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Find everything from candles and straw hats to t-shirts and fine resort wear at Basil’s Bazaar, a tiny boutique adjacent to the famous bar itself. Most of the goods are branded with “Basil’s Mustique” in one way or another, so everyone is sure to know where you’ve been—but that’s the point, right?

A mile-long strip of soft white sand frames Friendship Bay on Bequia’s southern coast. The water here is consistently calm, making it perfect for swimming and snorkeling. You’ll likely have much of the beach to yourself—except for, perhaps, the area in front of the Bequia Beach Hotel, which welcomes non-guests to its lively beach bar.

Within shouting distance of Port Elizabeth on Bequia, Princess Margaret Beach features a broad strip of white sand framed by palm trees and seagrape plants. Get here by water taxi, car, or a fairly rough cliffside nature trail, then head to Jack’s Beach Bar for lunch, happy hour, or both.

Part exhibition space, part cafe-bar, this gallery is housed in a gorgeous early 20th century villa and is one of the main hubs for Hanoi‘s small but robust art scene. Works by emerging and established Vietnamese artists are shown throughout the airy interior of the villa.

Sea Glass Bar & Lounge is located in The Cove Atlantis Hotel. It has a chill vibe, serves fantastic tapas and cocktails all day and all night long, and has a number of gaming tables that are never too far out of reach—he perfect escape at the heart of The Cove Atlantis.

The Schiffbau, a renovated shipbuilding factory, is home to a popular theater, jazz club, bar and this glamorous restaurant, situated in a stunning glass cube. One of its signatures is a fillet of horse loaded with garlic, but for the less adventurous, the French- and Italian-leaning menu also includes classics like braised beef in red wine sauce.

Wine is an integral part of life on the Dalmatian Coast, a region with many indigenous varietals; a visit to Dubrovnik shouldn’t go by without a glass of local wine. Tucked away on Palmotićeva Street off the main Stradun, D’Vino offers cozy interiors as well as atmospheric seating at tables set on the narrow thoroughfare outside. Try a glass of something new from the impressive selection of local producers—the knowledgeable staff can help guide you in choosing one. D’Vino features several tasting experiences that highlight the region’s star wines: the Konavle Valley’s refreshing Malvazija, potent Plavac Mali reds from the Pelješac Peninsula, and Korčula Island’s fruity Pošip whites. Pair the wines with a platter of prosciutto and Croatian cheeses for a wonderful welcome to Dubrovnik and its wine region.

Like its nearby sister, the Belmond Hotel Monasterio, the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas is a hotel with ancient roots: the onetime private residence-turned-convent—and now turned hotel—has original Inca walls and colonial-era frescoes.

As a newer hotel (it opened in 2012, following years of renovation and restoration), the all-suite property also has plenty of modern touches. All rooms are enriched with oxygen, to help guests adjust to the altitude, and have iPads, WiFi, and espresso/tea bars; depending on the category, they might also have heated bathroom floors, balconies, or original Inca and colonial design features.

Other perks include Cusco’s first outdoor heated pool (with an adjacent pool bar), an intimate restaurant highlighting seasonal ingredients, and butler service for all—just like the Palacio’s original residents would have enjoyed.

Diani Beach is a 25km strip of pale, sugary sands backed by the cerulean Indian Ocean. As one of the more developed towns on the Kenyan coast, there’s a great variety of restaurants, cafés, bars and shops here. Also on offer are activities from horse riding to kite-surfing and tours of the ancient Kaya Forest. Popular haunts in Diani include the Forty Thieves Beach Bar - renowned for their fun beach parties and tasty pizzas, as well as Ali Barbour’s restaurant – set inside a candle-lit cave which opens out onto the starry night’s sky above. However you choose to spend your time in this idyllic costal location, one thing is for sure: as the sun sets, castling a golden glitter on the sea below, and the beach-front restaurants lay flickering lanterns on the sand, there are few other places in the world you will want to be.

The second location of the Sydell Group’s New York flagship, NoMad Los Angeles embraces its past as the Bank of Italy—imposing columns and all. In the lobby of the landmarked building, much of the original Neoclassical style, such as the Doric columns, coffered ceiling, and marble floors, was preserved, complemented by the addition of floral textiles in rich jewel tones. Even the original vault, which once housed 12,000 safety deposit boxes, and its 50-ton door were kept intact. The color palette across the 241 lavish rooms draws from the exquisitely maintained gold-and-blue Italianate lobby ceiling, with custom furniture, original artwork from design studio be-poles, and freestanding bathtubs in most rooms adding to the luxurious feel. Details like nightly turndown service, marble bathrooms, and custom linens by Bellino mean a five-star stay is all but guaranteed.

