Rapid Travel Chai

I just posted about a rare moment where Delta flyers can, briefly, feel like they are on American or United with reasonable award pricing.

I have been to most of the destinations in the sale in the past couple years, so some quick thoughts:

• Belize City, Belize: the city itself is to be avoided, the islands are ok, you can snorkel with nurse sharks, the bigger highlights are inland with eco-resorts, Mennonite communities and Mayan ruins, see my Belize and Tikal in Three Days.

• Managua, Nicaragua: my favorite of the Central American contries, you get all the usual natural and colonial stuff, plus volcanoes galore, see my posts on Nicaragua, including volcano boarding, roadside quesillo and hiring a road navigator.

• San Salvador, El Salvador: the city is best skirted, the coast has tremendous surfing, and heading up to Honduras there are great small towns like Suchitoto in this little-touristed country, see my El Salvador & Honduras Weekend parts 1 & 2, and a focus on the ‘Pompeii of the Americas,’ Joya de Ceren.

• San Pedro Sula, Honduras: set a beeline for Mayan Copan.

• Santiago, Chile: stroll the quiet city while enjoying a cherimoya, then use your Avios on LAN to explore the otherwise quite expensive country.

• St. Kitts, Nevis: never been.
• Tegucigalpa, Honduras: never been, for the major attractions of Honduras, San Pedro Sula is a better option.
• Bermuda: visited pre-blog for Christmas, great discounts off-season, in a freezing cold, rainy place, complimentary afternoon tea at the Fairmount Southampton is superb, great dining where every special is the rock fish, summer is a better bet just avoid major cruise ship landings.
• Monterray, Mexico: have not been but have enjoyed everywhere I have visited in Mexico.
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: fun in the sun.
• San Jose, Costa Rica: another to bypass the city and get out to the countryside, especially when a bridge collapses.

• Antigua, Antigua: have not been, and I cannot find any evidence of this JFK flight existing, what am I doing wrong? Maybe they mean Aruba?
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti: I realize this is a hard sell but this is one of my favorites and they need the tourist dollars. See my posts on Haiti, from the great citadel of the Americas to avoiding horse piss on your leg to Port-au-Prince street racing, and more.

• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: underrated old town, head southwest, opposite the tourists, with a stop at the Caves of El Pomier, and on to deserted scenery and the Swiss-run Hotel Casablanca.

• San Juan, Puerto Rico: I need to go sometime!
• Santiago, Dominican Republic: close access to eco and adventure tourism in DR’s north.
• Nassau, Bahamas: someday I will take a cruise that will stop in Bahamas, so I am in no rush to fly down. Haven’t heard much positive about Nassau.