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WHETHER YOU’RE GOING AWAY WITH THE GIRLS OR TAKING A LONG WEEKEND WITH A LOVAH, EACH OF THESE VACAYS IS A TOTAL TRIP (AND LGBT-FRIENDLY TOO!). KELLY LACK, OF THE TRAVEL APP SPOT, GUIDES YOU TO YOUR NEXT EPIC ADVENTURE.

E DITE D BY I J ULIE VA DNA L I

GO FOR IT IN KAUAI, HAWAII

(P. 250).

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Nashville Lasso your cowgirls, ditch your stilettos for boots, and flock south to Tennessee’s Music City, which is as famed for everybody’s fave TV show (love you, Rayna!) as it is for the scads of cool good-for-group spots where your crew can sing-shout Carrie Underwood’s greatest hits. Y’all ready?

TO PARTY WITH THE SQUAD

STAYTake over the new Urban Cowboy B&B Nashville (2), a nine-suite Queen Anne Vic-torian mansion, where you’ll either squeal, start Snapping, or just promptly set up camp in the banjo-equipped communal living room. Or if your posse likes to turn it up to 11, double-down on privacy: This huge manor (airbnb.com/rooms/7699611) sleeps 14 and has a record player pre-set to Dolly, tuned guitars, and its own photo booth.

EATNurse hangovers at Biscuit Love (5) with an order of $7 fried bonuts (biscuit donuts, duh) to share. At some point, fill up a picnic table at Hattie B’s (4) for insanely good spicy fried chicken. (Get there between 11 a.m. and noon to beat the

crowds.) Or treat your-selves to Butcher & Bee, where it’s all about locally sourced grub (note the “Mmm…This Is a Tasty Burger!”), which tastes even better on weekends, when the kitchen stays open until 2 a.m.

PLAYSure, Pinewood Social has a bowling alley, restaurant, and coffee bar, but the real reason you’re here is the pool out back, where your gang can sip grapefruit-y punch served from an Airstream while stretched out on chaise longues. Then it’s honky-tonk time (1)! Break in your boots at Acme Feed & Seed, which has levels of bars, but the best party—a dance one!—is on the roof. Then dust off your two-step and hit Robert’s Western World (3), a throwback that slings $2.50 PBRs and killer country shows.

Nashville Int. Airport

Skip the rental-car hassle; nearly

everything is easy to walk to.

what to bring back

Everyone pick a cute Scosha thread

bracelet from hip (but not too) shop Two Son. Every

time you wear it, you’ll be in the

honky-tonk spirit! BRACELETS, $29 each, twoson.co

HOW TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR BEST

FRIENDS (AND REMAIN BEST

FRIENDS!)Here ’ s a

handy t ip f o r keep ing your f r i endsh ips…

and your san i ty . Once you ’ve

o rde red d r inks on the p lane ,

have everyone say he r one

mus t -do ( shopp ing fo r

v in tage boo t s , scou t ing sc ru f fy

guys w i th gu i ta r s , e tc . )

and one th ing she want s t o

avo id (bar s w i th a cover , c reepy

guys w i th gu i ta r s , e tc . ) .

Tha t way, you ’ l l a l l have a so l id

game p lan as soon as you

land .

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Guerneville, CaliforniaOutside crowded Sonoma and pricey Napa sits this easy, breezy town where you can steal kisses between mezcal cocktails (or okay, wine) and ogle each other in your swimsuits as you laze down the Russian River.

TO ESCAPE WITH BAE

STAYIn the summer, Boon Hotel + Spa opens up its rustic-chic glam-ping tents (1). That said, if you tend to be, ahem, vocal at night, opt for a regular room. Either way, you can dip in the saline pool or get a side-by-side massage.

EAT Boon Eat + Drink plates up major date-night noms: fried Brussels sprouts, truffle fries, mac and cheese, a solid burger. Then it’s off to Nimble & Finn’s for handmade, small-batch ice cream. Get the Maple Bourbon Bacon Brittle! And finally, Mexico-style El Barrio bar (3), where mezcal and

tequila get down with fresh juices, bitters, and tinctures. (They do dinner too.)

PLAY Daytime diversions include Johnson’s Beach, where you can catch some rays, beer in hand, or rent an inner tube and chill. And don’t forget this is wine country (2)! Porter-Bass Winery takes rezzies for its alfresco tastings.

