Let’s face it: No one needs another T-shirt or fridge magnet. So I wrote about some of my favorite uncommon Caribbean souvenirs in a guest post for the lovely ladies over at Travelista TV. Check it out here and tell me what you think.

There’s so much more to Grand Cayman than Seven-Mile Beach, the turtle farm and a trip to Hell. Here are the top five things on my island to-do list.

1. The Mudslide

Head over to the Wreck Bar & Grill at Rum Point, where you can slurp a Mudslide where it was invented. Back in the 1970s, the beach bar was the first to combine vodka, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream and ice into the now-famous cocktail, and now they serve as many as 400 a day. Other places have Mudslides on the menu, but most add ice cream to the mix; this is the only bar where you can score the nothing-but-alcohol original.

2. Pure Art

On South Sound, this art and craft studio in a converted century-old cottage is packed to the rafters with original Caymanian and Caribbean paintings, sculpture, and other craft. If you’re looking for jewelry made from Caymanite, the island’s indigenous semi-precious stone, this is the place to go.

3. Season To The Bone

For my money, this humble Windsor Park neighborhood restaurant serves up the best jerk outside Jamaica. Little wonder since owner Hyacinth Natty was born-and-bred on the irie isle. A large portion of jerk pork or chicken and a drink will set you back about $15 – about as cheap a meal as you’ll find on pricey Grand Cayman, and worth every cent.

4. Camana Bay

Minutes from Seven-Mile Beach, this multi-use complex is a one-stop must-see. Shop at Lilly Pulitzer, Books & Books, and Island Company; refuel with a healthy lunch at Jessie’s Juice Bar; then chillax as you watch the waterfront dancing fountains and take in the view of North Sound.

5. Smith’s Cove

Seven-Mile Beach is Grand Cayman’s star strip but I like to plant my bum on Smith’s Cove (also known as Smith Barcadere). Chickens peck at the sand beneath the sea grape and almond trees that shelter this peaceful strand from the main road, and on a weekday your only company is likely to be a handful of hotel employees enjoying their day off. The tiny white-sand oasis is less than 15 minutes from the buzzing Seven Mile scene, but it blissfully feels a world apart.

As if swanky resorts, gourmet-standard restaurants, and 33 pristine white-sand beaches aren’t enough, here’s one more reason to visit Anguilla this year: Anguilla Lit Fest.

The island’s second annual “literary jollification” is a celebration of all things reading- and writing-related that runs May 23-26 at Paradise Cove resort, featuring meet-and-greets, presentations by, and workshops with popular authors including Nikki Giovanni, Edwige Danticat, and Toure. Aspiring writers can also get words of wisdom from publishing powerhouses Atria Books/Simon & Schuster and Grand Central/Hachette.

So how much does it cost for the chance to meet major authors, get expert guidance from publishing pros, and sip some serious rum punch with them in one of the Caribbean’s most exclusive (yet least pretentious) islands? Just $150! So if you have a book idea inside you that’s been dying to get out; if you’re an avid reader; or if you’re just looking for an excuse to go to Anguilla for the second time in two months (oh wait, that’s me!), join the jollification (you can sign up on-island) and make this year’s Memorial Day weekend really memorable.

Legend has it that if you bathe in the waters of Tobago’s Nylon Pool you’ll emerge looking 10 years younger. I’m skeptical about the fountain-of-youth claims but I’ve come to see for myself, as have scores of other visitors aboard Sugar Lips, Miss Ayana and First Tri, tour boats that have also converged in the waist-deep water at this coral sandbank off the southwest coast.

Soca is pumping from one of the boat’s sound systems and Machel Montano encourages me to “get on bad” as I plunge into the cool turquoise water, a welcome refresher on this scorching day. All around me people are frolicking in the blue, children and adults shrieking alike as they splash each other, making water droplets arc and shimmer in the air like crystalline rainbows. The scene – shallow water encircled by a flotilla of boats ­– reminds me of the Cayman Islands’ Stingray City, only minus the stingrays. (When Princess Margaret visited in 1962 the transparent water apparently reminded her of her sheer nylons, which is how the pool got its name.)

