Dominican Republic

Captivated by the island he named Hispaniola on his first voyage to the New World in 1492, Columbus returned here the following year to build the first Spanish city in the Americas. Five centuries later, the natural beauty that attracted the explorer is still evident in the D.R.'s magnificent mountains (including the Caribbean's loftiest, 10,414-foot-high Pico Duarte), rivers, waterfalls, and flawless white-sand beaches. What Columbus couldn't have envisioned are the upscale resorts that line some of those beaches and the 20-plus golf courses (including some of the Caribbean's finest). A boom in adventure sports has made the D.R. a major center for windsurfing, hiking, and mountain biking (fat-tire hot spots include Jarabacoa and San Jose de las Matas). If that's not enough, check out the white-water rafting and diving at more than 20 shipwrecks. In Santo Domingo, the capital, now a thriving metropolis of more than 7 million, the sounds of merengue linger long into the tropical night. But at dawn in the Zona Colonial, with its well-preserved Spanish colonial architecture gilded in morning light, even Columbus himself might still feel at home.