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For a truly relaxing vacation, the beachfront Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, St. Maarten features everything you need right onsite: gamble in the casino, swim in the infinity-edge swimming pool, have a drink in the pool bar, dine at one of the three onsite restaurants, indulge with a treatment from their spa, or just enjoy the ocean views from your room. Friendly staff ensure a personalized stay, enhancing the overall experience. The Westin St. Maarten is also an excellent choice for families, as their Westin Kids Club® offers games, activities, crafts, and day trips. Babysitting services are also available. And for those trying to stay healthy while on vacation, the Westin Essence program offers SuperFoodsRx™ meals, a fitness studio, spa, and Westin Heavenly® Beds to help you be kind to your body. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the property. Maarten.

Often described as a Greek paradise, the Polilimnio Waterfalls in Polilimnio Gorge offer something different from Messenia’s usual beaches. Visitors are immersed in a scene of lush greenery, gushing cascades, and green lakes filled with fresh-water crabs perfect for a relaxing dip. And if you’re adventurous, cliff diving is also an option at the highest and deepest of the pools. The hike to the Polilimnio Waterfalls takes about an hour and a half, with the trailhead beginning in Haravgi Village. Follow the paved road until it turns into dirt and you’ll eventually come to a car park at the start of the trail. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes, as the ground can be uneven or slippery—especially after it rains—in some sections. For a guided experience, Navarino Outdoors offers an Ancient Messene & Polilimnio Falls Excursion where you’ll explore the area’s historical stadium and theater; eat traditional Greek food; and visit the beautiful Polilimnio Waterfalls.

The Caribou Club is a prestigious members only club and restaurant. There are temporary memberships available or if you know a member they can invite you as their guest for the evening. Although there is no official dress code shorts, hats and flip flops are not allowed. If you get an offer to dine at this chic establishment I would happily accept the invitation. The food is beautiful American fare ranging from Lobster Pot Pie to Colorado Rack of Lamb. After dinner relax on one of the couches and sip on some brandy in the Great Room. On the weekend it is a hot spot for drinking and dancing especially for gold-diggers and cougars. Generally they are on the prowl for their next husband. Don’t be surprised if you bump into a few stars. Due to its exclusivity it is a favorite among movie stars trying to escape the limelight.

Viernes Culturales is a local Miami event in Little Havana, where restaurants, galleries, clubs and street vendors get together on the last Friday of every month for a cultural art show. Local merchants and artists set up on the streets of Calle Ocho to turn it into what looks like a street fair. The City of Miami sets up an event area in the alley next to the Tower Theater to host DJs, performers, artists and sellers. Sponsors set up booths around here and offer free tastings and gifts. There are many live performances that occur throughout the day and night, but people dance throughout the streets during the entire festival. Many nightclubs serve drinks and vendors give out samples. Be sure to check out the expansive list of restaurants before choosing. I suggest going on a food crawl to really explore the Cuban American culture in Miami.

Darwin’s proximity to Indonesia is evident at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, a gorgeous place to be on a balmy tropical evening in this Northern Territory city. Held every Thursday in the dry season months between May and October, this fabulous market is a bit of a Darwin institution. Locals start arriving at dusk (out of the heat of the day), armed with tables, chairs, rugs and kids. They settle on the beach or the grass to watch the sun sink into the ocean (that’s one thing the east coast of Australia doesn’t offer). Like Darwin, these markets are melting pot of cuisines and cultures. People from more than 50 nationalities live in Darwin and more than 30 exotic national flavours – including Aboriginal, Islander, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese and European – are showcased in the tasty food stalls at Mindil Beach. There’s arts and crafts to pick up here too, so bring a carry bag for new treasures.

You can’t talk about cafés and coffee shops in Los Angeles without mentioning one of its most popular places: Urth Caffé. For an organic fix, there’s no better place. There are a number of locations throughout the city and in Orange County, including Santa Monica, Melrose, and Beverly Hills. With their trendy ambience and large outdoor patios, they are the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon, especially if you love herbal teas, organic coffee, and green-tea Americanos—and if you’re keen to spot celebrities around the metropolis. Aside from delicious drinks, they also have a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan food options.

Recently remodeled, Coastal Kitchen has shed its colorful decor for a more upscale, modern vibe, but it’s still serving the same stellar brunch dishes, like the ever-popular gingerbread waffles shown here. Every few months, they create an entirely new menu based on a regional cuisine (currently, it’s Veracruz), including special brunch entrees. The regional theme even extends to the restrooms, where you’ll hear audio language courses recorded by staff. Coastal Kitchen also has three happy hours daily, with food and drink specials: 4-6 pm and 10 pm to midnight, plus a “don’t judge me” 8-10 am one featuring Bloody Marys and mimosas (M-F). Seafood lovers, take note: the chef’s daily “two-buck shucks” are available from 3pm to close (bar only). No RSVPs, but they can accommodate large groups and you can call ahead to put your name on the list.

La Poza del Obispo (Bishop’s Pool) is a hidden treasure near the Arecibo Lighthouse in Puerto Rico. This beach is loved for its contrast. You will find a calm spot (though it can get rough in bad weather) where you may float, swim, or simply stand around talking to friends. This area is surrounded by limestone rocks. On the rocks and beyond them, as you near the open sea, large bursts of water spray into the air. The water is so clear that a fish and I once became friends. He kept swimming by my side and stopping when I stopped. The tiny silver and blue fish amused me for quite a few minutes. It’s a clean little area where you can sift through seashells and, if you snorkel, you can take a peek at coral on the rocks. Feel free to bring food and have a picnic, since there are a couple of tables and trashcans around.

