Santa Marta

Colombia's oldest surviving city, founded by Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1525, is the gateway to Tayrona National Park -- 15,000 hectares of jungle-backed Caribbean beaches that consistently rank among South America's most beautiful. Simon Bolivar died at the nearby Hacienda San Pedro Alejandrino in 1830, and his mausoleum remains the country's most visited historical site after Cartagena's old city.