The popularity of the tequila has spawned a tourism boom in the farm country where it is made.

My daughter circled the sun, bobbing around the yellow mosaic tile work at the bottom of the pool. Everywhere in the Royal Baths, the water was no deeper than 3 feet, which meant that my 9-year-old could touch the bottom wherever she happened to float.

Take it from me, first impressions aren’t necessarily the best impressions when you arrive at an all-inclusive resort after a long day of traveling. After a seven-hour trip on two flights from our home in Boston, my family and I were famished by the time we got to the Riu Palace Tropical Bay Resort in Negril, Jamaica. We headed straight for the snack bar, where the pasta had gone soggy. What looked to be busloads of Canadians stood in the water at the swim-up bar, drinking gallons of alcohol in oversize mugs.

The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is known for reggae music, Jamaican food and an edgy vibe that occasionally spills over into violence.

The country is a jigsaw puzzle of safe and unsafe places. Here’s advice on where to visit and where to avoid.

It’s time to discover alternative Caribbean beaches that aren’t so well known — or well trod.

Narrow cobblestone streets, imposing city walls and centuries-old buildings and squares are reminders of the city’s past under the Spanish Crown.

Taking it slow in the Abacos, where one of everything is just enough.

Ships of all sorts line up each day to take their own historic journey through the Panama Canal, which, almost a century after it opened, is still a wonder.

The puma is a predator of Magellan penguins, but the biggest threats to the bird are commercial fishing, pollution and disease.