Guide77 resorts vetted
🇲🇽Mexico
Two coasts, endless swim-up bars, from Cancún to Cabo.
Best December–April · 82°F in Dec
Know before you go
Destination guides
The practical stuff for each country: passports and visas, safety, currency and tipping, when to go, and the resorts worth your money.
Photo: Soneva Fushi
Chapter I
The Caribbean & Mexico
The short-haul classics: swim-up bars, trade winds, and a direct flight from most of North America. From Jamaica's north coast to both of Mexico's, plus the wider tropical Americas.
Guide31 resorts vetted
🇩🇴Dominican Republic
Punta Cana's mega-resorts and miles of coconut-palm beach.
Best December–April · 84°F in Dec
Guide22 resorts vetted
🇯🇲Jamaica
Reggae, rum, and the easiest beach days in the Caribbean.
Best December–April · 83°F in Dec
Guide5 resorts vetted
🇹🇨Turks & Caicos
Grace Bay, arguably the best beach on Earth.
Best December–April, with May–June a good-value shoulder · 82°F in Dec
Guide14 resorts vetted
🇱🇨St. Lucia
The Pitons over your shoulder at breakfast.
Best December–April · 84°F in Dec
Guide9 resorts vetted
🇦🇼Aruba
Dry, breezy, and safely outside the hurricane belt.
Best Year-round; January–March is peak season and priced like it · 85°F in Jan
Guide11 resorts vetted
🇧🇧Barbados
Gentle west-coast water and rum-shop afternoons.
Best December–April · 84°F in Dec
Guide7 resorts vetted
🇦🇬Antigua
A different beach for every day of the year.
Best December–April · 83°F in Dec
Guide5 resorts vetted
🇨🇼Curaçao
Dutch-Caribbean color and reef diving straight off shore.
Best Year-round; May–November is the value window · 88°F in May
Guide1 resort vetted
🇻🇮U.S. Virgin Islands
Caribbean sand, no passport required.
Best December–April · 85°F in Dec
Guide7 resorts vetted
🇨🇷Costa Rica
Rainforest mornings, Pacific-sunset evenings.
Best December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste · 89°F in Dec
Guide8 resorts vetted
🇧🇷Brazil
Bahia's beach culture, caipirinha in hand.
Best September–March (southern-hemisphere spring and summer) · 81°F in Sep
Chapter II
The Mediterranean
Whitewashed islands, long lunches, and all-inclusives that come with history on the doorstep. Summer is the season; shoulder months are the secret.
Guide32 resorts vetted
🇬🇷Greece
Whitewash, wine-dark water, and long island lunches.
Best Late May–June and September–early October (July–August is hottest and busiest) · 76°F in May
Guide33 resorts vetted
🇪🇸Spain
Balearic coves and Canary-Island winter sun.
Best June and September for warmth without peak crowds; July–August for full beach season · 81°F in Jun
Guide13 resorts vetted
🇮🇹Italy
Aperitivo hour, Mediterranean side.
Best June and September; July–August is hot, busy, and priced accordingly · 83°F in Jun
Guide15 resorts vetted
🇵🇹Portugal
Algarve cliffs and golden-hour swims.
Best June–September (the ocean stays refreshingly cool all year) · 79°F in Jun
Guide17 resorts vetted
🇹🇷Turkey
Turquoise-coast luxury at half the price.
Best May–June and September–October; July–August regularly tops 90°F · 78°F in May
Guide11 resorts vetted
🇭🇷Croatia
Adriatic islands and old-town evenings.
Best June and September; July–August for full beach season · 80°F in Jun
Chapter III
Indian Ocean & Africa
Overwater villas, spice-island shores, and safaris that end on the beach. Farther to fly, impossible to forget.
Guide34 resorts vetted
🇲🇻Maldives
An overwater villa on your own ring of reef.
Best January–March · 86°F in Jan
Guide17 resorts vetted
🇲🇺Mauritius
Indian-Ocean lagoons with French polish.
Best May–November (cooler, dry, cyclone-free) · 81°F in May
Guide14 resorts vetted
🇹🇿Tanzania
Zanzibar's spice-island shores.
