World's best bar crawls

9. British Virgin Islands

What's on tap: A sun-drenched drinking tour that barely requires you to get off your boat.

Why it's worth a shot: The British Virgin Islands are a relatively untouched paradise of white-sand beaches, clear blue sea, and relatively few roads. Sounds like a pretty lousy place for a bar crawl. But when you learn that the island of Jost Van Dyke has seven beach bars for its 200 residents, and that sailing between watering holes is a national pastime, you start to get a different picture. Then you get a boat—and a designated skipper.

Booze route: You'll have to swim to shore to get to the Soggy Dollar, hence the name, so it's best to make it your first stop. Located in White Bay on Jost's southern coast, it's the birthplace of the painkiller—basically, a piña colada with a dash of orange juice—and the laid-back proprietors are known to let guests serve themselves at the bar and pay later. Sail one bay over to Foxy's, an open-air beach bar in Great Harbour that serves fiery homemade rum. Foxy himself composes impromptu calypso tunes poking fun at drunken guests; in turn, they often leave behind tees and bathing suits that are later fastened to the ceiling. Head southwest and drop anchor at Willy T's, a schooner moored off nearby Norman Island. A 2006 accident put an end to the once-common nude dives off the poop deck; but it's only made body shots more popular.

Hangover cure: Foxy's opens at 9:30 a.m., so head on back, settle into a hammock, and order a hair-of-the-dog cocktail like the Purple Passion (rum with passionfruit, guava syrup, and OJ).

Soggy Dollar
Tel: 284 495 9888

Foxy's
Tel: 284 495 9258

Willy T's
Tel: 284 496 8603

10. Mumbai

What's on tap: Rubbing elbows with the Bollywood crowd on the city's spangled club circuit.

Why it's worth a shot: Anyone who envisions India as a nation of puritanical strivers has another thing coming at Mumbai's nightclubs, where the whiskey flows freely and Pilates-toned women are at ease in tank tops and tight jeans. The capital of India's massive entertainment industry, balmy Bombay lures wannabe stars and starlets from all over the country; it's like L.A., New York City, and Miami rolled into one (and more populous than all three combined). Downtown has its share of posh clubs, but the movie stars and jeunesse dorée generally stick to the ritzy enclave of Bandra.

Booze route: Start at celeb favorite Olive Bar & Kitchen; a heavy hitter like Bollywood star Aamir Khan is more likely to be there on a weeknight, while the after-dinner scene is liveliest on Thursdays. The same goes for Balinese-inspired Zenzi, on nearby Waterfield Road, where with enough swagger (and rupees for bottle service) you might be able to stake out a corner couch. The beats are heavier at Poison, a recently opened club co-owned by It-boy DJ Aqeel that reportedly has a strict anti-sari door policy (traditional clothes are considered provincial among club kids). Step away from the fabulousness of it all at Hawaiian Shack, a bamboo-accented lounge with an '80s soundtrack and cheaper drinks. The younger crowd is heavy with film-industry types—before the night is out, you may even be able to talk your way into a walk-on role.

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Hangover cure: Post-drinking stomachs wary of curry would do well to hit the waffle station at TTaxi's Western-style brunch of Cuffe Parade.

Olive Bar & Kitchen
Tel: 91 22 26 058 228

Zenzi
Tel: 91 22 56 430 670

Poison
Tel: 91 22 26 423 006

Hawaiian Shack
Tel: 91 22 2605 8753

TTaxi's
Tel: 91 22 2218 4904

11. Madrid

What's on tap: Vino and tapas, in one of Spain's most buzzing wine-bar districts.

Why it's worth a shot: After a couple of hours studying the somber Goyas and Velazquezes at the Prado, revive with food and drink in La Latina, a traditionally working-class neighborhood that's now the refuge of artists and immigrants. On the twisting thoroughfare of Calle Cava Baja in particular, tiny tapeos (tapas bars) are cheek by jowl—and no, that's not a pork pun.

Booze route: Walk west from the La Latina subway stop to Juana La Loca, on Plaza Puerto de Moros, and have the waiter suggest a wine to go with the bar's much-loved pinchos (mini-slices of bread with a dab of something, often fish, on top). It's "Solo Vino Espanol," as the sign says, at Tempranillo, where the list of more than 100 Spanish bottlings will get you well beyond the typical Riojas and Ribera del Dueros. Those politicians who didn't have to wait for a table—as you will—are likely friends with the owner, a former staff member in the Spanish senate. Less than a minute in the direction of Plaza Mayor, on the same street, is Casa Lucas, a bright-orange space with tiled walls and a rotating list of wines by the glass. By this point you'll have spent three hours in three bars, and been on foot for a total of about ten minutes. Blame La Latina's layout if the wine starts to get to your head.

Hangover cure: Madrid's answer to the doughnut—shaming of the doughnut, really—is the churro con chocolate, a sugared tube of deep-fried dough dipped in dark chocolate. Your best bet in La Latina is Chocolat Bar, a hole-in-the-wall on Calle Santa Maria.

Juana La Loca
Tel: 34 913 640 525

Tempranillo
Tel: 34 913 641 532

Casa Lucas
Tel: 34 913 650 804

Chocolat Bar
Tel: 34 914 294 565

12. Epcot Center, Orlando, Florida

What's on tap: An around-the-world bar crawl, squeezed into a single afternoon.

Why it's worth a shot: Epcot's World Showcase is one of the few places in the Disney Empire that serves booze. And the accompanying gift shops provide silly hats and overpriced costumes perfect for cultural cliché photo ops.

Booze route: You should be able to hit all seven countries in just a few hours—it's a small world, after all. Ask for a plastic cup at each one to keep things moving. Make your way clockwise around the lagoon, starting with a margarita at the Mexico pavilion. Drop in for a beer outside the Germany pavilion, then decide whether you're up for one of Disney's wildest rides, the Italy kiosk's answer to a margarita: Limoncello, grappa, and margarita mix. (Something tells us the prosecco sells much better.) The Sam Adams draft you can grab at the American Adventure pavilion's Fife & Drum Tavern should last you until Japan, where there's a sake-tasting station hidden inside the Mitsukoshi department store. Gulp, nod approvingly, and down a coup de Champagne in France before the grand finale: the United Kingdom's Rose & Crown Pub, the circuit's only real concession to serious drinkers. (Speaking of, where's Russia?) No Mickey-Mousing here: Do the $10 "Imperial Sampler" of beer, followed by a single malt flight. Stick around; this is the best spot on the lagoon for watching the nightly fireworks show—just don't go peeling your clothes off and jumping in afterward.

Hangover cure: The Happiest Place on Earth can be the most miserable one when you're fighting a hangover. Room service was invented for situations like this.

Disney's Epcot Center
Tel: 407 824 4321

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