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North America

Big distances and bigger price swings. These dossiers are blunt about tipping, taxes and the real cost of a day.

Arenal Volcano's cone rising above rainforest and Lake Arenal in clear early-morning light, with low cloud drifting over the lower slopes

Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Two coasts, a spine of volcanoes, and wildlife that turns up before breakfast.

Best Jan–MarFrom $60/day

The fluted green sea cliffs of Kauai's Na Pali Coast rising from the Pacific in late-afternoon light, with a small sailing boat below them for scale

United States, island

Kauai

Sea cliffs with no road, a red canyon in the clouds, and an island that closes its beaches when the ocean says so.

Best May–JunFrom $130/day

The Palacio de Bellas Artes at blue hour, its white marble facade and tiled dome floodlit above the trees of the Alameda Central and streaks of traffic

Mexico

Mexico City

Aztec stone, five-peso metro rides and tacos al pastor at 2,240 metres.

Best Mar, NovFrom $45/day

Lower Manhattan's skyline at dusk seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the Brooklyn Bridge on the right and office lights coming on across the East River

United States

New York City

Learn it on foot and underground: every block changes the mood, and the subway runs all night.

Best May, Sep–OctFrom $140/day

The stone facade and twin bell towers of the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca City at golden hour, with agave plants in the atrium garden and mountains behind

Mexico

Oaxaca

Mole, mezcal and Zapotec stone in a highland valley that still keeps its market days.

Best NovFrom $35/day