Manzanillo’s history as a resort on the Mexican Riviera is brief. But the port’s history is as old as the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Cortes first espied the harbour in 1522, when he chose the bay as the site for a shipyard. The city’s maritime heritage continues to this day: Manzanillo is the largest commercial port on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. What draws travellers, however, is the bay’s scenic beauty: jungle-laden mountains rise above rocky coves and golden-sand beaches. The offshore waters offer superb diving – and some of the finest fishing in the world.

Welcome to Mexico’s newest resort on the Pacific Riviera. Huatulco is a tropical Eden with crystalline waters, coral reefs, and uncrowded beaches. Inland, the rugged coast range is thickly carpeted with rainforest and coffee plantations. While Huatulco is still in its early stages of development, travelers may note that the resort has a different feel from other destinations on the Mexican Riviera. That’s because large areas of Huatulco have been designated as an ecological reserve. Huatulco is located in the state of Oaxaca where the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean.

The city of Tapachula is characterized by its warm climate and traditional architecture. It is the region where the mango variety named Ataulfo was first grown. The vegetation is exuberant and extremely varied; the most representative flowers are the heliconias, hawaianas, anturios and orchids, which grow in the highest points of the region.

Hailed as the Switzerland of the Americas, Costa Rica occupies a unique position, lying between two oceans and two continents. On both coasts, tropical rainforests rise to the mountains of the interior, many of which soar over 13,000 feet above sea level. In the west, a seemingly endless succession of brown-sand beaches forms the nation’s Pacific coast. Puntarenas is your gateway to Costa Rica’s wonders – and to its capital city of San Jose.

Fuerte Amador, situated at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is a man-made peninsula extending out into the Pacific Ocean. The one-mile causeway was created by connecting four small islands with rocks excavated from the Panama Canal. There are several shops, restaurants, and other specialty stores centered around a large marina that serves as a tender dock. The causeway also affords a panoramic view of Panama City’s impressive skyline and serves as the home for the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research.

Cruising through the Panama Canal will be one of the unforgettable experiences of your voyage.

It takes approximately eight hours to navigate the 50-mile waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing you to experience firsthand one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century. Completed in 1914, the canal marks the culmination of a dream born in 1513, when Balboa became the first European to cross the Isthmus of Panama and sight the Pacific.

Dutch influence still lingers on this balmy Caribbean island, part of the former Netherlands Antilles until its independence in 1986. Aruba is a contrast: the island’s arid interior is dotted with cactus and windswept divi-divi trees while secluded coves and sandy beaches make up its coast. Aruba’s long and colorful heritage is reflected in its dialect. Called Papiamento, it is a tongue that combines elements of Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, African and English.