As Baja California Sur’s capital, La Paz is mostly used as a jumping-off point for Cabo San Lucas’ beach resorts. However, its old-world charm and pleasant waterfront promenade featuring international art and restaurants overlooking the grey whale–inhabited water are reasons worth sticking around.

You may have all heard that everything is bigger in Texas. Well, Dallas does its best to fulfill that promise. You'll find several museums with vast art collections and fascinating specialty museums like The Sixth Floor Museum/Texas School Book Depository, which, though small in size, offers an immense amount of information about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. And of course, visit a local steakhouse for a terrific (and enormous) meal.

An archipelago off the northwest coast of Panama, Bocas del Toro is an eco-tourism favorite with English-speaking and other tourists traveling to this Central American country. Seven islands (including Isla Colón, Isla Carenero and Isla Bastimentos) comprise the land area, with Bocas Town its regional capital and the “big city” for those looking to shop, dine well, and explore nightlife. Adventure lovers will find plenty to keep them occupied, as scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, surfing and hiking are first-rate. And if you’re more of a tour-goer, never fear—Bocas del Toro offers a host of them, ranging from sailing to Nivida Bat Cave tours.

High in the Eastern Sierra of California is the growing ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes, surrounded by alpine beauty and majesty. Powdered peaks of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and surrounding wilderness draw skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers and ice skaters every winter. Summers are quieter and less crowded, but vacationers in search of the path less traveled will find secluded biking and hiking trails, rushing rivers, icy mountain lakes, green golf courses and breathtaking scenery.

With its ideal location on the magnificently rugged Oregon Coast, the entire city of Newport is a natural observatory that offers a number of fun and educational activities for the whole family. Spend the morning exploring tide pools, combing the beach for fossils and spotting marine life in their natural habitats. Then head over to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where you can pet an octopus and walk through a glass tunnel surrounded by sharks. Newport is also home to two lighthouses, one of which is the tallest on the Oregon Coast. Historic Nye Beach, with its colorful cottages and laid-back atmosphere, is the perfect spot for a picnic and a quick rest from all the sightseeing.

Catapulted to fame for its part in the 1988 Winter Olympics, this former coal-mining town in the Canadian Rockies is a perfect base for visiting some of the country’s most impressive national parks. First stop for most visitors is the ski trails in Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park. Contemplate natural wonders at the Museum and Geoscience Centre, and mush through the snow on a sled-dog tour.

An hour or two south of Recife, Porto de Galinhas was made for the not-so-extreme tourist. Raves one traveler, "It's what it doesn't have that makes it great:" no heavy traffic, no nightlife to speak of. Explore the natural tidal pools that form in the reef, feeding fish that swim all around you; or ride a dune buggy to romantic Muro Alto beach. Or skip all that and doze in a hammock by the warm, green, clear Atlantic.