Panama Canal: Mexico & Costa Rica from Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand- and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of luminaries and vendors sell maps to stars’ homes.

Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is known for its beaches, water-based activities and nightlife. Playa El Médano is Cabo’s main beach, with outdoor restaurants and numerous bars. Past the marina is Land's End promontory, site of Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach) and El Arco, a natural archway in the seacliffs. 

Puerto Vallarta is a resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, in Jalisco state. It is known for its beaches, water sports and nightlife scene. Its cobblestone center is home to the ornate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church, boutique shops and a range of restaurants and bars. El Malecón is a beachside promenade with contemporary sculptures, as well as bars, lounges and nightclubs.

Manzanillo is a Pacific Ocean port city and resort in the Mexican state of Colima. It's the site of 2 bays, Bahía de Manzanillo and Bahía de Santiago. The latter is known for beaches such as Playa La Audiencia, with calm surf for water sports. The waters off the coast have numerous coral reefs, shipwrecks and other dive sites. With a high concentration of marlin, the area is also known for deep-sea sportfishing.

Ixtapa is a Pacific Coast beach resort in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Curving El Palmar Beach is lined with high-rise hotels, bars and restaurants. Fishing boats leave from Ixtapa Marina, adjacent to a golf course. The granite rocks of Los Morros de Potosí are a popular dive site, while the Delfiniti dolphinarium offers the chance to swim with dolphins. The laid-back resort city of Zihuatanejo lies just southeast.

The Port Chiapas or Puerto Madero is a port in Puerto de San Benito in the Tapachula municipality of the Soconusco region in the southern portion of the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Acajutla is a seaport city in Sonsonate Department, El Salvador. The city is located at 13°35′24″N 89°50′01″W on the Pacific coast of Central America and is El Salvador's principal seaport from which a large portion of the nation's exports of coffee, sugar, and Balsam of Peru are shipped.

San Juan del Sur is a town on Nicaragua’s southwest coast. It’s known for a string of nearby Pacific beaches, such as Maderas Beach, with its strong-breaking waves, and the quieter Marsella Beach. A towering, contemporary Christ of the Mercy statue stands on a cliff above the bay. Near a creek on the outskirts is an ancient petroglyph. South along the coast, olive ridley turtles breed at La Flor Nature Reserve.

Set along the Gulf of Nicoya, Puerto Caldera is a residential area flanked by tropical forests. It features a stretch of sandy beach showcasing picturesque sunsets, which can also be seen from the hilltop Nemaclys view point and the defunct Caldera Train Station. Monkeys make their homes along the Caldera Promenade and at the Monkey House. There’s a handful of bars and laid-back eateries, some with gulf views.

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometre waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, cutting across the Isthmus of Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade.

Cartagena is a port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. By the sea is the walled Old Town, founded in the 16th century, with squares, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. With a tropical climate, the city is also a popular beach destination. Reachable by boat are Isla de Barú, with white-sand beaches and palm trees, and the Islas del Rosario, known for their coral reefs.

The city is described by UNESCO as having a "unique architectural and cultural townscape" that is shaped by centuries of intermingling between various cultures and religions. It has also gained a reputation as Malaysia's gastronomical capital for its distinct culinary scene.

Tampa is a city on Tampa Bay, along Florida’s Gulf Coast. A major business center, it’s also known for its museums and other cultural offerings. Busch Gardens is an African-themed amusement park with thrill rides and animal-viewing areas. The historic Ybor City neighborhood, developed by Cuban and Spanish cigar-factory workers at the turn of the 20th century, is a dining and nightlife destination.