Cooled by the sea, warmed by the sun, and enchanted by the palm-fringed coast in the distance, this moment feels perfect. I’m not thinking about deadlines or the chores that await when I get home. Instead I’m completely relaxed, so grateful for the opportunity to be right here, right now. I don’t know if I look any younger. But I certainly feel it.

It’s not just about food, drink and a few activities. At some all-inclusive resorts, it’s all you can everything! Here are few all-inclusive perks you might not expect.

1. Phone calls

Can’t wait to tell the folks back home what a great time you’re having? Unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada are included in the package price at the Hard Rock Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, so gab away.

2. Excursions

Who says going all-inclusive means never going off property? At Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica, your stay includes a free tour to the cascades at Dunn’s River Falls and a sunset catamaran cruise.

3. Guitar lessons

Hard Rock Punta Cana scores again by getting guests in the groove with free 48-hour loans of Fender electric guitars as well as 24-hour guitar lessons on the resort TV channel.

4. Butler Service

At Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas, guests in select room categories enjoy the services of their own personal Jeeves, who’ll unpack, pack, and make restaurant reservations for you.

5. Homemade Cookies

At the Grenadines’ private-island all-inc Petit St. Vincent, a mason jar of complimentary homemade cookies awaits in your villa, and is replenished throughout your stay. Sweet!

6. Spa Treatments

Stressed? You won’t be after you take advantage of the daily spa treatment that’s included in the rates at St. Lucia’s Body Holiday.

7. Your Own Boat

Stay in one of the villas on Fowl Cay, an all-inclusive private-island resort in the Bahamas, and you’ll also get your own motorboat (and driving lessons!) so you can explore the Exumas’ idyllic islets and crystal-clear waters.

8. Access To Other Hotels

Need a change of scene? Guests at certain Sandals Resorts in Jamaica score complimentary use of the facilities at neighboring sister hotels, plus round-trip shuttles service between them.

Summer’s almost here, JetSetters! Here are the “shore things” I’m packing in my beach bag.

The Best of Us

Sarah Pekkanen’s novel is the perfect beach read, as frothy and refreshing as a perfectly blended mojito on a sweltering summer day. Crack the cover and follow four longtime girlfriends and their husbands on a life-changing trip to Jamaica, where secrets are revealed, marriages are tested, and, yes, weed gets smoked.

Theodora & Callum scarf

I picked up one of these linen and viscose blend sarongs at the Viceroy Anguilla last month and have worn it at least twice a week ever since. Large enough (40” x 78”) to be worn as a dress, you can also use it as a beach blanket, or wear it as a headscarf or skirt. I’ve been using mine as a chill-chasing wrap on the plane, and wearing it artfully looped around my neck to jazz up a plain white tee.

Caribbean Soap & Sundries Lotion Bar

The sun, wind, ocean spray and air-conditioning can play havoc with dry skin like mine, so I’m never without some sort of moisturizer. Newest in my arsenal: this frangipani-scented lotion bar that I snagged at the gift shop at Anguilla’s CuisinArt resort. Made with coconut oil, beeswax and sweet almond oil, it banishes the “ash” from my heels, cuticles, lips and hands. Best of all, it’s a solid so there are no issues getting it through airport security. (And since they’re available online, you don’t have to fly to Anguilla to get yours. But you should go, anyway.)

Bobbi Brown Beach

A whiff of this light fragrance instantly makes me think of sunshine, suntan lotion and lazy days on the sand. The scent dissipates pretty quickly, so I like to layer by using the shower gel and the lotion or body oil on top. (Because there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing.)

What’s in your beach bag?

Nothing beats the convenience of going all-inclusive: You can eat, drink, play and party to your heart’s content, secure in the knowledge that all costs are covered. But that’s not always the case. Before you leave your wallet at home, make sure these potential money-suckers are included in your package.

1. Airport Transfers

In all-inclusive-dominant Caribbean destinations such as Jamaica, resorts provide shuttle transport to and from the nearest airport as part of your package. But in the Dominican Republic (also an all-inc playground) you’ll likely pay separately for airport transfers.

