Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale

San Diego is a vacationer’s paradise, with year-round temperatures in the seventies and near-constant sunshine. One of America’s most family-friendly cities, San Diego is home to LEGOLAND, the New Children’s Museum, and the famous San Diego Zoo. Sunbathers and surfers are guaranteed to find their perfect beach, and foodies find delights in artisanal breweries, local bistros, and gourmet restaurants. From the Broadway excitement of La Jolla Playhouse to the European feel of Little Italy to the nouveau-chic of the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego has something for everyone.

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Attention all sun, sea and surf lovers! Welcome to the place that considers those three words the only three little words worth saying. This is where the vibe is cool, the living is easy and weekends are spent worshiping the holy trinity, beachside.The southernmost city in California, San Diego borders Mexico which gives the place a slightly transient feel, although as America’s eighth largest city, it is anything but. Made up of little neighbourhoods, each has their own personality which gives a blended family feel. There’s Mission Beach, Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown… all in all 17 neighbourhoods range from quirky to cool result in a city which is much more than a sum of its parts.European settlers arrived in the mid-18th century although Iberian explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claims to have discovered San Diego Bay in 1542, 200 years previously. Regardless of when the Europeans arrived, there is proof that Native Americans populated the land 12,000 years before, and a trip to the San Diego History Centre is both educational and inspirational. The town became part of the United States of America in 1848 (it had been under Mexican rule before that) and since then has carved out a niche for being “America’s finest city”, a moniker that you’ll see everywhere from t-shirts to bumper stickers.If it feels familiar, that’s because it is. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe filmed Some Like It Hot here and the city’s slightly worn around but ever so glamourous feel has remained.

Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is known for its beaches, water-based activities and nightlife. Playa El Médano is Cabo’s main beach, with outdoor restaurants and numerous bars. Past the marina is Land’s End promontory, site of Playa del Amor (Lover’s Beach) and El Arco, a natural archway in the seacliffs.

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Found at the tip of Baja California Cabo San Lucas is where the desert meets the ocean. A trip to Cabo (the San Lucas is optional) will not leave you disappointed. With swaying palm trees turquoise seas and long ribbons of white sand this is a resort that ticks every box: great food great nightlight which equal great times – for some. Others may prefer to scratch the surface just a bit deeper and travel along the peninsula that is known for its dramatic scenery of desert terrain and rugged coastline marked by many unusual formations. The sweeping views of the bay are simply sensational. A quick turn inward takes you to San Jose del Cabo Cabo San Lucas’ older and more grown up sister. Offering a very much calmer and much more authentic atmosphere just half an hour along the coast leaves you in its desert terrain and leaves a very different impression from the lively beachfront bars and cafes of San Lucas. Perhaps one of the most stunning ways to see Cabo though is from the water. With the Arco de Cabo San Lucas featuring highly on many must-see lists a trip around the bay is a must. The braver among you might also like to indulge their inner adrenalin junkie and swim with whale sharks – a memorable and totally risk-free experience if there ever was one. End your day of sightseeing with a fabulous sunset a (tequila) sunrise in hand watching the fishermen come home from their adventures.

This town is not on the Nicoya Peninsula, but rather on Costa Rica’s mainland. It is best known as a cruise-ship port and launching pad for ferries heading southeast to the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula and for cruises sailing out on the Gulf of Nicoya. Puntarenas is also a major fishing port with a lively fish market. The town’s reputation suffers from the unimpressive parts you see from your car as you roll through town on the way to the ferry dock. But the town has a lot of character off the main drag, thanks to its illustrious past as an affluent port town and principal vacation spot for San José’s wealthy, who arrived by train in the last century. Once the port was moved and roads opened to other beaches, Puntarenas’s economy crashed, but it’s making a comeback. Sitting on a narrow spit of sand—punta de arenas literally means “point of sand”—that protrudes into the Gulf of Nicoya, the town boasts a beautifully groomed, wide Blue Flag beach with views of the Nicoya Peninsula and spectacular sunsets, along with a public swimming pool, the San Lucas Beach Club, and a marine-life museum. Ticos arrive by bus and car to enjoy the beach and stroll the Paseo de los Turistas, a beachfront promenade lined with tree-shaded concrete benches and seafood restaurants. Crowds of locals, called porteños, cruise by on bicycles, the town’s most popular form of transport.

