Puanta del Este - luxuary beach resort

The Monaco of South America, Punta del Este is a Uruguayan city that sits on some of the most beautiful and unspoilt beaches in the continent. If you are interested in a pure beach holiday then you couldn’t get better anywhere else. There are other water activities you can do like, for instance, hire a yacht and sail around the peninsula, or head to the surf side of the peninsula and ride the waves. And once the night turns to day, the focus of the city turns to the nightclubs and drinking and dancing with the throngs of other tourists. Because this place is synonymous with beaches and famous people who visit these beaches, this has also become a beautiful person’s city. You will find large amounts of people that spend all their time toning, bronzing, waxing and showing there assists. These people then spend the rest of the day strutting around the beaches showing everyone the results of their hard work. Food wise, seafood is top quality here and you will found plenty of selection from the restaurants along the beach front. A lot of the tourist influence comes from nearby Argentina as they come across to escape the brown waters of the Rio del Plato

Rio De Janeiro - Carnival City

Rio De Janeiro is the Carnaval capital of the world with all its fantastic party parades and wild parties. There really is no place like this place and I guarantee that when you leave all you will think about is when next you can return. You should aim to go during the main “Carnaval”, which is effectively a two week party mixed with drinking, dancing – particularly the samba, and general merry making. Apart from the famous Carnaval, the next most recognised feature of the city has to be the Christ, The Redeemer statute that overlooks the city. Originally you had to walk up all the thousands of steps to reach the statue but now they have installed elevators and escalators for the less physically inclined. And the last part, and the other reason we went, is the multitude of fantastic beaches. These range from quality surf beaches to flat family friendly beaches. Be careful though as there are still associations about what type of people visit a certain beach. Whether it’s the Gay beach (near Farme de Amoedo street in Ipanema) or the tourist beach of Copacabana, you need to find out information about where you intend to visit before setting off.

Cuzco - The Incan Capital

If you want to looking for a mystical holiday, the stone city of Cuzco will give you the ideal environment to relax, and feel isolated within the arms of the snowed covered mountains. You will also feel energised by the hot high altitude sun that is always present even though the area is a cold weather land. The sunlight has a wonderful illuminating effect on the buildings that come from the pre-Hispanic period as well as the colonial period. I have been lucky enough to have visited Cuzco 10 times, and every time I am able to find something extraordinary that I hadn't seen the time before. But for those that want some advice about what to do for a short one off visit to Cuzco, I would suggest that you must go to the Temple of the Sun, Coricancha, which originally had walls covered in gold and even though it wasn't the most imposing structure from the Incan Empire it was the most revered because it had been built for the Sun god. Then after drop by the Sacsayhuman Fortress and see and learn about the impressive feat of the crafting, moving and building of the fortress with enormous stone blocks. These blocks are placed on top of one another without any type of cement but are so secure you cannot place a piece of paper between the stones. Even with all this, we still haven't mentioned the world famous "Incan Lost City" of Machu Picchu. This is one of the most frequented tourist attractions around the world. In general, the quality and beauty of the pre-Hispanic constructions, the purity of the air energy of Cuzco will leave you, as it did me, eternally enchanted.

La Paz - The city in the clouds

La Paz is a city that we heard a lot of people complain about, but we found it an absolutely fascinating place. The fact that it is the highest capital in the world is a novelty by itself. When you first enter the city on one of those dogey rickety buses you will be amazed at just what a stunning view entering La Paz is like. The city is built in the valley at the top of a mountain with the more wealthy areas in the base of the valley and the poor areas at the top. This means that most tourists like us will travel about halfway when they first arrive. The main sites in La Paz have to be the Coca museum, the black market and the nearby Tiahuanaco. The Coca museum talks about the history and influence of the coca plant and even give you the chance to try some special coca sweets. These little black sweets taste OK but will also leave your tongue numb for a good hour or two. The black market is a trinket market where you can purchase things as surreal as llama foetuses. Apparently placing one of these under the front step of your house will guarantee prosperity??

Cancún - The sunnyside paradise

The city of Cancun has had huge amounts of money pumped into by the Mexican government over the past 10 or 20 years and it shows. The place is a water or beach lover's dream holiday location. With vast white sand beaches stretching for what seems like miles, it feels like a world away from work and city life. Most of the other things to keep yourself occupied with usually involve taking a dip in the gorgeous blue ocean. Snorkelling, scuba diving and fishing are some the activities that are enjoyable, relaxing and a perfect way to enjoy the sun, sights and the sea. Most of these trips can be organised through your hotel and usually includes pick-up and drop-off so all you need to sort out is yourself. The best time to arrive is just in time the Carnival in the end of February. This is basically one huge beach party where you will find tourists from every corner of the world drinking and dancing together. Another time to visit is during the mid-May Jazz Festival that draws in some surprisingly big name artists. This is not quite the chaotic level of the Carnival but has a much more cultured and chilled atmosphere about it.

The best South or Central American City

For as long as I´ve been in the US, everyone could only talk about US cities when discussing the best "American" holiday spots. But what about the rest of the Americas? South and Central America are bursting at the seems with quality fun holiday destinations. Its time to inform the country about the best spots and why. Whats your favourite? Whens the best time to go? What should be avoided?

If you agree or disagree with any of the posted cities, feel free to add on the post in questoin a relevant comment. Otherwise just enjoy the read!