Conde Nast Traveler April 2022

It’s impossible not to notice that much of our storytelling of late has explored themes of renewal and rebirth. We are looking to travel as a way to correct an imbalance, to restore a desired state, to get us back to where we want to be. Yes, that’s always been true to some extent, and the stratospheric growth of wellness travel in the years leading up to the pandemic was proof, but right now for so many of us, travel’s primary function is its ability to provide a reset. It’s a scientific fact that proximity to water has that palliative effect we’re all looking for. Our heart rate goes down. Our breathing rate goes down. We feel better. We go to our happy place. I’d wager that many of you have…

Mexico’s got design fever. From the historic Yucatán port city of Campeche, with its pastel villas and delightful malecón, to the whitewashed adobelined streets of Pátzcuaro, a Michoacán town beloved for its Día de Muertos festivities, well-known architects are creating design-forward residences that can be booked by in-the-know visitors. A stay at one of these homes is an opportunity to spend some quality time with regional craftsmanship and materials as well as to explore a corner of the country like a local. Casa Ayehualco, Tepoztlán Over the course of 40 years, Mexican architect Diego Villaseñor and his wife, landscape architect Ana María Maldonado, built this five-bedroom house on the outskirts of this town 90 minutes south of Mexico City. Leaning into building materials like locally sourced stone, adobe, and indigenous hardwood, the…

Along West Adams Boulevard between South La Brea Avenue and Fairfax in the central part of the city, you’ll find bustling new businesses like The Alsace Hotel, a warm, design-focused 48-key property with food and drinks by Danny Elmaleh (also behind nearby favorites Mizlala and Johnny’s). Hip coffee shops like Highly Likely have cropped up, once again breathing life into one of the city’s most diverse and historic neighborhoods, where personalities including Marvin Gaye and Johnnie Cochran once lived. Here’s how to make a day of it. On the Wall The art gallery Band of Vices has two locations on the boulevard, Sacred House and CoLab, the latter of which is an incubator for emerging artists to share their work. At the sprawling Sacred House, founder and creative director Terrell Tilford curated…

I delighted in having a row to myself on the wooden dgħajsa boat that sailed past the fortified Maltese city of Birgu, my fingers trailing in the azure water as nearby travelers chatted among themselves. For the first time in a year I was able to get lost in thought; time stretched beautifully so far from home. The golden hour lit up the tawny limestone jumble of buildings that made up Valletta just across the water. I was at the start of a 10-day cruise aboard the Viking Venus, which would hopscotch from Malta to Montenegro and up the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. It had been no small thing to get here, involving a costly expedited passport renewal and daily PCR tests—in addition to agreeing to leave the ship only as…

The air always smells sweet on the Spice Isle. A profusion of seasonings grows wild here, from nutmeg and allspice to clove and Ceylon cinnamon, some ripening on the vine before being dispersed to corners near and far. Grenada is a place that plays to all the senses: It is mountainous, wild, and lush, with nature perennially on your doorstep; a hike to one of its famed waterfalls, like Seven Sisters or Concord, is a must. Yet it is also surprisingly low-key. Few places capture Grenada’s understated magic like the Silversands Grenada resort, situated at the sleepy end of the two-mile Grand Anse Beach. Enter its perimeter and the hubbub of local street life suddenly feels like a vague memory. What catches your eye first is the breathtaking 330-foot infinity…

From the middle cockpit of a sailing canoe slicing through the waters of Matavai Bay in Tahiti, the swells all look the same to my novice eyes: turquoise with fringes of frothing white rippling to the horizon, as evenly spaced as rows of crops. Now and then, a flying fish bursts up from below, whizzing low across the water. Without the deep green hills of Moorea rising in the distance, I’d lose my bearings entirely. Thankfully, I’m not in charge of navigation on this sunny afternoon. From the seat behind me, the cheerful Teiva Veronique digs his paddle into the water and steers our bullet-shaped boat toward a line of breaking waves. That rough surf marks the edge of a passageway through the reef, like an entry ramp into the open…