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Puntarenas sits on a spit of land parallel to the coast of Pitahaya. The mud and soil brought down to the ocean by the Barranca River and the action of some of the smaller rivers to the north of Puntarenas have led to a tongue of sand known by 1722 as Puerto de Arenas (Harbor of Sands). Were it not for a very narrow stretch of land known as “La Angostura” the city would be an island. The city of almost 100,000 inhabitants is the capital to the province of the same name, which hugs most of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.Connected by road to San Jose, the country’s capital, Puntarenas is used by Costa Rican’s to cross by ferry over to the Nicoya Peninsula which is part of the Puntarenas Province and by cruise ships as a gateway to visit the various national parks in the interior. Puntarenas still is Costa Rica’s most important fishing port, while cargo is handled some 15 kilometers southwest on the mainland at Puerto Caldera, a port created in the 1980s. To cater to visitors, the beach area has been remodeled and the Paseo de los Turistas runs parallel to the beach with many seafood restaurant, cafes and bars.

Expect incredible morning views as you arrive into the port for Panama City. Tinged with a silver pre-dawn light, the city will metamorphosise into a golden glow as the sun rises above it. And from then on expect one stunning view after another. Very interesting in its own right, Fuerte Amador is obviously overshadowed by its proximity to Panama City. So should the Miraflores museum of the Canal, which offers a comprehensive and immersive tour of the Canal including a 3-D experience, four exhibition halls, an observation deck, and a surprisingly good restaurant not interest you then there is always the option of lovely Casco Viejo – literally the old quartier of Panama. The grand old colonial houses, cobbled streets, independent boutiques and buzzing street scene make this a must stop on your itinerary. And if you like seafood, you will not want miss the many restaurants and market stalls serving different variations of so-fresh-it’s-still-practically-swimming ceviche. Best eaten like the Panamanians do, with salty crackers and a cold beer on the beach. And if money is no object, a cup of geisha coffee – supposedly the world’s best and definitely the world’s most expensive at $7 a shot is definitely a pick me up! Cool cosmopolitan capital aside, Panama has a skyscraper filled skyline that is worthy of some of its North American counterparts. But if urban utopia is not your scene then fear not, the sandy beaches and lush rainforests are never more than a short cab ride away.

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Expect incredible morning views as you arrive into the port for Panama City. Tinged with a silver pre-dawn light, the city will metamorphosise into a golden glow as the sun rises above it. And from then on expect one stunning view after another. Very interesting in its own right, Fuerte Amador is obviously overshadowed by its proximity to Panama City. So should the Miraflores museum of the Canal, which offers a comprehensive and immersive tour of the Canal including a 3-D experience, four exhibition halls, an observation deck, and a surprisingly good restaurant not interest you then there is always the option of lovely Casco Viejo – literally the old quartier of Panama. The grand old colonial houses, cobbled streets, independent boutiques and buzzing street scene make this a must stop on your itinerary. And if you like seafood, you will not want miss the many restaurants and market stalls serving different variations of so-fresh-it’s-still-practically-swimming ceviche. Best eaten like the Panamanians do, with salty crackers and a cold beer on the beach. And if money is no object, a cup of geisha coffee – supposedly the world’s best and definitely the world’s most expensive at $7 a shot is definitely a pick me up! Cool cosmopolitan capital aside, Panama has a skyscraper filled skyline that is worthy of some of its North American counterparts. But if urban utopia is not your scene then fear not, the sandy beaches and lush rainforests are never more than a short cab ride away.

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Enter the mighty Panama Canal, one of history’s most ambitious and spectacular stretches of waterway. Connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and slicing through the heart of a continent, the canal is a staggering engineering triumph, eliminating the need to traverse the treacherous waters of South America and Cape Horn. Sail one of the world’s great canals to appreciate the true scale of this achievement, as your ship manoeuvres between its vast, gushing locks and huge lakes. The French began construction in 1881, but the costly project was left abandoned and unfinished until the United States finally completed the work in 1914. Following the path of the Panama Railway of 1855, locks raise ships large and small 26 metres up above sea level to the canal’s elevated channel. New locks have recently been added, which allow the canal to accommodate ever bigger ships. Leaving the confinement of the locks, you will enter the canal’s channel, to sail through Panama’s core. Wide lakes are linked by painstakingly chiselled wedges of canal, which slice through the lush scenery. Look out for the Culebra Cut section, the most challenging stretch of the entire route to construct. The Bridge of the Americas is a vast arched landmark, which sweeps across the Pacific Entrance and was completed in 1962. It’s one of several huge bridges that you will sail below on the 51-mile journey, including the much newer Centennial Bridge, and the Atlantic Bridge, which spans the entrance close to Colon.