2. Room Service

Not every all-inc offers room service, of course, but there are variations among those that do. While some offer gratis room service ‘round-the-clock, others provide it only during limited hours and/or bill room service charges separately. At other resorts, room service food is free but you’ll pay a delivery charge.

3. Liquor

Not every all-inclusive is an all-you-can-drink resort. At some, you’ll be billed for all alcohol you consume. At others, house brands are comped, but premium brands of spirits and certain wines come at an extra cost.

4. Certain Restaurants/Menu Items

In a perfect world all-inclusive guests would be able to eat anything, anywhere and not have to pay extra. But many resorts charge a supplement for high-end restaurants or for premium menu items such as lobster and imported steaks. Know before you nosh.

5. Water Sports

Unlimited snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and use of pedal boats/aqua trikes are usually part of the package at Caribbean all-inclusives. But if you want to parasail, go on a dive excursion, or, God forbid, buzz about on a jet ski, prepare to pony up.

6. Wi-Fi

This last exclusion is my pet peeve. I don’t believe that any resort should be charging for Wi-Fi in this day and age (it’s not as if they don’t already have the service for their own use, after all) but, annoyingly, even some all-inclusive resorts do. Fingers crossed for free, reliable Wi-Fi across the Caribbean sometime soon.

Jamaica’s got jerk; Puerto Rico has pinchos; and Barbados has bakes. But Trinidad is the only place you can find doubles, the filling and flavorful roadside snack that’s the twin-island republic’s quintessential comfort food.

Made with two (hence the name) roughly six-inch-diameter rounds of fried dough called bara, the hand-held meatless meal is a spicy roti/wrap/sandwich hybrid, filled with heaping spoons full of curried chickpeas or channa. Fresh cucumber slaw, mango chutney and the culantro-based sauce shado beni are essential embellishments, but every doubles vendor offers their own particular condiment combo. And every Trini has their own favorite “doubles man” (although, of course, there are female doubles dealers).

On our first day, our tour guide showed us how to eat the mess-making mouthfuls without wearing it: an entertaining demo that involved holding the snack at arm’s length, bending at the waist, sticking out your posterior, and doing a jaunty little quickstep when the hot sauce gets the better of you.

I’m not sure whether her theatrics were authentic, but I am sure about how delicious those doubles were.

So sure, in fact, that I had them three more times over the next two days.

Tempted to taste? Here are three spots to double down in Port-of-Spain:

 1. Piarco International Airport: Check your bags early and then check out the fare at the stalls by the taxi stand.

 2. Curepe Junction – Swing by this town in St. George and get a doubles fix from vendors who operate 24 hours a day.

 3. The Savannah – You’ll be spoilt for choice at the capital’s landmark park (AKA the world’s largest roundabout), where vendors hawk doubles and other street food every evening.

For almost four decades Pearline and her sister Joan Chin churned out heaping plates of classic island fare: ackee and saltfish, curry goat, cow foot, and bestsellers oxtail and jerk chicken. And even if it wasn’t the festive season, you could always rely on them to have sorrel, the classic Jamaican Christmas drink, on the menu.

They kept serving as the factories closed and the trendy restaurants, boutiques and high-rise condos moved in, their humble island outpost sticking out like a sore thumb in this newly gentrified quarter of the city.

Two weeks ago, forced out by a rent increase, Clive’s moved five minutes away, to the same kind of gritty neighborhood in which it first opened.

Now in Lemon City (on the border of Little Haiti), the diner still serves up a steady stream of the fare that, with a mere whiff or a single sip, makes Jamaicans long for home and visitors fondly recall their irie island getaway.

The new premises are Spartan and unpretentious, furnished with little more than a few tables and chairs and a pair of flat-screen TVs blaring the latest installment of Jerry Springer.

But the steady stream of customers (who’ve followed Clive’s to what was its second store and is now its only outlet) don’t seem to mind. Times and the neighborhood may have changed, but one thing remains the same: At Clive’s, it’s all about the food.

And it’s still the only place to enjoy Ms Pearline’s homemade sorrel all year round.