From atop the cliffside Castillo (castle)in Tulum, the crashing waves and the calls of the sea birds conjure visions of this once-vital Maya sea port. Combine a cultural visit here with river tubing and swimming with dolphins at Xel-Ha,a nearby eco-adventure park.

On the Big Cypress Reservation within an hour of bustling Ft. Lauderdale wild life means bison, great blue herons, alligators and real Florida panthers. The reservation on the edge of the Everglades belongs to the Seminole tribe who has opened 2000-acres of their natural habitat to the public.

Historic Philadelphia puts into perspective the events surrounding the creation of our nation and its concept of freedom. Highlights include the National Constitution Center. In Philly, be sure to take your kids to play at the newly, expanded Please Touch Museum, now in Fairmount Park.

Two good reasons to visit the Dominican Republic: winter is whale-watching season and Club Med Punta Cana recently opened 32 upmarket, family suites.

Canoeing through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, we enter a strange, new world, a habitat for water fowl, wading birds, as well as for river otters and alligators. It´s the largest national wildlife refuge in the eastern United States.

Discover the secrets on a Caribbean rainforest on Nevis, a laid-back island with a population of about 10,000. On Nevis the only “crowds” we encounter are the hundreds of goats and sheep roaming free during the day before they return to their owners at dusk.

A lion cub tugs at my sweater while another grabs my daughter’s pant leg. A giraffe swings his crane-like neck toward us, unfurls his foot-long, purple tongue to grab the food pellets from our hands. Before our safari, we´re enjoying close encounters with the animals at Johannesburg´s Lion Park.

Even the best beach aficionado needs some time away from the shore. Vacation in Ft. Myers, Sanibel, Captiva or Marco Island, along Florida’s southwest, and you can savor not only the sea and sand, but also the natural Florida of estuaries, salt marshes, mangrove swamps, pine woods and pastures.

Providenciales, affectionately called “Provo,” features one of the Caribbean’s best beaches: 12-mile-long Grace Bay Beach. Provo, one of our favorite Caribbean destinations, offers a slow-paced, beach getaway with eco-adventures and great food.

Antietam, one of the best preserved and least commercial battlefield parks, provides a dignified memorial and a powerful sense of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Time travel through history by driving and walking the pastoral landscape of meadows, creeks and corn fields.