Charles M. Schulz Airport (Alaska

Airlines lets you ship a case of wine for free!)

May through September

HOW TO BOOK THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT

“ The re a re two bes t days to

f ly—Wednesday and Sa tu rday .

They ’ re genera l ly

inconven ien t f o r mos t

t rave le r s , so f l igh t s a re o f ten

the l eas t fu l l . A Wednesday

f l igh t migh t seem le s s than idea l , bu t you ge t ex t ra days

o f vacay ! ”

—KATE MCCULLEY OF SOLO-TRAVEL

BLOG ADVENTUROUS KATE (ADVENTUROUS

KATE.COM) what to bring back

Stock up on Big Bottom Market’s

delish biscuit mix for back-home

breakfasts in bed together.

BISCUIT MIX, $9, bigbottommarket

.com

Dominican RepublicBaby, you’re beach-bound! Land in Santo Domingo, then say hola to the peaceful Samaná Peninsula for sandy strands without another soul in sight.

TO FIND YOUR CHILL StayNear the French-tinged town of Las Terrenas, rent the gorgeous villa Casa Léa (airbnb.com/rooms/3184728). High-five emoji for skinny dips in your private pool—does it get any more chill?—and an outdoor bar.

EatHead to The Beach, tucked inside a quaint gingerbread cottage nestled under nodding palm trees. After going for some fresh fish, snag a towel and nap off your lunch on one of its beach chairs.

PlayIt’s all about that laid-back beach lifestyle in Samaná. Near Las Terrenas, Playa Bonita is a blindingly white crescent while Playa Cosón is the most remote, so you just might have it all to yourself.

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250 _ COSMOPOLITAN _ MAY 2016

LIVE IT UP!

STAYRocking beyond-bold colors, the Kauai Shores Hotel on the eastern Coconut Coast has everything you need: two pools, free yoga, and a beach right there for splash-ing around. Or be even closer to the wilds of Na Pali at the Hana-lei Colony Resort (2) where “rooms” are suites that sleep four and cooking meals in the kitchen will offset the $$ you’ll spend on booze and mixers for cocktails on the lanai.

EATChow down at Hamura Saimin, which serves cheap bowls of steaming noodles and passion-fruit chiffon pie so del-ish, the calories don’t count. Or splurge on Portuguese-Asian-Hawaiian fusion at the plantation-style Eating House 1849. Then bring on the tall drinks with tiny umbrellas at Lava Lava Beach Club (4). As its menu says, “bikinis and board shorts welcome.”

Kauai, HawaiiYour hit list: the sky-high cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, the sprawling Waimea Canyon, waterfalls, and rivers, all of which are practically begging for you to make them your bitch. Oh, and did we mention the beaches? Because everybody needs a break…eventually.

TO FEED YOUR INNER ADRENALINE JUNKIE PLAYEase into the adrena-line rush with Outfitters Kauai’s Stand-Up Paddle Board Adventure. You’ll get your sea legs on a calm inland river and, later, cannonball into a waterfall pool via zipline. Then it’s on to the main event: hiking the challenging 11-mile Kalalau Trail (3) along the scenic Na Pali Coast to Kala-lau Beach. Or take in the Waimea Canyon (1) on a heart-pump-ing ride in one of Jack Harter’s doorless helicopters.

WHAT TRAVEL DOCUMENTS TO BRING WHERE

“Amer ican c i t i zens need a

pas spo r t t o en te r a l l

i s lands in the Car ibbean

excep t those c lo se ly a f f i l i -a ted w i th the Un i ted S ta te s , l i ke Sa in t John and V ieques .

And many p laces requ i re

tha t pas spo r t be va l id f o r a t

l eas t s i x months pas t your t rave l

da tes . Bu t i t ’ s good p rac t i ce

to have a pas s -po r t and keep i t up - to -da te any -way—you never

know when some handsome I ta l ian i s go ing

to want to wh i sk you back

to h i s Amal f i Coas t v i l la ! ”

—PAVIA ROSATI, FOUNDER/CEO OF TRAVEL

SITE FATHOM (FATHOMAWAY.COM)

Honolulu, then connect to Kauai

Get from one thrill to the next in an open-air Jeep. Rent one at the airport.

what to bring back Beach babes will flip for the sexy, paddle-board ready Kaikini

bikinis, made in Kauai and sold in

local shops.BIKINI, $125, kaikini

.com

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