The 11 Best Places I Visited in 2018

As I noted in several recent articles, in 2018 I finished up three years of travels around wonderful Mexico and Central America. More specifically, in 2018 I explored Costa Rica, Panama, northwestern Mexico and Cuba.

Following are my favorite 11 places in that region of the world, in no particular order.

vintage green car driving on Havana’s malecon near the ferry piers & warehouses

1. Havana, Cuba

I spent the entire month of October exploring the Caribbean island nation of Cuba. While I’m only 50/50 on Cuba overall, I did love Havana, which I now consider one of my 20 favorite cities in the world.

Havana is unique on a global scale for its amazing, famed vintage cars from the 1950s, which can be seen cruising all over the city, glowing in every color of the rainbow. Havana also has gorgeous historic plazas, churches, stone fortresses, old but still inhabited neighborhoods, a miles-long seaside promenade and lively street life.

I wrote about 10 free things to do in Havana here.

beautiful scenery near entrance to Copper Canyon

2. Copper Canyon, Mexico

Mexico’s famous Cooper Canyon is situated in the northwestern states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. This may come as a surprise, but Coooper Canyon is four times larger and two times deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona!

It also has an equally-famed historic train, called El Chepe, that runs through the canyon system.

The Copper Canyon train journey was one of the primary reasons I went to explore northwestern Mexico in 2018. I did take El Chepe into the canyon, which proved to be an exciting, gorgeous trip that lived up to my expectations. I did also stay in Rere, situated in the heart of the canyon system, where I explored the canyon’s rock formations, pine forests and other beautiful interiors for one week.

Read more about Copper Canyon here and about El Chepe in this article.

3. My friend’s amazing house in Durango

This must be the first time I’ve ever considered a house as one of my favorite destinations of the year! But the home of my new Mexican pal, Alberto, certainly deserves the distinction.

Turns out Alberto has an amazing natural talent for interior design, inspired by living for three years in wealthy homes in France with a fashion display/interior designer.

Wow, what a stupendous designer home he’s created in the suburbs of Durango! From the moment I walked in, my mouth agape, until the moment I reluctantly left more than one week later, I absolutely loved being immersed in his rich, gorgeous creation.

Meanwhile, Alberto and I had much in common, including our fascination with Japanese culture, world travel, gym work-outs, fastidious cleanliness and order, and optimistic world views.

We had a fabulous time together, along with Alberto’s charming partner, Cesar, and their live-in doggies, Julia Roberts (!) and Usagi-chan. Thanks so much Alberto and Cesar for your great hospitality and fabulous home!

Zacatecas main street illuminated at night

4. Zacatecas, Mexico

Zacatecas is, hand’s down, my favorite city in Mexico and one of my favorite cities in the world. It’s filled with absolutely stunning historic stone architecture built in the 1600s from the proceeds of nearby Eden Mine, one of Mexico’s most productive silver & gemstone mines of all time.

In 2018 I visited Zacatecas for the second time, after having fallen in love with it the previous year. I loved it just as much the second time around and enjoyed most of its great attractions all over again.

You see, Zacatecas has several amazing world-class museums, many lovely parks & plazas, a cable car crossing over the city, a hilltop look-out, hiking trails in forests, tours of Eden Mine, dancing at Eden Mine Discoteque, delicious and varied cuisine, lots of outdoor performances and public events, all set in a small town surrounded by steep hills. It’s gorgeous! 

I wrote all about Zacatecas here.

5. Samara Beach, Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s long, long Pacific coast is lined by dozens of gorgeous au naturale beaches that are backed almost exclusively by dense vegetation, forests or sand dunes. Even at the most developed beaches, like Tamarindo and Jaco, the buildings mostly blend into the natural scenery.

My favorite of all Coast Rican beaches is Samara, located in the northwest, on the huge Guanacaste Peninsula. Samara is exceedlingly long and wide, curving in a gentle bay and backed by lovely shade trees. It’s primarily a draw for bohemian types into yoga, meditation, aerial circus, holistic living, organic foods and groovy clothing. I fit right in.

I wrote all about Samara Beach here.

view of Arenal Volcano from Observatory Lodge

6. La Fortuna / Volcan Arenal – Costa Rica

Volcan Arenal is a currently dormant volcano towering over the shores of placid Lake Arenal in central Costa Rica, situated a couple hours north of San Jose. Although quiet now, Arenal was famous rather recently for its extremely active outbursts of lava, steam and ash that rumbled and blew into the sky regularly for more than one decade, from 1998 until 2010.

Not surprisingly, the eruptions drew thousands of tourists from around the world to witness the spectacular explosions and late night glowing lava streams. The small town of La Fortuna became the main base for tourism.

Nowadays, even though Volcan Arenal is no longer presenting its dramatic displays, the Arenal/La Fortuna area remains one of Costa Rica’s most popular tourist destinations. Even without the eruptions, its a gorgeous area.

