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North America

Big cities, open roads and rugged country

North America

North America combines cosmopolitan cities with vast forests, deserts, mountains and coastlines. Its scale impresses, but the strongest trips often focus on one landscape or region.

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North America lends itself to overland travel. Railways connect some major cities, while cars and campers open up national parks, small towns and remote coastal roads. Beyond the familiar natural landmarks, music cities, regional cuisines and communities shaped by Indigenous, colonial and migration histories merit attention.

The distances make realistic choices essential. A route through the Rocky Mountains is very different from an east-coast city trip or a journey across the southwest. Account for snow, heat, hurricane seasons and busy holiday periods. Planning fewer miles leaves more time for walks, museums and the detours that give a trip its character.

From the magazine

Stories about North America

Editorial stories linked to North America and to the countries and places within this region.

Ten responsible places to watch for whales from shore
Article

Ten responsible places to watch for whales from shore

These ten coasts put people on paths, platforms, dunes and cliff tops while whales follow their own routes offshore. Pick the right season, stay on land and accept the essential uncertainty: even in peak months, the sea may hold no whale in view.

M Hamba-redactieMara
The world’s ten greatest bridges, ranked
Article

The world’s ten greatest bridges, ranked

These ten bridges are ranked by three things: the force of their design, the history held in their fabric, and the precision with which they meet their river, strait, valley or city. Pont du Gard starts the list; Stari Most finishes it above the Neretva.

J Hamba-redactieJoris
The 10 Cities Best Understood from the Water
Article

The 10 Cities Best Understood from the Water

A fine skyline is not enough. In these ten cities, a ferry or small boat reveals how trade, terrain, buildings and daily travel grew around a river, canal or bay.

T Hamba-redactieTomoko
Eight deltas shaped by water and work
Article

Eight deltas shaped by water and work

From Botswana’s inland floodplains to Argentina’s tidal islands, eight deltas show rivers at work in very different ways: feeding fields, carrying boats, building marshes and supporting communities at the water’s edge.

E Hamba-redactieElias
The world’s 10 best accessible waterfalls, ranked
Article

The world’s 10 best accessible waterfalls, ranked

A great waterfall needs more than height or brute force. It needs a public route that lets people grasp its scale, whether from the bank, a platform, behind the water or across a gorge. This ranking weighs practical access alongside the force of the river and the landscape around it.

D Hamba-redactieDaan
The world’s 10 most remarkable deserts, ranked
Article

The world’s 10 most remarkable deserts, ranked

In Egypt’s White Desert, wind-blown sand has carved snow-white chalk into mushrooms, cones and solitary towers. This deliberately subjective ranking weighs access alongside landscape and distinctive character, so a spectacular place can fall when reaching it requires a serious expedition.

A Hamba-redactieAisha

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Countries in North America

Countries with a full guide come first. Below them you will find more countries to explore.

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