Best June–October and December–February · 84°F in Jun
Guide14 resorts vetted
🇰🇪Kenya
Safari by day, Indian-Ocean beach by dusk.
Best December–March and July–September (the latter pairs with Masai Mara migration season) · 89°F in Dec
Guide3 resorts vetted
🇲🇿Mozambique
Barefoot-luxury islands, far off the beaten path.
Best May–October · 81°F in May
Guide
🇿🇦South Africa
Winelands, whales, and the Garden Route.
Best April–September for dry, mild weather; also prime safari season inland · 79°F in Apr
Guide20 resorts vetted
🇪🇬Egypt
Red Sea reefs and year-round sun.
Best October–May; high summer is very hot (but dry, and the sea is warm) · 87°F in Oct
Guide17 resorts vetted
🇲🇦Morocco
Mint tea, medinas, and Atlantic surf.
Best Genuinely year-round; spring and fall are ideal
Torn between two?
Put two destinations head-to-head
We line the big trips up side by side: weather and hurricane risk, safety, beaches, resort depth, and value.
Chapter IV
Asia & the Pacific
Clifftop temples, glassy lagoons, and the original overwater dream. Where the long-haul flight buys you a different world.
Guide2 resorts vetted
🇵🇫French Polynesia
Bora Bora, the original overwater dream.
Best May–October (dry season; also peak overwater-bungalow pricing) · 87°F in May
Guide8 resorts vetted
🇹🇭Thailand
Island-hopping luxury from Phuket to Samui.
Best November–April (the Gulf side, Koh Samui, runs on a different clock; wettest October–December) · 87°F in Nov
Guide11 resorts vetted
🇮🇩Indonesia
Bali's clifftop temples and jungle pools.
Best April–October · 88°F in Apr
Guide12 resorts vetted
🇫🇯Fiji
Soft coral, softer welcomes.
Best May–October: dry, mid-80s, and aligned with northern-summer holidays · 83°F in May
Guide4 resorts vetted
🇵🇭Philippines
Seven thousand islands, water like glass.
Best January–April · 86°F in Jan
Guide1 resort vetted
🇲🇾Malaysia
Rainforest islands on the South China Sea.
Best December–March · 88°F in Dec
Chapter V
More Escapes
New guides that haven't found their chapter yet, but still worth the read.
Guide13 resorts vetted
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka for all-inclusive travelers: two-monsoon timing, south coast vs east coast, tea country and safari add-ons, and the best beach resorts ranked.
Guide8 resorts vetted
Seychelles
The Seychelles for resort travelers: the three main granite islands, calmest-sea months, no cyclones, and the islands' rarer all-inclusive resorts ranked.
Guide3 resorts vetted
🇧🇸Bahamas
The Bahamas for resort travelers: minutes from Florida, Nassau and Paradise Island vs the quiet Out Islands, hurricane-season timing, and the best all-inclusives.
Guide6 resorts vetted
🇨🇱Chile
Chile's all-inclusive lodges: the Atacama Desert and Torres del Paine, where meals, guided excursions and transfers are included, and the best lodges ranked.
Guide3 resorts vetted
🇦🇷Argentina
Argentina's all-inclusive lodges: Mendoza wine country, Patagonia and the northern falls, where meals, excursions and transfers are included, and the best ranked.
Guide3 resorts vetted
🇺🇸United States
All-inclusive in the United States is rare and unusual: destination wellness resorts, remote wilderness lodges, and a rare beach resort.
Beyond the where
The questions every trip shares
Hurricane season, tipping, seaweed, timeshare pitches: the practical stuff that doesn't care which country you pick.
Do you tip at an all-inclusive?What about hurricane season?Will there be seaweed?Will someone pitch me a timeshare?What does “free” actually cost?First time? How does the week work?
All field guides →More guides on the way.
Explore another way
The best-of lists →Ranked shortlists by style and destination: adults-only, family, five-star, and country Top 10s.Resort chains, profiled →Every chain ranked resort by resort: who each brand is really for, and the classic head-to-heads.Browse the whole catalog →Every resort we've vetted, filterable, for when you'd rather start from the properties themselves.