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Della’s, the breakfast-and-lunch-only restaurant at the Delano Las Vegas, prides itself on sourcing ingredients from local farmers and growers—yes, they really exist in the middle of the Nevada desert. The menu has options that can satisfy diners with all sorts of dietary restrictions: vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, and more. For breakfast, you can taste the difference that comes with farm-fresh produce, especially in the egg dishes. At lunchtime, the off-menu ramen bowl features a savory mushroom broth with a pork shank, house-fermented cabbage, and a slow-poached egg. Della’s is also one of the only places on the Strip where you can get cold-pressed juice made to order. The overarching commitment to sustainability extends beyond the menu: Glasses here are created from recycled liquor bottles from Vegas clubs.

First opened in 1939, this beloved local favorite is now being operated by the third generation of the founding family, who’ve also expanded the brand with an outpost Kochi and a couple in Dubai. The original Calicut location began with focus on the variety of Malabar coastal cuisines, including Moplah (the dishes of the Muslims of northern Kerala) and Thyyas, by the Ezhavas community in the southern part of the state. The menu now includes both vegetarian and non-veg dishes from all over India, including curries and breads made in the tandoor, but there are also a number of unique regional specialties. Check out the baby squid pan-seared Malabari-style, traditional moiley curry, and a selection of additive breads, including crispy, lentil-based appam and a perfectly flaky, buttery paratha.

Just 90 minutes south of Guadalajara, the colonial town of Tapalpa is an alpine refuge nestled in the Sierra Madre Mountains. A designated pueblo mágico (magic town), it’s home to a picturesque plaza, where artists often congregate to sell handmade wool and pine needle crafts. Spend the day discovering the restaurants, churches, and historic buildings around the plaza, or explore the lakes, streams, and forests in the surrounding countryside.

The province of Bohol seems to encourage the bizarre. It contains one of the world’s strangest landscapes, a collection of some 1,700 hills in a 20-square-mile area called the Chocolate Hills. It is also home to a peculiar creature called the Philippine tarsier (locally referred to as the mawmag or mamag), one of the smallest known primates, no larger than an adult man’s hand, with giant round eyes and a tail that is longer than its body. These adorable beasts are spread across various islands in the southeast of the Philippines, surviving in rain forests with thick vegetation. They are nocturnal, can leap as far as 10 feet from tree to tree, and (like owls) are able to turn their heads 180 degrees. Unfortunately, habitat destruction via logging and mining threatens the Philippine tarsier with extinction. The best place in Bohol to see them and support their conservation at the same time is at the Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary in Corella. Run by the Philippine Tarsier Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to tarsier conservation and education, this small but successful sanctuary provides the best possible environment to allow these tiny creatures to survive and thrive.

New Orleans’s newest public park lies along about a mile and a half of the Mississippi River—a lovely retreat reclaimed from industrial squalor. The main entrance is near the foot of Esplanade Avenue, marked by a boxy footbridge (with elevator) over the railroad tracks, which divide the park from nearby low-slung neighborhoods. While walking along the water, note how the powerful Mississippi’s twists and currents require dexterity from a river pilot, as the huge passing barges slide past sideways angling for the bends. At Piety Wharf—a former warehouse location converted into a massive sculpture that invites contemplation—you can cross a steeply arched span (designed by noted architect David Adjaye, and locally dubbed the Rusty Rainbow) into the Bywater neighborhood for a walk back to the French Quarter.

Bufalina owner Steven Dilley once lived in New York City, where he taught himself how to cook pizza in his subsequently overheated apartment. He was a good teacher and a good student. The University of Texas alumnus became one of the early movers in the Neapolitan pizza game in Austin and now operates two Bufalina locations. The igloo-shaped stoves that turn out charred and supple pizzas never would have fit in that old apartment, but they have become the centerpieces of his Austin restaurants. The menus celebrate local bounty with a couple of fresh salad options, and the daily pasta is always a must. Dilley has also put together one of the city’s most intriguing wine lists, an unexpected page-turner for restaurants the size of Bufalina.

The Black Rose is reliable in every way: It’s a genuine Irish pub in a part of Boston where authentic can be hard to find among the tourist joints; the bar food is first-rate (you can’t go wrong with a pint of Guinness and the house-made corned beef on marble rye, hold the mustard); and there’s live music seven nights a week. Located across the street from the historic Custom House and close to Faneuil Hall, the Black Rose has thrived for 40 years by keeping it real, and you’ll find a lively crowd of locals and visitors here even on wintry weeknights to drink Irish beer poured by Irish bartenders and listen to Irish music.

Situated at the eastern end of Playa del Carmen’s quiet, charming Calle 38, Shangri-La Beach is named after a small hotel that used to sit right there but has since been renamed and renovated. This stretch of the city’s coastline has a more tranquil atmosphere thanks to its location several blocks away from jammed beach clubs downtown as well as from 5th Avenue’s hustle and bustle. At Shangri-La, going to the beach is less of a scene and more about guests from nearby hotels plus a few locals catching some rays on a lunch break. Best of all, you’ll find soft white sand, turquoise seas, and blissfully calm waves here.

