Here are snapshots of just a few of the places you can reach by direct flight from South Florida. Some -- like Ponce, P.R. and Savannah -- are perfect for weekend jaunts. Others -- such as Tel Aviv and Düsseldorf -- are best saved for longer stretches.

Sure, you can still zip to New York, Chicago, London, Paris and Madrid -- but we figure you already know about them.

SAVANNAH/HILTON HEAD

Service on American Airlines

The charmingly quirky ''garden of good and evil'' made (more) famous by John Berendt's novel offers far more than graveyards. Savannah dishes up low-country cuisine at its tastiest, with she crap soup and stuffed grouper at upscale faves like The Olde Pink House and southern classics at Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons and Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room. Southern hospitality, a bubbling arts scene, historic ambience (Girl Scouts' founder Juliette Gordon Low was born here) and stately squares lined with moss-draped oaks create the backdrop for a picturesque weekend. Ya'll come on down.

Did somebody mention beaches, golf and -- you betcha -- more food? Hilton Head lies just 45 miles away.

Info: www.savannah-visit.com, 877-SAVANNAH; www.hiltonheadisland.com, 800-523-3373.

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

SERVICE ON AV

This colonial Colombian city is fast becoming a must on the savvy travelers' circuit. Miami Beach-based Tours Gone Wild added it a few years ago to its roster of party jaunts, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line added it as a port of call last April -- both indicators that in Cartagena, at least, the security scene has calmed. The city where author Gabriel Marquez Garcia was born is now basking in the limelight from the movie recently made from his novel, Love in the Time of Cholera (it was filmed here.) And, we're told, emeralds are a relative bargain.

Info: www.turismocartagenadein dias.com; Colombian Consulate, 305-448-5558, www.consuladodecolom bia.com.

KANSAS CITY

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS

(ALSO FROM FLL ON MIDWEST)

Don't laugh; everything really is up to date in Kansas City. Yes, K.C. has always had killer BBQ, great jazz and blues bars and pretty neighborhoods with rolling lawns. But it's also got a burgeoning entertainment district (the K.C. Power & Light District), a smart new addition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Kempner Museum of Contemporary Art and the exhibition Bodies Revealed in the new gallery space at the impressive Union Station. Don't miss the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and designer shopping at Country Club Plaza (where we've hit some fab sales.) The Big 12 play finals here in March this year.

Info: www.visitkc.com; 800-767-7700.

MERIDA, MEXICO

SERVICE ON AEROMEXICO

If you've had enough of Cancun's bar scene, head to Merida for a dose of culture. This colonial city is the artistic capital of the region, boasting stately palaces, a grand cathedral and 17th century monastery, along with '70s murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco and a museum of contemporary art. The city boasts dozens of restaurants; still, many visitors prefer the vintage ambience of historic haciendas-turned-hotels outside the town.

Don't miss the spectacular Maya ruins at Chichen Itza and the dizzying climb of El Castillo, it's 80-foot-high pyramid; they lie about 75 miles east of Merida. Divers often prefer to go under the surface in one of the area's many cenotés.

Info: Mexico Tourism Board, 786-621-2909; www.visitmexico.com.

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