Staycation ideas that’ll make you feel like you’re on an island vacation

This popular Tulum-inspired beach club—which first brought its Mexico-by-way-of-Manhattan vibes to New York with Soho's Gitano Garden of Love—is now on Governors Island. The waterfront concept has a refined menu of modern Mexican plates from Executive Chef Antonio Maldonaldo that include black truffle sopes, lobster tostadas, Baja California kampachi with grilled avocado, duck carnitas huarache, and short rib birria, doled out from the restaurant’s open kitchen and a beautiful bar menu. Best of all, it’s on an actual island so you can enjoy those fresh breezes of the water.

This beachy boutique hotel with 53 guest rooms and eight long-stay residences has Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay views, which is a great spot to stay if you’re looking to feel like you’re miles away from the city. The water views are even in the dining area on the hotel’s sprawling pool deck, which is decorated with grass and teak furniture in every corner so you can lean into the beach-themed feel with tropical cocktails, and menus loaded with seafood platters.

Island Pops in Crown Heights literally says it “brings the islands to you,” so it’s a sure bet to give you those island vibes you’re looking for. Using natural ingredients, this ice cream and pop shop handmakes popsicles in the rich flavors of the Caribbean: coconut, Guinness caramel, Rum & Raisin, guava, sorrel and more.

Crown Heights’ King Tai’s clean white walls, chrome barstools and soft pastel hues are straight out of 1940s South Beach, capitalizing on the era’s tropical obsession without drowning the place in tiki kitsch. With a creamy piña colada in hand and breezy throwback pop tunes soundtracking the Art Deco–tinged space, beachified with shell motifs and a mounted sea dragon in the bathroom, you’ll quickly forget you’re on a quiet residential Kings County street.

If you are in midtown and need to keep the tropical vibes going (the concrete jungle is not it), pop into the Ford Foundation building which houses a 12-story atrium with a verdant space featuring 39 species of subtropical plants, a reflecting pool and a garden with plants you can touch and smell. Sneaking away to this paradise will enliven you.

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Solar-powered Habana Outpost is unlike any other restaurant in NYC: Its initiatives include rainwater flush toilets and the use of sugarcane and corn utensils. Its food—well-executed rice and beans, grilled Mexican quesadillas—is reason enough for a visit.

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Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been a colorful Mexican fixture in Greenwich Village since 1989. It dishes out street-food snacks, including tlacoyos (baked rounds of masa filled with refried beans and cheese), huaraches (fried and stuffed oblong discs of masa) and chilangos (corn tortillas crowned with toppings like chorizo, salted beef or goat). Best of all, you can feel like you’re truly on holiday dancing there to live salsa bands with a cold bottle of Corona in your hand.

This Flatbush rum bar easily transports you to the tropics through its design—brightly colored details, leafy plants, wall murals curated by artist Mike Perry, raw wood furniture and sheets of metal fencing and roofing)—and bar menu. Owner Garnett Phillip, who is of Ethiopian and Trini descent, makes sure to offer rums from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Haiti, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia and Panama. Its food is just as inspired: aside from great light bites, it hosts a fish fry every Friday night. It gets crowded because it’s so popular, but you can find similar vibes at Phillip’s offshoot, The Rum Bar.

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Another island-y oasis you can escape to is hidden in the East Village between Sixth and Avenue B. This 17,813 square-foot community garden boasts leafy trees that hang over paths, flowering shrubs, herbs and even a treehouse! Open on weekends between April and October (1-6pm), it hosts crafting events, horticultural/science workshops as well as culinary events, film screenings, multicultural festivals, and musical and theatrical performances. It won’t feel like you’re in Manhattan.

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Get a taste of Havana at the South Bronx’s Zona de Cuba, beloved for its outdoor bar and patio seating that serve as prime viewing for its live music performances that take place between palm trees and red umbrellas. Dancing to Cuban and Caribbean beats is a given here and so are good Cuban and Spanish-influenced cocktails and bites.

A tropical takeover at Pier 15 features tiki decor, seasonal drinks and twinkling lights for when the party stretches into the nighttime hours. When you walk in, you'll be transported to a waterfront oasis dotted with palm trees. To really set the mood, just pretend that you're dining along the Caribbean Sea instead of the East River. Fun photo opportunities abound, including a tiki-style backdrop with surfboards and captain's hats. Plus, the panoramic skyline views from this gloriously over-the-top venue are made for Instagram.

Located in the Freehand Hotel, the New York version takes its name from its Miami sister, where the Broken Shaker dominates the beach city’s social life. The New York Broken Shaker is just as fun and might just actually trick you into thinking you’re on island time. And unlike rooftops around the city with sleek designs and glass parapets, Broken Shaker is meticulously crafted to look and feel like a well-worn and snug oasis. Oh, and stop downstairs to try one of pastry chef, Zoe Kanan’s James Beard-nominated pastries at their in-hotel restaurant, Simon & The Whale. 

Surfing memorabilia, sand-covered floors and the way-laid-back staff can bring a little endless summer to the gloomiest day. A full menu includes clam chowder and fresh fish prepared five ways (inspired by the world’s five sweetest surf spots): The Fijian, with coconut- and-lime sauce, is worth a ride on the L.. If you drop in to get the local surf forecast (we are an island people, after all), chill out with a “tiki” cocktail like the Coconut Kiss (rum, creme de cacao and coconut cream), served in appropriately kitschy glassware (bikini mug anyone?).