Latin America is one of the best options for Christmas due to its cultural festivities and pleasant climate.
The offer includes delicious seasonal cuisine and cultural activities for all ages. Not sure where to begin?
Here are five of the best destinations to enjoy this Christmas season.
Cartagena, Colombia
Throughout December, the streets of the picturesque port of Cartagena are full of music and color. The houses are adorned with thousands of lights and the party lasts until the early hours in their neighborhoods.
The ancient Wall and the Historic Center of the port are illuminated with multicolored spotlights and tourists enjoy the best gastronomy in restaurants with services on the street or in old houses from the time of the Spanish colony. These Christmas lights extend from the park of India Catalina to Bocagrande.
In the Historic Center, visitors will find the figure of El Niño Dios (Baby Jesus), the most important image, to whom children ask for gifts to celebrate Christmas accompanied by songs and music. The restaurants offer dishes from the coast, traditional recipes such as stuffed turkey and pork, and desserts such as custard, cakes, and fritters.
In Cartagena, Christmas is celebrated throughout December with music, fun and excellent gastronomy. (Photo Credit: Valentin Fuentes)
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
This Mexican Pacific resort city is one of the most recommended for those looking to enjoy the Mexican Christmas tradition, with celebrations starting in mid-December on the streets and the beach with a pleasant temperature that is never less than 82 degrees.
Visitors are amused by family events such as the traditional posadas, a series of parties in which the central element is the piñata. Many hotels and restaurants organize cultural events where visitors can have dinner with Mexican cuisine and music during the evenings.
This season's favorite places of tourists and visitors are El Malecón (seaside), the Muelle de los Muertos (Pier of the Dead), the Plaza de Armas (Armory Plaza), the Crafts Market, and the Mirador de la Cruz (La Cruz Viewpoint) from where tourists enjoy the best view of Puerto Vallarta.
Puerto Vallarta celebrates Christmas and New Year with fireworks, piñatas, culture, and the extraordinary nature of the Mexican Pacific. (Photo Credit: Puerto Vallarta Tourist Board)
Viña del Mar, Chile
From Christmas to New Year's, this fascinating South American resort is filled with celebrations, including a spectacular fireworks show that can be admired in the city of Valparaíso and its surroundings.
The Plaza José Francisco Vergara, in the Historic Center of the city, traditionally celebrates a significant representation of the Birth of the Child Jesus with more than 200 actors and where visitors can sing carols with local musicians who perform along the city streets.
For those looking for a day of sun, it is highly recommended the beach Reñaca, where visitors can spend a good afternoon surfing with fun waves. In the restaurants located on the beach and in the city center, tourists can toast with typical drinks of the region, such as monkey's tail, pisco sour, red wine with fruits, clericó (fruit cup), chirimoya (custard apple), and piña colada, among others. This holiday season, the temperature in Viña del Mar is 75 degrees on average.
Guayaquil, Ecuador
In this important city of Ecuador, located on the banks of the Guayas River, Christmas is celebrated with the realization of the traditional Posadas, festivals to celebrate the birth of Jesus, in which visitors are invited to participate. In addition, the city's churches commemorate prayers for Baby Jesus and the Advent Crown, with which the local population marks the arrival of Jesus Christ.
From midnight, images of the Baby Jesus lying in the cradle are placed in various parts of the city to begin the celebration of his birth on December 25. The most popular places to enjoy this great party are the Madelayne Lynch Administration Square and Panama Street, where thousands of lights are lit starting December 1.
In addition, on the Malecón 2000, a significant Birth of the Baby Jesus is presented next to a giant 65-foot tall Christmas tree illuminated with more than 17 LED lights, including stars and snowflakes. On the other hand, the port's restaurants offer traditional dishes such as tamales, baked turkey and traditional sweets such as fritters and nougats accompanied by rompope, a drink made from spirits and eggs.
To toast, it is a tradition to drink glasses of wine, rum, and a series of refreshing cocktails that visitors enjoy at an average temperature of 86 degrees, which makes this one of the most recommended places to visit at Christmas.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Beautiful view of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo Credit: mfron / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
It is always a pleasure to visit the neighborhoods (barrios) of the capital of Argentina. Still, it is enjoyable at Christmas because of the many celebrated activities, such as a lavish show in the emblematic Teatro Colón.
In addition, the streets of Buenos Aires are full of high-quality restaurants with gastronomic specialties based on different types of meat. Culinary experiences include seasonal dishes such as turkey, lamb, and the famous Argentine asado.
These dishes are accompanied by traditional desserts such as polvorones, nougat, marzipan, Rosca de Reyes (cake), Alfajores, and Yemas de Santa Teresa (sweets made of egg). The drinks traditionally used for Christmas are egg punch (similar to eggnog), seasonal beer, punch, and hot chocolate, to name a few.
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