You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy spending time at Carmel’s Quail Lodge—but if you are, you may never want to leave. The 18-hole championship golf course—designed by Robert Muir Graves in 1964 and later refined by Todd Eckenrode—features short grass areas that surround the greens for more shot options, as well as grass swales that come into play on seven holes. There’s also an on-site academy for those duffers who want to polish their skills with the aid of a pro. The stylish 93-room lodge is inspired by historic California ranches and Spanish colonial design, with guest room balconies and patios opening up to the grounds. Off the golf course, take advantage of the heated outdoor swimming pool, bocce ball courts, and tennis courts (with a pro on hand for lessons), or rev up at the Off-Road Land Rover Experience Driving School. Reward all that activity at the Waypoint Bar & Deck, with signature cocktails and casual dishes, or at Edgar’s restaurant, with ingredients from nearby organic farms. Pro tip: Friday nights are Cioppino Night at Edgar’s—a local favorite.

The San Francisco Proper Hotel is the hottest new hotel in town. The reason why? International grande dame of maximalism, designer Kelly Wearstler, revamped a down-and-out tourist hotel deep in the heart of the city, and established the Proper as a magnet for trendsetting visitors and locals. When guests arrive at the 131-room hotel and step inside the flatiron building, they’re treated to Wearstler’s signature pattern-on-pattern aesthetic. In the ground floor lobby, Wearstler sets the mood with salon-style seating areas using richly reupholstered vintage furnishings and Cubism-inspired paintings. Michael Adams, formerly of Central Kitchen, oversees the hotel’s main restaurant, Villon. And while the Proper isn’t the place for those looking for a Zen retreat, it is the place to order a Fifi the Flea cocktail (Tequila Ocho Plata, Ancho Reyes, Ancho Reyes Verde, grapefruit, honey, vanilla, lime, smoked salt) at Charmaine’s, the stylish rooftop bar. Between the fire pits and the bird’s-eye view of Market Street all the way to the bay, it’s no wonder the Proper has become the destination to see and be seen.

Set along the beach at Langley Resort Fort Royal, Kawann Beach Bar is a chic but casual option for cocktails on the sand. Sample a local rhum mixed with fresh fruits and snack on pizza, sandwiches, and other bar bites all day and night until midnight.

Chef Nyesha Arrington’s personality may have won her fans on Top Chef years back, but it’s her talent in the kitchen that shot her to success at various Michelin-starred restaurants. With Native, which opened in late 2017, she brings together Los Angeles’s diverse influences and cultures through food. Pastrami from local Langer’s deli inspired her roast duck breast with pastrami jus and marble rye tuile; her Wagyu beef tartare seasoned with Aisoon sauce was named for her Korean grandmother. Enthusiastic waiters—many of whom go the extra mile by getting to know diners by name—may suggest favorites such as chestnut spaghetti with shiitakes and burrata, or even a secret item like a super-tender steak when available. As with Arrington’s cuisine, the 95-seat restaurant is approachable yet elevated, with rich honey-hued wood, brass, and a touch of marble. Don’t miss weekend brunch for the crazy-sounding but addictive kimchi latkes, as well as the coconut brown butter pancakes. Pro tip: If you can’t make it for a sit-down dinner, come to bar during Community Hour, daily from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and ask for the off-menu burger along with your rum-based cocktail Right by the Beach, served in a coconut.

Halo-halo is a popular everyday dessert whose name is a Tagalog word meaning “mix.” It’s composed of many ingredients, including various beans, fruits, and jelly-like coconut-based sweets. These toppings are put over a big bowl of shaved ice with milk; finally, the mixture is topped with a slice of leche flan (cream custard) and ube (purple yam). Some versions also incorporate gelatin, cheese, or pinipig (crispy rice), though nothing beats adding a scoop of ube ice cream on top. The proper way to eat halo-halo is to stir it up first so that each spoonful includes many ingredients and gives you a taste and texture explosion. Halo-halo is available everywhere, from public markets and local food chains to ice cream bars and the most luxurious hotel restaurants. But serious connoisseurs go for the classic one at the Milky Way Café. The eatery has been serving halo-halo for more than 40 years, and their iteration boasts 20 premium house-made ingredients and ice that is finely shaved using a hand crank.

Cross Punda’s Queen Wilhelmina Bridge, and bam! You’re in Scharloo, Willemstad’s youngest colonial district. Known for baroque mansions once inhabited by the island’s wealthiest merchants, this historical neighborhood is also a hipster haven. Thanks to Street Art Skálo, a group of up-and-coming local artists, you can admire life-size murals on Bitterstraat and Parke Leyba from Curaçao masters like Francis Sling and Garrick Marchena. Afterwards, grab coffee on Beyglz’s colonial terrace and shop for 100-percent-handmade bath and body products at Integra Natural.

Tucked away on Third Street since 1979, Michael’s is arguably the best-kept secret in Santa Monica—a Cheers-like stalwart for locals, who return to proprietor Michael McCarty’s inviting restaurant and bar regularly. It hasn’t hurt that star chefs Jonathan Waxman, Nancy Silverton, Sang Yoon, and Mark Peel have all done time in the kitchen. Artwork by John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and Cy Twombly set the backdrop for equally creative, flavor-packed masterpieces by the current chef Miles Thompson. Modern California-sourced dishes change seasonally, but octopus is a must-order. (If you’re lucky, Thompson will be serving his confit version with burnt butter and Sichuan peppercorn marshmallow.) A relaxed, jungle-like garden patio invites late-night lingering over a drink from the creative cocktail menu; be sure to try the popular Road to Kyushu, a mix of Japanese whiskey, kumquats, cloves, and barrel-aged bitters. Pro tip: For early birds, Michael’s lounge has probably the best happy hour in L.A.: a $1.79 cocktail from 5:30 to 6 p.m. (to honor its opening year), plus the signature barbecue aioli–topped Smash Burger available in limited numbers until 7 p.m.