North America flights and travel guide

From the imposing Manhattan skyline and the colonial architectural gems of Cuba to the lush rainforests of Panama, North America is a land of glorious contrasts. The biggest countries, America and Canada, are as diverse as their landscapes.

Travellers taking flights to North America have a huge range of destinations to choose between. Colourful Mexico effortlessly blends old and new with its Mayan ruins and thriving modern cities. In the central part of the continent, Costa Rica has evolved into a prime eco-tourism destination, while Panama has some of the region's best bird-watching and hiking opportunities.

The Caribbean is synonymous with relaxed island paradises. Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago  have unspoilt beaches, coral reefs, world-class resorts and laid-back towns. The most popular of the Caribbean islands, the Bahamas, attracts more than three million visitors each year.

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North America climate

North America's climate varies throughout the continent. While the US and Canada enjoy four distinct seasons, most other countries including Cuba, Panama and Mexico have two seasons - wet and dry, with the dry season lasting from mid-December to mid-April and the rainy season from May to November. The Caribbean enjoys warm weather year-round, with a few rainy spells from May to November.

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When to fly to North America

The best times to find cheap flights to North America, especially the US and Canada, are late spring and early autumn. During winter, the eastern part of the US gets considerably colder than the West Coast and Canada gets bitterly cold. The islands closer to the Caribbean Sea – Jamaica and the Bahamas – are year-round destinations.

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Getting around North America

There's a mind-boggling number of airlines and flights servicing North America. Low-cost US airlines include Southwest, JetBlue, AirTran and Spirit Airlines. Canada's domestic carriers are CanJet and Air Canada Jazz. In Mexico, there are two big private national airlines Mexicana and Aeromexico, as well as regional carriers Aero Mar, Aerocaribe and Aeromexico Connect. Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico all have good domestic services.

Taxis are fine for getting around cities, but you need a car to explore the countryside and isolated sites, towns and villages. However, road conditions can be poor outside the US and Canada. Buses are a cost effective way to get around.

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North America insider information

• America's iconic natural wonder - the Grand Canyon - is a sight to behold. You can now walk over the canyon and peer into it, thanks to the impressive Grand Canyon Skywalk, a suspended glass bridge which juts out 21 metres from the canyon’s rim.
• The snow-capped mountains, rivers, forests, and quaint villages of Canada’s British Columbia are a magnet for nature lovers.
• Mexico's Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, on the Yucatán Peninsula, is a lush 728,435-hectare jungle. Inside the reserve, the walled city of Calakmul has a spectacular pyramid that is the tallest in the Yucatán.
• In Cuba, don't miss the Valle de los Ingenios, a picturesque valley dotted with the ruins of small 19th century sugar mills. The impressive Manaca Iznaga estate, once home to notorious slave trafficker Pedro Iznaga, has a 45m tower used to keep an eye on the slaves working in the sugar fields.
• It's not just reggae fans that make the pilgrimage to the Jamaican village of Nine Mile, the birthplace and resting place of Reggae legend Bob Marley. The Nine Mile Museum's extensive Marley paraphernalia collection includes the inspirational stone (Mt Zion Rock) on which he learned to play the guitar.
• The historic 1833 Hacienda Beuna Vista, in Puerto Rico’s colonial city of Ponce, was once one of the island's most successful coffee, corn and citrus plantations. Don’t miss the two-storey river waterwheel.
• In the Bahamas, walk along the trails leading to the pine trees, mangrove swamps and large caves of the Lucayan National Park.
• At the Santa Rosa sugar refinery in the rural Panama town of Aguadulce, you can watch sugar cane being made into sugar. The grinding season lasts from the mid-January until mid-March.
• The Asa Wright Nature Centre is located deep within the rainforest in Trinidad and Tobago’s Northern Range. The former cocoa and coffee plantation is now a sanctuary for 97 native mammals, 400 birds, 55 reptiles, 25 amphibians and 617 butterflies. There are also more than 2200 species of flowering plants.
• Costa Rica's Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal is reached via a scenic drive through diverse natural landscapes and coffee plantations. You can hike across the lava fields of the Arenal Volcano (it's active), or take a sunset boat ride around the Laguna de Arenal.

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North America airports

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