Cartagena’s magnificent city walls and fortresses, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, enclose a well-restored historic center (the Cuidad Amurallada, or walled city) with plazas, churches, museums, and shops that have made it a lively coastal vacation spot for South Americans and others. New hotels and restaurants make the walled city a desirable place to stay, and the formerly down-at-the-heels Getsemaní neighborhood attracts those seeking a bohemian buzz. The historic center is a small section of Cartagena; many hotels are in the Bocagrande district, an elongated peninsula where high-rise hotels overlook a long, gray-sand beach.When it was founded in 1533 by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Heredia, Cartagena was the only port on the South American mainland. Gold and silver looted from indigenous peoples passed through here en route to Spain and attracted pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, who in 1586 torched 200 buildings. Cartagena’s walls protected the city’s riches as well as the New World’s most important African slave market.

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Get your sunglasses ready, because Cartagena is a riot of colour, charisma and Caribbean charm. The best way of seeing the city is by foot and soaking up the uniquely South American atmosphere. Stroll through the jumble of cobbled streets, step back in time, and enjoy one of the Caribbean’s loveliest destinations.Cartagena was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 as a shining example of an extensive and complete system of military fortifications in South America. The city’s strategic location, on a secluded bay facing the Caribbean Sea, meant that it was an essential stop from Europe to the West Indies during the time of commercial and naval exploration. Vestiges of this time are still to be found on the walls of several of the beautiful buildings lining the streets of the old town. The magnificent city is a walled fortress that stretches for 11 kilometres, dating from 1533 and once played host to Sir Francis Drake, who passed through in 1586 (and set fire to 200 buildings during his visit).Despite its 16th century roots, Cartagena today is a modern and glorious riot of colour. Fuchsia pink bougainvillea tumbles down from turquoise painted balconies, while well-preserved colonial buildings painted in vibrant colours line the streets. Take shelter from the heat and enjoy the sensual atmosphere that is so exclusively Colombian by grabbing a seat in a local bar, ordering a plate of Empanadas and enjoying a Guaro—the colloquial name for aguardiente — the country’s national spirit.

Like many southeast Florida neighbors, Fort Lauderdale has long been revitalizing. In a state where gaudy tourist zones often stand aloof from workaday downtowns, Fort Lauderdale exhibits consistency at both ends of the 2-mile Las Olas corridor. The sparkling look results from upgrades both downtown and on the beachfront. Matching the downtown’s innovative arts district, cafés, and boutiques is an equally inventive beach area, with hotels, cafés, and shops facing an undeveloped shoreline, and new resort-style hotels replacing faded icons of yesteryear. Despite wariness of pretentious overdevelopment, city leaders have allowed a striking number of glittering high-rises. Nostalgic locals and frequent visitors fret over the diminishing vision of sailboats bobbing in waters near downtown; however, Fort Lauderdale remains the yachting capital of the world, and the water toys don’t seem to be going anywhere.

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Miles of sandy beaches, lively outdoor events, and a charming web of waterways help to make Fort Lauderdale a relaxed, vacation capital of Florida. The excitement is palpable, as cruise ships and gleaming yachts gather in the harbour ahead of adventures and luxury journeys across the waves. Soak up the relaxed atmosphere in the canal-laced ‘Venice of America,’ as you enjoy big label shopping on Las Olas Boulevard – or visit fancy restaurants and bustling art galleries. For a wilder experience, the swampy wetlands of the Everglades sprawl away nearby. Fort Lauderdale Beach is a lively stretch of sand, bordered by palm trees, and sprinkled with crowds enjoying the Sunshine State’s generous weather. The charming promenade of red-brick tiles extends right along the beach’s length and rumbles with passing rollerbladers and cyclists. Flick across the waves while paragliding, or relax with a coffee or a margarita in a beachfront bar, as volleyball games play out in front of you. For a quieter beach option, Olas Beach lies a little down the coast towards Port Everglades, and has extra space to spread out and tan on acres of smooth white sand. Spot the backs of alligators waiting patiently, and the toothy grins of crocodiles patrolling the murky waters of the Everglades – the USA’s biggest tropical wetlands. A haven of extraordinary wildlife, birds wade through its swamps, and black bears and panthers roam its wilds. Take to a plane to appreciate the full scale of the national park or purr along exploring its waterways in a fan powered boat.