Sunny Florida skies, year-round warmth, nightlife, and a diverse culture define this cosmopolitan city. South Beach draws crowds, while the Art Deco District is the world's largest collection of Art Deco architecture. Shop from Bal Harbour to Lincoln Road and Coconut Grove, enjoy Cuban culture on Calle Ocho, or visit the historic Venetian Pool. There's something for everyone in this "Gateway to the Americas."

Cozumel, Mexico's largest inhabited island, is famed for world-class coral reefs praised by Jacques Cousteau in 1959. Diving is the main draw, but you'll also find Mayan culture, white-sand beaches, and lively neighborhoods. Highlights include the UNESCO-listed ruins of Chichen Itza, the jungle mangroves and Mayan ruins of Faro Celerain Ecological Reserve, and shopping for crafts, jewelry, replicas, cigars, and tequila along Rafael Melgar and Plaza del Sol.

Belize City was founded in the mid-17th century by British lumber harvesters. The city was ideal for the British as a central post because it was a natural outlet for local rivers and creeks down which the British shipped logwood and mahogany. Belize became independent in 1981, following a United Nations declaration to the effect. A British military force was maintained in Belize until 1993, when the government announced Belize would be handed over on January 1, 1994.

Warm Caribbean waters with excellent diving, white sand beaches, and tropical sunsets are some of the attractions of the Bay Islands. Roatan's major source of income is tourism, particularly because of SCUBA diving attractions. The underwater environment is rich and extensive with reefs surrounding the islands, often within swimming distance of the shore. Caves and caverns are a common feature, with a variety of sponge and the best collection of pillar coral.

This bustling city offers open-air markets, striking architecture, and historical museums. In Parque Vargas, amid palms and vine-covered Ficus trees, sloths often move from branch to branch. Ride the aerial tram through Braulio Carrillo National Park's rainforest canopy, or take a boat through the Tortuguero Canals or Estero Negro Estuary, watching for birds, monkeys, iguanas, sloths, crocodiles, and the iridescent Blue Morpho butterfly.

With its face set firmly to the Caribbean sun, Colón was founded as a result of the California gold rush in 1850, as the starting point of a railroad that carried prospectors across the Isthmus of Panama. The town was first named Aspinwall after one of the railroad's builders. In 1890, the name was changed to Cólon, to honor Christopher Columbus. Today, the city is renowned as having one of the largest duty-free zones in the Western Hemisphere.

Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay lie in Jamaica's north-coast heart, near where Columbus first landed over 500 years ago. Island Village by the cruise pier offers casual dining, entertainment, souvenirs, and duty-free shopping. Dunn's River Falls and Waterpark is Ocho Rios's top attraction, with guided climbs or a waterfall massage. Coyaba Gardens and Mahoe Falls feature intricate water gardens and Jamaican Spanish architecture, while Shaw Park Botanical Gardens spans 25 acres of tropical beauty.

Hidden in the southwestern corner of the Dominican Republic, Cabo Rojo is where red cliffs meet electric-blue Caribbean waters in a display of raw, untouched beauty. The contrast of salt flats, rugged coastline and cactus-dotted desert creates a landscape unlike anywhere else on the island. Nearby, Bahía de las Águilas offers miles of powdery sand and some of the clearest water in the Caribbean. This off-the-grid gem draws nature lovers, snorkelers and seekers of true seclusion.

The 700 islands of the Bahamas Islands begin 50 miles off the coast of Florida, stretching 760 miles to the southeast. The heritage of Old Nassau blends the Southern charm of British loyalists from the Carolinas, the African tribal traditions of freed slaves, and a bawdy history of blockade-running during the Civil War and rum-running in the Roaring 1920s. Over it all is a subtle layer of civility and sophistication, derived from three centuries of British rule.

Sunny Florida skies, year-round warmth, nightlife, and a diverse culture define this cosmopolitan city. South Beach draws crowds, while the Art Deco District is the world's largest collection of Art Deco architecture. Shop from Bal Harbour to Lincoln Road and Coconut Grove, enjoy Cuban culture on Calle Ocho, or visit the historic Venetian Pool. There's something for everyone in this "Gateway to the Americas."