Countries Most Frequently Visited

Countries Most Frequently Visited

	Cuba You can describe it as, confounding, frustrating and bewitching: Cuba does it all. Historic colonial architecture, exotic young salsa dancers, murals of Che Guevara , white sandy beaches, swaying fields of sugar cane - the images of Cuba are transfixing and timeless. This is an island of unique historical heritage floating amid a sea of encroaching globalisation. Travel in Cuba can involve anything from sipping mojittos at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero to scraping the spit and sawdust off your shoes outside the Casa de las Tradiciones in Santiago. The burgeoning tourist sector rubs up against the Cuba of communist myth.

	Mexico Mexico is a traveler's paradise, crammed with a multitude of opposing identities: desert landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient ruins, teeming industrialized cities, time-warped colonial towns, glitzy resorts, deserted beaches and a world-beating collection of flora and fauna. This mix of modern and traditional, clichéd and surreal, is the key to Mexico's charm, whether your passion is throwing back margaritas, listening to howler monkeys, surfing the Mexican Pipeline, scrambling over Mayan ruins or expanding your collection of posable Day of the Dead skeletons.

	Panama Falling under the radar of tourist crowds, Panama's divine natural gifts shine. While Panama is known mostly for its famous canal, the country's natural attractions offer an irresistible lure to far-sighted travelers. This oft-overlooked country offers some of the finest birding, snorkeling and hiking in the Americas. Panama's charms include its stunning coastline of palm-fringed beaches, its astounding wildlife - boasting an incredible diversity of tropical birds - and its proud, vibrant indigenous peoples, such as the Kuna. While in Panama, you'll find it hard to shake the inescapable feeling that you're in on a secret the rest of the traveling world has yet to discover.

	Puerto Rico A bustling island whose shiny consumerism rubs up against an unspoiled interior. Puerto Rico is where four centuries of Spanish Caribbean culture comes face to face with the American convenience store. This leads to some strange juxtapositions - parking lots and plazas, freeways and fountains, skyscrapers and shanties - but it's all apiece with the Caribbean's hybrid history. Travellers who venture into the island's mountainous interior or explore its undeveloped coasts come across stately hill towns where the locals in the plaza seem to have been feeding the same pigeons for decades, and reefs where divers can see 30 species of fish in as many seconds.

	Venzuela If you could channel-surf for landscape, Venezuela would tire out any remote. Venezuela is epic in proportion: it boasts South America's largest lake and third-longest river, the highest waterfall in the world, the longest of all snakes, and some of the most spectacular landscapes you'll ever see. There are the snowcapped peaks of the Andes in the west; steamy Amazonian jungles in the south; the hauntingly beautiful Gran Sabana plateau, with its strange flat-topped mountains, in the east; and miles of white-sand beaches fringed with coconut palms on the Caribbean coast.

	Dominican Republic Bounce between carnivals and glide between manatees. The white-sand beaches, impressive mountain ranges veined with spectacular rivers and waterfalls, and saltwater lakes teeming with exotic wildlife are just part of the Dominican Republic's appeal. Whether you're looking to party, relax or explore, the Dominican Republic has a lot to offer.

	Costa Rica Hang ten in this peaceful oasis: the local wildlife highly recommends it. Mention Costa Rica and people think paradise. The country's Disney-like cast of creatures — ranging from howler monkeys to toucans — are prolific and relatively easy to spot. The waves are prime, the beauty is staggering and the sluggish pace seductive. Costa Rica, despite being such a tiny nation, draws well over a million visitors every year - and you can see why. The incredibly varied topography means you can cruise a cloud forest one day, climb a volcano the next, and finish passed out on a hot sandy beach.

	El Ecuador Ecuador may be tiny, but it sure packs a spectacular punch. The smallest country in the rugged Andean highlands, Ecuador has an array of vibrant indigenous cultures, well-preserved colonial architecture, otherworldly volcanic landscapes, dense rainforest and sublime islands - all in a nation no bigger than the US state of Nevada. Once a banana republic, Ecuador's politicians still pocket the wealth accumulated from its treasures: a picture-perfect capital, the all-consuming Amazonian jungle, breathtaking wildlife reserves, ancient sites, remote indigenous villages, and, of course, world-famous tropical beaches.