The founders of Soho House and the developers behind such buzzy hotels as New York City’s The NoMad teamed up to turn the historic Midland Bank building into—what else?—a one-stop lifestyle hub that’s drawing regulars of both the suit-and-tie and hipster variety. Part-hotel, part-member’s club, The Ned (named for the moniker of legendary, 19th-century architect Edwin Lutyens, who first envisioned the building) features eight dining options set around the former banking hall, from Italian, French, and Californian spots to a New-York-style deli, Pan-Asian favorite, and lounge for an overflowing, British-style Sunday feast, complete with a Bloody Mary bar and mimosa trolley. Hotel guests also have access to a downstairs bar, and a wellness level with a nail bar, gym, separate hair salon and barbershop, Cowshed Spa, traditional Moroccan hammam, and vitamin IV drips by The Elixir Clinic. The spa level also features an indoor pool, while the Ned’s Club Upstairs offers a rooftop pool and restaurant (with views out to St. Paul’s Cathedral) to Club members or those staying in higher-category rooms.

The entire property is done up in cool, vintage-inspired design, including the 250 guestrooms, which range in category from Crash Pad and Cosy to Heritage and six types of suites. All feature 1920s flair, such as mirrored cocktail cabinets, wingback chairs, and Jazz Age motifs, as well as marble-mosaic bathrooms stocked with rainfall showers and 10 full-size Cowshed products. Suites have bonus perks like dining areas, bathtubs, and upgraded views. Take all the pictures you want in your room, but Insta-addicts may want to leave their phones behind when in select public areas: there’s a photo ban in any place that’s part of the Club membership, including that stunning rooftop.

When you think of a chocolate factory, a hip and airy space in the heart of one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods may not spring to mind. But therein lies the surprise that is Dandelion Chocolate: part factory, part café, part boutique, and located in the heart of the Mission. Like beans for coffee and grapes for wine, Dandelion brings the idea of single-origin sourcing to each bar it creates. Rather than add strange ingredients to alter the flavor of the chocolate, Dandelion uses just two ingredients—cocoa beans and sugar—which allows each bean’s unique flavor and terroir to shine. Drop in for hot chocolate (with handmade marshmallows) or a chocolate dessert created by Dandelion’s pastry chef, shop for gifts, and take a twirl through the factory, where beans are roasted, cracked, sorted, winnowed, ground, and tempered before being molded. Each bar is wrapped by hand in gorgeous paper and ribbon and affixed with a label that tells a story about the cocoa bean’s origin. For a deeper dive into chocolate, Dandelion has a schedule of classes for adults and kids, and even leads trips to cocoa farms.

Every January, Tempe, Arizona, serves as the finish line for the thousands upon thousands of runners participating in the Arizona Rock’n’Roll marathon and half-marathon. And so, the question: “Where to eat after the race?” Mill Avenue is the main drag in this college-student-oriented downtown. (ASU’s campus is just a few blocks away.) Drinking-centric chain restaurants dominate, but if you want to find locally-sourced ingredients in a posh interior, check out La Bocca Urban Pizzeria and Wine Bar. Known throughout the Phoenix area for their sangria, they serve a mean plank of bruschetta—a great way to nosh while waiting for wood-fired pizzas to arrive. Perhaps not the clinically “perfect” runners’ recovery meal, but it worked for us! (The particular bruschetta in this photo: roasted baby beets with goat cheese and honey; smoked prosciutto with mascarpone, fig, and truffle oil...) And thank you thank you to fellow AFAR-posters who answered my query that led my friends and me to crash and refuel at this place yesterday afternoon! We DID shower beforehand; the interior is comfy-chic, with a lovely reproduction of a Renaissance portrait gazing out from behind the bar.

There are few places with as much ambiance as the Coffee House at McMurdo Station. When you drum up your ideas of what a coffee and wine bar in Antarctica should look like, this matches to perfection. I enjoyed my time there so much that I also spent numerous hours behind the bar serving up bottles of wine and lattes with an occasional biscotti to scientists, contractors, and several notables who traipsed through the Station as “distinguished visitors.” The building was once used as an exclusive Officer’s Club, but has since been opened up to the summer population of as many as 1100 people. After a cold day of work or weeks in a field camp, folks can warm up with a coffee or hot cocoa; often with a spot of Amaretto, Baileys, or whiskey thrown into the frothy mix. The fact that dry milk is the staple on station is usually secondary to the use of a ‘real’ espresso machine, and it also makes special deliveries of fresh New Zealand milk by friends in the Air Force all the more special. The coffee house culture runs deep here where people come to play a game of cribbage, socialize over knitting, chat with the bartender/barista, listen to live local music, watch a movie, or just escape from the weather.

Fleetwood Mac front man Mick Fleetwood is behind this bar and restaurant, located on a third-floor rooftop in Lahaina. Here, guests sip drinks under beige umbrellas while taking in views of the dreamy blue Pacific. To pair with award-winning cocktails like the Heart of the Jungle (Cynar, Velvet Falernum, coconut rum, and lemon juice), which comes in a tiki artichoke, executive chef Eric Morrissette serves a menu of elevated bar bites, fresh local fish, and meatier dishes like filet mignon with peppercorn reduction. If you’re not a cocktail person, know that the robust drink menu also features beers from Maui Brewing Co. and Kohola Brewing as well as exclusive wines like Krug Brut from Reims, Luberri Gran Reserva rioja, and even a Chateau Musar red blend from Lebanon.