Colombia · South America
San Andres sits closer to Nicaragua than Colombia, and that geographic oddity gives it a character entirely its own — Raizal culture, reggae rhythms, coconut-heavy cuisine, and a sea that locals call the 'Sea of Seven Colors' because the water genuinely shifts through seven distinct shades of blue and green depending on the depth and coral below. Johnny Cay, a tiny palm-fringed islet a 15-minute boat ride from shore, is the postcard shot, but the real gem is the natural pool at the southern tip called the Piscinita, where you snorkel over coral in waist-deep water for about $3 entry. The island is duty-free, so Colombian visitors come for shopping too, which means the restaurant and nightlife scene punches well above what you'd expect for an island this size.
Ten Caribbean beaches that still feel the way Negril and Aruba did before the cruise-ship era — uninhabited cays in the Grenadines, black sand below the Pitons, four-mile stretches with a single beach bar. With access notes, costs, and how to chain them into a two-week loop.
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A tiered ranking of Punta Cana all-inclusive resorts: luxury picks like Excellence El Carmen and Hyatt Zilara, mid-range Secrets and Lopesan, and budget Riu Republica and Grand Palladium. Includes honest food reviews, excursion prices, and tips for eating outside the resort.
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Box jellyfish in Australia, man-of-war in the Atlantic, mauve stingers in the Mediterranean -- here's how to identify the jellyfish in your water, what actually treats a sting (hot water, not urine), and when to get to a hospital.
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Los Roques sits 160 kilometers north of Caracas — 350 islands and cays with some of the healthiest coral reefs and emptiest beaches left in the Caribbean. This guide covers the cays, the diving, the bonefishing, and how to navigate a trip to Venezuela.
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Use Google Maps satellite view to spot empty shoreline with no roads or parking. Combine with AllTrails coastal hikes and local intel from bartenders and dive shops to find beaches the tourism industry hasn't packaged yet.
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Punta del Este transforms from a quiet town of 25,000 into a destination for half a million each summer. From Playa Mansa's calm waters to José Ignacio's celebrity-chef restaurants and Cabo Polonio's off-grid isolation, here's Uruguay's full beach playbook.
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