Sunset in the Joshua Tree National Park, California

The United States is a county of supersized proportions. Geographically, it may tag behind Russia and Canada, but everything else in this 50-state nation abides by the mantra "bigger is better".

A country of wide open spaces and traffic-congested cities, Arctic tundra and tropical rainforest, the United States has something to offer every traveler. There's the vibrant metropolises of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the eerie draw of the Nevada desert, the ski resorts of the Rocky Mountains, the salty tang of the New England seaside, the rugged wilderness of Alaska, the baking lava fields of Hawaii, the corn fields of the Great Lakes region and the god-fearing folk of the southern Bible belt. Read more...

Alaska Aspen Berkshires Boston Boulder California Cape Cod Colorado Daytona Beach Denali National Park Denver Disneyland Durango Everglades National Park Florida Florida Keys Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Grand Canyon Hawaii Honolulu Homer Katmai National Park Idaho Joshua Tree National Park Lake Tahoe Las Vegas Los Angeles Maine Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts Miami Montana Nevada New England New York Niagara Falls Nome Orlando Palm Springs Portland, Maine Portland, Oregon Prince of Wales Island Rocky Mountain National Park The US Rockies Salt Lake City San Francisco Sitka St Augustine Tampa Tennessee Vermont Washington DC Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park

Canada

Young Canucks whack about an ice hockey puck

The second largest country in the world (Russia comes out on top), Canada is a young, sassy nation of a mere 31 million people.

Visually spectacular and culturally unpretentious, Canada has more wilderness, ski slopes and marijuana plantations than you can shake a hockey stick at.

Canadians' enthusiasm for their country is contagious, and once you've had a taste of it, you'll want to explore every inch. From the surfing haven of Tofino on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island to the knees-up pubs in St John's, Newfoundland, there's an extraordinary 7,730 kilometres east to west to discover. Read more...

Alberta Badlands Banff Bay of Fundy British Columbia Calgary Cavendish Charlottetown Dawson City Dempster Highway Edmonton Fredericton Gulf Islands Haida Gwaii Icefields Parkway Jasper Kananaskis Country Kluane National Park Kootenays Miramichi Moncton Montreal New Brunswick Newfoundland Niagara Falls Nova Scotia Okanagan Ottawa Prince Edward Island Prince Rupert Quebec Quebec City Queen Charlotte Islands The Candian Rockies Saint John Shediac Vancouver Victoria Waterton Whistler Whitehorse Yukon

The Mayan remains of Chichén Itzá in Quintana Roo

Mexico

As destinations go, doesn't Mexico darn near have it all?

An astonishingly varied geography, ranging from the harsh deserts of the north with its atmospheric mining towns, via lushly verdant mountains, snow-capped volcanos and steaming jungles teeming with life to the perfect beaches of the Caribbean. A turbulent and intoxicating history which has thrown up some of the great heroes and villains of our time, from the great pre-Hispanic civilisations of the Aztec and Maya to the bloodshed and revolution of the post-colonial period.

Baja California Copper Canyon Cozumel Mexico City Oaxaca Michoacán Puerto Vallarta Quintana Roo Tijuana