Visit Punta Cana

Visit Santiago, capital of Chile. Explore the historic Plaza de Armas (main square with the Metropolitan Cathedral and Central Post Office), ride the funicular up San Cristóbal Hill (for panoramic city views and the 22-meter-tall Virgin Mary statue), and sample local dishes like empanadas and pastel de choclo at the Mercado Central (a bustling iron-framed market from the 19th century).

The only cable car in the Caribbean, up to a Christ statue, and the amber museum.

A French-Dominican beach town on the Samana peninsula, humpback whales from January to March.

Visit Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic and the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. Explore the Zona Colonial (UNESCO World Heritage site with cobblestone streets and the first cathedral in the New World, Catedral Primada de América), stroll along the Malecón (seafront boulevard with ocean views and lively nightlife), and see the Alcázar de Colón (16th-century palace built for Christopher Columbus's son).

Split time between palm beaches, high peaks, and merengue nights of the Dominican Republic

Palm-fringed national-park island reached by catamaran, with a starfish-filled natural pool on the way.

An 8-km beach with no hotels at all, reached by boat through Jaragua National Park — the wildest sand in the Caribbean.

Canyoning through 27 waterfalls — jumping, sliding and swimming down a limestone gorge near Puerto Plata.