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."

From duty-free shopping and Seven Mile Beach to the Cayman Islands National Museum, Pedro St. James National Historic Site, Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, and a rum distillery tour, this quaint capital offers something for everyone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."