiting Monhegan, it’s likely because so many of the island’s icons and vistas have been painted by American masters, including Robert Henri, Rockwell Kent, Jamie Wyeth, George Bellows, Edward Hopper, James Fitzgerald, Andrew Wyeth, Alice Kent Stoddard, Reuben Tam, and William Kienbusch. Artists and art lovers come in summer; bird-watchers flock here in spring and fall. Hiking trails access remote rocky beaches and craggy headlands. Go for the experience, the art, and the hiking, and don’t miss the museum at the lighthouse.

The miniscule, idyllic island of Granita de Oro (meaning “little grain of gold”) is one of 38 small, wild islands that comprise Panama’s Isla Coiba National Park, in the Gulf of Chiriqui. The cyan-blue waters here swarm with a jaw-dropping array of sea creatures—not just coral reefs swarming with tropical fish, but moray eels, manta rays, sharks, and sea turtles. While snorkeling and diving are the most obvious pursuits here, many travelers enjoy just kayaking, sunning, and picnicking on the powdery beach. Traveling with an intimate group can heighten the experience of exploring Central America. The ship used for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Costa Rica & Panama trips accommodates just 62 passengers.