The top 12 places to visit in Jamaica

Known as the no-winter island, Cuba cycles through mild to warm to hot-as-hell weather with the changing seasons.

Emmy-winning travel expert Samantha Brown is constantly on the move. The host of Samantha Brown’s Places to Loveon PBS, which recently kicked off its seventh season, spends more than 150 days a year crisscrossing the globe exploring cities big and small.

From gorgeous cities swaying to the beat of tropical rhythms to unspoiled, lush forests, Cuba delights travelers with a wide variety of contrasting places.

With its grandiose architecture and vibrant culture, Havana continues to be the number one place to visit for travelers to Cuba. But taking a break from the city buzz will recharge your batteries and give you a broader scope of Cuba’s authentic experiences.

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​It’s cold out there. A Caribbean getaway has never sounded better. We get it.

Navigating Havana’s confusing dual economy can be a tricky proposition, even for Cubans.

Even among the many extraordinary islands and countries that make up the Caribbean, Jamaica stands out. Its beaches are a dream. Its food is a point of national pride. Its forests and rivers are exotic and otherworldly. And its cultural influence on the world stage far outweighs its diminutive size, from Rastafarianism to Reggae, Bob Marley to Usain Bolt, Sensimilla to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Despite its global renown, you’ll never get the true beat of its rhythm until you visit.

To a first-time traveler, Cuba can seem like a confusing jigsaw puzzle, particularly if you’re breaking free of the resorts and traveling around on your own.

I grew up with African food, but in a Lebanese way.Let’s take my mum’s okra stew — the African version is filled with fried fish, cow foot, sheep tail, oxtail and beef all in one stew — while Lebanese cooking is quite simplistic and based around fresh salads and grills, that sort of stuff. So, the stew she’d make would have none of that, just beef, and it wouldn’t be made with palm oil. It was African food but in a tame way, because of my Lebanese dad. Whenever my mum makes it, I go absolutely mental — it warms up your belly, is full of good nutrients and is a different flavour to anything you’ve ever had before. My grandma once made it in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with fufu (pounded cassava root and green plantains, rolled into small balls) — proper authentic. I choked on a fish bone but it was the best meal I’ve ever had.

Havana's cultural calendar is full of visit-worthy events every month, with the more prestigious festivals taking place between October and April.

Perfect for trendsetters and taste explorers alike, the plant-based revolution, continues to grow every year, with evermore people choosing to trial and embrace this way of life for both their wellbeing, and the good of the planet!  A flavour-packed adventure, the Rastafarian Ital cuisine is like a carnival for your taste buds, blending vibrant flavours with alkaline and protein-rich ingredients like callaloo, lentils, and beans, which play key roles in these recipes. Rastafarians choose to follow a natural, plant-based diet for reasons including increased energy levels, minimal additives, and a deeper connection to Earth.