The Americas & Caribbean

San Diego is a coastal Southern Californian city located in the SW corner of the United States. Founded in 1769, it is the oldest town in California and has an enchanting natural beauty and a pleasant, mild, climate with plenty of sunshine, which defines the city. Though it’s big, and growing fast, San Diego manages to ‘hang on to’ a resort feel, even amid the skyscrapers and brick facades of its revamped downtown. Read more about San Diego, USA

Puerto Vallarta is located on the Western Pacific coast of Mexico, and renowned for its beaches and its vibrant centre of art. Surrounded by the impressive mountains of the Sierra Madre and the sparkling waters of Banderas Bay, it is always waiting to offer visitors the very best choices. Initially made popular by Movie stars such as Liz Taylor and others as a great place to have a holiday home, visitors soon followed. Read more about Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Mountain vistas just beyond Santiago’s tall buildings are one of the special pleasures of this beautiful, sprawling, Mexican capital. The city of Santiago straddles the Río Tuxla, and offers many 19th century structures such as a museum with artefacts dating to the Olmecs. Centro is the downtown area and the oldest part of Santiago. Read more about Santiago (Manzanillo), Mexico

Zihuatanejo, the fourth largest city in Mexico, lies on the Pacific Coast about 240km NW of Acapulco. It has developed as a tourist attraction and has kept its traditional town feel. The main attractions are the several famous beaches that surround the bay, well protected from the open ocean. Read more about Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Acajutla is the main seaport on the Pacific coast of El Salvador, in Central America. Visitors are greeted with a warm reception and a great traditional cuisine. It’s a small town with incredible landscapes and fantastic sea and surf, such as Los Cabanos beach in the Port of Acajutla. Read more about Acajutla, El Salvador

San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean in SW Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur started off as a fishing village, and its history makes it such an interesting town. It retains its historical and brightly painted original wooden houses, making sure that the place maintains its charm. Read more about San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Puntarenas is the capital and largest city in the province Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and is one of the country’s most important tourist regions. Its coasts are decked with plenty of islands, inlets, beaches and beautiful natural treasures, many of which lie within protected zones, and it is also home to some of the country’s highest mountain peaks. Of great interest is a small ‘old town’ where the buildings are of both historical and architectural interest. Read more about Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Fuerte Amador (Fort Amador, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is part of an artificial peninsula jutting out into the Pacific from Balboa, which connects four small islands to the mainland. On the west side of Fuerte Amador is the Pacific entrance to the Canal, and on the east side is Panama Bay facing Panama City. The surrounding ocean is always filled with vessels patiently awaiting their turn to transverse the Canal, while on the skyline a few kilometres to the north are the skyscrapers of Panama City. Read more about Fuerte Amador, Panama

Fuerte Amador (Fort Amador, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is part of an artificial peninsula jutting out into the Pacific from Balboa, which connects four small islands to the mainland. On the west side of Fuerte Amador is the Pacific entrance to the Canal, and on the east side is Panama Bay facing Panama City. The surrounding ocean is always filled with vessels patiently awaiting their turn to transverse the Canal, while on the skyline a few kilometres to the north are the skyscrapers of Panama City. Read more about Fuerte Amador, Panama

Named one of the seven modern wonders of the world by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Panama Canal is a 77 km ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1903 to 1914, nearly 850,000 vessels have passed through the canal. Interestingly, the 8-10 hour journey from the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east is one from SE to NW. Read more about Panama Canal, Panama

Cartagena is a large beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region. While in recent years many new skyscrapers have been constructed, Cartagena's colonial walled city with its amazing architecture, such as The Vaults that were originally built as dungeons and from the top of which the Caribbean Sea is visible. There is also the Castillo de San Felipe, a fortress built in 1657 by the Spanish for protection against pirates. Read more about Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena is a large beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region. While in recent years many new skyscrapers have been constructed, Cartagena's colonial walled city with its amazing architecture, such as The Vaults that were originally built as dungeons and from the top of which the Caribbean Sea is visible. There is also the Castillo de San Felipe, a fortress built in 1657 by the Spanish for protection against pirates. Read more about Cartagena, Colombia

Port Antonio is a seaport town on the northeast coast of Jamaica, 100 km northeast of the capital Kingston. It is one of the island’s largest ports, a major shipping point for bananas, coconuts, and cacao and is one of Jamaica’s oldest and least-commercialized tourist resorts. It lies on a bay divided by a promontory into East and West Harbours. Read more about Port Antonio, Jamaica

Montego Bay is Jamaica’s second city, and is known for its duty-free shopping. Its cruise line terminal at Free Port is situated on a beautiful peninsula jutting into a bay surrounded by picturesque low mountains. City streets are crowded, colourful and lively. Read more about Montego Bay, Jamaica

George Town is located on the island of Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands in the Cayman Islands of the British West Indies. It is the largest city and capital of the Cayman Islands. All three - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman - are coral outcrops surrounded by healthy coral reefs and dramatic walls close to shore, creating ideal conditions for the best diving and snorkelling found in the Caribbean. Read more about George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Miami, located on the Atlantic coast at the southern tip of Florida, where outdoor sports are open all seasons and dress is casual, is a melting pot of cultures. Miami and Miami Beach are in effect two distinctly different cities, as Miami Beach is almost exclusively tourist orientated, while Miami is a cosmopolitan city with a distinctly Latin American flavour. Don’t miss the South Beach section where fashion designer Gianni Versace lived and died that is one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world. Read more about Miami, USA

Norfolk is located in the metro area called Hampton Roads, in the state of Virginia. It is a port city with the world's largest Naval base and a large shipping presence. The city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. Read more about Norfolk, USA

New York is situated on the Atlantic coast of NE United States. With its world-class museums, big statues, even bigger buildings and being the most linguistically diverse city in the world, the Big Apple’s hyperactive rush keeps drawing more and more people to it. The City of New York is a densely packed mass of humanity and all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker a special kind of person. Read more about New York, USA