Feel like learning to East Coast Swing, Salsa, Tango, Waltz or Kizomba while you’re in Seattle? From events to classes, to venue rentals and Footloose-inspired advocacy (repeal the ‘dance tax’ in Washington State), this is the perfect place for a creative date night. The organization is made up of three venues that include the Century Ballroom, the West Hall and the East Hall (pictured). Be sure to check online in advance for availability and times that certain types of lessons are taught, and then make a reservation. You’re in the perfect place for dinner as well, in that hip East Pine St and 10th neighborhood, but wouldn’t you know that the Century Ballroom owns a lovely dining spot on the same floor of the building where you’ll be dancing. The intimate Tin Table is a great spot for a cocktail and some food to fuel all of that movement. Have fun!

I especially enjoyed the pool at the hotel. I sat at the tropical pool and read and then swam for a while.There is an outdoor bar and food service so I had lunch poolside. The service was attentive and friendly. There are several restaurants and a gift shop at the hotel. This hotel is not directly on the beach but there is trolley service to take you to and from the beach. The Hutchinson Island Marriott Resort is a 200 acre resort with a hotel, pools, fitness center, golf, tennis,beaches, water sports, and a 77 boat slip marina. The area, Hutchinson Island, is very tropical and beautiful. I enjoyed my day while visiting with friends. They had a great vacation at the Marriott. This resort is the winner in the “Local Weekend Getaway” category for the 2013 Reader’s Choice. (Martin County, Florida).

This is the saying on one of the signs inside the Honesty Cafe, a small little cafe near the port in Ivana, Batanes. Joe and Elena own this place and because they were so busy with many other chores elsewhere, they often had to leave their little cafe which eventually turned into a self-service cafe, where even the payment for the food, drinks or souvenir items you want to get are done by dropping them into a box just sitting on the countertop. Thus, the birth of Honesty Coffee Shop where Honesty is the Best Policy. Some of the other interesting reminders posted inside the cafe :) 1) Get what you need 2) Please pay for whatever you get 3) If you have no change, knock at the next door. If no one answers, sorry, so you give more than the price. But the Lord will give you more later on. May your tribe increase!

The area around the rue de Bretagne in the north part of the Marais continues to be a big draw with locals and visitors for a number of reasons: the Marché des Enfants Rouges covered market with food stalls, the wincingly bobo-chic Café Charlot (people go even if the service is uneven and the fries are frozen), the Franco-British brunch institution Rose Bakery and the upstart Candelaria, one of the best places in the city for tacos and cocktails. Equally as iconic as some of these hot spots it Hier Aujourd’hui et Demain, a shop right across from Café Charlot that hawks vintage home decor accessories and French industrial lamps - both of which have reeled me (and my wallet) in many a time. A great source for original pieces and antiques to bring back with you after your trip.

Hoi An is one of my favorite travel destinations in all of Asia. Sure, it’s undeniably touristy, but it’s also quite laid back and relaxed - nothing like other South East Asia tourist hotspots like Chiang Mai, for instance. Hoi An has a wonderful beach, gorgeous old town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and some of the best food on the planet - surely well known to AFAR readers by now. Hoi An is also a great place for shopping. Of particular interest here are tailored suits and dresses, but the city also has a neat little cottage industry of lantern makers. There are quite a few scattered throughout the city, with some of the best being found on the southern side of the river. That’s where I came across this atmospheric little shop. If I ever have a hipster wedding, I’ll be buying my lanterns in Hoi An. Prices are, as all things in Vietnam, wildly negotiable.

Some 35 minutes by boat from Providenciales, sitting all alone on a 1,000-acre island with three miles of white-sand beach, Parrot Cay attracts a seriously moneyed clientele who care, more than anything, about its exclusivity and its spa. Parrot Cay is not exactly monastic: the long list of celebrity visitors has included Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck (they got married here), as well as Paul McCartney, Julia Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, and Liam Neeson. But the spa, COMO Shambhala Retreat, is so successful at projecting a holistic way of life that a sense of peace and harmony embraces the entire resort. The central garden-view and ocean-view rooms, three minutes’ walk from the beach, are acceptably chic, but the beachfront suites and villas are knockouts, and the handful of private homes for rent, some owned by celebrities (Christie Brinkley, Donna Karan), are in the fantasy category. The food, by a chef whose résumé includes a Michelin star, and the service, performed by private butlers for some room categories, are of commensurately high standards.

Before opening Craving Restaurant in 2013, chef Adam Goetz worked everywhere from the James Beard House to the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Now, he puts his talents to good use in North Buffalo, combining fresh ingredients with highly skilled technique to make the food diners crave. Open for lunch and dinner six nights a week and brunch on Sundays, Craving serves farm-to-table fare in a cozy setting, complete with a small bar and a patio out front. Dishes can be made vegetarian or gluten-free and the chef butchers all meats in-house to ensure nothing gets wasted. The menu changes constantly to highlight the freshest ingredients possible, but recent dishes included ricotta gnocchi, leg of lamb, and whole-roasted trout with asparagus sauce.