Dozens of truly stunning ecologically-oriented luxury hotels and boutique resorts have sprung up near the volcano’s base, providing beautiful views of the near-cylindrical volcanic cone and offering soothing dips in natural thermal waters of the region.

I ended up staying in La Fortuna for nearly two weeks, primarily because I had to visit one dozen of those great luxury hotels. In the process, I quickly grew to love the area for its stunning beauty, luxurious hot springs, nature resort vibes and astounding views of Arenal Volcano.

I wrote about the Arenal – La Fortuna region here.

great architecture in San Jose

7. San Jose, Costa Rica

I wasn’t really expecting to like Costa Rica’s capital city, especially after visiting the other capital cities in Central America. So I was very pleasantly surprised to discover San Jose.

The main downtown area, filled with ugly modern buildings, bustling stores, crowds and chatoic traffic is not so nice. But the historic sections of town near Parque Nacional and Parque Espana are filled with gorgeous buildings, leafy urban parks and some charming, hip neighborhoods.

San Jose is also a cool weather retreat from the rest of steaming Costa Rica, with a pleasant cool to chilly climate year round. That’s due to its elevation of up on the country’s central plateau.

I liked San Jose so much that I ended up staying more than one month!

I wrote all about San Jose here.

8. Granada – Nicaragua

Granada is one of only a few intact colonial Spanish cities in Central America. The only other such significant towns are Antiqua, Guatemala and Leon, Nicaragua.

I loved both Leon and Granada, but if I had to choose between the two, I’d settle on Granada. It’s set on the northern shores of vast Lake Nicaragua and also at the base of small Mambacho Volcano.

But the main draw in Granada is its absolutely stunning, beautifully-renovated historic architecture. There are blocks and blocks and blocks of colorful colonial houses, shops, churches and plazas. It’s also a great base for exploring nearby volcanoes, lakes and artisan villages.

I wrote about Granada here.

San Carlos – Nicaragua

9. San Carlos, Nicaragua and the San Juan River

San Carlos is a tiny market town situated on the far southeastern shores of vast Lake Nicaragua. Long Rio San Juan starts right there, flowing out from the lake then meandering all the way out to the Caribbean Sea, passing through dense, pristine rain forests and mangroves.

Another big attraction is the Indian-inhabited Solentiname Archipelago, set in the lake. The small forested islands can be clearly seen from San Carlos.

While I was exploring Nicaragua in late 2017, I was eager to visit the area, but it’s so remote that it’s difficult to access from central Nicaragua.

Ironically, I discovered later that it’s actually easier to get there from San Juan, Costa Rica. Direct buses run to the border. From there it’s a quick local bus ride to San Carlos.

Since my visa ran out while I was in Costa Rica, I took the opportunity to finally visit San Carlos and Rio San Juan. It was a great adventure.

I greatly enjoyed the somewhat rough but cute lakeside village and I really loved a boat trip down the river to the historic castle town of El Castillo. Its claim to fame is a hilltop stone fortress overlooking the river that was built to watch for plundering pirate ships making their way up river into Lake Nicaragua and then on to Granada.

I wrote more details about the region in this article. I also described how to make the border run to/from Costa Rica and Nicaragua here.

Bocas del Toro Islands – Caribbean coast of Panama

10. Bocas del Toro Islands, Panama

Bocas del Toro Islands are set just off the Caribbean coast of northeastern Panama, close to the border of Costa Rica. They’re a collection of densely forested, low-lying tropical isles that have retained their wild natural setting, even with the steadily growing tourist industry, which has, thankfully, remained very low-key.

The one and only town, Bocas, has a distinctly bohemian bent. It’s constructed almost entirely of quaint wooden houses, shops, restaurants, bars and small boutique hotels/hostels that help it retain its laid-back island town vibe.

I only got to spend one week there since I was pressed for time, but I loved it so much that I would actually consider it a possible place to live in the future. Hoever, I was there during the quiet low season. Judging by the many hip, urban-style restaurants and bars crowding the water’s edge, I’m guessing Bocas is an entirely different place during high tourist season!

I’ll have to go back one day to take a longer view. Meanwhile, I wrote about the islands here.

at the Panama Canal – 2018

11. Panama City, Panama

Panama City is one of a kind in Central America. In fact, it’s the only city between there and the USA that’s filled with gleaming glass and steel skyscrapers. Even the gorgeous cities in Mexico are primarily renovated colonial Spanish cities, with at most a spattering of modern towers.

Panama City put me in mind of Singapore, my favorite city in the world, albeit on a smaller scale. Both cities boast lines of tall glistening skyscrapers along a waterfront. Both have historic districts full of renovated colonial buildings. Both have spectacular urban luxury hotels and sevral distinct neighborhoods.

After traveling around Central America with its mostly ugly modern towns and cities and a handful of pretty colonial towns, Panama City is an exciting and beautiful urban city.

I wrote about Panama culture in this article.

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