Most international trips to Mexico land at a coast and stay there. The country's reputation rests overwhelmingly on its beaches — the Riviera Maya, the Pacific resorts, the bay sequence of Tulum, Cancún, and Playa del Carmen. None of these are wrong reasons to visit. But they account for a fraction of what the country is, and for travellers willing to look slightly inland, the most rewarding Mexico tends to live in its cities.

Egypt is not a destination that reveals itself gently. For many travellers, it sits firmly on the bucket list — a place defined by monumental history, iconic imagery, and a level of cultural weight few countries can rival.

Chile asks travellers to make peace with distance.

The country runs more than four thousand kilometres from the Atacama in the north to the southern reaches of Patagonia, and the gap between its landscapes is not only geographic but tonal.